God, You will be praised in Jerusalem. We will keep our promises to You. You hear our prayers. All people will come to You. Our guilt overwhelms us, but You forgive our sins. Happy are the people You choose and invite to stay in Your court. We are filled with good things in Your house, Your holy temple. (Verses 1-4)
"Wash yourselves. Make yourselves clean. Remove the evil of your deeds from before My eyes. Cease to do evil. Learn to do good. Seek justice. Correct oppression. Bring justice to the fatherless. Plead the widow's cause."
"Come now, let us reason together," says the Lord. "Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become as wool. If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land." Isaiah 1
In the court of the Tabernacle of God were two things. The bronze altar of sacrifice and the bronze basin for ceremonial washings. The picture the Lord wanted his people to understand was that before they could meet with Him in the Holy of Holies, or go into the inner court, their sins had to be atoned and their hearts made clean, washed. We can't present ourselves before a holy God in our filthy state. Guilt-ridden and in need of forgiveness, we come to the outer courts of the Lord's temple needing grace and restoration. This is something we aren't even capable of doing for ourselves. Only God can pronounce us right with Him. Only the Lord understands true righteousness. He is the ultimate judge.
Ironically, He is also the ultimate sacrifice. Our temple now isn't in Jerusalem. Our bodies are the temple of God in these days. The dwelling place of the Holy Spirit. Christ was offered up on the brazen altar, once for all. We are washed in the cleansing blood of His holy veins, dipped in the baptismal waters of His grace. Sins covered and forgiven, we have become children of our God. Invited to stay in the courts of the Lord. Allowed behind the veil that kept the Presence from our corruption. We are accepted by the Father because of the Son. We can live differently! Able to keep those promises we made to our Father, knowing He hears our prayers. Confident of His love that endures forever. Overflowing with the joy of all the good things He does in us and for us. Anticipating an eternity with our Lord. Happy now? I am!
So what is our response to such a Father? How do we live in light of His unfathomable love? How do we reciprocate such benevolence? Stay in the court. Where the sacrifice and the cleansing waters stand as altars and reminders of our sin and His grace. Stop doing the things that break His heart. Learn to do good from His Word -- from His personal daily guidance of our lives. Be willing. No matter what. Be willing. Obey Him. Do what your Father says even when you don't agree with it or understand His purposes. Just do it. Why? So you can bless Him and He can bless you. He wants your soul to be fat and your heart to race with the joy of your relationship with Him. Wants your mind to think like His about widows and orphans, about justice and oppression, and about sin and forgiveness. Our Father wants to allow us the privilege of walking upright and bold into the inner sanctuary where He dwells at any time to converse with Him, reason together, and enjoy Him forever!
"Wash yourselves. Make yourselves clean. Remove the evil of your deeds from before My eyes. Cease to do evil. Learn to do good. Seek justice. Correct oppression. Bring justice to the fatherless. Plead the widow's cause."
"Come now, let us reason together," says the Lord. "Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become as wool. If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land." Isaiah 1
In the court of the Tabernacle of God were two things. The bronze altar of sacrifice and the bronze basin for ceremonial washings. The picture the Lord wanted his people to understand was that before they could meet with Him in the Holy of Holies, or go into the inner court, their sins had to be atoned and their hearts made clean, washed. We can't present ourselves before a holy God in our filthy state. Guilt-ridden and in need of forgiveness, we come to the outer courts of the Lord's temple needing grace and restoration. This is something we aren't even capable of doing for ourselves. Only God can pronounce us right with Him. Only the Lord understands true righteousness. He is the ultimate judge.
Ironically, He is also the ultimate sacrifice. Our temple now isn't in Jerusalem. Our bodies are the temple of God in these days. The dwelling place of the Holy Spirit. Christ was offered up on the brazen altar, once for all. We are washed in the cleansing blood of His holy veins, dipped in the baptismal waters of His grace. Sins covered and forgiven, we have become children of our God. Invited to stay in the courts of the Lord. Allowed behind the veil that kept the Presence from our corruption. We are accepted by the Father because of the Son. We can live differently! Able to keep those promises we made to our Father, knowing He hears our prayers. Confident of His love that endures forever. Overflowing with the joy of all the good things He does in us and for us. Anticipating an eternity with our Lord. Happy now? I am!
So what is our response to such a Father? How do we live in light of His unfathomable love? How do we reciprocate such benevolence? Stay in the court. Where the sacrifice and the cleansing waters stand as altars and reminders of our sin and His grace. Stop doing the things that break His heart. Learn to do good from His Word -- from His personal daily guidance of our lives. Be willing. No matter what. Be willing. Obey Him. Do what your Father says even when you don't agree with it or understand His purposes. Just do it. Why? So you can bless Him and He can bless you. He wants your soul to be fat and your heart to race with the joy of your relationship with Him. Wants your mind to think like His about widows and orphans, about justice and oppression, and about sin and forgiveness. Our Father wants to allow us the privilege of walking upright and bold into the inner sanctuary where He dwells at any time to converse with Him, reason together, and enjoy Him forever!
No comments:
Post a Comment