In That Day

Isaiah 12:1–6 ESV

1 You will say in that day: “I will give thanks to you, O Lord, for though you were angry with me, your anger turned away, that you might comfort me. 2 “Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the Lord God is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation.” 3 With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. 4 And you will say in that day: “Give thanks to the Lord, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the peoples, proclaim that his name is exalted. 5 “Sing praises to the Lord, for he has done gloriously; let this be made known in all the earth. 6 Shout, and sing for joy, O inhabitant of Zion, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.”

Introduction

When we consider Isaiah's time, we learn that Israel was a divided people in conflict. The Northern Kingdom conspired with Assyria to defeat the Southern Kingdom. God sent Isaiah to speak to the Southern Kingdom's kings to remind them to keep their obedience and trust toward God. The enemies that they feared would not be around forever, for God would deal justly with them. But the Southern Kingdom had to face the other enemy, which was their sinful rebellion and mistrust of God. Ultimately, both kingdoms experienced God's discipline and judgment through exile. Exile was not the final goal. God would leave a remnant in the land and ultimately bring the people back to the land and a right relationship with God. Chapter twelve is rather short, but it contains two sections that look forward to the future day when God's people will properly respond to their salvation.

In That Day

The people of Isaiah's day would see bits of God's plans revealed, but they awaited a future day. They waited upon the Lord, which is a term that implies more than just enduring a time period. It emphasizes trust and reliance upon God to act in His way and in His time. God promised a future king, the root of Jesse, who would reign in righteousness. God fulfilled that promise in the days of Jesus Christ some 700 years later. Future generations would await and see the promised fulfilled. We as believers stand in that line of people who wait upon the Lord. We receive Jesus as the Christ and King, but we await the future date of his second coming. We too await that day when we will experience the full redemption and know God face to face. In response, we worship, trust, joy, and a declaration to the nations that God is great.

Anger and Salvation

The reason for the praise is because God has turned his anger away. The Bible is consistent at informing us that God expresses wrath and anger. Why does God express this? God's anger is the proper response toward human sin and forsaking God's covenant. From a modern perspective, one might feel the need to reduce or eliminate the concept of wrath or anger. Those who have anger issues need to control their anger lest they become destructive toward things or people. Is God out of control when He expresses anger? No. God is holy and properly responds to sin and rebellion without sinning. Unlike us, God can be perfectly angry and remain just, holy, and in control. God's anger is toward sin and the result that sin has upon our relationship with Him. Sin separates us from God. God responds to the sin of his created beings with anger and wrath but also extends his mercy toward them. He provides a way for them to be made right again. This is the big story of the Bible.

Can we have an accurate understanding of the Gospel without the concept of God's wrath? God's salvation from wrath is an essential element of the Gospel. If God were not holy, we would not need salvation. But since he is holy and we are sinful, Christ became the solution to restore us back to righteousness so that we might know God on God's terms. If we remove it, we will miss an essential element of understanding Jesus upon the cross. Ephesians 2:1-5.

Ephesians 2:1–5 ESV

1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—

In recent times, various groups within Christianity have de-emphasized the notion of God's wrath toward sin in favor of a message that makes the Gospel mostly a way to improve one's personal life. Peace with God becomes secondary to personal prosperity. In this Gospel, God is not so much holy as He is a motivator calling us to be our best and have the best in life. As a result, one's life becomes self-centered rather than God-centered.

God's wrath and anger, put in biblical perspective, give us the foundation for the proper response toward God's salvation acts. But more profoundly, the wrath of God serves to remind people that God wishes their best and is willing to take physical action to inhibit the self-destructiveness of human rebellion. Said another way, God's wrath is the twin of God's mercy. Mercy without correction is mere permission, and mere permission never has the person's best interests in mind. God's wrath, then, is God's mercy. And God's mercy is, because of the nature of God's love, sometimes made known in God's punishment of wrongdoing and wrongdoers.

Praise and Joy

This first section of praise emphasizes that God has performed the salvation act. He is the root cause of salvation and preservation for the believer. The believer reflects upon the acts of God and expresses their devotion to God and praise. God's wrath is turned into salvation, which results in his people receiving comfort. This comfort results in a reinforced trust that causes the believer to not be overwhelmed by fear. If God is the only one we are to fear, and if He is for us, what fear exists that can separate us from the love of God? The answer is - nothing.

Some translations use praise or give thanks. This term combines this concept:

Praise and thanksgiving in the OT and NT involve both personal and corporate prayer, musical expression, singing, exhortation, exaltation, and literary expressions of gratitude and worship to God for who he is and for what he has done for creation, his covenant people, and ultimately for every tribe, nation, and tongue of the world through Jesus Christ.

Frederick, John. "Praise and Thanksgiving." Ed. Douglas Mangum et al. Lexham Theological Wordbook 2014 : n. pag. Print. Lexham Bible Reference Series.

Isaiah speaks of drawing water joyfully from the well of salvation. Water in those days was a greater challenge than our modern civilization. One retrieved water either from a nearby body of water or from the many deep wells tapped into the groundwater. As you could imagine, getting water was a daily task for life. But this well of salvation is not approached with complaint or struggle. The term joy carries the concept of jubilation and celebration. The picture is of one who gathers the water with joy because it is a gift from God.

