Grieving the Holy Spirit

Prayer: LORD, look down from heaven; look from your holy, glorious home, and see us. Where is the passion and the might you used to show on our behalf? Where are your mercy and compassion now? Surely you are still our Father! Even if Abraham and Jacob would disown us, LORD, you would still be our Father. You are our Redeemer from ages past. LORD, why have you allowed us to turn from your path? Why have you given us stubborn hearts so we no longer fear you? Return and help us, for we are your servants, the tribes that are your special possession. How briefly your holy people possessed your holy place, and now our enemies have destroyed it. Sometimes it seems as though we never belonged to you, as though we had never been known as your people. Isaiah 51:15-19

Who is this who comes from Edom, from the city of Bozrah, with his clothing stained red? Who is this in royal robes, marching in his great strength? “It is I, the LORD, announcing your salvation! It is I, the LORD, who has the power to save!” Why are your clothes so red, as if you have been treading out grapes? “I have been treading the winepress alone; no one was there to help me. In my anger I have trampled my enemies as if they were grapes. In my fury I have trampled my foes. Their blood has stained my clothes. For the time has come for me to avenge my people, to ransom them from their oppressors. I was amazed to see that no one intervened to help the oppressed. So I myself stepped in to save them with my strong arm, and my wrath sustained me. I crushed the nations in my anger and made them stagger and fall to the ground, spilling their blood upon the earth. Isaiah 51:1-6

Meditate. Jesus’ blood was shed for the redemption of all mankind. 

Comment: We just celebrated Resurrection Sunday—better known as Easter. Now here is an example of blood on Jesus—but it is not His own, but that of His enemies. I wouldn’t want to be an enemy of the Lord. Isaiah gives us insight that these enemies are enemies of God’s chosen people, the Jews in Israel. The Jesus Christ slaughters them. That is love and true commitment. Jesus fought for their very lives—their spiritual lives. He announced salvation to the Israelites, as He came to rescue them from their oppressors. What righteous anger in love He has for them! Many times throughout history the Israelites turned their backs on God, grieving the Holy Spirit, but He didn’t give up on them. Here He is again to save them! The blood that is spilled is not that of the Lord God, Jesus Christ—The Messiah—nor the Israelites, but of their enemies. This is prophecy—it will happen. Will some turn their backs on God once more and grieve the Holy Spirit again? Do you ever turn against the Lord and grieve the Holy Spirit?

Verses of Salvation ~ I will tell of the LORD’s unfailing love. I will praise the LORD for all he has done. I will rejoice in his great goodness to Israel, which he has granted according to his mercy and love. He said, “They are my very own people. Surely they will not betray me again.” And he became their Savior. In all their suffering he also suffered, and he personally rescued them. In his love and mercy he redeemed them. He lifted them up and carried them through all the years. But they rebelled against him and grieved his Holy Spirit. So he became their enemy and fought against them. Then they remembered those days of old when Moses led his people out of Egypt. They cried out, “Where is the one who brought Israel through the sea, with Moses as their shepherd? Where is the one who sent his Holy Spirit to be among his people? Where is the one whose power was displayed when Moses lifted up his hand—the one who divided the sea before them, making himself famous forever? Where is the one who led them through the bottom of the sea? They were like fine stallions racing through the desert, never stumbling. As with cattle going down into a peaceful valley, the Spirit of the LORD gave them rest. You led your people, LORD, and gained a magnificent reputation. Isaiah 51:7-14

 

© 2023 Text, photos, and illustrations by Mickey M. Hunacek. All rights reserved. 

All scripture quoted from the New Living Translation (NLT) unless otherwise noted. 

New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. 

Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

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