God’s Call to Faith

MEMORY VERSE: “In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength.” —Isaiah 30:15

ISAIAH 30:15, 18

THIS lesson on faith opens with our memory verse, which is a call for the people to return to the Lord and to his righteous laws with the assurance that they would then have rest of heart and mind. “In quietness and in confidence shall be your strength,” wrote the prophet, “and ye would not.”

Seldom did the people of Israel depart from their evil ways, even though rich blessings awaited them when they did—blessings which are enjoyed by his people of all ages upon the basis of their faith in his righteous ways, and obedience to them. The rest of faith is indeed blessed. It implies freedom from fear and anxiety, and the assurance that the Lord will exercise his loving care in all the situations of life.

But those who drift away 20 from the Lord into paths of unrighteousness do not enjoy this rest of faith; although the Lord waits to be gracious unto them when they see the error of their way and return to him in genuine repentance. How great is the God who waits to be gracious unto his people when they return to him!

The Revised Standard Version says that the Lord “exalts himself to show mercy.” As with the Lord, so with us—we exalt ourselves when we show mercy. Showing mercy is not an act which springs from humiliation.

ISAIAH 31:1-3, 6

“Woe to them that go down to Egypt for help; and stay on horses, and trust in chariots.” There was a certain group in Israel that favored an alliance with Egypt because of that country’s great military strength. They thought that this would protect them from their enemies. But this displayed a lack of faith in God and in his ability to care for them—“They look not unto the Holy One of Israel, neither seek the Lord.”

“Now the Egyptians are men, and not God; and their horses flesh, and not spirit.” There was a notion among many in Israel that the Pharaoh of Egypt was some sort of god, and that his horses possessed some special ability. But here the Lord is explaining that this is not so. All Egyptians, including their king, were just humans, with no superhuman powers or ability; and their horses were no different from the horses possessed by other nations.

ISAIAH 32:16, 17

These two verses are best understood when taken in conjunction with the preceding verse, which reads, “Until the Spirit is poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness be a fruitful field, and the fruitful field be counted for a forest.” God has promised that in the thousand-year reign of Christ he will pour out his Spirit upon all flesh, and apparently Isaiah is referring to this.

ISAIAH 37:5-7

The Lord fought for the people of Judah when the King of Assyria threatened to capture Jerusalem. Here was an opportunity for the people to exercise faith in their God; and they were encouraged to do so by King Hezekiah, who said to them at a time of great danger from the human standpoint:

“Be strong and courageous, be not afraid nor dismayed for the king of Assyria, nor for all the multitude that is with him [182,000]: for there be more with us than with him: with him is an arm of flesh: but with us is the Lord our God to help us, and to fight our battles. And the people rested [leaned, margin] themselves upon the words of Hezekiah king of Judah.”—II Chron. 32:7,8

The people were rewarded in their faith that God would defend them against the Assyrian army, for he sent his angel and destroyed all 182,000 of the king’s servants. Our lesson quotes God as saying, “I will blast upon him [the king], and he shall hear a rumour, and return to his own land; and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land.”

QUESTIONS

Why can’t the people of God enjoy peace of mind and heart while they are out of harmony with him?

Should Christians seek for help from worldly sources?

How was the Assyrian army which attacked Judah defeated?

| Home Page | Table of Contents |