An Invitation To Current Israel

Pastor Bill Farrow

Isaiah 2:5

5   O house of Jacob, come and let us walk
In the light of the LORD.

O house of Jacob - This is a direct address, or exhortation, of the prophet to the Jews. It is made in view of the fact that God had gracious purposes toward them. He intended to distinguish them by making them the source of blessings to all nations. As this was to be their high destiny, he exhorts them to devote themselves to him, and to live to his honor. The word “house” here means the “family, or nation.” The phrase is applied to the Jews because their tribes were descended from the twelve sons of Jacob.

One must ask the question, in light of the coming chastening of Israel under the Babylonians, was this invitation a genuine one on God’s part?  He knew that that Israel would reject His offer and would persist in sin and rebellion and He knew that chastening would have to follow.  In fact, theologically, we must argue that God ordained these very things and made them a part of His plan from eternity past.  This being so, is any invitation offered to those ultimately rebellious and rejecting of the grace of God made with any good intent on God’s part?  Is it any more than the heaping up of judgment and evidence against a rebellious people?

I think we must recognize that this is certainly an expression of the heart of God.  Despite what He knows of Israel’s heart and true nature, He still graciously calls them to repentance and I believe that that call is an accurate and genuine expression of His desire to see them repent and be saved, though it is a desire that will not be fulfilled.  There is a difference between what God wants and what He wishes, so to speak.  I do not believe it to be contradictory, as some theologians do, to understand that God does not “get” everything that He wants or wishes for.  Admittedly, we must be careful how we speak of these things.  We dare not make God subject to human will, for the exact opposite of that is true everywhere we look in the Bible.  Yet, we must also be careful to see that the Bible does speak of God wanting men to be saved and spared judgment that, ultimately, will not be so saved and spared.  That persistence in rebellion on their part is not a failure of God’s will, nor is it a frustration of His plan.  Yet it is an expression of the will of man that denies the desire of God.  How mysterious are the ways of God and how wonderful is His power and might, that it can even transcend the rebellion of man!

Let us walk - Let us “live.” The word “walk” is often used to denote human life or conduct; (compare Isa. 2:3; Rom. 6:4; 8:1; 1 Cor. 5:7; Gal. 6:16, …).  This, actually, is the invitation of Isaiah to the people of Israel to walk with him in the presence of God.  It is an invitation into enlightenment and understanding.

In the light of the Lord - The sense of this is: Let us obey the commandments of Yahweh; or, as the Chaldee expresses it, ‘Let us walk in the doctrine of the law of the Lord.’ The idea may be thus expressed: ‘Let us not walk in the darkness and error of sin and idolatry, but in the light or instruction which God sheds upon us by his law. He teaches us what we should do, and let us obey him.’ “Light” is often, in the Scriptures, thus put for instruction, or teaching; (compare Matt. 4:16; John 1:4; also, Eph. 5:8).