The debt I could not pay
Isaiah 12:1-3 (NKJV): And in that day you will say: “O Lord, I will praise You; Though You were angry with me, Your anger is turned away, and You comfort me. Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid; ‘For Yah, the Lord, is my strength and song; He also has become my salvation.’ ” Therefore with joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.
From this scripture are the lyrics to the song ‘The Lord Is My Strength’ by Francis Agyei: “He has become my salvation, he has become my salvation. The Lord is my strength, my song, my song, my song.” What a banger…. it’ll take you back a decade or two.
As a brief context to the above scripture, the chapter before this spoke about the root of Jesse (Jesus Christ) that would arise as King and carry the sevenfold Spirit of God. Post His coming and appearance on Earth we would then utter the words said by Isaiah. That day is everlasting: that day is present and continuous, a reality available to all who choose to believe in Him. The choice to accept salvation is open to all- for those who have made this decision they can jubilate in His comfort and strength eternally, for those outside of that reality the door remains open.
The Israelites similarly proclaimed a song of deliverance after their liberation from the oppression of the Egyptians following the parting of the Red Sea in Exodus 14.
Exodus 15:2 (NKJV): The Lord is my strength and song, And He has become my salvation; He is my God, and I will praise Him; My father’s God, and I will exalt Him.
For the first twenty-one verses they sung, Mariam played the tambourine, they tasted freedom and loved it. They couldn’t get enough of the singing. Then they journeyed for three days without water and the grumblings began……
You see, we (humans remaining the focus for this) require need-love as described in “The Four Loves” by C.S. Lewis; the type of love that somehow keeps our heart pumping and brain active as we lay unconscious at night, or causes our body to perspire when we overheat. This isn’t wholly bad; it is how we were made, how we were expected to survive. We were created to be sustained by Him and live through Him. Remember now that:
Job 34:14-15 (NLT): If God were to take back his spirit and withdraw his breath, all life would cease, and humanity would turn again to dust.
In the same way across American sports commentary athletes must ‘update their resume’ on a regular basis to stay ‘relevant,’ sometimes we place that demand on God for the next blessing or provision. Not so long after their deliverance where the Red Sea became like dry land, in dry land the Israelites complained about the lack of available water. This was understandable, relatable, but nonetheless a tad myopic given the context. Across the latter part of Exodus 15 and start of 16 the whole community moaned to Moses reminiscing about the meat and bread they were enjoying under slavery. I’m sure Gökyüzü pales in comparison to the dishes they must’ve been having. In their eyes they had left one oppression for another, yet the Lord heard their complaints and provided for them. He showed them that wood could turn bitter water sweet at His request, then outlined the terms and conditions of their relationship now that He had shown them great acts of power. He cured the water and assured them of continuous health so long as they followed His voice. For breakfast they had bread, for dinner they had quail, yet they still complained and in the end after putting God to the test ten times they were forbidden from seeing the Promised Land (except for Joshua and my namesake Caleb- Numbers 14:22-23). God guiding them during the day by a pillar of cloud and at night by a pillar of fire didn’t suffice for them (Exodus 13:21-22), for the signs were not enough to induce belief, nor did they have enough faith to enter into their rest.
Hebrews 3:7-11,19 (NKJV): “That is why the Holy Spirit says, “Today when you hear his voice, don’t harden your hearts as Israel did when they rebelled, when they tested me in the wilderness. There your ancestors tested and tried my patience, even though they saw my miracles for forty years. So I was angry with them, and I said, ‘Their hearts always turn away from me. They refuse to do what I tell them.’ So in my anger I took an oath: ‘They will never enter my place of rest.’” So we see that because of their unbelief they were not able to enter his rest.”
Moses was faithful in leading them by the voice of God. Jesus is the foundation of our faith, the One who paid the debt we could not pay. Yet insofar as this rest is available to us, we must allow the word of God to shine a light on the areas where we most need grace. Knowing this, we can then come boldly to the One who overcame it all, knowing that He understands our weaknesses and grants us mercy when we most need it. Only then can we begin to live by faith, running the race that was set before us with the Author remaining our focus. We lay aside the weights and sins that trap us, constantly remembering that His mercies are new every morning because of His faithfulness.
“He paid the debt, He did not own, I owned the debt, I could not pay. I needed someone, to wash my sins away. Now I sing a brand new song, amazing grace. Lord Jesus paid the debt, that I could never pay.”- He Paid A Debt He Did Not Owe by Alton Howard Singers
With all this said, I hope that we may not render the paid debt futile at any point in our lives through our unbelief. May we drink from the well of salvation, may rivers of living water flow from our hearts, and may we one day say:
2 Timothy 4:7-8 (NKJV): I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.
To another moment; tsl.