Monuments of Grace

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Approximately 700 years passed between the prophecy of Isaiah 53 and the birth of Christ.  In twelve short verses is a wealth of detail about the prophecy of the coming Messiah. I love the statement below by Matthew Henry.

“We are the purchase of his blood, and the monuments of his grace; for this he continually pleads and prevails, destroying the works of the devil.” –  from Matthew Henry Commentary of the Bible (Complete)

The people of Israel were possibly expecting someone a bit different for their Messiah. When I think about someone coming to save me from an evil world I think of a warrior, riding in to save the day. If that was what they were expecting, then this prophecy by Isaiah may have left them a bit confused and disappointed.

Isaiah 53:2-3

2 For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, And as a root out of dry ground. He has no form or comeliness; And when we see Him, There is no beauty that we should desire Him. 3 He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.  (NKJV) 

That paints somewhat of a bleak picture of the One they had been promised would come to deliver them.  He will not come riding in as a warrior but grow up before them.  He will be despised and rejected?  How can a brave warrior be despised, humble and meek? He will stand before His accusers. He will not even try to defend Himself?

Isaiah 53:7

7 He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, And as a sheep before its shearers is silent, So He opened not His mouth. (NKJV) 

But wait…

Isaiah 53: 10-12

10 Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief. When You make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, And the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in His hand. 11 He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied. By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many, For He shall bear their iniquities. 12 Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great, And He shall divide the spoil with the strong, Because He poured out His soul unto death, And He was numbered with the transgressors, And He bore the sin of many, And made intercession for the transgressors. (NKJV) 

He bore the sins of all. He took our past, present and future sins upon Himself. What was our role to be? He stood there quietly like a Lamb and took the stripes upon His body belonging to us. He then made His way to Golgotha, bled and died there on a cross to raise on the third day. We deserved to stand in that place for our own sins.  He was a spotless Lamb. We are not. Yet He stepped in our place, sparing us what we deserve and replaced it with grace.

Thought For Today:

Isn’t it humbling to to think “we are the purchase of His blood, and the monuments of His grace?” We are purchased with a blood sacrifice.  We are monuments of His grace! Wherever we go, whomever we meet, whatever we choose to do in life we are either monuments of His grace or we are lost in a sinful world. We are human and some days our monuments may lean and appear to crack. Mine has almost hit the ground a few times.  But those who know Jesus as Savior are blessed that He hears us calling out to Him daily. He intercedes for us before a holy God. 

That little one who came to earth was worshipped by lowly shepherds and wise men from afar. He was on a mission to save a lost world. Still a good bit of the world  rejects Him not wanting to see or hear His beautiful name. They want to celebrate Christmas but sadly not because of the birth of the Messiah.  It grieves me to hear and see the rejection of Him. And then I remember. The baby, so meek and mild born on a starry night, will return one day…as a Warrior. Every knee will bow.

Scripture For Today:

Revelation 19:11-16′

11 Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. 12 His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. 13 He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. 14 And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. 15 Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. 16 And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS. (NKJV)

Prayer for Today:

Hello Father! Our marching orders are clear. We have been bought with the life blood of Christ. We should be shouting from the housetops about His love for all mankind and all that He has done for each of us thus far. Father, give us courage to speak up in a world often filled with hate at the sound of the sweet name of Jesus. We pray that we have the courage to stand straight as a monument to His sacrifice and grace. We pray that winds will not push us over but that our stance is steadfast and firmly anchored. Forgive us our sins. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

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