The encounter of Jesus with the Woman at the Well in John 4 gives us a great example of what is meant in verse 3. The Samaritan Woman came to draw water during the middle of the day. Jesus intentionally started a conversation with her, crossing cultural boundaries. He asked for water but then changed the conversation to spiritual truth. He offered living water. John 4:10-15

John 4:10–15 ESV

10 Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” 11 The woman said to him, “Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? 12 Are you greater than our father Jacob? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock.” 13 Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” 15 The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water.”

Later in the conversation, Jesus revealed to her that He was the Christ and the way to the Father. This woman experienced the fulfillment of Isaiah 12. She encountered the one who is the Christ, the salvation of God.

Proper Response

The second section of this prophecy also points to a future date of praise and thanks toward God. The first section is a personal response to God, but the second section is a public expression with those who are saved and those who do not know the One True God. The praise and thanks are not just an internal sentiment but a public expression toward God. It is seen, heard, and shared. The verses give distinct commands to the redeemed people to make their response visible. Those who experience the salvation of God respond in three ways:

1. Praise - Give Thanks

One of my favorite elements of our worship is to hear what we are grateful for. The kids are the most entertaining. They sometimes thank God for simple things like food and toys, but they often are grateful for the deeper things like family and relationships. They usually have this attitude because of what kind of environment the parents have provided for them. The environment need not be one of great luxury. All that is needed are things like love, forgiveness, communication, and empathy. What causes you to be thankful to God? Do you remember among the simple things of daily provision to recall His mercy toward you in bringing you into a relationship of peace? Is the cross part of your repertoire of thanksgiving? Is the forgiveness of your sins included in your understanding of what God has done for you? Redeemed people naturally respond with thankful hearts.

2. Prayer

Prayer is connected to our response to praise. When we experience God's grace, we do not consider some lucky experience, but rather God's direct result in our lives. Our prayers are directed toward God. We call on His Name, the name that He has revealed in His word. We call on Him in the manner He has chosen to reveal to us. How do we approach the Holy God? We do so, only through Christ and His finished work upon the cross.

Recently, Congressman Emanuel Cleaver opened the first session of congress with a prayer that caused a stir. Many rightly pointed out the ridiculous ending of his prayer, "A-men and a-woman." The word "amen" literally means truly, or so be it, yet he used the play on words to highlight the recent removal of gendered language. However, that is not what should cause us concern for a person who has the background of an ordained Methodist minister. Let's look at the terms he used to identify the one to which the prayer is given.

Eternal God - OK

God - OK

God who created the World - OK

Lord - OK

the monotheistic God - OK???

Brahma - NOT OK!!!

God known by many different faiths - NEVER OK!!!

Unfortunately, we will see more of this as people, churches, and leaders take the path of being woke, politically correct, or mainstream. Don't fall for the lie. Call upon the name of the Lord alone.

3. Proclamation

The third response is to state or announce formally the deeds and reputation of God to the world. It is not enough to declare the deeds of God among those who already believe. God desires for His people to make Him known to those who have yet to believe. God's desire is not toward punishment, even though He must and will punish sin. He desires to see people repent. Consider the message that Jonah received to give to Nineveh. Jonah did not want to give the message of destruction to Nineveh because he knew that they might repent from their sin, and God would not send destructive judgment. Those who receive salvation and draw water from the well of salvation are instructed to share it with others. The woman at the well in John 4 did this exactly. She went back to her Samaritan village and proclaimed that Jesus was the Christ.

John 4:39–42 ESV

39 Many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me all that I ever did.” 40 So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them, and he stayed there two days. 41 And many more believed because of his word. 42 They said to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world.”

Sing and Shout

This section of prophecy mentions songs and singing multiple times. Why is singing so important to the life of the believer? Singing is part of God's design for the human expression of our deepest emotions. The song can be the most intimate communication between two people. Singing was also a way to share the stories of God's actions toward His people. The song became the personal story of God's goodness toward an individual. In this section, singing and shouting are part of our public proclamation. This is why the voice of the church must not be silenced in the midst of the overzealous actions of the government. We observe common-sense precautions, but we must not remain silent.

Singing and shouting are the responsibility of those who are inhabitants of Zion. Zion is the eternal symbol of God's presence. Those who are in Christ are the people of Zio and they have a new identity that goes beyond physical appearance or ability, our ethnicity or gender, our age, or intellectual capabilities. If we seek our personal worth and identity outside of Zion, we will forever wander the desolate and ever-changing lands of culture.

We must not forget the last command to shout. The term comes from a word that is used to describe the loud neighing sound of a horse. This verse reminds us that it is OK and proper for us to make a loud noise unto our God. Let us not lift our voices in mere disgust for the current situation in our country. Rather, let us call upon the name of the Lord and declare our trust in Him. Let us live out loud.

What, then, is the essence of Worship? It is the celebration of God! When we worship God, we celebrate Him: we extol Him, we sound His praises, we boast in Him…As a thoughtful gift is a celebration of a birthday, as a special evening out is a celebration of an anniversary, as a warm eulogy is a celebration of a life, as a sexual embrace is a celebration of a marriage - so a worship service is a celebration of God.

Ronald Allen, Worship: Rediscovering the Missing Jewel