As I have been starting on my studies of Isaiah, I am reading of the ramifications of choosing to enjoy the "sinful lifestyle" rather than choosing the lifestyle God has made for me.
That can be a whole subject in itself, and Isaiah gives his first 39 chapters to the results of making choices that does not welcome Christ to be a part of my own daily life, choosing instead to do things that may eventually harm me...but at the moment seem all well and good.
Then in chapter 40, Isaiah begins to turn the whole message around, showing the side of God who is tender and caring...Here is my Gleaning of Isaiah 40:1-2...
" Comfort...and I really emphasize this!...Comfort...My people...for it is I who would speak this!
Speak tenderly from your heart..allow your deep emotions to surface, and your passion to really express My love for them...those whose hearts are given to Jerusalem.
Tell her this: The pains and misfortunes of your lives that have dealt you harshly, and your sins that have separated us...are over. For it is I who have taken your sins, all the terrible wrongs and atrocities you have done to Me, and have paid for them...in full.
Your sins are now forgiven you...and your comfort has now come!"
The word comfort here is used twice in almost every translation, which means God is really serious and concerned about this, and the word comfort here is to mean: with deep emotion and passion, offering encouragement (in order to offer encouragement there must be a plan or a way out).
Also, numerous translations read this part of the verse: "they have received double for their sins".
Often times I got the impression that: "Ok, I messed up my life...made a "ton" of wrong decisions which has caused me to sin against God, but now He is here to comfort and forgive me...and to give me a '"double blessing" for what I went through.
But, as I got more into these 2 verses, I have come to realize that is not what God is really talking about here, it's much deeper in its meaning.
In ancient times, like the time of Isaiah, if you happen to be in debt to another for a loan, or perhaps borrowed money and are unable to pay it back...you basically had 2 choices. You either pay back what you owe, or you become a slave to the one you owe money until the debt is paid in full.
There was one other solution, but was not often done. If a person would come along beside you, and have nothing more than sheer mercy for you, this person would take the invoice showing what you owed, and then fold it in half, which was called "doubling it". Then, this person who has mercy on you would sign this payment you owed and pay for it themselves...in full! You were then free of this debt and the person who paid off your debt would not hold it against you.
This is what is meant you have "received double for your sins".
And, of course, this is exactly what the Lord Jesus has done for us!
One more thought. Christ Jesus has paid the full price of our sins...that I am totally convinced of. He also confirmed the message in Isaiah by declaring in Matthew 5: 4: "Blessed are those who mourn, that is those who recognize sin in their lives and have a "hole in their own heart" that separates them from the love God has for them, for they shall be comforted, that is they will receive from Him and from the very depth of His own heart the encouragement needed to find a way through and have a complete healing of the emptiness felt within."
That was kind of a longer Gleaning of that verse I know...but for myself it adds a much deeper meaning to what Christ was saying when He gave this at the Sermon on the Mount.
And...one more thing. Sometimes it is not always sin that causes us to hunger for real comfort from a real God. Just remember, God's idea of comfort is deep, it comes from His very own heart, and the encouragement He gives has a "way out" of anything in life we may encounter.
As we just learn to let down "our guards" to Him, open up our hearts...and sometimes that is like taking a bandage off a really ugly wound..but..if you take the chance, choosing not to blame Him for an event that happen...He will be there...to bind...to heal...and to comfort!
Sometimes life just doesn't make sense...a tragic accident...a factory closing down...a life threatening illness..."tore-up" relationships...or a death of a loved one.
Even in those "darkest of times"...you still got to take the chance...to let Him sort it out for you...and comfort you..from the depths of His heart. He knows what it is to suffer...and He knows exactly how to comfort ....you!
That can be a whole subject in itself, and Isaiah gives his first 39 chapters to the results of making choices that does not welcome Christ to be a part of my own daily life, choosing instead to do things that may eventually harm me...but at the moment seem all well and good.
Then in chapter 40, Isaiah begins to turn the whole message around, showing the side of God who is tender and caring...Here is my Gleaning of Isaiah 40:1-2...
" Comfort...and I really emphasize this!...Comfort...My people...for it is I who would speak this!
Speak tenderly from your heart..allow your deep emotions to surface, and your passion to really express My love for them...those whose hearts are given to Jerusalem.
Tell her this: The pains and misfortunes of your lives that have dealt you harshly, and your sins that have separated us...are over. For it is I who have taken your sins, all the terrible wrongs and atrocities you have done to Me, and have paid for them...in full.
Your sins are now forgiven you...and your comfort has now come!"
The word comfort here is used twice in almost every translation, which means God is really serious and concerned about this, and the word comfort here is to mean: with deep emotion and passion, offering encouragement (in order to offer encouragement there must be a plan or a way out).
Also, numerous translations read this part of the verse: "they have received double for their sins".
Often times I got the impression that: "Ok, I messed up my life...made a "ton" of wrong decisions which has caused me to sin against God, but now He is here to comfort and forgive me...and to give me a '"double blessing" for what I went through.
But, as I got more into these 2 verses, I have come to realize that is not what God is really talking about here, it's much deeper in its meaning.
In ancient times, like the time of Isaiah, if you happen to be in debt to another for a loan, or perhaps borrowed money and are unable to pay it back...you basically had 2 choices. You either pay back what you owe, or you become a slave to the one you owe money until the debt is paid in full.
There was one other solution, but was not often done. If a person would come along beside you, and have nothing more than sheer mercy for you, this person would take the invoice showing what you owed, and then fold it in half, which was called "doubling it". Then, this person who has mercy on you would sign this payment you owed and pay for it themselves...in full! You were then free of this debt and the person who paid off your debt would not hold it against you.
This is what is meant you have "received double for your sins".
And, of course, this is exactly what the Lord Jesus has done for us!
One more thought. Christ Jesus has paid the full price of our sins...that I am totally convinced of. He also confirmed the message in Isaiah by declaring in Matthew 5: 4: "Blessed are those who mourn, that is those who recognize sin in their lives and have a "hole in their own heart" that separates them from the love God has for them, for they shall be comforted, that is they will receive from Him and from the very depth of His own heart the encouragement needed to find a way through and have a complete healing of the emptiness felt within."
That was kind of a longer Gleaning of that verse I know...but for myself it adds a much deeper meaning to what Christ was saying when He gave this at the Sermon on the Mount.
And...one more thing. Sometimes it is not always sin that causes us to hunger for real comfort from a real God. Just remember, God's idea of comfort is deep, it comes from His very own heart, and the encouragement He gives has a "way out" of anything in life we may encounter.
As we just learn to let down "our guards" to Him, open up our hearts...and sometimes that is like taking a bandage off a really ugly wound..but..if you take the chance, choosing not to blame Him for an event that happen...He will be there...to bind...to heal...and to comfort!
Sometimes life just doesn't make sense...a tragic accident...a factory closing down...a life threatening illness..."tore-up" relationships...or a death of a loved one.
Even in those "darkest of times"...you still got to take the chance...to let Him sort it out for you...and comfort you..from the depths of His heart. He knows what it is to suffer...and He knows exactly how to comfort ....you!
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