“And you will say in that day: ‘Give thanks to the Lord, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the peoples, proclaim that his name is exalted.’” (Isaiah 12:4)
We are halfway through the Fall semester and a quarter of the way through the school year. Students’ minds are already tired. Administration has been fully engaged in supporting the classroom. Admissions is full throttle in engaging prospective students. Our faculty are in full stride in the classroom (and maybe need to catch up on some grading). In moments like this, it’s important to take time to pull back and drink again from the wellspring of life (John 4:14) and be replenished for the tasks ahead. We have gone deep already this semester, but we must go deeper still.
Just this week, my Old Testament course was working deeply in the book of Isaiah. The beginnings of the book of Isaiah are stark. In the midst of that starkness, he proclaims to us some amazing promises—unbelievable promises. In Isaiah 9, he anticipates a child born who will bring light to Israel’s darkness (Isa 9:1–7). In the meantime, however, Isaiah proclaims the judgment of the exile for Israel because of her idolatry (Isa 9:8–10:11). Despite this judgment, a remnant of Israel can have hope, even in the face of Assyria, because after exilic judgment, God promises that his remnant will return (Isa 10:12–24). God’s anger against his people will come to an end, and after he has utterly destroyed the forest of Israel (Isa 10:26–34) he will raise up a small plant, a shoot from the stump of Jesse (David’s father). This shoot, the son of David, will bring about justice and peace (Isa 11:1–9). He will stand “as a signal” for the nations in whom they too find rest and peace (Isa 11:10) and through him, God will bring his remnant (from the nations) down a highway to the promised land (Isa 11:11–16). This salvation will usher forth praise and thanksgiving from God’s people (Isa 12:1–6). We know this shoot/signal to be Jesus (John tells us so in Rev 5:5). Our class was awed by the beauty and depth of Isaiah’s prophecy about the coming of our Lord, but we needed to go deeper still.
This new exodus song is our song. “God is my salvation; I will trust and will not be afraid; for the Lord God is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation” (Isa 12:2b). At the same time, Isaiah quotes from a much older song as he gives us words to sing: “The Lord is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation.” (Exod 15:2b). Later in the passage, Isaiah quotes Exodus 15:1a (compare to Isa 12:5): “Sing praises to the Lord, for he has done gloriously.” In other words, this greater, second exodus (Isa 11:11), pictures the old exodus and results in worship and thanksgiving to God (Isa 12:1–6).
Isaiah, then, ties this old song in Exod 15, not just to the old exodus, but to the nations’ hope in a greater exodus to come. This second exodus is a better exodus. We, as God’s people, sing thanksgiving to God and a call to those among the nations who have yet to seek the Lord (Isa 12:4), we give him thanks that his anger has turned away from us (Isa 12:1), and we rejoice and are satisfied in the greatness of this amazing “Holy One of Israel” (Isa 12:6). Through his holy seed (Isa 6:13), namely Jesus, the nations find rest, peace, and hope through the knowledge of the Lord (Isa 11:6–9). After Israel’s promised devastation in the exile, our salvation has come through the work of Christ, and we long and wait for its fulness in the age to come. “In that day the root of Jesse, who shall stand as a signal for the peoples—of him shall the nations inquire, and his resting place shall be glorious” (Isa 6:10). We experience that rest partially now but we will experience it fully when Christ comes again (Heb 4:3; 11). What an amazing God we have! “Proclaim that his name is exalted” (Isa 12:4)!
So, pray for Bethlehem College and Seminary. Pray that in our going deep, the Lord will help us go deeper still to see and be satisfied in the glories of his exodus-like salvation in all of Scripture and to long for the greater satisfaction that will come when Christ brings the fulness of our salvation in the new promised land, the new heavens and the new earth, won through Christ’s second exodus work on the cross. Pray that we will have our eyes set to the nations and spread the good news of this second-exodus salvation. Let that vision and longing spur us on to go deeper now into his Holy Book. We want each of our programs at this school to help our students do so. As the Director of Evening Programs, I’m eager to see evening students drink deeply from our Sovereign God in his Sacred Book. If you know of anyone who may be interested in going deep with us in our evening programs (an undergraduate degree completion program in theological studies or a master’s degree in exegesis and theology) consider sending them this prayer letter and encourage them to take classes with us. Maybe the Lord is stirring your own heart to go deeper with us.
Let’s go deeper together.
Lance Kramer, Th.M.
Director of Evening Programs and Assistant Professor of Biblical Studies
Prayer Requests:
- Pray that our students are strengthened to endure in their studies through the rest of this semester.
- Pray that the Lord would give our faculty and staff greater satisfaction and depth in our great God.
- Pray that the Lord would guide you or others to consider taking classes at Bethlehem College and Seminary, especially in our evening programs.
- Pray that the Lord would provide the Serious Joy Scholarships needed to support this year’s students.