God Seeks Those Outside the Jewish Family
In today’s Bible reading* Isaiah says that God seeks those outside the Jewish Family. He judges those who claim to be children of Abraham, but He seeks out people from other nations.
“Knowing their works and their thoughts, I have come to gather all nations and languages; they will come and see my glory. I will establish a sign among them, and I will send survivors from them to the nations—to Tarshish, Put, Lud (who are archers), Tubal, Javan, and the coasts and islands far away—who have not heard about me or seen my glory. And they will proclaim my glory among the nations. They will bring all your brothers from all the nations as a gift to the LORD on horses and chariots, in litters, and on mules and camels, to my holy mountain Jerusalem,” says the LORD, “just as the Israelites bring an offering in a clean vessel to the house of the LORD. I will also take some of them as priests and Levites,” says the LORD. “For just as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, will remain before me”— this is the LORD’s declaration— “so your offspring and your name will remain. All humanity will come to worship me from one New Moon to another and from one Sabbath to another,” says the LORD.
Isaiah 66:18–23 (CSB)
Application
In His conversation with the Samaritan woman at the well (John 4:1–26) Jesus tells her, “But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” John 4:23–24 (ESV)
Did you catch that? God seeks people who will worship Him in spirit and truth. Why? Because His own people didn’t seek Him. In fact, no one seeks Him, except those whom He seeks. (John 6:44)
If you are one of His, praise Him for seeking you so that you could seek Him. (1 John 4:10, 19)
Love consists in this: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. …
We love because he first loved us.
1 John 4:10, 19 (CSB)
* Chapters covered in today’s reading:
Isaiah 64
Isaiah 65
Isaiah 66
This devotional was originally published on July 31, 2021.
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