Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,
and proclaim to her
that her hard service has been completed,
that her sin has been paid for,
that she has received from the LORD's hand
double for all her sins. Isaiah40:2
At the root of human suffering is human brokenness.
We dig pits and we fall into them.
Sometimes other people dig pits and we end up falling into them.
Or it is humanity in general that has dug the pit and we still fall into it.
We suffer because we are far from God. Brokenness is the power that was unleashed by Adam and Eve's sin and continues to run amok as we as humanity continue to break faith with God.
Sin separates. Israel was in exile because as a nation they had chosen to rely on idols instead of God and so the Babylonians conquered them. Their sin caused them to be separated from the Promised Land, from the Temple, from their culture and traditions. They found themselves in a "strange land."
You and I don't find ourselves in physical exile, but the spiritual, emotional exile of the soul is very evident in us.
We fall into pits: we are fearful, depressed, and insecure.
We dig pits: we are manipulative, prideful, arrogant and spiteful.
We are in need of comfort. We know that there is "something rotten" in our own "state of Denmark."
Isaiah offers hope - when sin is paid for, separation can diminish. But Isaiah speaks with double-purpose: he not only means that Israel's sin was paid for by exile, but he looks forward to a day when the Messiah will come and pay for our sins completely.
When separation is overcome, comfort can be given. The hope Isaiah offers Israel is that the exile had paid for their national sin. The hope he offers humanity is that Jesus will pay for our sins.
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Theo Groeneveld theo@emmanuel.org.za
You can see past EmmDevs at http://emmdev.blogspot.com/
