Isaiah 8:21-22: They will pass through it hard-pressed and hungry; and it shall happen, when they are hungry, that they will be enraged and curse their king and their God, and look upward. Then they will look to the earth, and see trouble and darkness, gloom of anguish; and they will be driven into darkness.
The Word of God is the sword of the Spirit that tears into Judah and divides her in two. From the people who walk in the fear of man, the word of God redeems some and gives them a new way to walk, a walk in fear of Yahweh, hallowing Yahweh’s name, seeking security in Him as the sanctuary.
The Word divides Judah into two ways, two peoples, governed by two fears. And these two ways lead in different directions. At the end of chapter 8, Isaiah paints a depressing portrait of a people being led to exile. Those who refuse to hear the Word of Yahweh will pass through the land oppressed and hungry. They will raise their faces only to curse God, and the land around them will be distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish. They are driven into the outer darkness, into the grave of exile.
But that is not the future for the people of Immanuel. Because Immanuel has suffered in His land along with His distressed people, because Immanuel is with us, the nations will be shattered, their plans will be brought to nothing. For those who cling to Immanuel, there will be a dawn.
For those redeemed by the Word of Yahweh, the words of Isaiah 9 hold true. There will be no more gloom; the people who walk in darkness see a great light; their oppression will be ended, and they will be glad like those who divide the spoil and those who share in a harvest. For those turned by the Word of God, there will be light and life, food and feasting.
We are at a table, every week we are at a table. Even during the fast of Lent, we are at a table. By the grace of the Living Word, who is Immanuel, we are not among those who trudge, hungry and famish, into darkness. By His grace, we are among those on whom the Lord’s light has shone.
Dear Reader,
Can I be direct with you?
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