Field Superintendent’s Sermon (Hong Kong)
Rev. Donavan Ng
Title: What is God longing for?
Scripture
"18 Therefore the Lord longs to be gracious to you, And therefore He waits on high to have compassion on you. For the Lord is a God of justice; How blessed are all those who long for Him …… 20 Although the Lord has given you bread of deprivation and water of oppression, He, your Teacher, will no longer hide Himself, but your eyes will see your Teacher. 21 Your ears will hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” whenever you turn to the right or to the left" (Isaiah 30: 18, 20-21,NASB)
These verses are set against the historical background of Judah, which was under the threat of Assyria. Judah faced an option of surrendering, which means to become an affiliate to Assyria, otherwise an invasion seemed inevitable. The views among the leadership of Judah were divided, with some urging to surrender while others preferred a fight with the external help from Egypt. In short, there were Plan A and Plan B. Yet Isaiah the prophet suggested there was indeed a plan C that Judah is not going to surrender or to seek external help but to solely rely on Jehovah the Lord.
“The Lord longs to be gracious to you”, at the start of verse 18, in its Hebrew original means “the Lord is waiting, to give grace to you.” Hebrew verb does not have tenses. One can tell whether the action has taken place and when by adverbs of time and also by context. Another feature of Hebrew language is that Hebrew verbs have stems, six derived from the basic. These bits of knowledge about Hebrew grammar would help us to understand these verses better.
The different forms of stems indicate the relationship between the action and the actor. “Longs” here does not mean waiting passively without any progression, but the wait is a prelude to a brand new situation. Something is in anticipation. It is for the new scenario that the present wait is necessary.
From the spiritual perspective, it is no different in saying the Lord receded temporarily without any action. Put this back to the scenario facing Judah, is it true that the Lord did utterly nothing and simply did not care? Of course not. The form of the verb already suggests that something is in anticipation. The retreat of God was to renew the situation. God was not trapped by the dilemma. The absence brought silence, which was indeed the prelude of a brand new episode.
There can be a lot of reasons behind. Let’s use the analogy of theatre play to explain. A theater play has not yet started with all stage curtains down. This might be because the set-up is not ready. This might also be because actors are still doing make-up and costumes, etc. For the world order, God has His rhythm. Only He knows the time. When a new world situation is about to appear, the silence can be so suffocating as it feels like God is not coming back.
This word is not the same one appearing in Isaiah 40:31: “Yet those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength.” The “wait” here means “intertwining”. But the “long” in “how blessed are those who long for Him” in 30:18 is the basic stem in Hebrew, meaning a pure “wait”, versus the Lord’s “long”/”wait” that is anticipatory.
Verse 18 also said “He waits on high to have compassion on you. For the Lord is a God of justice.” The Lord longs to be gracious to His people because He is “a God of justice”. This word also appeared in Micah. The word can also be translated into “fairness”. Only Jehovah the Lord can make fair and just judgment without any bias and error.
What is He judging? The right time! Jehovah the Lord has His own time and only He knows the full picture, to which man can hardly get a glimpse. Man errs but God never. As such, what man should do is to fit into His plan. Why man is unable to fit in most of the time? Because man in general, God’s people included, tend to panic and move aimlessly in danger and adversities. Only the exceptionally godly and righteous will be able to act according to God’s will.
Once in Africa, I asked my friends who live there: “What is the best strategy in the case of jumping into beasts?” They replied: “if it is elephants that are chasing you, run away as fast as you can. Do not stop or you will be knocked dead by the elephants. But if it is a lion that is approaching you, remember: don’t turn away. Quite the contrary, stand face to face to the lion with courage. You can even trample your feet to show certain force. If you do this, in most cases the lion would stop. Then you can withdraw backward steadily and remember not to show any hostility in your eyes.” The problem is: how many people can stand calmly against a fiercely approaching lion without running away? This is exactly a pictorial expression of the situation faced by Judah back then. The people were in panic, to the extent that they tried to seek help from Egypt, an idolatry regime that is hostile to God. Their alternative was to surrender to Assyria, another regime hostile to God.
