Isaiah 63: 10-14
“But they rebelled and grieved his Holy Spirit; therefore he turned
to be their enemy, and himself fought against them.”
The
Scriptures from the beginning teach us of a triune God, three in one, the
Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. A
Creator who spoke kingdoms and worlds into being, a God who made time for
mankind, but over Him time has no control, and this may be of some help; a God
who sees what we call the past and the future as we see the present. It kind of messes with Carbon dating and many
other things people have built theory and belief structures on. When God formed man, He did not make a baby
to grow into a man, when He formed a mountain range, how old was the carbon
dating, or the trees of the forest, but in that we are time critters, time
controls us and we have tried to put God under that same control.
We also, over time forgot that an all present God, who has
never had to learn anything, a God who is Sovereign, who is merciful, who is
Personal, and who does not change, has emotions, and in verses 8-9 we grasp the
fullness of God’s heart for us: “He said, “They are indeed My people, children who will not be disloyal,” and He became their Savior. In all their suffering, He suffered, and the Angel of His Presence saved them.” And we see the Holy
Spirit being grieved by their sin of putting self before God and it states that
the Holy Spirit became their enemy and fought against them. I sure hope our understanding of God is not
that He has gone from love to hate for these Covenant people. Do you recall Stephen’s speech to the high
priest and the people before they stoned him to death? He was reminding them of God’s mercy and
goodness, His Salvation and how the leaders of the people refused to obey him,
and thrust him aside, and in their hearts they turned to Egypt, and you recall
how Aaron made gods for them, now listen; “But God turned away
from them and gave them over to the worship of the sun, moon and stars.” And you recall
Stephen telling these leaders, after Jesus has returned to His Father, these
words: "You
stiff-necked people! Your hearts and ears are still uncircumcised. You are just
like your ancestors: You always resist the Holy Spirit!” The apostle Paul reminds us in
Ephesians 4:30, “And
do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of
redemption.” God’s love and
patience far exceeds my understanding, it would be foolish of me to try, so I
will not go there.
When you look at verse 11, and God recalls His acts of
kindness to Moses and His people, it’s about God being faithful to His name,
His character, this is a quote from Gills Exposition; "he had mercy
for the glory of his name, and because of the remembrance of his goodness of
old, the mighty things he did by the hands of Moses to his people.'' We also are people who have entered
a covenant relationship by the blood of Jesus Christ, and should daily look to
how God can increase and self decrease, so that the world will see Jesus Christ
living in us.
From the Back
Porch,
Bob Rice
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