Renewed Through Jubilee
Hope Renewed
Isaiah 40:21-31
Do you not know? Have you not heard?
Has it not been declared to you from the beginning?
Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?
[22] It is He who sits above the vault of the earth,
And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers,
Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain
And spreads them out like a tent to dwell in.
[25] "To whom then will you liken Me
That I should be his equal?" says the Holy One.
[26] Lift up your eyes on high
And see who has created these stars,
The One who leads forth their host by number,
He calls them all by name;
Because of the greatness of His might and the strength of His power
Not one of them is missing.
[27] Why do you say, O Jacob, and assert, O Israel, "My way is hidden from the LORD,
And the justice due me escapes the notice of my God"?
[28] Do you not know? Have you not heard?
The Everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth
Does not become weary or tired.
His understanding is inscrutable.
[29] He gives strength to the weary,
And to him who lacks might He increases power.
[30] Though youths grow weary and tired,
And vigorous young men stumble badly,
[31] Yet those who wait for the LORD
Will gain new strength;
They will mount up with wings like eagles,
They will run and not get tired,
They will walk and not become weary.
Hebrews 10:23
[23] Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.
Ephes. 2:1-10 (selected)
[2:1] As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, [2] in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. [4] But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, [5] made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions--it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-- [9] not by works, so that no one can boast. [10] For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
CCI: Our hope is renewed when we remember God’s faithfulness.
– Judah’s story of hope restored
The Nation of Judah was in a bad way. It was around 540 BC. 200 years before this time the nation of Israel had been destroyed because of their disobedience. Following their being sent away, Judah, the southern Kingdom continued on it’s sinful path. There were revivals, but they were short lived. The people believed that they were God’s chosen ones and so nothing bad could happen to them. And then along came the prophet Jeremiah and his words were not comforting. In chapter 1 we read: “The LORD said to me, "From the north disaster will be poured out on all who live in the land. [15] I am about to summon all the peoples of the northern kingdoms," declares the LORD.
"Their kings will come and set up their thrones
in the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem;
they will come against all her surrounding walls
and against all the towns of Judah.”
And then in the 4th chapter he said:
“I looked at the earth,
and it was formless and empty;
and at the heavens,
and their light was gone.
[24] I looked at the mountains,
and they were quaking;
all the hills were swaying.
[25] I looked, and there were no people;
every bird in the sky had flown away.
[26] I looked, and the fruitful land was a desert;
all its towns lay in ruins before the LORD,
before his fierce anger.
These were God’s words to the people. Not words of comfort! The worst part was, they came true. The land was decimated, the people scattered, the crops destroyed and even the temple, God’s dwelling, leveled. 50 years has passed since the destruction of Jerusalem. A lifetime! Only a very few were still living who could remember the old days. They had been uprooted, they had been persecuted and even put to death for praying. They had been forced to adopt the practices of their neighbors and worst of all, there had been no offerings for sin because the temple was destroyed.
Early in the exile, it was thought that it might be temporary, perhaps God would lead them out like he did the slaves in Egypt, but as time passed, the thoughts of being restored as a nation faded, and hope dimmed. David’s kingdom was now a distant memory and there was no hope in the minds of the people that things would ever change.
And then, like a voice from the past, the words of Isaiah 40 were heard. Comfort, comfort my people says your God, Speak kindly to Jerusalem that her warfare has ended and her iniquity has been removed.
When the people first heard the word, they were not very sure. Hope is a hard thing to rebuild! How could God, who had spoken with such anger now speak words of comfort?
And yet the words of hope began to resound in their hearts.
[28] Do you not know? Have you not heard?
The Everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth
Does not become weary or tired.
His understanding is inscrutable.
[29] He gives strength to the weary,
And to him who lacks might He increases power.
[30] Though youths grow weary and tired,
And vigorous young men stumble badly,
[31] Yet those who wait for the LORD
Will gain new strength;
They will mount up with wings like eagles,
They will run and not get tired,
They will walk and not become weary.
After waiting a lifetime, suddenly a light came on, hope was rekindled and slowly that hope became a flame and wonder of miraculous wonders, the nation was reborn!
– Jubilee and restoration
When the Law was given to the people, Justice was the key point throughout. Punishment was never to be unfair, it may be harsh but it was always in keeping with the crime. Offerings were called for based on income so no one was left out of worship. And once each lifetime, during the year of Jubilee, the playing field was to be leveled when debts were canceled, slaves set free and people’s identity, which was wrapped up in their property was restored. Jubilee was a time for hope. It was a time for starting over. I was a time of new beginnings. Jubilee! For the Jew, it was all their hopes wrapped up into one time.