Amid all these suggestions out of panic, prophet Isaiah raised Plan C: do nothing. To wait and see what God does. Now we know that Judah did choose Plan C and at the critical moment when Assyria was about to start invasion, its warehouses of weapons and food were deadly plagued, resulting to deaths of thousands of soldiers. Assyria had no alternative but to retreat and had not started any invasion against Judah in the following twenty years. The result showed that the prophet was right. The best strategy was “inaction”, just like when one is facing a fiercely approaching lion.
It is said in verse 20: “Although the Lord has given you bread of deprivation and water of oppression, He, your Teacher, will no longer hide Himself, but your eyes will see your Teacher.” “Teacher” refers to Jehovah the Lord and all the prophets who speak on behalf of Him. This verse describes the toughness and hardship suffered by the people, the devastating pain of losing their home nation. Why did God allow these things? Why did He hide away? Why has He been absent for a long time? The reason is simple: that’s because the people of the Lord were in a spiritual darkness and they were unable to respond to the adversities faithfully. Instead of turning to God, they panicked and acted aimlessly. They were like a drowning person who tried futilely to grasp a lifebuoy. God chose to stay away so His people would learn by feeling the pointless pain drawn from their own moves driven by panic.
I have said more than once that pain triggers spirituality. Those who belong to God would learn from their sufferings that God is the only source of strength for them. The lesson could only be learned when they came before God after all the hurts and listened to God quietly and attentively. Those who did not reflect in the light of God would end up leaving their faith. Such sad stories literally filled up the Old Testament.
Verse 18 said “the Lord longs to be gracious to you”. What is God longing for? That His people getting fully ready to trust in Him and developed a steadfast faith, that is what God has been waiting for. He wants His people to stay calm and act only according to the teaching of God amid challenges and adversities. The chaos in this world, in the church, in our relationships … are all results of the pointless acts of man. There would be a time when the “teacher” appears again. There would be a time when God stops hiding Himself and reveals to be seen, heard and felt by His people.
Verse 21 said “Your ears will hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” whenever you turn to the right or to the left.” “Behind” here does point to somewhere far away but more like a whisper just next to your ear, indicating a very close distance. This happens when the people of the Lord have already tuned in and got align with God, when they have thoroughly reflected on their faith and learned to stay focused on God Himself. When the condition comes to this point, one could take the hint from the Lord easily even if he makes occasional deviations along the way. A mere whisper by the ear is enough to put one back on to the right track. Some scholars even believed that the deviations simply do not matter as long as one stays focused on the Lord. With the correct ultimate goal, one walks towards God no matter one takes turns to the right or to the left.
Life is full of choices. Even for those who serve God, they have a lot of choices to make. Let’s not give ourselves a hard time when we face challenges and adversities. Simply fix our eyes upon God and trust in Him. By doing so, it does not matter which path we take. Whether the path we take is correct does not depend on the way it leads to but our faith attitude. As long as we have faith in God and rely totally on Him, the way we walk on would be the good way to take. When we submit our lives to Him totally, even rough and broken ways would turn out smooth and bright.
Thank God for the message revealed by these verses. Even God is hidden temporarily, He is going to bring forward a brand new episode in which man can get renewed and refreshed. The life yet to come would exceed our expectation, and we are deemed to be surprised and filled with gratefulness. Amen.
[Editor's Comment: Donavan Ng is a friend of mine. I have a special love for Chinese people because of my mother, Julia Payne, who was a missionary to Hong Kong and Pakhoi, China, for nine years. That love is deep within the spiritual DNA of my being. When Melvine, Greg, and I were there for the 5th Global Assembly a few years ago, Donavan pulled out all the stops and made our visit a memorable occasion. He treated us royally. We were escorted to the services at the large church Donavan's congregation built to the honor and glory of God. I get the newsletter from the IPHC church there. It is published both in Chinese and English. Of course, I cannot read the Chinese language. This sermon reveals Donavan's knowledge of Hebrew. I did not take Hebrew in seminary. I did take three years of Greek and me "no speakie Greek". I took two years of French in college, and I have forgotten all I learned becsause I never was required to use it. However, I once witnessed to a Muslim from Maroco in the airport in Milano, Italy.]
