A WORD BEHIND YOU
Isa. 30:21
Morning Meditation 1/24/2014
Verse 21 says, ”And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.”
To whom does the Lord speak these words through Isaiah? Verses 8-10 of this chapter tell us: “Now go, write it before them in a table, and note it in a book, that it may be for the time to come forever and ever: That this is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of the LORD: Which say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits:” It is the grace of God that continues to speak to a rebellious people. God still speaks when we are wrong. Now lets look at the text.
IT IS A WORD COMING FROM BEHIND
The word “word” translates “dabar” and means, “speech, word, speaking, utterance.” So the word behind is a speaking voice. This is obviously the voice of God speaking to His people. They were a backslidden rebellious people. You would think that they were out of hearing distance. Or, that they had gone so far that God would withdraw and not speak to them again. We seem to like to punish ourselves and others with thoughts like this. Very few of us really understand the greatness of God’s mercy and grace. God never condones our wrong. We are right about ourselves. We are as bad as we think we are. But God is much more merciful to us than we think. He does not quit speaking to us when we are wrong. The voice is still there.
But notice where the voice is coming from. It is coming from behind. It is behind because we are going away from God. We are not moving with Him in our pilgrim journey. It is so natural and easy for us to choose our own way. Our way is the way that PLEASES us. But the way that pleases us becomes an unsettled guilt-ridden way. The reason is because our purpose in life after we are saved is to glorify Him. Our way never glorifies Him. The LORD is speaking to those who are going their own way. Next,
IT IS A WORD OF PROMISE
Our text says, “Shall hear.” God speaks to His people and we know when we hear. John 10:2-4 says, “But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice.” One of the important features of what Jesus says in these verses are the words, “FOR THEY KNOW HIS VOICE..” (Caps mine for emphasis).
I spent several years out of the will of God after I was saved. During that time I never quit praying and never escaped the conviction of the Holy Spirit about my wayward life. I was in the same shape Israel was in. God never quit on me. I praise Him for that. And I want you to know if you are walking at a guilty distance from Him right now, He loves you and you can relate to what I am saying. The voice is behind you because you are not going in His direction for your life. But God in His mercy and grace is still speaking. That is a promise and He never breaks His promises. Next,
IT IS AN AUTHORITATIVE WORD
Isaiah says that the Word says, “This is the way, walk ye in it .. . .” It is not “this might be the way.” God does not guess. He is always right. His way may not SEEM to be right. That is because sin and Satan has disturbed our minds. This is the reason we must by faith trust His Word and act on it even when it doesn’t make sense: Proverbs 3:5 proves what I have just said: “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.” This is the way of faith.
God’s infinite knowledge of what He is doing and where He is going is stated clearly in the Scripture: Acts 15:18 says, “Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world.” This gives complete authority to what He says. He is working out a plan and He tells us what that plan is many times. So His words are words of authority.
I believe the Bible is the inerrant verbally inspired Word of God. It is a blessing to know that I have in my possession what God has said written so that I can go to it over and over again.. I can meditate upon it and know that it stands as the final authority and I can count on it. It is the final authority in my life. There is no higher authority to which to appeal to me. You can say, “God spoke to me last night in a dream.” If your dream contradicts the written Word of God, I’ll have to disappoint you and tell you that your dream didn’t come from Him. He wasn’t wrong the first time and He hasn’t changed His mind. The Word is authoritative.
Though Isaiah is not speaking about the written Word here it is related. Since the first form of the written Word came into existence, it has been the measure of all other revelations that profess to be from God. When God called me to preach, I received that call in the form Isaiah is talking about here. “And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it . . .” And I have been walking that path for sixty plus years and the blessings of God have confirmed that the voice was God’s. Next,
IT IS A GUIDING WORD
Isaiah says, “And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way . . .” These words translate “derek” and mean, “ a way, a road, a journey, a manner, direction, of a course of life (fig.)” This definition clearly speaks of guidance. Abraham when He was called of God to leave the Ur of the Chaldees and go into a land he had never seen, had to have the guidance of God so far as the geographical direction is concerned. Jesus promised guidance to His disciples. John 16:13 says, “Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.” There are two areas of guidance mentioned in this verse. One is guidance with reference to the truth. This was fulfilled partially when the followers of the Lord gave us the Word in written form. Then it continues to be fulfilled as we read through His Word receiving illumination here and there. Then the Holy Spirit guides us into the understanding of the future, i.e., prophecy. It is guidance. God has promised to guide His people. Next,
IT IS A CORRECTIVE WORD
Isaiah says, “And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.” The Jews of this chapter were not turning in the right direction. They were walking away from Him.. This is a offer to get them back on the right track.
This is a word of grace. While it is a Word of authority, it is also a Word of grace. It is not a loud voice. It comes from behind. As wrong as the Jews were, God is not out front confronting them with a screaming voice. God wants willing followers. It is not easy to say but God pleads with us. There are verses that teach that God literally pleads with us: Isaiah 3:13 says, “The LORD standeth up to plead, and standeth to judge the people. Jeremiah 2:9 says, “Wherefore I will yet plead with you, saith the LORD, and with your children's children will I plead.”
God knows that the wrong paths that we choose to walk will always get us into serious trouble. So He pleads with us to listen to Him. He will correct our path when it is wrong.
A.W. Tozer prayed, “Lord, teach me to listen. The times are noisy and my ears are weary with the thousand raucous sounds which continuously assault them. Give me the spirit of the boy Samuel when he said to Thee, ‘Speak, for thy servant heareth.’ Let me hear Thee speaking in my heart. Let me get used to the sound of Thy voice, that its tones may be familiar when the sounds of earth die away and the only sound will be the music of Thy speaking voice. Amen.”
May the Lord help us to hear His speaking voice to remind us when we are going away from Him. May we always know that we have His promise that we “shall hear.” He is able to make it so. Even though there are many voices much louder than His, He can and will make Himself known to us. May we listen for His guiding voice as He says, “This is the way, walk ye in it.” May we yield to His correcting voice when we discover that the voice we hear is a correcting voice. And finally, may we alway know that His voice is the voice of grace. We do not have to be afraid. He is the best FRIEND we have ever had. He comes to us not in rage but in compassion.
In Christ
Bro. White
