WAIT ON THE LORD Concluded
The second Hebrew word translated “wait” seems obscure, but it is, nevertheless, a vital part of our waiting that builds faith and patience.
“For since the world began, no ear has heard and no eye has seen a God like you, who works for those who wait for him!”
Isaiah 64:4 NLT
In Paul’s explanation regarding the mystery of God’s redemption plan, which was hidden from the fallen spiritual rulers of the nations, but revealed in Christ, he quoted from Isaiah 64:4
“No, the wisdom we speak of is the mystery of God—his plan that was previously hidden, even though he made it for our ultimate glory before the world began. But the rulers of this world have not understood it; if they had, they would not have crucified our glorious Lord. That is what the Scriptures mean when they say, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.”
1 Corinthians 2:7-9 NLT
The unspiritual mind i.e., those who are dead to God because of sin, cannot conceive of or even understand the mystery of God’s plan for those who believe in Him, or as Paul puts it, those who love Him. How does this statement connect with Isaiah’s?
Paul’s quote seems to present an interpretation not found in Isaiah’s statement. He uses the word “love” in place of “wait”. How does he express his connection with Isaiah?
The word “wait” in Isaiah 64:4 has an alternative meaning which translators ignored. The word “chakah”, translated “wait” comes from a primitive root associated with piercing.
Where in the Bible is the concept of piercing used?
“But the slave may declare, ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children. I don’t want to go free.’ If he does this, his master must present him before God. Then his master must take him to the door or doorpost and publicly pierce his ear with an awl. After that, the slave will serve his master for life.”
Exodus 21:5-6 NLT
The love of the slave for his master and family caused him to submit to the ritual of ear piercing. The blood on the door post was a perpetual reminder that he belonged to his master and could never be sold to another.
“Blood on the door post”? Another picture of belonging! The children of Israel were saved from the angel of death in Egypt because the blood on the door posts of their houses indicated that they belonged to God.
Jesus was pierced for us that we might belong to God.
“Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So, you must honour God with your body.”
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 NLT
It is our love for Jesus and our obedience to His Word that indicates that we are bound to Him forever because He was pierced for us. We participate in that piercing by being “in Christ” through faith in Him.
How does this concept of piercing connect with waiting on God?
Our love for God is based on our confidence in His trustworthiness. We can wait for Him by weaving our “faith rope” because our “piercing” guarantees that He will answer us for our good and for His glory in His time.
What a marvellous reassurance… that, because we belong to God through His Son’s death, He will always do the best for us. Our faith grows stronger as we wait, our character of steadfastness, patience, and loyalty grows in the likeness of Jesus.
Waiting, then, is not idleness, kicking our heels impatiently while we beg God to intervene. Waiting is a period of steadfast growth in faith and character as God works His will for us.
Tag Archives: no eye has seen
THE THINGS GOD HAS PREPARED
THE THINGS GOD HAS PREPARED
“For since the world began, no ear has heard and no eye has seen a God like you, who works for those who wait for him!”
Isaiah 64:4 NLT
“That is what the Scriptures mean when they say, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.” But it was to us that God revealed these things by his Spirit. For his Spirit searches out everything and shows us God’s deep secrets.”
1 Corinthians 2:9-10 NLT
A few weeks ago, I was meditating on 1 Cor 2:9, when something caught my attention. I recognised something familiar about the words, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard…” Where have I read those words elsewhere in the Bible?
Then it came to me. It was a verse I had recently sent to a friend… “For since the world began, no ear has heard, and no eye has seen a God like you…” Isaiah 64:4
When I reread those two verses side by side, I discovered something amazing. Paul was quoting Isaiah 64:4! That sent me on a search for the meaning behind those words.
If these two Scriptures are pointing towards the same thing, what are they saying?
The word in Hebrew for “wait” in Is. 64 can have the meaning “to pierce”. Where does the idea of “pierce” appear in Scripture?
“But suppose your servant says, ‘I will not leave you,’ because he loves you and your family, and he has done well with you. In that case, take an awl and push it through his earlobe into the door. After that, he will be your servant for life. And do the same for your female servants.”
Deuteronomy 15:16-17 NLT
A pierced earlobe was a sign of belonging. Although still a slave, the person with a pierced ear could not be bought or sold because, by having his ear pierced, he was forever the possession of the master he loved.
