8"But you, O Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, you descendants of Abraham my friend. 9I took you from the ends of the earth, from its farthest corners I called you. I said, 'You are my servant'; I have chosen you and have not rejected you. 10So do not fear, for I am (surely) with you, do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. 11All who rage against you will surely be ashamed and disgraced; those who oppose you will be as nothing and perish. 12Though you search for your enemies, you will not find them. Those who wage war against you will be as nothing at all. 13For I am the LORD, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not Fear; I will help you. 14Do not be afraid, O worm Jacob, O little Israel, for I myself will help you," declares the LORD, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel. 15See I will make you into a threshing sledge, new and sharp, with many teeth. You will thresh the mountains and crush them, and reduce the hills to chaff. 16 You will winnow them, the wind will pick them up, and a gale will blow them away. But you will rejoice in the LORD, and glory in the Holy One of Israel. 17The poor and the needy search for water, but there is none; their tongues are parched with thirst. But I the LORD will answer them; I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them. 18I will make rivers flow on barren heights, and springs within the valleys. I will turn the desert into pools of water, and the parched ground into springs. 19I will put in the desert the cedar and the acacia, the myrtle and the olive. I will set pines in the wasteland, the fir and the cypress together, 20so that people may see and know, may consider and understand, that the hand of the LORD has done this, that the Holy One of Israel has created it."
I love this passage. It starts out with Him gathering His people and bringing them under His protection. Then it moves on to say that not only will He protect us, but He will not treat us as babies; He will develop us, prepare us, He will turn us into something to be reckoned with! We will be made into a bold people, a people that God himself would want (yes, he wants us as we are, broken, weary, and sinful, but this is a fallen world, He will soon make us into all that we were supposed to be). Then we are placed into an oasis. Out of nothing, absolute awful puniness (word?) and desolation, He creates strength, beauty, and life.
What's more is this: He desires Israel as she is before the transformation. He doesn't ask that she be desirable beforehand, He doesn't ask that she be able to care for herself and manage her life properly, He wants her stripped bare, naked, of everything that she is not. He doesn't tell her, "Hey, once you figure out what your gifts and talents are, once you can play an instrument with grace, sing a song like a lark, excel athletically, and get a sweet toned body, then I want you and I will give you life abundant." He doesn't stipulate, "Well, once you quit being so prideful and assuming, once you're attractive and get those blemishes under control, and get your spiritual life in gear, then I will transform you." This is what He tells us, "I took you from the ends of the earth... I have chosen you (and not rejected you!), I will strengthen you and help you! I will help you MYSELF, I will make you into a force to be reckoned with (the threshing sledge), then I will transform the desert into a vast oasis, filled with rivers, flora and fauna, and place you smack dab in the middle of it. Did I mention I will help you? I want to help you! Let me help you!"
Now I like the sound of that.
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