“For thus saith the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel; ‘In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength: and ye would not.'” Isaiah 30:15
It was J.S. Pigott who wrote the stanza of the hymn: “Jesus! I am resting, resting, In the joy of what Thou art: I am finding out the greatness Of Thy loving heart. Thou hast bid me gaze upon Thee, And Thy beauty fills my soul, For, by Thy transforming power, Thou hast made me whole.” What is this life of rest, this rest of faith? And how can the believer live such a life?
In Isaiah’s day, men’ hearts were as they are now, in desperate need of true faith, in order to know the living God, and to glorify Him. The illustration of God’s dealings with Israel to bring her to this point, to keep her there, or to bring her back to that point of faith, is seen ever so clearly in Isaiah’s writings. There were times in Israel’s history when she was caught between two empires. On the one hand, there was the aggressive, defiant, and violently oppressive nation of Assyria, ever seeking to conquer its adversaries, and pillage the people and their resources. Assyria was a very real, and dangerous enemy of Israel, not hesitating to make this small, and insignificant people and nation, to be its slave.
To the south was Egypt, a godless empire, seeking much the same things as Assyria, but somewhat open to the appeal of Israel for help. The problem with both Assyria and Egypt, with respect to their godlessness, was that they both denied, and defied, the true and living God, the “Holy One of Israel.” God allowed this small nation of Israel to be in the middle of these empires, to know the oppression of one, and the allurement of the other to seek help for it, for a purpose. Aside from the spiritual battle that would be constantly raging, the enemies of Israel seeking her destruction, there was the GOD of Israel, this One who again and again reveals Himself to her as the HOLY ONE of Israel, who provided her the opportunity to fulfill her purpose on this earth. That purpose was to be a witness to the true and living, and faithful God. This would be the result of faith in Him, and obedience to His word. When Assyria threatened to attack Israel, she was immediately faced with a choice of who she would trust for her protection, and deliverance. It was for a time such as this that the Lord would reveal again and again the fact that, “…the Lord would wait, that He may be gracious unto you, and therefore will He be exalted, that He may have mercy upon you: for the Lord is a God of judgment: blessed are all they that wait for Him.” (Is. 30:18) But, how would Israel know God in a very tangible manner?
It would be when Israel was tempted to seek the help of Egypt, for fear of the Assyrians, that the Lord would make the real issue very clear. First of all, He would warn them of rebelling against him, by taking counsel of the Egyptians rather than seeking His counsel, also, seeking the strength and shadow of protection from Egypt, rather than from the Lord. He then would tell them that, “…the Egyptians shall help in vain, but to no purpose.” Then He reveals to Israel that, ‘Their strength is to sit still.'” (30:7) Why would the Lord speak of sitting still? It is the picture of total trust in Him, being in an attitude of reliance but also of waiting upon Him. He later tells them that in returning and REST “…shall ye be saved.” (v.15) As the heart and soul are wholly set, trusting in Christ alone, He gives His peace, enabling the believer to know His quietness and confidence. This attitude of mind and heart will become his strength. The glorious voice of the Lord will defeat the enemy.
Dear Father, Teach us Thy ways. In Jesus’ name. Amen.