Repetition

When a phrase crops up in Scripture more than once, we can’t help but notice it. The repetition makes it stand out. It seems to say ‘take note’ and ‘make sure you get this’. Today’s phrase from Isaiah is one such repetition. It occurs four times spread over the end of Isaiah Chapter 9 and the beginning of Chapter 10.

To give some context for these words, Isaiah has been bringing some amazing prophetic words - prophecies about the coming light that is essential for those who are in the dark, about an extraordinary child who is the ‘Wonderful Counsellor’ and ‘the Prince of Peace’, and about an eternal Kingdom. It’s weighty and mind-blowing stuff!

But the people are in a mess and don’t seem to be listening. They have been warned by God that they are acting with pride and arrogance (Isaiah 9:9). They feel confident that whatever problems come their way they will fix them, and they don’t need God, or His help. They don’t see their need of this staggeringly good news of redemption that Isaiah is bringing.

So, this is where our phrase for today starts to appear. There is some debate about whether God’s hand is raised as a fist to crush or is an outstretched hand of desire for restoration. I feel the second expresses best the character of God. But it also brings a challenge. In our human experience, when someone is angry with us, we feel defensive, and we retaliate with anger. We might even become more resolute that we are in the right. Any hand that is raised or held out in this clash is most likely to be abusive. So, could God be raising His fist, against Israel, Samaria, and Ephraim to crush them? Is this what God is really like?

God is so different from us human beings. We might raise a fist in anger, but God’s heart is always for redemption and restoration. When He reaches out His hand, it is to draw us to Him and to offer us His mercy and forgiveness. The question is, “Do we want to take His hand?” We can only do this by recognising that, if He is angry, it is because we are in the wrong. We have done something unrighteous, and we need conviction so we can own it and, through Jesus’ sacrifice, accept God’s forgiveness and restoration. The hand of our ever-loving Father God is always extended to us, He will never withhold His grace, but His anger is very real because it is righteous, and it must be satisfied.

Like many things in the Christian life, we must simultaneously hold these two seemingly opposing aspects in tension. God is always angry at sin but is always full of tender-loving-kindness. It is like two sides of a coin, looking at just one side will not give us the whole truth. Jesus is the vital connection we need to make sense of this conundrum and to live in its wonderful truth.

Let’s repeat it one more time … ‘For all this His anger is not turned away but His hand is stretched out still’. I’ve got it. Have you?