Jesus Doesn’t Always Act In Ways That You Might Expect

This morning’s chapter is not one of the clearest in the Bible. There are some things going on here that we just don’t understand. But there are things that we do. We do know that ‘Cush’ is, more or less, the same as modern Ethiopia, a land south of Egypt. The text is referring to a time when Cush had a measure of military power, though when that was, isn’t clear. And it may be that Cush has sent its ambassadors to Judah to persuade it to join an alliance against the familiar Assyria, though there are other ways to understand what the ambassadors in our text are up to. And it’s clear that the general context is the preparation for war, though exactly who will be doing the fighting isn’t clear. We’ll see that Isaiah reports something that Jesus has to say about all of this. He then uses the imagery of a vineyard maturing to the point of harvest to explain what will happen when Jesus acts. The chapter ends on the note of worship. Now, having given you that oh so very helpful overview, I’ll read Isaiah 18.

Today’s sermon has two basic points. And while it may seem that they have nothing in common, they do. They both reflect this thought. Jesus doesn’t always act in ways that you might expect.

My first point doesn’t actually come out of the text even though it is prompted by the text. I would like to say something about the fact that there are gaps in our understanding of the text. And when I say ‘our understanding’ I include the smart people who write expensive books about the Bible.

I doubt that this is the first time you’ve encountered some portion of the Bible that’s not very clear to you. When that happens, we usually tell ourselves that if we knew a little more then we’d get it. More often than not, that’s true. So, bumping up against some unclear bit of Scripture like our text is a good reminder that there is more for us to learn. And that is something that the Spirit has well in hand and is in the process of working on. There are, however, parts of God’s revelation that are unclear for reasons that go beyond anyone’s lack of learning. Having a bunch of Ph.D’s wouldn’t make a difference here. These puzzling bits of Scripture are to remind us that God is God. He isn’t like us. He thinks very differently because He is very different. These bits of Scripture are to remind us of the mystery surrounding our God. And the more that you grow in your understanding of your God and His ways, the more mystery you will encounter. This growing sense of mystery will continue even in the age to come. The notions of God that most people have today lack any sense of the mystery surrounding Him. God, to them, must be someone just like them, except bigger. And out of that come questions that they throw at people like you. One that is being kicked around these days, especially in light of the recent devastation in Haiti, goes like this. Why is there evil? If there is a God, why is there evil? If there were a God, there wouldn’t be any evil. And what’s the assumption behind all of that? ‘If I were God, then there wouldn’t be any evil.’ And from that it’s just a short hop, skip and jump to the conclusion that there is no God. And that might be an appropriate conclusion if God were just like us. But He’s not. And that’s why Paul wrote, ‘Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! “For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?”’

I have a reason for saying all of this. I’m thinking especially of those of you who will find yourselves in college some day and those of you who already are. Regardless of where you go you will encounter people like this with their small, un-mysterious gods – gods that they don’t believe exist. And Satan will try to use them to get you to doubt. It’s an old ploy that has worked more times that you can imagine. So, in an odd sort of way, this lack of clarity in our text is a reminder to you of the mystery of your God. Never be embarrassed when you encounter something in the Bible that you can’t explain. Just remember that God isn’t like us. He does things in ways that make no sense, like revealing Himself in a book that we can’t completely understand. What kind of God would do a thing like that? The real one.

Now, let’s take a look at what we can understand from this text. This chapter, like so many others in the Old Testament, has something to do with war. Time and time and time again we read about wars and conflicts in the history of Israel. It’s throughout the Old Testament. Why? I think many consider this a historical oddity. Those times where warlike. Fortunately, we live in a more enlightened era – or so the thinking goes. But that would be a false conclusion. What does God say about this? From Romans: ‘For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.’ The ‘former days’ is the history of the Old Testament. So, that ‘whatever was written’ includes all the wars. And the point? The Old Testament is filled with wars and battles because your life is filled with wars and battles. We’re back to the theme of the seed of the woman fighting the seed of the serpent. The history of God’s great acts of redemption is a history of warfare. And that continues to this day and into your life. The Scriptures tell us quite clearly who your enemies are: the world, the flesh and the devil. So, every day of your life is a day of battle. You fight against the influences of the world with its appealing logic on how to live, a logic that makes so much sense – but only if you forget your God. You fight against the downward pull of your flesh, that is, the remaining sin in your life, as it tries to get you to live as if Jesus weren’t Lord of all. And you fight against the devil who is trying to recruit you to his side to rebel against your Creator and Redeemer. The Old Testament is filled with battles because your life is filled with battles. And this chapter has something helpful to say about that.

Next step. Our text is about political intrigue. One nation is sending envoys to another nation in the hope of beating some third nation, with the people of God in the midst of it all. And what is Jesus doing as all of this is going on? He tells us through His prophet. ‘For thus the LORD said to me: “I will quietly look from my dwelling like clear heat in sunshine, like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest.”’ It sounds like Jesus is doing nothing. It sounds like He’s just sitting and quietly watching what’s going on. And that is exactly what He is doing. Nothing. There’s also a reference to the harvest that the next verse develops. The schemes and plots and battles for conquest are pictured as a vineyard that is developing to the point of harvest, which is when these schemes will reach their climax and bear their evil fruit. And all the while Jesus sits and watches and does nothing. And one day leads to the next. The plans of the seed of the serpent press on to what appears to be a sure victory. But then, it all changes. Jesus acts. Listen to Isaiah. ‘For before the harvest, when the blossom is over, and the flower becomes a ripening grape, He cuts off the shoots with pruning hooks, and the spreading branches He lops off and clears away. They shall all of them be left to the birds of prey of the mountains and to the beasts of the earth. And the birds of prey will summer on them, and all the beasts of the earth will winter on them.’ Their plans seem to be on track for success but ‘before the harvest’, before any victory, Jesus acts. And there is a great slaughter of armies, enough for scavengers of earth and sky to feast for summer and winter.

