The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Isaiah 48:12-19, “Listen to Me, O Jacob, even Israel whom I called; I am He, I am the first, I am also the last.
13 “Surely My hand founded the earth, and My right hand spread out the heavens; when I call to them, they stand together.
14 “Assemble, all of you, and listen! Who among them has declared these things? The LORD loves him; He will carry out His good pleasure on Babylon, and His arm will be against the Chaldeans.
15 “I, even I, have spoken; indeed I have called him, I have brought him, and He will make his ways successful.
16 “Come near to Me, listen to this: from the first I have not spoken in secret, from the time it took place, I was there. And now the Lord GOD has sent Me, and His Spirit.”
17 Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, “I am the LORD your God, who teaches you to profit, who leads you in the way you should go.
18 “If only you had paid attention to My commandments! Then your well-being would have been like a river, and your righteousness like the waves of the sea.
19 “Your descendants would have been like the sand, and your offspring like its grains; their name would never be cut off or destroyed from My presence.”

The messages of the Old Testament are primarily intended for Israel. But, like most of the
LORD’s messages, this one has an duplicate application for every generation. Beyond Israel, this message speaks ultimately to the Church and to somewhat to all non-Christian individuals everwhere.

Although the message here is extremely serious (as are all of the LORD’s messages), it is
somewhat amusing when thought of as a parental post-warning to a child: “Come near to Me,
listen to this…If only you had paid attention…” What child has not thought seriously about such a post-warning from a parent or guardian?

When will we learn that 1) the LORD knows best about every situation, and 2) that we ignore His warnings at our own peril? Awake is a serious watchword that is too often ignored. “Don’t go in there!” Stay alert! Keep your eyes open!” There are a thousand such warnings, many of which we stubbornly ignore –and we do so at our own peril. “It won’t happen to me,” we think –until it ultimately does.

Some children believe that their parents simply delight in handing out physical punishment. As time marches on, they come to believe that the LORD, too, delights in hurting them. Unfortunately, some parents are cruel to their own children; but the LORD delights in the children’s obedience. He is loving, not cruel. But, it is for all of us to learn that the LORD alone is in ultimate charge and control! He delights only in our loving obedience and our adherence to His warnings.

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.
Springdale, Arkansas 72764
United States of America

“We never know that Christ is all we need
until He becomes all that we have.”
– Corrie ten Boom