Grace Is Shown

...When your judgments come upon the earth,

the people of the world learn righteousness.
But when grace is shown to the wicked,
they do not learn righteousness;
even in a land of uprightness they go on doing evil
and do not regard the majesty of the Lord.
Lord, your hand is lifted high,
but they do not see it.
Isaiah 26:9b-11a NIV

In a prior chapter, Isaiah 24, the earth is destroyed, though not completely. This is still in our future and it's pictured in the book of Revelation. As humanities cup of sin fills to the brim, the wrath of God overflows. In the coming chapters it sound's like it's a divine spanking with eternal consequences. Yet the verse above is part of a song of triumph. This is because it is Jesus' victory of the enemies over the enemies of God. These enemies are both internally and externally. The enemies of God are not just hostile nations and people that reject God. There are also more subtle enemies. Some of these are due to the fact that not all of Abraham seed became his children (of faith). Other enemies hide in the midst of the faithful, for not all of Israel held to the faith, and the church fared no better with tares resembling the faithful (Romans 11, John 15, Matthew 13). We serve a God of love, but we that read God’s word know that the world faces judgment. And, judgment comes because of the rejection of God’s Son, Jesus.

Now, it's easy to forget that we live in an age once shrouded in mystery. The church throughout the Old Testament remained hidden. This mystery is the church. The church  is in age is an age of grace (though God has always shown grace).  But, Isaiah predicted even God's grace would be trampled on.

Verse 10 says it all,

“But when grace is shown to the wicked,
they do not learn righteousness;
even in a land of uprightness they go on doing evil
and do not regard the majesty of the Lord.”

Though many witnesses go out into the field of the Lord and the harvest is great, most miss God's grace. Though God's workers go into the highways and byways, the world goes on doing evil. Why? They do not regard the LORD.

Jesus said it this way in John chapter 3.

16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. 19 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed.

John 3:16-20 NIV

Even though the Father gave His best, Jesus is rejected, because their deeds are evil. Fear of exposure and fear of repentance (change) drives people away from Jesus. But, if we are people that reflect Jesus' love through being gracious and forgiving, we lift Jesus up and draw others near. Be someone who brings people closer to Jesus.