“You who call on the LORD, give yourselves no rest, and give him no rest till he establishes Jerusalem and makes her the praise of the earth.” Isaiah 62:6b–7
E. M. Bounds, a pastor of yesteryear, is known for his books on prayer. It was while reading one of his books recently that I stumbled upon the above quote from Isaiah 62. It was a bit jarring, because what it says is that those who call on Yahweh are not only to give themselves no rest, but they are to give God no rest until He responds. It felt almost disrespectful. It made me think of a little boy pestering mom or dad until he gets what he wants. God wants us to pester Him? That’s what it says. As is often the case, when I’m reading a book that quotes a verse from the Bible that jars me, I go to the Bible itself so I can read it in context. Sure enough, this was exactly what these verses were telling God’s people to do—pester, plead, pray persistently. Don’t give God rest until He fulfills His promises. However, it isn’t so much the boy pestering his parents that is pictured here, but the parent who pleads with a proud child to ask for help. Like a father wants his children to ask for help that he might bless them, so God wants His people to ask for help so He might bless them. As we read in the beginning of this chapter: For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, for Jerusalem’s sake I will not remain quiet, till her righteousness shines out like the dawn, her salvation like a blazing torch. The nations will see your righteousness, and all kings your glory; you will be called by a new name that the mouth of the Lord will bestow. You will be a crown of splendor in the Lord’s hand, a royal diadem in the hand of your God. No longer will they call you Deserted, or name your land Desolate. But you will be called Hephzibah, and your land Beulah; for the Lord will take delight in you, and your land will be married. As a young man marries a maiden, so will your sons marry you; as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so will your God rejoice over you. Isaiah 62:1–5 I have to confess, I’ve always thought the names Hephzibah and Beulah rather funny. As a boy, whenever I heard the old hymn, Beulah Land, I could not help but giggle a little for the strangeness of the name. But there is actually a good reason why these names sound strange—they are simply Hebrew words transliterated into English—which means that they are spelled out in English the way they sound in Hebrew. But much more significant than the way they sound is what they mean. Hephzibah means “my delight is in her.” Beulah means “married.” In other words, though Israel had been unfaithful to God by turning to foreign gods and was held captive in a foreign land as a result, Yahweh had not given up on her. To the contrary, it was still God’s deep desire to bless His people “till her righteousness shines out like the dawn.” The picture painted in Isaiah 62:7 is of a father who pleads with his child to come to him for help. It is the dad who says, “I want to help you, care for you, give you good things—so don’t go looking to your peers or to destructive behaviors or to the world—look to me, trust in me. Let me help you, lead you, bless you! All you need to do is ask.” This is God’s message time and again in the Word—all we need to do is ask, call to Him, seek Him—and He will answer, He will provide, He will bless. The problem is, the people of Israel refused to seek God, to turn to God, to call on God. They were prone to self-reliance. In pride, like a snotty child, their response was constantly, “I do it!” Like a stubborn youth trying to prove himself, they refused to ask for help. It is in the face of this reality that God says, “Try me. Ask me. Persist in seeking me—and see if I don’t bless you above and beyond your wildest imaginations” (see Malachi 3:10). It is exemplified in David’s challenge to “taste and see that the LORD is good” (Psalm 34); in the prayer of Jabez, “Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory” (1 Chron. 4:9); in Jacob saying, “I will not let you go unless you bless me” (Gen. 32:22-32). Nothing has changed in 2,000 years. God’s people continue to struggle with self-reliance, pride and settling for man-sized dreams. But God doesn’t give up on us. He continues to invite us to turn to Him, to look to Him, to persist in prayer to Him. Why? Not merely for selfish gain, but so that we might partner with Him for the God-sized dream of advancing His Kingdom in our own lives, in His church, and around the world. This is where blessing is found. And so, I leave you with one simple question: “Are you pestering God?!?”
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Dan GannonDan has ministered at Renton Bible Church, with his wife Debbie, since 2003. Archives
June 2022
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