Year 8, Day 362: Isaiah 12

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In Isaiah 12, the focus continues to be on the day of the redemption of the Lord.  Isaiah continues to look forward to the day when the Lord calls His people out of exile to return to Him.  Isaiah speaks about it with words of celebration and joy, as one might expect.

There is one very important detail in the midst of this short chapter that shouldn’t get missed.  The focus of almost every verse except the middle is on the Lord.  The people will give thanks to the Lord.  God is our salvation.  He is our strength.  We are to give thanks to Him and sing praises to Him.

This is not surprising.  The people have just come back from exile.  They are being allowed to return to a normal life.  Why wouldn’t they thank the Lord?  After all, aren’t human beings most teachable once they have hit rock bottom?  When you’ve sunk as far down as you can and you begin to rise up, doesn’t it make sense you would thank the one who is behind the change in fortune?

That makes sense, until you remember the past of the Hebrew people.  Remember the exodus out of Egypt?  The people cried out because they were being oppressed by Pharaoh.  God saved them.  He saved them spectacularly, even!  He brought them out of Egypt and planned for them to go into the Promised Land.  Unfortunately, the people complained about God in the desert.  They weren’t happen with the situation at Mt. Sinai.  They weren’t happy with God’s provision of manna.  They weren’t happy with the water they had to drink.

The reality is there are people who have a predisposition to rejoice and thank God.  There are people who have a predisposition to be grumpy and complain all the time.  I thin this is even true about generations.  There are generations of people who appreciate hard work and are genuinely thankful.  There are generations who are spoiled and entitled and tend to grumble when they don’t have everything perfectly so.

The lesson we learn in this chapter is to be a people who are thankful.  Remember God.  Remember what He has done for us.  Remember how He has saved us, provided for us, and loved us even when we did not deserve it.  Sing His praises, for He is our God and worthy of praise.

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