So, Is. 64:4 might be saying that God works for those who belong to Him by virtue of a pierced ear.
Where else does the idea of piercing appear in Scripture?
“But when they came to Jesus, they saw that he was already dead, so they didn’t break his legs. One of the soldiers, however, pierced his side with a spear, and immediately blood and water flowed out.”
John 19:33-34 NLT
Can there be a connection between the pierced earlobe of the slave and the pierced side of Jesus?
As we have said, piercing the ear of a slave completed the slave’s belongingness. No matter what he did, he could never be sold to another slave-owner.
Isaiah tells us that…
“… He was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed.”
Isaiah 53:5 NLT
Jesus was pierced for us that we might belong to Him forever.
“Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.”
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 NLT
“But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.”
1 Peter 2:9 NLT
In what way was Jesus pierced for us? Just as the slave, under the old covenant, submitted to being pierced because of his love for his master, so Jesus, for His love for the Father, submitted to being pierced in obedience to Him.
Likewise, we, who are united to Jesus by faith in His finished work, share in His piercing and, therefore, become eligible for all the benefits of belonging to our Master.
Notice that Paul did not say, “…those that He loves…” but “… those who love Him.” Just as the slave’s love for his master was a response to the master’s goodness to him, so “we love Him because He first loved us.” Loving Him prompts our obedience which is our response to His goodness towards us.
Having established our “forever belonging-ness” to Jesus because He was pierced for us, both Isaiah and Paul assert that the God who works for those who belong to Him is unique and different from any other god since He is the only true God.
Now let’s examine what these writers mean by “work” and “the things God has prepared” for those who have been pierced to secure their belongingness.
“Work” in Hebrew can also mean “accomplish” or “bring forth…” What did God accomplish or bring forth? In Isaiah’s writings, the Messianic expectation is fleshed out by many prophecies describing His person, His life, and His work.
What was God going to accomplish through the Messiah? God promised a package of blessings which Jesus would bring forth when He came to do the Father’s will.
So, Isaiah looks forward to what God’s Messiah would do for His people when He came to earth. He would do away with sin and open the way for His people to have a new status and standing before the Father.
He would declare the old system of rituals and sacrifices obsolete by perfectly fulfilling every facet of “the Law” and by giving Himself, once-for-all, as the perfect sacrifice for sin. He would open the way to eternal life for all those who believe in His finished work.
Paul takes up Isaiah’s theme by completing the expectation of what God has prepared for those who belong to Him through Jesus’ piercing. Where Isaiah’s expectation relates to what the Messiah would do to reconcile people to Himself in this life, Paul also looks beyond to the life to come.
Since we have no experience of eternal life in the presence of God on the other side of the grave, our imagination has nothing to connect us to that inexpressibly glorious hope. No matter how far we allow our imagination to run, we will never know what God has prepared for those who love Him.
Therefore, although we cannot conjure up pictures of what it will be, the reliability of God’s promises encourages us to let our future, although indescribably greater than we can imagine, pull us towards its fulfilment.
“You love him even though you have never seen him. Though you do not see him now, you trust him; and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy. The reward for trusting him will be the salvation of your souls.”
1 Peter 1:8-9 NLT
Where God’s blessings in the Old Covenant were largely physical and material, the New Covenant opens the way for us to participate in spiritual blessings which the Holy Spirit reveals to us as we live in the faith dimension of union with Jesus.
“But it was to us that God revealed these things by his Spirit. For his Spirit searches out everything and shows us God’s deep secrets.”
1 Corinthians 2:10 NLT
God promised the Israelites their own land and the blessings of prosperity and fruitfulness if they obeyed the terms of His covenant. Since they were incapable of obeying Him fully because of Adam’s nature, rebellion, in them, God promised that He would forgive their sin and change their hearts through His Messiah who would come.
That promise came into effect through Jesus and the New Covenant when He became God’s perfect sacrifice for sin. His death opened the way for believers to enter the spiritual dimension of the New Covenant.
God made these spiritual blessings available to us through His promises.
To us who believe in Jesus, God has given the promise of participating in the divine nature. In other words, He is restoring His image in us by conforming us to the image of Jesus.
The process of restoration is a partnership between God, the Holy Spirit, and us as we learn to live our ordinary lives in the awareness of Jesus’ presence as He promised.