God knows all because He is God, yet he has the capacity to wonder. The word wonder means to search out the reason why. Does God search? Yes. This was written to Israel, and though we are not Israelites, their mistakes are being made today. Their weakness is the same as ours. I hope God doesn’t have to wonder about me. Does he you? We should never question God, and he should never have to question us.
Isaiah 59:14 “And judgment is turned away backward, and justice standeth afar off: for truth is fallen in the street, and equity cannot enter. 15 Yea, truth faileth; and he that departeth from evil maketh himself a prey: and the LORD saw it, and it displeased him that there was no judgment. 16 And he saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor: therefore his arm brought salvation unto him; and his righteousness, it sustained him.” 20. And the Redeemer shall come to Zion, and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob, saith the LORD.”
If ever there was a passage of scripture that could be in a newspaper, this would blend in with what we read today. It would be as correct as the other news stories. It is a good summary of society. We speak of the world as they and society as them. It’s never “we.” We make up the nation, society, our localities, wherever we are. We are the human race.
Isaiah takes an objective look at the conditions in his day. By a gradual tolerance and acceptance, there was a departure from the Lord. What was clear was now unclear. Even though the people had the Old Testament scriptures and the word of the Lord, individually they had trouble. False religions and blended religions, a mixing of the worship of God with the worship of Baal, confused the people. Israel became a divided nation. It was the same in Jesus’ day. Pilate knew all about the Jews and the Romans, yet he threw up his hands about Jesus and asked “what is truth?” He said “I find no fault in this man.” Isaiah’s time was the same. Lord help us that those times are not the observation of us.
The devil causes confusion. He sows seeds of discord. He loves to defile the soul to the point that we become unclear and wonder if there is anything left to trust in. Instead of fixing the problem and turning to God, the only One who is clear, we ask why life is in the shape it is. Why? Why? Why? In reality God wonders about us. Look again at verse 16. God wondered. What did he wonder?
Up in verse 14 Isaiah said “And judgment is turned away backward, and justice standeth afar off: for truth is fallen in the street, and equity cannot enter.” The people were perverted. Those are strong words, but they adequately describe our day as well. How can there be such a reversal of truth? The fact of the matter is that truth is always the same. The problem is with man. Judgment is reversed. Wrong is considered right and right is frowned upon. Fairness has gone out the door. On the throne sits a God who is fair. He treats us all the same. What he’ll do for me, he’ll do for you.
Look at the perversion. The devil doesn’t want us to. See yourself. Read the Word and let it guide you to truth. We will cease wondering why. This is why Jesus said if we trust him and continue in His Word, then the truth will make us free. The only anchor in this world is truth, the truth of God. He is a fixer of what needs fixing. He shows us what is wrong. He’s a plumber if we have a leak. He’s a carpenter because he’s the master builder. We see our life all coming down around us and say it’s all right, but it is not.
God saw the permissiveness of the people. Look at verse 2. They were so used to sin and the twisted judgments that carried on. If there is something wrong in life, there is nothing worse than to ignore it. If you have a cavity and let it go, pretty soon you’ll be at the dentist getting that tooth pulled. Now is the time to have the tooth filled. What killed Israel can kills us. Have a clear way to inspect yourself before cavities become abscesses. Judgment will yank it out. I want the Lord to be my redeemer, not my judge.
Isaiah had a hard time in the perverted and permissive world he lived in, but he trusted God. It is he who will get us through in our day and time. We have the tendency to get passive; we get lazy and complacent as we go along. God knows that. There is one thing he wonders about. When the people saw all this going on around them, they didn’t pray. There was no intercessor. Eyes saw, but they didn’t pray. Ears heard, but they didn’t pray. What makes God wonder is that there is so much to pray about but there is so little praying.
Perversion and permissiveness bother God, but what really gets to him the most is when we do nothing about it. Do you pray less now that you did 10 years ago or when you first got saved? Times are worse now, and we ought to be praying longer and seeking God more than ever. Are we? God looked down and wondered why no one interceded. No one was praying. He had to do something else and brought salvation to us. In verse 20 he said the “Redeemer shall come to Zion.”
Prayer life is not just a daily routine. Are you concerned enough to get on your knees. Are you interceding? Sometimes there is very little we can do, but we can pray. The best we can do for ourselves is to seek God. Pray for me. Pray for the church. Pray for the United States. Pray about deliverance from the devil. What was it the Lord said in his model prayer? — “deliver us from evil”
It’s our lack of sincere praying that makes God wonder. All around us the need is there, yet we do so little praying. Revival begins in prayer. Change begins in prayer. Miracles begin in prayer. The hope of the nation, of the family, and of our own soul lies in our willingness to seek God. Prayerlessness in any life always makes God wonder why.
Is God wondering about you?
Adwolfe Freewill Baptist Church 