Rev. Donavan Ng
Title: What is God longing for?
Scripture
"18 Therefore the Lord longs to be gracious to you, And therefore He waits on high to have compassion on you. For the Lord is a God of justice; How blessed are all those who long for Him …… 20 Although the Lord has given you bread of deprivation and water of oppression, He, your Teacher, will no longer hide Himself, but your eyes will see your Teacher. 21 Your ears will hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” whenever you turn to the right or to the left" (Isaiah 30: 18, 20-21,NASB)
These verses are set against the historical background of Judah, which was under the threat of Assyria. Judah faced an option of surrendering, which means to become an affiliate to Assyria, otherwise an invasion seemed inevitable. The views among the leadership of Judah were divided, with some urging to surrender while others preferred a fight with the external help from Egypt. In short, there were Plan A and Plan B. Yet Isaiah the prophet suggested there was indeed a plan C that Judah is not going to surrender or to seek external help but to solely rely on Jehovah the Lord.
“The Lord longs to be gracious to you”, at the start of verse 18, in its Hebrew original means “the Lord is waiting, to give grace to you.” Hebrew verb does not have tenses. One can tell whether the action has taken place and when by adverbs of time and also by context. Another feature of Hebrew language is that Hebrew verbs have stems, six derived from the basic. These bits of knowledge about Hebrew grammar would help us to understand these verses better.
The different forms of stems indicate the relationship between the action and the actor. “Longs” here does not mean waiting passively without any progression, but the wait is a prelude to a brand new situation. Something is in anticipation. It is for the new scenario that the present wait is necessary.
From the spiritual perspective, it is no different in saying the Lord receded temporarily without any action. Put this back to the scenario facing Judah, is it true that the Lord did utterly nothing and simply did not care? Of course not. The form of the verb already suggests that something is in anticipation. The retreat of God was to renew the situation. God was not trapped by the dilemma. The absence brought silence, which was indeed the prelude of a brand new episode.
There can be a lot of reasons behind. Let’s use the analogy of theatre play to explain. A theater play has not yet started with all stage curtains down. This might be because the set-up is not ready. This might also be because actors are still doing make-up and costumes, etc. For the world order, God has His rhythm. Only He knows the time. When a new world situation is about to appear, the silence can be so suffocating as it feels like God is not coming back.
This word is not the same one appearing in Isaiah 40:31: “Yet those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength.” The “wait” here means “intertwining”. But the “long” in “how blessed are those who long for Him” in 30:18 is the basic stem in Hebrew, meaning a pure “wait”, versus the Lord’s “long”/”wait” that is anticipatory.
Verse 18 also said “He waits on high to have compassion on you. For the Lord is a God of justice.” The Lord longs to be gracious to His people because He is “a God of justice”. This word also appeared in Micah. The word can also be translated into “fairness”. Only Jehovah the Lord can make fair and just judgment without any bias and error.
What is He judging? The right time! Jehovah the Lord has His own time and only He knows the full picture, to which man can hardly get a glimpse. Man errs but God never. As such, what man should do is to fit into His plan. Why man is unable to fit in most of the time? Because man in general, God’s people included, tend to panic and move aimlessly in danger and adversities. Only the exceptionally godly and righteous will be able to act according to God’s will.
Once in Africa, I asked my friends who live there: “What is the best strategy in the case of jumping into beasts?” They replied: “if it is elephants that are chasing you, run away as fast as you can. Do not stop or you will be knocked dead by the elephants. But if it is a lion that is approaching you, remember: don’t turn away. Quite the contrary, stand face to face to the lion with courage. You can even trample your feet to show certain force. If you do this, in most cases the lion would stop. Then you can withdraw backward steadily and remember not to show any hostility in your eyes.” The problem is: how many people can stand calmly against a fiercely approaching lion without running away? This is exactly a pictorial expression of the situation faced by Judah back then. The people were in panic, to the extent that they tried to seek help from Egypt, an idolatry regime that is hostile to God. Their alternative was to surrender to Assyria, another regime hostile to God.
