Momentary Discipline, Eternal Blessings

The prophecy continues:  'For a little moment I left you entirely, but with great mercies I shall collect you together.  With a flood of indignation I concealed my face from you for but a moment, but with loving-kindness to time indefinite I will have mercy upon you,' your Repurchaser, Jehovah, has said." (Isaiah 54:7, 8)  Earthly Jerusalem is inundated by "a flood" of God's indignation when  the Babylon forces attack in 607 B.C.E.  Her 70 years in exile might seem a long time.  Still, such trials last "for but a moment" when compared with the eternal blessings in store for those who respond well to the discipline.  Similarly, the anointed sons of "Jerusalem above" felt as if they had been overwhelmed by "a flood" of divine wrath when Jehovah allowed them to come under attack by political elements at the instigation of Babylon the Great.  But how brief that disciplinary measure later seemed, in contrast with the era of spiritual blessings that have followed since 1919!

These verses express great truth-God's wrath is fleeting, but his mercy lasts forever.  His anger blazes against wrongdoing, but it is always controlled, always purposeful. And if  we accept Jehovah's discipline, his anger lasts "but for a moment," then subsides .  It is replaced by his "great mercies"-his forgiveness and his loving-kindness.  These  last 'to time indefinite."  When we commit a sin,  we should never hesitate to repent and seek to make amends to God. If the sin is of a serious nature, we should approach the congregation elders immediately.  (James 5:14)  True, discipline may be needed , and that can be brief when compared with the eternal blessings that flow from receiving the forgiveness of Jehovah God!

Jehovah now offers his people comforting reassurance:  "this is just as the days of Noah to me.  Just as I have sworn that the waters of Noah shall no more pass over the earth, so I have sworn that I will not become indignant  toward you or rebuke you.  For the mountains themselves may be removed, and the very hills may stagger, but my loving-kindness itself will not be removed  from you, nor will my covenant of peace itself stagger,' Jehovah, the One having mercy upon you, has said."  (Isaiah 54:9, 10)  After the Deluge, God made a covenant-with Noah and every other living soul. Jehovah promised that no more would he bring destruction upon the earth by means of a global flood.  (Genesis 9:8-17) What does that mean to Isaiah and his people?

 It is comforting to know that the punishment they muse suffer-the 70-year exile in Babylon-ill occur only once.  When it is over, it will happen no more.  Thereafter, God's  "covenant of peace" will be in effect.  The Hebrew word for "peace" conveys not just the absence of war but also well-being of every kind.  On God's part this covenant of is permanent.  Sooner will the hills and mountains vanish than his loving-kindness  toward his faithful people end.  Sadly, his earthly nation will ultimately fail to live up to their side of the covenant and will shatter their own peace by rejecting the Messiah.  The sons of "Jerusalem above," however, fared much better.  Once their difficult period of discipline was over, they were assured of divine protection.

Next time: The Spiritual Security of God's People

From the Book Isaiah's Prophecy Light for all Mankind, Volume II, 2001