The Lord Is Great — Isaiah 51

A text — Isaiah 51:1-6

51:1 Listen to me, you that pursue righteousness, you that seek the LORD. Look to the rock from which you were hewn, and to the quarry from which you were dug.
51:2 Look to Abraham your father and to Sarah who bore you; for he was but one when I called him, but I blessed him and made him many.
51:3 For the LORD will comfort Zion; he will comfort all her waste places, and will make her wilderness like Eden, her desert like the garden of the LORD; joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and the voice of song.
51:4 Listen to me, my people, and give heed to me, my nation; for a teaching will go out from me, and my justice for a light to the peoples.
51:5 I will bring near my deliverance swiftly, my salvation has gone out and my arms will rule the peoples; the coastlands wait for me, and for my arm they hope.
51:6 Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look at the earth beneath; for the heavens will vanish like smoke, the earth will wear out like a garment, and those who live on it will die like gnats; but my salvation will be forever, and my deliverance will never be ended.

A reflection:

There is a Gospel text in which Jesus calls Peter a rock upon which he will build his church. You might think you yourself have never been called a rock, but actually, Isaiah did it in the first verse of this passage. He says, “Look to the rock from which you were hewn, and to the quarry from which you were dug.”

Rocks last a long time. Geological ages are very long. We study fossils in layers of rock so we can know when things happened in relation to the age of our planet. I mean, think about trilobites in very old rock layers. They have been sitting there for 250-500 million years. In human terms, they have been there trapped in layers of rock forever.

Now look at verse 6 if you want to see what forever means to God: “…the heavens will vanish like smoke, the earth will wear out like a garment (yes – even rocks!), and those who live on it will die like gnats; but my salvation will be forever, and my deliverance will never be ended.”

Longer lived than rocks. Or the heavens. Or those who live on the earth.

Longer in time than anything is the God who calls us his children.

Wow.

A prayer:

Lord God of the Universe, Thank you for loving us. Thank you for calling us your children, even though we are tiny in scale compared to all that you have made. Thank you for giving our lives purpose and meaning. Help us to be grateful and seek you first, as we ought.   Amen.