4th Sunday of Lent
Scripture: Isaiah
42:14-21
Isaiah 42 begins with a description of the Lord’s Servant,
speaking prophetically of Jesus. The chapter ends with a description of the
Lord’s servant Israel, and describes them as deaf and blind. This section also
contains a description of God’s passionate desire to rescue Israel from their
blindness. All the readings this week have a theme of sight and blindness or
being in darkness. Be sure to observe the way God rescues his people from the
blindness of sin.
Teaching
This reading presents God at a critical time that, while
awaited, comes suddenly and must be responded to immediately. He is like a
pregnant woman, and the time has come to do the painful work of bringing life.
He will bring salvation to his people, and as he speaks of this work, he
changes the image to healing the blindness of his people.
Israel, God’s servant, however, does not want to see. They
want to remain deaf to God’s Word, blinded by the idols they serve. It is God’s
great sorrow that his people do not see his salvation or hear his Word which
reveals his love for them. So he magnifies his law and makes it glorious so
that his people will be confronted with real righteousness and see their sin to
drive them to despair of their imagined righteousness, and call to him for forgiveness.
Life
There is an old English proverb, “There are none so blind as
those who will not see.” This can be true for us when we refuse to see our own
sin, and our own idolatries. We may not worship idols the way Israel did, but
we often having things that draw us away from God, or that we trust more than
him, or that we treat as more important than him. We should pray for the Spirit
of God to open our eyes to these things so that we might confess them and live
in God’s grace and forgiveness.
God’s desire is to turn our darkness into light and to lead
us in his ways. But we sometimes prefer our own darkness, our own
righteousness, to God’s light and his righteousness. This does not change God’s
desire however. He continues to seek us out, calling out to us through his Word
to display his love and longing to save us.
Prayer
O God, you show us that we are blind because of our sin, but
you desire to open our eyes to your love and salvation. Thank you for your
patience and mercy. Thank you for giving Jesus in the right moment to do the
painful work of bringing us life. Forgive us for our blindness and for preferring
blindness to the sight you give. Give us your Spirit to open our eyes, to lead
us in your ways, to open our ears to your Word, and to live in your
righteousness. Amen.
Comments