Isaiah 59:19-20
19 So shall they fear
The name of the Lord from the west,
And His glory from the rising of the sun;
When the enemy comes in like a flood,
The Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against him.
20 The Redeemer will come to Zion,
And to those who turn from transgression in Jacob,”
Says the Lord.
When the enemy comes in like a flood….
These words always put me in a mind frame of battle. The thought of the enemy coming in! The life of a believer is really that of being in a posture of warfare. Given, there are different seasons of life where there seems to a period of rest. Yet in those times as well, we must remain fully girded in the dress code that prepares as for war. Isaiah 59 really is a depiction of an enemy coming to devour His people in different ways, the manner in which is detailed to sad extremes. The people that God called to be His own and to be a light to a much darkened world had degenerated to be an enemy to their very own. In fact the chapter begins in a very dramatic way to establish that God is not incapable of hearing and saving but rather that the unrighteousness of men had separated men from Him. Does that resonate at all with this day and age?
In the recent developments (although I question the very idea that these are actually developments), what the bible clearly outlines as sin has been peddled as socially acceptable in the backdrop of a world that has gone completely against the Word of God. Not only are these ideas peddled in various media available, but a strategy has been fashioned to teach our children these new concepts at such an early stage that by the time they are teenagers, it will take effort to convince them that the word of God is absolute truth and is the epitome in standards for doing life. These values are infiltrating our educational system, our social systems, our political systems and I dare say, will soon affect our economic system. I see it as a strategy that has already been fashioned and is now being implemented from the pit of hell. As things stand, we shall have a generation that does not know how to accept the Word of God as unquestionable and the basis of absolute truth. That, dear friend, to me is the enemy coming in like a flood.
However, I did not complete the verse in the opening remarks. God is not incapable as stated before. Verse 19 ends by – The Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against Him. Amen! There is hope therefore for the one who trusts in the Lord.
You see, verse 15 part b to verse 16 part declares that the Lord does actually see all the depreciated values and deeds of men. Interestingly, He expects that there should be intercessors amongst the people, yet often times there are none. It is such a sad realisation that there are times the Lord is expecting us who are His own to stand up for the oppressed and for the truth and to actually intercede on behalf of them that need it before God and men. It is a very heart rending fact, that we who are called by His name, should ponder upon and earnestly seek God for wisdom about. When the Lord looks looks for intercessors, may He find them in us on behalf of our families, communities and nation, if not further! However, our weaknesses do not stop Him from saving. Verse 16 part b declares that His own arm brought salvation for Him and His own righteousness, it sustained Him!
The Spirit of the Lord raises a standard against the foe. I believe it is for us to stand with the Spirit of the Lord against the enemy. Lifting up a standard has to be not just at par with the enemy but above the enemy so as to keep Him at bay. This can only be achieved by being in tune with what the Spirit of Lord is saying in this season in time. The strategy the enemy is using may be new to us but is not to the Spirit of the Lord. We therefore need to make space to hear Him and to move in tandem with where and how He wants us to move.
You may have noticed that of late, children’s TV shows have a lot of anti-Word of God content. Are we to stand by and not address these issues in our very homes? May we allow the Spirit of the Lord to guide us on how He is raising the standard. There may be various ways He is using. The word of God is clear that we are to bring up a righteous generation. May the Spirit of the Lord reveal to us how we are to do that. Let us seek Him! Raise the standard higher in our homes, work places, communities, even the churches I dare say. Let us spend even more time in warfare through prayer and meditating on the Word of God. Let us teach our children to memorize the Word of God even as we do so ourselves. Let us teach our children to worship in our homes even as we do so ourselves. Let us have meaningful family times where the Word of God is discussed openly and a safe place for teenagers to ask questions and receive answers as guided by the Holy Spirit.
Brethren the enemy has come in like a flood! It is for us to partner with the Holy Spirit to raise up a standard. Let us raise it so high. Let us share with each other the ways we can raise it even higher than that. The encouraging and challenging finale in verse 21 is where I conclude;
21“As for Me,” says the Lord, “this is My covenant with them: My Spirit who is upon you, and My words which I have put in your mouth, shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your descendants, nor from the mouth of your descendants’ descendants,” says the Lord, “from this time and forevermore.”
Need I say more! The word “them’ in the verse above is identified in verse 20 as being those who turn from transgression in Jacob. That is us!May God help us to be stewards of this generation. May they know His Words. May they live in His Truth. May they know their God.