All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned -
every one - to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us
all. Isaiah 53:6
One word that bears
some scrutiny here is the word 'astray'. What is included in that word? Well,
think about what it means for a sheep to go astray. There is danger. Wolves are
near, and a sheep has no defense against them. Then, there is the threat of hunger
and thirst. Sheep don't know where the green grass and clean water are. And on
top of that, there is the loneliness of being away from the flock. Going astray
is not a happy time. But lest we feel too sorry for the sheep we need to
remember that it is confronted by all of this because it chose to go astray.
Isaiah uses all of
this to convey something of what was our own plight. 'All we like sheep have
gone astray.' We deserve what would have come our way because of that choice.
And we're not talking about mere hunger and wolves. Consider what lies behind
that imagery. But that is not our fate. And there is but one reason why that is
the case. We have a savior who rescues us from all of that.