“They shall build up the ancient ruins; they shall raise up the former devastations; they shall repair the ruined cities, the devastations of many generations.” Isaiah 61:4 ESV
Reflection: why does God want believers to keep all His commandments?
I was listening to an interview yesterday, where the topic of church and state came up. And the person being interviewed made a thought provoking statement, saying “I would live under a government where just the Ten Commandments were the foundational law of the land”. Then he started expanding a bit, saying “where I never had to lock my doors again (no stealing), where women could walk safely anywhere day and night (no coveting), where the most vulnerable and innocent were protected (no murder), where parents and the older generation were honored (honor your mother and father), and so on. Because that is God’s governmental rules for society”.
I had not thought about God’s commandments this way, about using them fully as a framework for government of people and society, perhaps thinking that would be too simple. But of course he is right. Most, if not all societies, use some of them already such as murder and theft. The purpose of them is exactly that – self, family and societal government. If we think about what ruins individuals, what breaks families apart, what breaks societies down, is anything that is done in opposition to God. Is selfishness and going our own ways. Is basically sin. Sin causes destruction and death. To keep God’s commandments is for our benefit; not to “score points” with God as some may think, and some religions promote. Although, keeping His commandments show that we believe in Him and trust Him. He has kindly shared with us His blueprint of His design, so that we can live peacefully and prosper. And the same goes for the expansion of God’s laws and precepts. They are there to help us, to guide us, to give us a way to build society and life as He intended.
In our focus verses today, we are reminded of our purpose, as we follow the ways of the Lord. The imagery from Isaiah here is from when the Israelites were set free from captivity in Babylon, and could return to rebuild the land, the city and the temple, which all were in ruins. We read “They shall build up the ancient ruins; they shall raise up the former devastations; they shall repair the ruined cities, the devastations of many generations.” Isaiah 61:4 ESV. But since we see from the beginning of this chapter that it is Jesus the Messiah talking, this is also to be taken as a spiritual prophecy, of freedom and rebuilding of the poor in spirit, the broken hearted, and so on. And, this aligns well with the thought that all God’s children are temples for the Holy Spirit, and stones in His building. Our “repentance” is the recognition and acceptance that our ways lead us in the wrong direction, to ruins. And therefore our conversion is turning to God to follow His ways, His commandments, asking God for mercy.
And, as a result of accepting the atoning blood of Jesus Christ, we are set free to start the rebuilding of what sin left in ruins, individually, as families and societies. As Isaiah wrote about God’s people next, “but you shall be called the priests of the Lord; they shall speak of you as the ministers of our God; you shall eat the wealth of the nations, and in their glory you shall boast.”Isaiah 61:6 ESV. Sounds familiar? Peter wrote “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” 1 Peter 2:9 ESV. Notice here Peter, nor Isaiah, was talking about a political state or nation, but of all of God’s people. If we think of what Heaven will be like, a good guess is probably that it is governed by God’s commandments.
Jesus put it perhaps in the simplest way for us to remember “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” John 14:15 ESV. He wants to not only free us, but lead us from ruins to riches.
