Trying a new approach

Cyrus of Persia is a real king. In a series of campaigns, he acquires an empire that stretches from Asia Minor to India. He takes Babylon in 539BC. And God uses his brilliant military campaigns for His own purposes. He will bring Babylon low. He will bring His people out of exile in Babylon.

The Lord’s chosen ally
will carry out his purpose against Babylon;
his arm will be against the Babylonians.  Isaiah 48:14

The famous idols of Babylon are loaded onto animals and carried off into captivity. How can these idols help anyone now? How did they ever really help anyone – these manmade idols that have to be carried around and propped up against a wall? How can they ever compare to the living God?

Even to your old age and grey hairs
I am he, I am he who will sustain you.
I have made you and I will carry you;
I will sustain you and I will rescue you.  Isaiah 46:4

I am God, and there is no other;
I am God, and there is none like me.   Isaiah 46:9

The reputation of Babylon has been destroyed like a virgin whose nakedness and shame have been exposed (Isaiah 47:3). The people of Babylon had believed it would always be the most beautiful Queen of all the kingdoms. They believed they could do whatever they wanted. That they would get away with all that was going on in secret. They believed they could exploit and mistreat the refugees in their land – the people of God. They’d become complacent. They thought there were invincible. They had faith in their magic spells and sorceries to protect them.

And as for the people of Israel – they have always been so stubborn! Saying all the right things, doing all the right things – and yet on the inside, their hearts were not right. God has been telling them the whole story over and over and over again. The people have lived the same story over and over and over again.

Now there is to be a new story. This way is clearly not working. The people of God cannot find a way to stay in relationship with Him. They cannot sustain it. They are so easily distracted.

‘From now on I will tell you of new things,
of hidden things unknown to you.
They are created now, and not long ago;
you have not heard of them before today.
So you cannot say,
“Yes, I knew of them.”  Isaiah 48:6-7

There’s a sense in this chapter that God is coming up with a new plan because He cannot lose face among the nations. He has chosen this nation to be His people and the eyes of the world are upon Him and He has to find a way to get this right. He’s not ready to give up on them. He will find a way.

For my own sake, for my own sake, I do this.
    How can I let myself be defamed?
    I will not yield my glory to another.  Isaiah 48:11

God’s way is best. There is not doubt about it.

This is what the Lord says –
your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:
‘I am the Lord your God,
who teaches you what is best for you,
who directs you in the way you should go.
If only you had paid attention to my commands,
your peace would have been like a river,
your well-being like the waves of the sea.  Isaiah 48:17-18

On a purely human level, I’m really struggling with an issue similar to this with my youngest children. They are 13 and 14. They’re growing up fast. And they no longer do what I say just because I say it. They question. They rebel. They want to choose their own path. They think they know best. Up until recently, I’ve been able to tell them to brush their teeth and eat up their vegetables (to a degree – Nicola has battled with us about food ever since she started to eat). I could make them go to bed at a certain time. I could make sure they made all the best choices for their health and wellbeing.

Now they can use their allowance to buy sweets and fizzy pop. They can choose to not tidy their rooms. They’ve discovered they can pretty much choose to do or not do whatever they want. And I am despairing. I try to warn them of the consequences. To make it easy for them to do the right thing. To encourage them with interesting meals and a gym membership and an electric toothbrush. But at some point there has to be a shift – the motivation has to start coming from within. They have to want this for themselves. Believe it for themselves.

I find it hard to understand. Nicola has a brace to make her teeth better, physio exercises to do to improve the flexibility in her feet, tablets to take daily to prevent migraines – why can she not be bothered to engage with any of this? All these things are going to benefit her directly. It’s so frustrating!

I will not give up on them. They are my children and I love them and I want the best for them. So this summer, I am trying a new thing. I’m adopting a new approach.

See the analogy? It makes me wonder how God feels about us and some of the decisions we make and the actions we take. We often know what is best for our health and wellbeing and yet choose the opposite. We often know what the right thing to do or say in a situation is but we find a way to avoid it. We are as stubborn as my children. But God loves us and wants the best for us and will not give up on us.

It’s time to write a new story…