Why does God take action? It is because he desires to bring the glory of His name to all the nations. 
Posting about ­­­­­­­­God\u27s promises fulfilled from In All Things - an online journal for critical reflection on faith, culture, art, and every ordinary-yet-graced square inch of God’s creation.
http://inallthings.org/the-lord-does-not-turn-a-blind-eye

Breems, Jenni

English

Dordt College

Digital Collections @ Dordt Staff Work 3-27-2017 The Lord Does Not Turn a Blind Eye Jenni Breems Dordt College, jenni.breems@dordt.edu Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcollections.dordt.edu/staff_work  Part of the Christianity Commons Recommended Citation Breems, J. (2017). The Lord Does Not Turn a Blind Eye. Retrieved from https://digitalcollections.dordt.edu/staff_work/61 This Blog Post is brought to you for free and open access by Digital Collections @ Dordt. It has been accepted for inclusion in Staff Work by an authorized administrator of Digital Collections @ Dordt. For more information, please contact ingrid.mulder@dordt.edu. The Lord Does Not Turn a Blind Eye Abstract "Why does God take action? It is because he desires to bring the glory of His name to all the nations." Posting about God's promises fulfilled from In All Things - an online journal for critical reflection on faith, culture, art, and every ordinary-yet-graced square inch of God’s creation. http://inallthings.org/the-lord-does-not-turn-a-blind-eye/ Keywords In All Things, lectionary, God, justice, oppression, salvation Disciplines Christianity Comments In All Things is a publication of the Andreas Center for Reformed Scholarship and Service at Dordt College. This blog post is available at Digital Collections @ Dordt: https://digitalcollections.dordt.edu/staff_work/61 The Lord Does Not Turn a Blind Eye inallthings.org /the-lord-does-not-turn-a-blind-eye/Jenni BreemsDaily Scripture TextsPsalm 146Isaiah 59:9-19Acts 9:1-20The idiom ‘to turn a blind eye’ is often used when describing official responses to sexual abuse, human rights violations, scandals, and war.  In these situations, the needs of marginalized people are conveniently overlooked by those who have the power to take action. While the powerful display indifference, the violations continue.  In today’s passage from Isaiah 59, it seems that God has turned a blind eye to their plight of his people.God’s people are crying out for justice, and life is very dark for them. Righteousness, deliverance, and truth seem far away.So justice is far from us,and righteousness does not reach us.We look for light, but all is darkness;for brightness, but we walk in deep shadows.Like the blind we grope along the wall,feeling our way like people without eyes. (vs. 9-10)In response to the gloom and darkness, the prophet Isaiah calls the people to a collective state of repentance. They confess their sins before the Lord.For our offenses are many in your sight,and our sins testify against us.Our offenses are ever with us,and we acknowledge our iniquities:rebellion and treachery against the LORD,turning our backs on our God,inciting revolt and oppression,uttering lies our hearts have conceived. (vs. 12-13)Their confession recognizes that they have been part of the problem—playing roles as both oppressed and oppressor. God is moved by the prayers of his people. He opens his eyes and sees their plight.The Lord looked and was displeasedthat there was no justice.He saw that there was no one,he was appalled that there was no one to intervene. (vs. 15-16)Not only does God see, He gets involved. He takes dramatic action. He achieves righteousness. He wraps himself in salvation and zeal. He repays his enemies.So his own arm achieved salvation for him,and his own righteousness sustained him He put on righteousness as his breastplate,1/2and the helmet of salvation on his head;he put on the garments of vengeanceand wrapped himself in zeal as in a cloak.According to what they have done,so will he repaywrath to his enemiesand retribution to his foes (vs. 16-18).Why does God take action? Is it solely because his people repented? No, it is because he desires to bring the gloryof His name to all the nations.From the west, people will fear the name of the Lord,and from the rising of the sun, they will revere his glory. (vs. 19)In Acts 9, God also takes dramatic action for the sake of his name. I imagine that the disciple Ananias and his fellowDamascus church-members were frightened about Saul’s pending visit. They knew about his murderous oppressionof the church in Jerusalem. They heard that he was coming to persecute them. God had other plans in mind.As Saul traveled on this mission of persecution, he met the risen Jesus through a dazzling encounter on theDamascus Road. Afterwards, blindness set in and he could no longer see. During Saul’s three days of blindness,God spoke to Ananias with instructions on how to restore Saul’s spiritual and physical sight. Ananias wasunderstandably worried about the injustice of the situation. After all, Saul was a known enemy of the early church.The Lord comforts and reassures Ananias. He is God; He is in charge; and He is taking action. Saul will no longerbe the persecutor, he has been chosen to proclaim God’s glory to the people of Israel and to the world.Our third lectionary passage is a group of psalms that are known collectively as the “Hallelujah Psalms”. Psalm 146celebrates God’s action on behalf of the powerless. He cares for the oppressed, the hungry, the prisoner, the widow,the refugee, and the downtrodden. He gives sight to the blind.Hallelujah! Our Lord God does not turn a blind eye to injustice. May we imitate Him to be agents of His glorious lightto the world.A prayer from the Revised Common Lectionary:Discerner of hearts,you look beneath our outward appearanceand see your image in each of us.Banish in us the blindnessthat prevents us from recognizing truth,so we may see the world through your eyesand with the compassion of Jesus Christ who redeems us. Amen.2/2

The Lord Does Not Turn a Blind Eye

https://digitalcollections.dordt.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1061&context=staff_work

The Lord Does Not Turn a Blind Eye

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

Dordt College