Promise in the Prophets 55: Place of Defense

  • 55. Place of Defense

Isaiah 33:15,16 He that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly; he that despiseth the gain of oppressions, that shaketh his hands from holding of bribes, that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil; He shall dwell on high: his place of defense shall be the munitions of rocks: bread shall be given him; his waters shall be sure.

This is a conditional promise: if you walk righteously, speak uprightly, despise gain, refuse bribes, avoid bloodshed, and shun evil, then you will dwell on high, live in a strongly defensed place, be given bread, and always have water. In other words, if you do what is right you will live well. Honesty, integrity, and truthfulness will bring safety and prosperity. The opposite would also be true: if you lie, cheat and steal you will not do well. This is all a general principle built in to the universe. “Honesty is the best policy.” Keep the commandments and you will be blessed. This principle is always true and the Bible is full of it: God gives blessings or allows curses according to obedience or disobedience of the Ten Commandments.

The Moral Law of God is given to human beings for their good. Good things come as a natural consequence of keeping the Law; bad things happen as a consequence to those who break the Law. This truth is undeniable. The problem is that many Jews extended moral righteousness to include the consequence of eternal life and heaven (if they even believed in such a prospect). Even after Jesus came, too many Christians still believe and act as if eternal reward is based on earthly behavior: do good and God rewards; do bad and God punishes. This idea of “earning” reward or punishment is endemic to human nature: we are often tempted to believe that good works deserve eternal reward, and sinful deeds deserve eternal punishment.

This is true, but it misunderstands or disbelieves GRACE. Grace means Jesus earned the reward for us and gave it to us. This is astounding! Eternal life is a gift of grace. Faith receives it. But once we understand and believe the grace of God in Christ we may forget that keeping or not keeping The Law of God still has good or bad consequences in life. And the gospel of grace gives us the power to keep the Law and reap the sowing to the Spirit.

Jesus has satisfied the condition of this promise: therefore, by faith we shall “dwell on high,” even now and certainly forever.