“Listen to Me, you who follow after righteousness, You who seek the Lord: Look to the rock from which you were hewn, And to the hole of the pit from which you were dug. Isaiah 51:1, NKJV.
Dear God and Heavenly Father, when we feel down, or put down, please remind us that we were made in Your image and likeness. In the name of Your Son and our Savior, Jesus the Christ we pray. Amen.
In one of my Psychology classes I discovered that there are people who remember an abnormal amount of their life experiences. This condition is called Hyperthymesia. Their brains are, I would say, full to overflowing with an abundance of almost every single thing they ever experienced. Because of this, normal memorization is difficult for them. Their brains are connected to the past on a permanent basis! That must be horrible!
After learning about this condition a once-in-a-while forgetfulness episode should not be considered so terrible after all. Some call it a “Senior moment.” When I am in the midst of explaining something to someone and all of a sudden I go blank, to relieve my anxiety I usually say something to this effect, “It will come back to me.” Or, “Well, if it was important I would have remembered it.” Which suggests that we usually remember the important things and moments in our lives.
In our Scripture for today, we are encouraged by the Lord, through His prophet, to “look to the rock from which [we] were hewn, and to the hole of the pit from which [we] were dug.” In my search to understand what the Lord was saying to me, I asked myself several questions: What, or who, does the rock and the pit represent? Is it someone, something, or an event? We read the following in the first book of the Bible: “And the Lord God formed [humankind] of the dust of the ground, and breathed into [humankind’s] nostrils the breath of life; and [humankind] became a living being” (Genesis 2:7).
Dust or dirt is a major component in the formation of rocks. And the grave is usually referred to as a pit. It made me think of birth and rebirth. These are two of the most important events in the life of the Christian. And it is to those “who follow after righteousness, You who seek the Lord[,]” that this message is sent. Was this only a message for Israel of old? Could the message be also for us as Christians living today? Or, is this a message of grace that was sent to all humankind even before the advent of the Savior – that He who gave us life in the beginning would also give us eternal life in the end, through resurrection from “the pit” (Job 33:28)?
It also made me think of Michelangelo’s David. In what others saw only a rough piece of marble, abandoned for twenty five years, all the while exposed to the inclemency of the weather – Michelangelo saw a Biblical hero. When sin marred God’s beautiful creation, and the entire universe of un-fallen beings saw only sinners, God saw saints saved by His grace, and renewed in righteousness.
Notice the form of speech with which our text begins: “Listen to Me[!]” In other words, “what I am about to say is very important!” Look to! Remember! Do not forget this!
“‘”I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End” says the Lord, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” (Revelation 2:7). I was with you in the past. I am with you in the present. I will be with you in the future. And don’t you ever forget, I am coming back for you! While it is good to remember from where you were taken, it is even more important to remember where I am taking you! Thank You Jesus! Praise the Lord! Amen.
NOTE: Within its context. The rock and pit according to Biblical scholars refer to Abraham and Sarah (vs.2). I have given the text a personal application not interpretation.