Isaiah 10
We commonly call the Lord ‘my’ God and ‘our’ God. This reveals our belief that God is on my side and on our side. He is our guard and protector, we believe. For Christians, God is not an impersonal almighty deity. God is our Father who adopted us through his Son, Christ Jesus. Thus, it feels very natural for us to call God my God and our God.
But this familial closeness should not lead us into the temptation to privatize Him. He is the creator of all universe. He is the God of all peoples. Israel was chosen to be a priestly nation to let His name known to the world. But that does not mean He is the God of Israel only.
In the first reading today, Prophet Isaiah tells us how God uses the Assyrians as his punishing instrument for the unfaithfulness of the Northern kingdom of Israel. The Assyrians conquest the ten tribes of Jacob and scattered them all over. The people of the Northern kingdom might have felt the Lord was no longer their God. But Isaiah shows the Lord is the God of all nations. He also punished the Assyrians when they were puffed up with pride and conceit.
The Lord has a plan. It is for the salvation of all peoples and nations. Israel witnessed the unfolding of this plan through its history. First, The Lord was thought to be a God of individuals – God of Abraham, God of Isaac, God of Jacob. But he became the God of the people of Israel through Exodus. However, he did not remain as a God of a people. He demonstrated he was the God of many nations. The people of Israel realized God’s power moved the nations around them. And finally, through Christ Jesus, all peoples were invited to become God’s people and led out of the slavery of sin.
Do you feel the Lord is no longer listening to you? Do you feel he is no longer your God? Then, please realize you are at another crossroad in God’s plan. Whoever hears His voice and follows Him can arrive at the promised land. It is not so useful to try to make Him our God. Rather, once again, let us be His people.
