Dear Pastor,
Hope all is well with you.
Just following up on our discussion from Sunday School about Isaiah 55:6, "Seek the LORD while He may be found; call on Him while He is near." You had mentioned that you had thought about this verse over time and the meaning behind it. I enjoyed our brief discussion after class and promised to write to you some additional thoughts. While I am nowhere near even a beginner seminary student, I did want to jot down a few notes for your consideration.
We had talked about when (or why) would God ever hide Himself from His people and the meaning of "while He may be found"? We briefly discussed that it is possible that at the end of our life, we do not have the opportunity to reconcile with God. At that point, according to scripture, once man dies then comes judgment. The same argument can be made when referring to Christ's final return and all of mankind appearing at judgment throne. Matthew Henry commented on verse 6, "Here is a gracious offer of pardon, and peace, and of all happiness. It shall not be in vain to seek God, now His word is calling to us, and His Spirit is striving with us. But there is a day coming when He will not be found. There may come such a time in this life; it is certain that at death and judgment the door will be shut."
However, I have been thinking about other times when we might not see God's face. Meaning, what other times might we not be able to see God's face or even His hand in our lives? Job first comes to mind in that respect. Even though he was considered righteous, God still allowed severe trials to enter his life while remaining silent until the end of the book. Job even stated to God that he had been transparent with Him. He asked how many and what sins and transgressions he had committed to deserve his current state. Job specifically asks, "Why do you hide your face, and hold me for your enemy?" (Job 13:23-24) Here I believe God has the right to hide His face out of His sovereign will. We might not agree with His logic or decision making, however, He reminds us that His ways are not our ways (Isaiah 55:8).
Why else might God hide His face? He cannot tolerate our sins and transgressions. It is interesting here that scripture refers many times to our "sins and transgressions". You assuredly already understand the distinction. The Hebrew word "pesha" (transgression) comes through clearly when it refers to those who know better but still willingly rebel or revolt. Be it our sins or transgressions, He is a holy God. There are numerous scriptures where God clearly states that He will hide His face from His people because of their rebelliousness. (Deuteronomy 31:17-18; Deuteronomy 32:20; Ezekiel 39:21-24). The Psalms ask God not to hide His face but to show favor (Psalms 27:7-10; Psalms 51:9; Psalms 88:14; Psalms 143:7).
So, God can and does hide His face from us and therefore cannot be found.
Yet, and thankfully, God continues to shower us with His mercies. Despite Israel's (and our) continual "pesha", He still reaches out and says, "Here I am." He promised Israel that He would restore them back to Himself. He stated that even though He had hidden His face, He will restore (Ezekiel 39:21-24; Jeremiah 33:2-9). One interesting interpretation of Isaiah 55:6 is by Rabbi David Kimhi and brings further clarity to the original language: "Seek ye the Lord, because He may be found: call upon Him, because He is near. Repent before ye die, for after death there is no conversion of the soul."
Why should we seek Him? Because, He can be found. Why should we call on Him? Because, He is near.
In this way, God says to us, "While you have breath, I can be found today, right now. Now is the acceptable time." (Isaiah 58:9-10). He gently says to us that He has been open and transparent with us all this time. He says we should turn to Him today (Isaiah 45:19-22). He even has the answer to the intolerable sin and transgressions we have in our lives. Especially those that we believe are hidden. It is ironic that many times we ask God why He has hidden Himself while we try to hide ourselves from Him. The Psalms echo our own hearts when it says, "I confessed my sin to You, and my iniquity I have not hidden. I said, I will confess my transgression to the Lord; and You forgave the iniquity of my sin. For this let every godly one pray to You, in a time when You may be found." (Psalms 32:5-7). It is good to know that "now" is the favorable time because He is near to us today. He says, "in a favorable time I replied to You, and in a day of salvation I have helped You; and I will preserve You" (Isaiah 49:7-8; 2 Corinthians 5:20 - 6:10).
On a deeper level: despite all our failings, Jesus chose not to hide His face when it came time to make the ultimate sacrifice. Isaiah 50:6 records, "I gave My back to the strikers, and My cheeks to pluckers; I did not hide My face from shame and spitting." The One that could tolerate our sins and transgressions faced them directly, closely, intimately, and painfully so that we could one day see Him face to face.
I hope these few thoughts are found interesting to you. Thanks again for the brief discussion, and may God bless.
