Part 51 (1/2)

Intimacy in marriage is all about unreserved enjoyment, unabashed expression, and unequivocal exclusiveness. In this kind of marital intimacy, lasting, mutual satisfaction is to be found. Without such intimacy, the experience of marriage can be more martial than marital.

November 21

TO READ: Isaiah 6:1-13

Admitting Weakness

Then I said, aMy destruction is sealed, for I am a sinful man and a member of a sinful race. Yet I have seen the King, the LORD Almighty!a Isaiah 6:5

Most men are aware of their weaknesses. They may not spend a lot of time beating their breast over them, but if confronted with obvious evidence that they have failed they will usually admit that they are not perfect and may even reluctantly concede that they have a problem in that area. Even a strong man, in his n.o.bler moments, will confess to an Achillesa heel.

Isaiah was different. He confessed he was deficient in what others probably regarded as his greatest strength, his speech. Isaiah was a reputed wordsmith, a skilled communicator, a man capable of sublime statement and exquisite poetic expression. From his lips and quill flowed truth and beauty. But Isaiah confessed he had a problem with his lips! aWoe is me! . . . because I am a man of unclean lipsa (6:5, KJV). Even his strength was flawed with weakness!

Apparently Isaiah was aware that his lips were capable of saying auncleana thingsa”unkind, untrue, unhelpful, and unacceptable things. There were at least two reasons for this sad state of affairs. First, by Isaiahas own admission, he was aa sinful mana (6:5)a”he had an inbuilt tendency to deviant behavior, a tendency that his lips expressed. Second, he lived in a society where sinful speech was accepted: aand I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lipsa (6:5, KJV)a”and he had acquiesced in the wrongdoing. As a result, Isaiahas guilt was not so much in his weaknesses as in his strength!

But this realization did not come to Isaiah as he compared himself with his contemporaries. It could not, for they were no better than he. He needed an external reference point, and he got it in his vision of the Lord (6:1-4). Seeing the Lord in his holiness helped Isaiah see his own fallenness.

Repentance comes in different shapes and sizes. Some arepentancea is nothing more than being sorry that I got caught. Some is a matter of being sorry that I am suffering because of what I did. Some is regret that I do bad things. But deep-down repentancea”real repentancea”goes beyond being chagrined about what Iave done to being distressed about what I am. This kind of repentance recognizes that I am a fallen man, shot through with deviancy. Deep-down repentance leads me to say not just, aIave done some bad things,a but to confess, aI am a sinful man.a It involves acknowledging that I am fallena”especially in my strengths.

November 22

TO READ: Isaiah 9:1-7

G.o.das No Politician

For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. And the government will rest on his shoulders. These will be his royal t.i.tles: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty G.o.d, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. His ever expanding, peaceful government will never end. He will rule forever with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David. The pa.s.sionate commitment of the LORD Almighty will guarantee this!

Isaiah 9:6-7

When politicians run for office, few but the most fervent partisans take their promises seriously. A great gulf often separates political promises from reliable guarantees.

We do not know whether the people in Isaiahas time had arrived at such a point of skepticism, but we do know that they had little reason for confidence. The glory days of David and Solomon were long gone; the a.s.syrian hordes were knocking on the door. The future looked gloomy. Then the Lord spoke through Isaiah.

G.o.d promised his people that their land would be overrun and that the formerly great nation of Israel would be left like aa stumpa in the land (6:13). But the term stump, while full of dire predictions, held a glimmer of hope: The people knew that a pruned stump would in time sprout, flourish, and bear fruit. aThe stump will be a holy seed that will grow againa (6:13).

Later, G.o.d promised that the dynasty of David would not disappeara”it would be overrun, but it would be resurrected and would spread across the world, bringing peace and prosperity, stretching into eternity (9:1-7). A universal, everlasting kingdom! The government of this new kingdom would arest ona the shoulders of a achild,a a most unusual child who would be aWonderful Counselor, Mighty G.o.d, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peacea (9:6).

The Israelites might have been tempted to think that Isaiah had lost touch with reality. They could expect not only survival but revival? This would happen through a child who would demonstrate divine qualities? Unbelievable. But Isaiah had not lost touch with realitya”he had been in touch with the author of reality! And the reality is that this childas aever expanding, peaceful government will never end. He will rule forever with fairness and justice. . . . The pa.s.sionate commitment of the Lord Almighty will guarantee this!a (9:7).

When G.o.d makes pa.s.sionate guarantees, sane people sit up and take note. G.o.d is not a politician running for officea”his p.r.o.nouncements warrant a better response than skepticism or dismissal. When he speaks, men should listen. History shows that G.o.d does what he says he will doa”when he guarantees something with apa.s.sionate commitment,a he comes through. Unlike any politician, G.o.d has the power to accomplish what he promises. In his guarantee we find the confidence to banish the darkness of despaira”we find hope in an otherwise hopeless world.

November 23

TO READ: Isaiah 35:1-10

The Postgame Show

Say to those who are afraid, aBe strong, and do not fear, for your G.o.d is coming to destroy your enemies. He is coming to save you.a Isaiah 35:4

Sports fans set aside a major portion of their lives to follow the fortunes of the team of their choice. It is not enough for them just to watch the game. Fully involved fans must give careful attention to the apregame show,a in which they indulge themselves with speculation and antic.i.p.ation. Then follows the game itself, in which they involve themselves as if something of significance is taking place. And then, the final whistle is only the signal for the apostgame showa to begin. To this postmortem the fan gives himself with earnest devotion as he a.n.a.lyzes and criticizes the game. The game begins before it starts and continues after it has ended. The fans canat get enough of it!