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Isaiah 9:17
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Isaiah 9:17 For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.
The first time I saw the phrase "his hand is stretched out still." it was written in the flyleaf of my Daddy's old Bible. We were looking at all the names of preachers that had signed his Bible. I asked what is this? He said he was not sure where it was but he said that it was a passage of scripture in the Bible. There was something captivating about the phrase. I conjured the picture of God holding out His saving hand that is not moved by the cares and the storms of life, inviting people to be saved. "That'll preach!" I'm putting an outline together in my head already. But I thought, I'd better read the context. So when I got home, I looked it up. I was surprised to find that it appears more than once. I found it five times in the book of Isaiah, "his hand is stretched out still". When I began to read the Bible, it ruined my message! The picture that I had in my mind was not what the scripture was communicating. The phrase was always attached to the judgment of God. The phrase was like a poetical refrain of a dreadful song. Isaiah 9:17 says "Therefore the Lord shall have no joy in their young men, neither shall have mercy on their fatherless and widows: for every one is an hypocrite and an evildoer, and every mouth speaketh folly. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still." What this verse and the 4 other verses that contain this phrase are saying is that God will judge the sinfulness of His people, and after all this judgment has come to pass, His anger was still not turned away but the judgment hand of Almighty God had more in store for them. The hand that I thought was turned up reaching out was a hand that could be turned down to strike. Galatians 6:7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. The judgment of God is stretched out against the wicked. Psalms 7:11b "God is angry with the wicked every day." Be assured that outside of my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, you have no hope. His hand is stretched out against you. Don't get me wrong, God can save by His Hand. But if you reject God's precious Son Jesus Christ and trample the blood of Jesus' sacrifice on the Cross of Calvary, God's wrath is stored up like a dam that is about to burst. That wrath may or may not be experienced in this lifetime, but be assured it will be poured out for all of eternity in the charred walls of the pit of hell. In his sermon "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" that God used to send a sweeping revival in the United States in the 1700's, Jonathan Edwards said, "Let everyone that is out of Christ, now awake and fly from the wrath to come. The wrath of Almighty God is now undoubtedly hanging over a great part of this congregation. Let everyone fly out of Sodom." If you would like to be saved, know that you have eternal life, and have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ click on the "Are you going to Heaven?" link below and prayerfully and honestly read about the four spiritual laws. Once thoses are understood, ask Jesus to forgive you of your sins and come into your life and save you from your sin. |