Amid all these suggestions out of panic, prophet Isaiah raised Plan C: do nothing. To wait and see what God does. Now we know that Judah did choose Plan C and at the critical moment when Assyria was about to start invasion, its warehouses of weapons and food were deadly plagued, resulting to deaths of thousands of soldiers. Assyria had no alternative but to retreat and had not started any invasion against Judah in the following twenty years. The result showed that the prophet was right. The best strategy was “inaction”, just like when one is facing a fiercely approaching lion.
It is said in verse 20: “Although the Lord has given you bread of deprivation and water of oppression, He, your Teacher, will no longer hide Himself, but your eyes will see your Teacher.” “Teacher” refers to Jehovah the Lord and all the prophets who speak on behalf of Him. This verse describes the toughness and hardship suffered by the people, the devastating pain of losing their home nation. Why did God allow these things? Why did He hide away? Why has He been absent for a long time? The reason is simple: that’s because the people of the Lord were in a spiritual darkness and they were unable to respond to the adversities faithfully. Instead of turning to God, they panicked and acted aimlessly. They were like a drowning person who tried futilely to grasp a lifebuoy. God chose to stay away so His people would learn by feeling the pointless pain drawn from their own moves driven by panic.
I have said more than once that pain triggers spirituality. Those who belong to God would learn from their sufferings that God is the only source of strength for them. The lesson could only be learned when they came before God after all the hurts and listened to God quietly and attentively. Those who did not reflect in the light of God would end up leaving their faith. Such sad stories literally filled up the Old Testament.
Verse 18 said “the Lord longs to be gracious to you”. What is God longing for? That His people getting fully ready to trust in Him and developed a steadfast faith, that is what God has been waiting for. He wants His people to stay calm and act only according to the teaching of God amid challenges and adversities. The chaos in this world, in the church, in our relationships … are all results of the pointless acts of man. There would be a time when the “teacher” appears again. There would be a time when God stops hiding Himself and reveals to be seen, heard and felt by His people.
Verse 21 said “Your ears will hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” whenever you turn to the right or to the left.” “Behind” here does point to somewhere far away but more like a whisper just next to your ear, indicating a very close distance. This happens when the people of the Lord have already tuned in and got align with God, when they have thoroughly reflected on their faith and learned to stay focused on God Himself. When the condition comes to this point, one could take the hint from the Lord easily even if he makes occasional deviations along the way. A mere whisper by the ear is enough to put one back on to the right track. Some scholars even believed that the deviations simply do not matter as long as one stays focused on the Lord. With the correct ultimate goal, one walks towards God no matter one takes turns to the right or to the left.
Life is full of choices. Even for those who serve God, they have a lot of choices to make. Let’s not give ourselves a hard time when we face challenges and adversities. Simply fix our eyes upon God and trust in Him. By doing so, it does not matter which path we take. Whether the path we take is correct does not depend on the way it leads to but our faith attitude. As long as we have faith in God and rely totally on Him, the way we walk on would be the good way to take. When we submit our lives to Him totally, even rough and broken ways would turn out smooth and bright.
Thank God for the message revealed by these verses. Even God is hidden temporarily, He is going to bring forward a brand new episode in which man can get renewed and refreshed. The life yet to come would exceed our expectation, and we are deemed to be surprised and filled with gratefulness. Amen.
[Editor's Comment: Donavan Ng is a friend of mine. I have a special love for Chinese people because of my mother, Julia Payne, who was a missionary to Hong Kong and Pakhoi, China, for nine years. That love is deep within the spiritual DNA of my being. When Melvine, Greg, and I were there for the 5th Global Assembly a few years ago, Donavan pulled out all the stops and made our visit a memorable occasion. He treated us royally. We were escorted to the services at the large church Donavan's congregation built to the honor and glory of God. I get the newsletter from the IPHC church there. It is published both in Chinese and English. Of course, I cannot read the Chinese language. This sermon reveals Donavan's knowledge of Hebrew. I did not take Hebrew in seminary. I did take three years of Greek and me "no speakie Greek". I took two years of French in college, and I have forgotten all I learned becsause I never was required to use it. However, I once witnessed to a Muslim from Maroco in the airport in Milano, Italy.]