Patrick Kincaid
Hope all is well with you.
Just following up on our discussion from Sunday School about Isaiah 55:6, "Seek the LORD while He may be found; call on Him while He is near." You had mentioned that you had thought about this verse over time and the meaning behind it. I enjoyed our brief discussion after class and promised to write to you some additional thoughts. While I am nowhere near even a beginner seminary student, I did want to jot down a few notes for your consideration.
We had talked about when (or why) would God ever hide Himself from His people and the meaning of "while He may be found"? We briefly discussed that it is possible that at the end of our life, we do not have the opportunity to reconcile with God. At that point, according to scripture, once man dies then comes judgment. The same argument can be made when referring to Christ's final return and all of mankind appearing at judgment throne. Matthew Henry commented on verse 6, "Here is a gracious offer of pardon, and peace, and of all happiness. It shall not be in vain to seek God, now His word is calling to us, and His Spirit is striving with us. But there is a day coming when He will not be found. There may come such a time in this life; it is certain that at death and judgment the door will be shut."
However, I have been thinking about other times when we might not see God's face. Meaning, what other times might we not be able to see God's face or even His hand in our lives? Job first comes to mind in that respect. Even though he was considered righteous, God still allowed severe trials to enter his life while remaining silent until the end of the book. Job even stated to God that he had been transparent with Him. He asked how many and what sins and transgressions he had committed to deserve his current state. Job specifically asks, "Why do you hide your face, and hold me for your enemy?" (Job 13:23-24) Here I believe God has the right to hide His face out of His sovereign will. We might not agree with His logic or decision making, however, He reminds us that His ways are not our ways (Isaiah 55:8).
Why else might God hide His face? He cannot tolerate our sins and transgressions. It is interesting here that scripture refers many times to our "sins and transgressions". You assuredly already understand the distinction. The Hebrew word "pesha" (transgression) comes through clearly when it refers to those who know better but still willingly rebel or revolt. Be it our sins or transgressions, He is a holy God. There are numerous scriptures where God clearly states that He will hide His face from His people because of their rebelliousness. (Deuteronomy 31:17-18; Deuteronomy 32:20; Ezekiel 39:21-24). The Psalms ask God not to hide His face but to show favor (Psalms 27:7-10; Psalms 51:9; Psalms 88:14; Psalms 143:7).
So, God can and does hide His face from us and therefore cannot be found.
Yet, and thankfully, God continues to shower us with His mercies. Despite Israel's (and our) continual "pesha", He still reaches out and says, "Here I am." He promised Israel that He would restore them back to Himself. He stated that even though He had hidden His face, He will restore (Ezekiel 39:21-24; Jeremiah 33:2-9). One interesting interpretation of Isaiah 55:6 is by Rabbi David Kimhi and brings further clarity to the original language: "Seek ye the Lord, because He may be found: call upon Him, because He is near. Repent before ye die, for after death there is no conversion of the soul."
Why should we seek Him? Because, He can be found. Why should we call on Him? Because, He is near.
In this way, God says to us, "While you have breath, I can be found today, right now. Now is the acceptable time." (Isaiah 58:9-10). He gently says to us that He has been open and transparent with us all this time. He says we should turn to Him today (Isaiah 45:19-22). He even has the answer to the intolerable sin and transgressions we have in our lives. Especially those that we believe are hidden. It is ironic that many times we ask God why He has hidden Himself while we try to hide ourselves from Him. The Psalms echo our own hearts when it says, "I confessed my sin to You, and my iniquity I have not hidden. I said, I will confess my transgression to the Lord; and You forgave the iniquity of my sin. For this let every godly one pray to You, in a time when You may be found." (Psalms 32:5-7). It is good to know that "now" is the favorable time because He is near to us today. He says, "in a favorable time I replied to You, and in a day of salvation I have helped You; and I will preserve You" (Isaiah 49:7-8; 2 Corinthians 5:20 - 6:10).
On a deeper level: despite all our failings, Jesus chose not to hide His face when it came time to make the ultimate sacrifice. Isaiah 50:6 records, "I gave My back to the strikers, and My cheeks to pluckers; I did not hide My face from shame and spitting." The One that could tolerate our sins and transgressions faced them directly, closely, intimately, and painfully so that we could one day see Him face to face.
I hope these few thoughts are found interesting to you. Thanks again for the brief discussion, and may God bless.
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