Now, believe it or not, this is intended to help you. And it will help because it matches your experience. Aren’t there times when you are in the thick of it, fighting the battles of your day as best as you know how and the question pops up, ‘Why doesn’t Jesus do something!?! Doesn’t He see what’s going on, how I’m trying but losing this battle? Why doesn’t He help me? It feels like He is doing nothing?’ Have you never thought something close to that? Well, if you have, you’re not alone. David thought the same thing. ‘How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?  How long must I take counsel in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all the day? How long shall my enemy be exalted over me? Consider and answer me, O LORD my God; light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death, lest my enemy say, “I have prevailed over him,” lest my foes rejoice because I am shaken.’ You fight hard, but Satan’s schemes are so subtle and so enticing. The world is sneaking in through the back door to lure you with its logic and your own sin trips you up as you try to stand firm. And Jesus just watches. He does nothing. But what else does our text say? Jesus will act. And He will act before the harvest, before the plots and schemes come to their intended fruition and conquer you. Jesus will act at the right time. He will hack the offending vine to pieces. Victory will be yours. So, when the battle seems to be too much and you are feeling overwhelmed, almost to the point of giving up, remember. At the right time Jesus will act. Keep fighting. Jesus will act.

Now, let’s take another step and ask a question that you might also pose. Why the delay? Why does Jesus wait to act? Why not just defeat them immediately. It would be so much easier, no? But, remember that Jesus doesn’t always act in ways that you might expect. Jesus delays, and He does that for a reason. Jesus delays for your sake. His delay is an expression of His love for you.

There are several things going on. Here’s the first. It’s when you’re in the midst of the battle that you feel your weakness. Becoming aware of how weak you really are is a blessing. It can be a tool to destroy your pride. We have a completely unrealistic understanding of who we are. When life is going fairly well it is so easy to think that it is the result of our good planning, great wisdom, inherent goodness or some other foolish notion about our great ability to navigate life. A battle that is not going well can teach us so much about reality. We are weak. Our sin makes us weak. Apart from the Spirit’s protection, Satan would have us in a moment. We need to see that more clearly. Jesus’ allowing us to struggle in the midst of the battle is one way that He helps us to see our weakness and our pride. And the Spirit uses this to change us into people who are humble, people who know that only Jesus can get us through this life safely. So, that’s one reason to thank Jesus for the battles of life and to thank Him for not acting quickly, but delaying.

Here’s another reason that Jesus delays. There you are fighting your battle, and it’s not going well. And what happens next? All too often we appeal to one of our idols. We appeal to them because they are supposed to make us feel better. And so, some of us eat. Others of us spend money and buy a new toy. Then there are those of us who fantasize. We picture ourselves as the victor because we are so much better than the people who oppose us. Or we might try to escape into some virtual world we’ve discovered online or in a novel. We look somewhere other than to Jesus so that we can feel better. We look to some idol. Sometimes an appeal to an idol shows as anger. ‘This isn’t supposed to be happening to me. This is just not fair. It’s too hard!’ The idol has let you down. It has failed you and you get angry. For some, this idol is their own version of Jesus. It’s not the real Jesus who acts in surprising ways. It’s their own construction of Jesus who always does what they think He’s supposed to do. And they get angry when He doesn’t. And sometimes instead of anger the response to a failed idol is an emotional meltdown, sometimes a very serious emotional meltdown. In the midst of this, Jesus looks on quietly and delays. Jesus delays because He loves you. He knows that your idols will never work. But you need to see that also. And when you do, and come to Him again in repentance and faith, then He will save you from your idolatry just as He saves you from all the rest of your sins.

It’s clear that struggling and suffering in the midst of the battle while Jesus is doing nothing is really hard. But He knows that too. He’s not calling you to deal with what He’s not dealt with. When the soldiers beat Him, the Father quietly watched and did nothing. When Jesus became a political pawn between the chief priests and Pilate, the Father quietly watched and did nothing. When they hammered nails into the bones of His wrists and ankles, the Father quietly watched and did nothing. But at the right time the Father acted. Jesus is not telling you to do something that He has not done. He knows about delay.

There is one more reason why Jesus delays.  There you are battling away, but you’re not looking to some idol to make it easier. You’re not even expecting to be able to deal with it on your own because you know that won’t work. Instead, you find yourself trusting Jesus in the situation. You remind yourself that He’s going to get you through this. And you continue to fight. And then, it dawns on you. You didn’t used to respond this way. You used to get anxious and angry and almost despairing. But not now. And you can see that the Spirit has been busy in your soul. He’s changed you so that you are doing this fighting thing so much better than you used to. So, sometimes Jesus delays so that He can once again pose that question, ‘Do you trust Me now?’, which gives you the opportunity to hear yourself say, ‘Yes, Lord, I do trust You, even now.’ And that is so encouraging.

The last note of the chapter is the note of worship. And that makes so much sense. You will never worship someone you actually understand. Such a person is just you, except a bit bigger. And that’s not Jesus. There is mystery around Him. He doesn’t always act in ways that you might expect. He sometimes uses obscure words to reveal Himself to you. And He loves you in ways that you would have never guessed. He’s full of surprises. He’s not like us. It makes sense to worship Him.