Isaiah 66 Pt 2


Isaiah 66:18-21 (ESV)
“For I know their works and their thoughts, and the time is coming to gather all nations and tongues. And they shall come and shall see my glory, and I will set a sign among them. And from them I will send survivors to the nations, to Tarshish, Pul, and Lud, who draw the bow, to Tubal and Javan, to the coastlands far away, that have not heard my fame or seen my glory. And they shall declare my glory among the nations. And they shall bring all your brothers from all the nations as an offering to the LORD, on horses and in chariots and in litters and on mules and on dromedaries, to my holy mountain Jerusalem, says the LORD, just as the Israelites bring their grain offering in a clean vessel to the house of the LORD. And some of them also I will take for priests and for Levites, says the LORD.

God’s promise to Abraham was that through him God would bless all the nations of the earth. Being a people of God was never about being Jewish. It was always about faith and humility. As Judah faces deportation because of their sin and disobedience, God, through Isaiah, promises restoration. His restoration is not a restoration of Jewishness, but a restoration of all people to God.

Isaiah 66:21 is telling. “And some of them (the nations) also I will take for priests and for Levites, says the LORD.” How can God take people from the nations and make them priests and Levites? Isn’t that about birthright? Clearly the answer is “No!” God is not as interested in birthright, and ancestry as he is interested in humility and faith. God will call people “from every tribe and language and people and nation” (Rev 5:9).

This has significant implications for the church. Pentecost (Acts 2) brought together people from a variety of languages and backgrounds. The Church has always brought together as one people those of diverse backgrounds, colors, ethnicities, languages, and cultures. Unfortunately, the local church has not always been as accepting. We are often fearful of those who are different, and accepting of those like us. We often feel comfortable only with those of our color, background, interests, and political persuasion.

Within the local church, we feel not only uncomfortable, but too often downright hostile toward those who are unlike us. God forgive us! When we ought to be extending open arms, we are more often welcoming with reservation, accepting with fear and uncertainty, or outright rejecting those who are different. The very Lord we profess would likely have felt very unwelcome in many of our congregations. I fear that we are often more like the Pharisees whom we love to castigate, then like the Lord who we claim to worship.

One day we will see the Church through the eyes of God. One day we will see God use the most unlikely people as priests and Levites. One day we will fall on our faces before God along with those we feared. One day we will embrace and worship with those we held at arm’s length in distrust. Maybe we should start practicing today.

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