By Mike Ivaska
6 On your walls, O Jerusalem,
I have set watchmen;
all the day and all the night
they shall never be silent.
You who put the Lord in remembrance,
take no rest,
7 and give him no rest
until he establishes Jerusalem
and makes it a praise in the earth.
“You who put the Lord in remembrance, take no rest, and give him no rest…” What a verse for evangelism! In its original context, the prophet is of course calling for the “watchmen” (presumably his fellow prophets) to be unceasing in their efforts to bring repentance to God’s people. They had wandered away from their covenant Lord and were facing exile as a result. And so the Lord through Isaiah exhorts the faithful preachers of that day to do two things:
1) “Take no rest.” In other words, don’t stop preaching the Word! In our day, this means the good news of Jesus Christ and the call to repent and believe. All of us, every day, need to be reminded of the good news that God is for us and not against us, even if he is against our sin. In Jesus Christ, God has made provision for the forgiveness of our sins, the defeat of our darkness, and deliverance from our hopelessness. He has given us a hope and a future! This promise of new life carries with it the gracious command to turn from darkness and to walk in the light of his grace, mercy, and love. But this Word is not just for us. It is for the whole world, including our neighbors, families, co-workers and friends. So let’s “take no rest” preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ to ourselves, one another, and the world!
2) “Give him no rest.” Powerful words!! Give who no rest? God!! This is a call to persevering prayer on behalf of the lost. Why would God, through his prophet, exhort those who knew his Word to pray like this? Why would they be commanded to make sure God wasn’t “asleep on the job”? Certainly this doesn’t mean that God is lazy or sleeps. It also doesn’t mean that God needs to be reminded about what is going on in the world. Mysteriously enough, it means that the creator and redeemer of the universe includes us in his process of redemption. Only God can save. Only God can bring true conviction and repentance. Faith itself is a gift (Ephesians 2:8-9)! But still, God draws us into the salvation process. We partner with him in our own conversion and growth. We also partner with him in the redemption of others. This is how God wants it. He says, “Look at those who don’t know me. Consider their situation and talk to me about it. Tell them about me, but also tell me about them. What needs do you see in their lives? Why do you think they don’t believe? Do you care that they don’t know me? Do you love them enough to be the glue that sticks us together, them to me and me to them? I want you involved in this process. I don’t plan on doing this without you.”
God is a God of power and love. He has made us and redeemed us. And he has done it all through his Son. Part of the glory of redemption is to be caught up in the redemption of others. He alone is the Savior, but he invites us to join him in the adventure. Let’s take some time today to “give God no rest,” reminding him of our loved ones and neighbors who don’t know Jesus. Having done that, let’s “take no rest” ourselves and tell someone about the love of God found in Jesus Christ today.