Three verbs tell us how we should appraoch this first WOW passage — “listen” … “hear” … “pay attention.” Here’s why: Isaiah is laying out for us God’s real intent in plowing — fruit! (29:24-26) If we aren’t listening we could miss this and think God was simply enjoying the act of digging for digging’s sake! 🙂 Not at all! He digs so that he can plant so that he can grow so that he can reap. It’s all about the fruit at the end, not the digging at the beginning.
In fact, this is the theme of all these veses! When he talks about the “cartwheel over the cummin” (29:27) or the “grain being ground” (29:28) or the “threshing with a sledge” (29:27), it’s for the purpose of bread! Yep, good ole’ bread! That’s the positive side of farming! Does it entail negative asects? Yes — digging, threshing, grinding, etc. But the end product is enjoyable, beneficial, and profitable.
Such is God’s chastening and training! In the short run, painful; but in the long run, profitable. God isn’t just a good parent, he’s a great farmer!
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Todd -Just wanted to leave a note that about my preparation for the “Restorative Nature of God”. I think that one of the main points that God has revealed to me regarding his restorative nature is that it has multiple facets. One, is that it speaks to physical restoration of the future at the coming of the Lord, and the establishment of his new kingdom on this earth. Secondly, it also speaks to the present, as the true restorative nature of God is revealed on a daily basis as he opens the eyes of understanding for the blind, he opens the ears of the deaf to understand the gospel message, and he opens the mouth of the mute to pour forth praises for our God. While Isaiah 35 chronicles the restoration of the earth for God’s kingdom, the underlying theme and character of God has always been about the restoration of the hearts of man back to their creator. God restores what/who seems to have no value. God’s restoration is perfect!
Great discussion folks. This was very helpful.