Today, Jesus offers us Jubilee. That place of canceled debt, of freedom for slaves and of restoration of identity is Jesus arms. In one of the most well known of all Jesus’ stories, a son has left home and foolishly spent his father’s estate. He comes to the end of his rope and finally decides to return to his Father’s house as a slave. However, as he walks home with his head down and his feet dragging, his Father sees him and Jesus said, he ran out to meet him. And as the son began his speech, the Father silenced him by taking him in his arms and offering him his own Jubilee. His debt was canceled; his slavery became freedom and his identity was restored in his Father’s arms.
And that is what Jesus offers for you today. Our world is filled with hopelessness. Sometimes relationships seem hopeless. The hurts run too deeply to ever be restored. When dreams are crushed, we can feel overwhelmed with hopelessness. After looking forward to a dream, seeing it vanish will leave an emptiness inside. When we battle with sin, we often feel like we are in a hopeless conflict. In the words of Paul, “What I don't understand about myself is that I decide one way, but then I act another, doing things I absolutely despise. [16] So if I can't be trusted to figure out what is best for myself and then do it, it becomes obvious that God's command is necessary.
“But I need something more! For if I know the law but still can't keep it, and if the power of sin within me keeps sabotaging my best intentions, I obviously need help! [18] I realize that I don't have what it takes. I can will it, but I can't do it. [19] I decide to do good, but I don't really do it; I decide not to do bad, but then I do it anyway. [20] My decisions, such as they are, don't result in actions. Something has gone wrong deep within me and gets the better of me every time.
“It happens so regularly that it's predictable. The moment I decide to do good, sin is there to trip me up.”
Perhaps you have felt hopeless just like Paul as you have battled sin. Maybe it is your health that seems hopeless. Perhaps it is your finances and you can see no light at the end.
Well friend, I want to bring you Isaiah’s words of comfort.
[28] Do you not know? Have you not heard?
The Everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth
Does not become weary or tired.
His understanding is inscrutable.
[29] He gives strength to the weary,
And to him who lacks might He increases power.
According to Hebrews 10 you have a hope. It is based in the very nature of God himself. Today it may seem to be only an ember, just a glowing coal covered with ash and pain. But that ember of hope, finds it source not in what you can do, or even what you can believe but in the very nature of God himself. It is a hope within. It is a hope that is kindled when we surrender to the loving arms of our God.
Anne Lamott is a woman who struggled with everything. She longed to be a novelist, and in fact has written 6 novels. But the life of an author led her down a path of self indulgence, self hate and self destruction. Then one day she stumbled into a small church, and while drunk and high, she met Jesus. Unlike some testimonies the desire for the high did not go away immediately. However, several years later, by God’s grace, she was clean and sober. And that is when she learned that Jesus is waiting for us the women’s bathroom. In June of 1997 she wrote an essay entitled “In the Mouth of the Cave” (http://www.salon.com/june97/mothers/lamott970619.html ). Her son was ill. They thought it was a “friend he had picked up in Mexico.” But after several weeks of treatment, they determined it was not a parasite, but perhaps something much worse. The doctor called to schedule an appointment with an oncologist. Before the appointment, more blood was needed. After taking a vial, Anne retreated to the bathroom and there seated on the toilet, watching her little boy play with water at the sink, she decided to pray. It was not a willing decision, she was drowning in hopelessness, but she prayed, She writes: “I asked for faith in His will, for faith in His love and protection. I prayed for my sense of humor to survive. I prayed for guidance, studying my scared mother face in the mirror, I suddenly got my answer: Go forth, I heard, and shop.”
After buying him a cheesy plastic toy, Anne watched as he tore it open and suddenly she saw a weak, pathetic, little boy struggling to breathe. And immediately she took his hand and together they went back to the women’s restroom.
There she found her mind transferred to a cave with the prophet Elijah. He was waiting for God to rescue him or Ahab to kill him. After some false alarms he heard God’s voice as a gentle breeze and he went out of the cave and stood in the breeze and let it refresh him. She writes: “Maybe it's the stripped down moment of it all, so much bigger than the grasping, crying I; maybe it's being hooked in to so much more of the life that surrounds us, and shimmers. The common denominator was that, little by little, all )of the people I knew who had been through situations like mine) found themselves stunned and humbled by their friends' love. Their friends' love turned out to be the word of God. Their friends' love was God passing by.”
And in that reality, Anne Lamott’s hope was restored.
Today Jesus offers you Jubilee, release, freedom and forgiveness and you can find it in his arms.
[28] Do you not know? Have you not heard?
The Everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth
Does not become weary or tired.
His understanding is inscrutable.
[29] He gives strength to the weary,
And to him who lacks might He increases power.
[30] Though youths grow weary and tired,
And vigorous young men stumble badly,
[31] Yet those who wait for the LORD
Will gain new strength;
They will mount up with wings like eagles,
They will run and not get tired,
They will walk and not become weary.
Come, wait on the Lord and find your hope renewed in his faithfulness.
