Isaiah 30:15-18

"For thus saith the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel; in returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength: and ye would not. But ye said, No; for we will flee upon horses; therefore shall ye flee: and, We will ride upon the swift; therefore shall they that pursue you be swift. One thousand shall flee at the rebuke of one; at the rebuke of five shall ye flee: till ye be left as a beacon upon the top of a mountain, and as an ensign on an hill. And therefore will the LORD wait, that he may be gracious unto you, and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you: for the LORD is a God of judgment: blessed are all they that wait for him."

The essence of this passage is God’s mercy. And it is shown against a dark backdrop. For it starts with God pleading with His people. He is telling them the mode and method unto salvation. In returning and rest shall they be saved, He says. And in quietness and in confidence shall be their strength. But they refuse (ye would not). And so He waits.

God is telling His people how things can be made right between them and Himself. What does He mean by returning? To what should they return? The verses previous to this speak of Israel having turned away from Him. From the time before they were brought out of Egypt they worshiped idols, the work of men’s hands. God reminded them that He was their God. He brought them out of Egypt in a mighty way, performing great miracles. But they constantly turned to their idols. So, when He speaks here of returning He is encouraging them to come back to Him. In returning they would be turning away from their idols. And in so turning they would find rest.

Having told His people these things, God adds the sad commentary, "And ye would not." They refused God’s plea. They continued in their idolatry. He told them what He required, and they refused. Because of this He goes on to tell them what will be the effect of their decision, "But ye said, No; for we will flee upon horses; therefore shall ye flee: and, We will ride upon the swift; therefore shall they that pursue you be swift. One thousand shall flee at the rebuke of one; at the rebuke of five shall ye flee ..." Specifically, they would have no success in defending themselves, and would flee their enemies at the slightest provocation. There would be no escape, no rest, no salvation.

But then comes the blessing, "And therefore will the LORD wait, that he may be gracious unto you, and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you: for the LORD is a God of judgment: blessed are all they that wait for him." In spite of their rejection of His overtures, God still desires to be gracious and merciful to them. This reminds of the actions of a loving parent. Having warned the children about the wrong or danger of an action, or having explained the way to rectify something, the parent waits as the child tries any avenue save the suggested one. But the parent does not wait to say, "I told you." Rather, the parent is waiting to be gracious, merciful, and loving to the child.

In Exodus 34 God introduces Himself to Moses. As His glory passes by, and His hand is removed from Moses so he can see it, God says of Himself, "... The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin ..." This is how God is. Many think that He is some awful being who is toying with us, or waiting to smite us for transgressions. These are not the God of the Bible. The God of the Bible is merciful and gracious. These things are His character. Sadly, many refuse to believe Him, and what He has done for them through Jesus Christ. These ones will find out that He does judge. While He is merciful, He must judge sin. This is also His character.

Here in Isaiah 30 God tells Israel, and, by extension, us, that in turning to Him they would find rest and salvation. Because of their idolatry, they were under God’s wrath. He promised to judge them, and had done so before. To offer them rest was to offer them the assurance of no longer being under His wrath and judgment. This is rest indeed. In Romans Roman 5:9, Paul says, "Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him." What a rest that is.

Just as He told Israel many years ago through Isaiah, He tells us now, in returning is salvation. He wants people to look to Him for what they need. He still desires to be merciful and gracious. It is still His character to be this way. He offers rest. As quoted earlier, Paul reminds his readers that "... we shall be saved from wrath through him." He goes on to say, "For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life." Through Jesus Christ salvation is offered, and great rest. Do not refuse. God is waiting.

O soul, are you weary and troubled?
No light in the darkness you see?
There’s a light for a look at the Savior,
And life more abundant and free!

Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.

HJK