“Hide the Outcasts”...the Wayfarer 2/20/14

“Hide the Outcasts”

2/20/14

“Take counsel, execute judgment; make thy shadow as the night in the midst of the noonday; hide the outcasts; bewray not him that wandereth.”

(Isaiah 16:3)

There are many parallels and lessons to be drawn to and from Isaiah’s prophecies to the events and times we face today.

The scripture chosen to open with today comes from a series of prophecies, first of the restoral of Israel to God’s grace and favor, and of the things in store for those who insisted upon the desertion of Israel from the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and the honoring of their own false gods in His place.

The 14^th chapter ended with the following:

“Rejoice not thou, Whole Palestina, because the rod of him that smote thee is broken: for out of the serpent’s root shall come forth a cockatrice, and his fruit shall be a fiery flying serpent.

And the firstborn of the poor shall feed, and the needy shall lie down in safety: and I will kill thy root with famine, and he shall slay thy remnant.

Howl, O gate; cry, O city; thou whole Palestina, art dissolved: for thou shall come from the north a smoke, and none shall be alone in his appointed times.

What shall one then answer the messengers of the nation? That the Lord hath founded Zion, and the poor of his people shall trust in it.”

(Isaiah 14:20-32)

Before getting to the “outcasts” mentioned in the title and opening verse, which is the main theme of this dissertation, it is necessary to define who those outcasts are.

Just as Israel’s people were scattered, many living among the borders of nations who would with glee have exterminated both the people and the teachings of that people, so too today are God’s people scattered across a globe, living in many places that are far from receptive of either them, or of God himself.

The promise of the restoral of God’s people given in that 14^th chapter is a continuing and continual promise that has time and again been honored and kept by our God.

There is much rejoicing by the ungodly at each conquest seemingly made as they attempt to quash both scripture and Spirit while rushing headlong into the damnation and destruction that looms more and more inevitably in their unforeseen and unbelieved future.

One of my brethren often refers to the fact that we are in a fixed fight, and indeed we are. The outcome of that fight was determined long ago when God’s Son chose to allow his own crucifixion to overcome death and sin.

His, my Brother’s perspective, like my own comes from personal experience and lessons learned in pursuing a purpose in life that has prepared each of us in a different manner for the fight still being fought that must intensify as we progress to the assured victory at the end of that fight.

That assured victory is a continuation of the promises given and kept, and, as my forbears and fellows would say, “broken nary a time, and to be broken nary a time to come.”

As that fight intensifies, those who are “outcasts” will become more numerous among those who fail to see the end of their attempt to overcome the rule of our God over the entire Universe, and over this small insignificant ball of dirt that He hung here between the stars.

“Send ye the lamb to the ruler of the land from Sela to the wilderness, unto the mount of the daughter of Zion.

For it shall be, that, as a wandering bird cast out of the nest, so the daughters of Mob shall be at the fords of Armon.

Take counsel, execute judgment; make thy shadow as the night in the midst of the noonday; hide the outcasts; bewray not him that wandereth.

Let mine outcasts dwell with thee Moab; be thou a covert to them from the face of the spoiler: for the extortioner is at an end, the spoiler ceaseth, the oppressors are consumed out of the land.

And in mercy shall the throne be established: and he shall sit upon it in truth in the tabernacle of David, judging, and seeking judgment, and hasting righteousness.

We have heard of the pride of Moab; he is very proud: even of his haughtiness, and his pride, and his wrath: but his lies shall not be so.

Therefore shall Moab howl for Moab, every one shall howl: for the foundations of Kir-hareseth shall ye mourn; surely they are stricken.”

(Isaiah 16:1-7)

Yes, we are in a fight, a fixed fight, but one that still requires the expenditure of every ounce of energy within us to remain on that winning side.

That energy is being stolen, from the “outcasts” of the nations persecuting Christianity at every turn, and even within the enclaves of those not yet facing the full assault yet to come.

Protection and succor of those outcasts fall to any and all able to stand with them in this war that rages and will rage until its final outcome, demanding sacrifice, mercy and voice to be given as well as funds to continue that fight.

Like my brother, I often refer to the language used in a previous life and profession to illustrate the seriousness with which I approach the fight I find myself in, and have no desire to withdraw from.

Among the “safe” nations where Christianity exists, the enemy sends out probing and harassing attacks to demoralize and discourage the true defenders of the faith.

The success of these attacks is seen in the passage of laws that further the goals of those who would destroy  Christianity for whatever reason they  perceive  it to be a danger, whether in the passage of laws that silence speech, force the removal of any object that offends their immorality, force the self-sustaining, and all important ethic of earning what is given them to be derided and ignored, or whether it is disguised and cloaked in the buzz words of equality and tolerance used to further diminish that ethic while promoting dependence on theft and deception to survive and thrive in those nations.  

While those attacks are indeed discouraging, they are only proof of the efficacy of the promise given of the victory that lies at the end of the battle, and should be welcomed as another part of that battle to be joined, in the zeal and enthusiasm of the knowledge of the real prize that is given only to the winner, who has endured until the end of that fight.

Once more I would adjure all claiming the title of “Christian”, to live up to that appellation, be who and what you profess to be, do what is required of you to show others the rewards to be had only by the acceptance of Christ, to endure each trial, each tribulation faced in the surety of success for having done so, pray fervently that others see the futility and abject poverty of the lack of God’s love if they fail to accept Him, and most importantly, the poverty faced by and eternity of His denial of them if they continue to ignore and deny Him  in this temporary  inconsequential journey on the way to that eternity they expend so much time and energy focused on.

Focus instead on the permanent and eternal state of the soul given by God, and what was intended from the giving of that soul rather than on the baubles along the way to that permanence. Once focused, share that focus!

Consider those “outcasts,” assist them with the knowledge that if you are truly Christian, you must count yourself among them.

“Repent: for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand!”

I close, again, with the final promise given us by our Lord:

“He which testifieth these things saith Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come Lord Jesus.”

(Revelation 22:20)

Once more I remain your servant, but most importantly, His, still that simple sinner saved by grace through faith in Him and His promises, still the soldier He chose me to be, still in the fight to the end of my part given me in it by Him.

2 Timothy 1:12 King James Version (KJV)

¹² For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.

Amen and Amen
the Wayfareer