A Covenant of Mercy

This article is based on the text Isaiah 55:1-9.

Through the prophet, God invites us to examine what we are spending our money on and giving our attention to. We are not buying food and anything nourishing. We are spending our money on what my aunt used to call "fru-frus", on knick-knacks, on secondary things. The idea here is using food as a metaphor, so that what we really need is something spiritually nourishing, something that will "Stick to the ribs." What God is suggesting is that we should pay more attention to spiritual things and spend our time and money doing something that will last and be spiritually beneficial, like reading our Bibles or performing some random act of kindness that will benefit another person.

David is then lifted up as a model for our behavior. David was anointed by Samuel when he was just a teenager to be the future king over Israel. David then slew Goliath, fought wars with Saul and Jonathan, united the tribes of Israel, and formed one kingdom over which he ruled some 40 years, 7 over the Southern kingdom and 33 over the united kingdom. Not a bad record, even considering his departure from God's will over Bathsheba. We are to take a lesson and give our hearts to the Lord that He might direct our ways.

Now comes the heart of the matter. God invites us to contract with Him a new covenant. "Seek the Lord while he may be found, call upon him while he is near; let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, and he will have mercy on him, and God will abundantly pardon."

Let us compare this to another similar invitation to covenant, that of II Chronicles 7:14: "If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land."

A covenant is an agreement between two parties. In this case, it is between God and his people. There are certain things we must do to enjoy the Lord's favor, and then the Lord will bless us with certain things that He agrees to do.

First of all, we are to humble ourselves. We must each examine ourselves for our motives for our actions and look inside to see if there is any secret sin. For example, if we come to church in order to show off our new Easter outfit, but not to worship God, we are coming for the wrong motive, and we need to see this clearly` and repent.

Secondly, we need to pray. This is clearly the best way to connect to God, for if we humbly pray, desiring to find God, He will allow himself to be found.

Thirdly, seek his face. Try to determine what God's will is for your life. Giving God your heart is to let him know that there is within you a shift away from selfish ambition toward doing God's will. God always answers such humble seeking of His will. Finally, repent of your wicked ways. Say you're sorry for what you have done, try your best to make amends for your wrongdoings, and God will receive you, have mercy upon you, and forgive you.

For His part, God will receive you back as a lost child. Heaven will rejoice, and God will richly bless your life. This could be with riches, but not everyone can handle wealth. Many people are too tempted to misuse such a windfall. God will at the very least bless you with a renewed relationship with Himself, which after all, is the best blessing we could get. John Wesley, on his deathbed, said these words: "The best of all is, God is with us." A relationship with God means life, abundant in the present and eternal in the future.

God stands ready to receive us back. We have to be willing to do our part. We must take a realistic look at ourselves, humble ourselves, give our hearts to the Lord, and turn from our wicked ways, so that the Lord can forgive us and give us fulfilling, fruitful lives. Jesus died on the cross just for this cause. He died for our sins, indeed, the sins of the whole world. In receiving Christ as Savior, we come back home to God.

During this Lenten season, may you receive your blessing at the foot of the cross.

Terry