Isaiah 55:6 says, “Seek the LORD while he may be found; call upon him while he is near;” “ While He may be found?” “While He is near?” Where would God be going? The Bible says He is everywhere. Submitted for your approval, Proverbs 15:3 and Jeremiah 23:24 to name just a few Verses.
Seems that you only need to look to find Him. Yet there are Verses, particularly in the Old Testament, that suggest God purposely may hide from some at least. Psalm 13:1 says, “…How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?” Psalm 27:9 says, “Hide not your face from me. Turn not your servant away in anger, O you who have been my help. Cast me not off; forsake me not, O God of my salvation!” Granted, these are Psalms of David, and it may be inferred that he appealed to God in the Book of the Second Samuel. At that point, some of his misdeeds caught up with him enough to compel God to turn His Back on him. But one may, at that point, wonder ‘Where is the loving and forgiving God that we’ve all heard about?’ God’s actions here seem to be contrary to Joel 2:32 which says, “And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.” Not David when he espoused his Psalms, apparently.
But Jesus appears to be more receptive. Is there any instance in the NT in which someone calls on Jesus and Jesus turns away? 1 John 1:9 seems to answer that question. It says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” What happened to the God of David in the God of the New Testament? It is said that Jesus died for our sins, that we may be cleansed of them. To be sure, 1 Peter 2:24 says “[Jesus] himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.” Perhaps at that point, God has a change of heart and, through Jesus, becomes more receptive when He is called on.
So where does Isaiah 55:6 leave us? Seems that Jesus at last makes finding God a moot point. In the New Testament, God is acting through Jesus if finding God was an issue to begin with. But one may still wonder about the meaning of Isaiah 55:6 which, given it’s in the OT which reflects the embodiment of God’s Law that Jesus vowed to uphold in Matthew 5:17.
Seems that you only need to look to find Him. Yet there are Verses, particularly in the Old Testament, that suggest God purposely may hide from some at least. Psalm 13:1 says, “…How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?” Psalm 27:9 says, “Hide not your face from me. Turn not your servant away in anger, O you who have been my help. Cast me not off; forsake me not, O God of my salvation!” Granted, these are Psalms of David, and it may be inferred that he appealed to God in the Book of the Second Samuel. At that point, some of his misdeeds caught up with him enough to compel God to turn His Back on him. But one may, at that point, wonder ‘Where is the loving and forgiving God that we’ve all heard about?’ God’s actions here seem to be contrary to Joel 2:32 which says, “And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.” Not David when he espoused his Psalms, apparently.
But Jesus appears to be more receptive. Is there any instance in the NT in which someone calls on Jesus and Jesus turns away? 1 John 1:9 seems to answer that question. It says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” What happened to the God of David in the God of the New Testament? It is said that Jesus died for our sins, that we may be cleansed of them. To be sure, 1 Peter 2:24 says “[Jesus] himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.” Perhaps at that point, God has a change of heart and, through Jesus, becomes more receptive when He is called on.
So where does Isaiah 55:6 leave us? Seems that Jesus at last makes finding God a moot point. In the New Testament, God is acting through Jesus if finding God was an issue to begin with. But one may still wonder about the meaning of Isaiah 55:6 which, given it’s in the OT which reflects the embodiment of God’s Law that Jesus vowed to uphold in Matthew 5:17.
