Living In The Weeds

Sermon on Isaiah 44:6-11

Text: “This is what the LORD says —
Israel’s King and Redeemer, the LORD Almighty:
I am the first and I am the last;
apart from me there is no God.
7 Who then is like me? Let him proclaim it.
Let him declare and lay out before me
what has happened since I established my ancient people,
and what is yet to come —
yes, let them foretell what will come.
8 Do not tremble, do not be afraid.
Did I not proclaim this and foretell it long ago?
You are my witnesses. Is there any God besides me?
No, there is no other Rock; I know not one.”
9 All who make idols are nothing,
and the things they treasure are worthless.
Those who would speak up for them are blind;
they are ignorant, to their own shame.
10 Who shapes a god and casts an idol,
which can profit nothing?
11 People who do that will be put to shame;
such craftsmen are only human beings.
Let them all come together and take their stand;
they will be brought down to terror and shame.

In our Gospel Lesson (Matthew 13:24–30,36–43), we heard Jesus tell the parable of the wheat among the weeds. In his explanation, he said that the wheat stands for the believers and the weeds are the unbelievers. Though both may look the same in many respects, when the harvest comes the believers will be taken to heaven and the unbelievers will spend their eternity in hell. In the meantime, we live as wheat among the weeds. As we look at our text, we are going to look at some of the other weeds that we deal with. We are LIVING IN THE WEEDS. First, we will look at 1. The Weeds. Then we will see the loving care of 2. Our Heavenly Gardener.

One of the types of weeds that Israel was dealing with was of their own doing. We see this in verses 9-11, “All who make idols are nothing, and the things they treasure are worthless. Those who would speak up for them are blind; they are ignorant, to their own shame. Who shapes a god and casts an idol, which can profit nothing? People who do that will be put to shame; such craftsmen are only human beings. Let them all come together and take their stand; they will be brought down to terror and shame.” They were dealing with the weeds of idolatry. We see this so often in the history of Israel. A few weeks ago, we saw them worshiping the golden calf. As they worshiped the calf, they said, “These are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.” (Exodus 32:4) Their idolatry didn’t end there. We find them worshiping Baal, Asherah, Molech, and other false gods. They put their trust in these false gods, these idols. In addition, Babylon would soon become a threat to Israel. They would invade and defeat the Israelites. The people might be tempted to think that the gods of Babylon were stronger that the God of Israel. Because of their misplaced trust, their idolatry, God said, “They will be brought down to terror and shame.” (Verse 11) The weeds of idolatry, the weeds of their own doing, would choke them out. Death and destruction lay in their future.

What are the weeds of our own doing that we have allowed to be planted and grow in our lives? Since Isaiah speaks of idols, which ones have taken root in our hearts? We may not bow down to them, as they did in Israel’s time, but what has taken priority over God in our lives? There are many things that would like to have that spot. It may be wealth, in that we are willing to do anything and everything to get it and keep it. It might be recreation time, in that I put more time into enjoying it than in my relationship to God. There are various sins that we keep running back to, even though God has specifically condemned them. The truth of the matter is that any and every time I sin, I am worshiping an idol, and that idol is me. I am saying to God that what I want is more important than what he wants, demands from me. We hear in Isaiah 42:8, “I am the LORD; that is my name! I will not yield my glory to another or my praise to idols.” God is not content with sharing first place in our lives. He will not tolerate it. He says, “They will be brought down to terror and shame.” (Verse 11) The terror and shame that we deserve is to be eternally separated from God’s love in the punishment of hell. We would be choked and die because of the weeds of our own doing.

What is to be done about these weeds in our lives? Since we cannot do anything about them by ourselves, we must look elsewhere for help. We turn to the Lord. He speaks about himself in verse 6, “This is what the LORD says — Israel’s King and Redeemer, the LORD Almighty: I am the first and I am the last; apart from me there is no God.” (Verse 6) In this verse, we find six different names and descriptions of God. We could easily have a sermon about each of them, because they show such beautiful pictures of whom God is.

However, for our purpose this morning, we are going to focus on one specific name, and that is “Redeemer.” A redeemer, in the Old Testament, was a close relative who would step in to rescue family members, who were in trouble. He would “buy back” what was lost. This meant they paid off debts, bought back family land, or even rescued relatives from being forced into slavery. What a wonderful picture of our God. We were held in captivity by our sins, but God is our Redeemer. He did what was necessary to buy us back, to ransom us. Since all the wealth in the world could never procure our freedom, he provided the only way that we could be redeemed. Jesus has redeemed us. What was the cost? It was his perfect life, which he lived while he was on the earth. In all his doings, Jesus always put his Father and his will for Jesus’ life first and foremost. Never once did he stray from that path. What was the cost? It was his perfect life that he willingly offered up on the altar of the cross. He gave us his perfect life and suffered and died on that cross to pay for all our sins. By his resurrection, Jesus shows that he paid the price to set us free from the slavery of sin. As a loving Gardener, our God has killed those weeds that threatened to choke the eternal life out of us. He, also, helps to keep those weeds gone as he strengthens our faith. He gives us the willingness to do this, as we are reminded of what Jesus has done for us. We want to live in a way that gives thanks to God for all he has done for us.

However, those aren’t the only weeds that we have to deal with, are they? There are other weeds that seem to come and threaten to choke the life out of us. The weeds that I am talking about are those troubles that come into our lives that seem to be overwhelming. There might be the weed of the medical report that comes back with news that was unexpected. There is the weed of financial difficulties. The bills are more than the funds we have. Some might have the weed of family difficulties. Others might have the weed that fills their minds when they look at the events that are going on in our world today. Whatever the weed might be, it seems overwhelming. It may seem that we are surrounded by them. What do we do about these weeds?

We find our help in another name that God gives himself in our text. Though we might search here and there for help when we are in these weeds, God says, “No, there is no other Rock; I know not one.” (Verse 8) We’re shifting the picture slightly, but it well fits the situation. When we feel as though we are going to be overwhelmed, our God is our Rock, where we can place our hope and our trust. Jesus used a similar picture in Matthew 7:24&25, “Everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.” Instead of speaking about weeds, Jesus uses the picture of a storm. However, the result is the same. There is hope and confidence in our God, our Rock.

In what ways will our Rock help us, when the weeds seem overwhelming? One thing he might do is to deliver us from that weed. He promises in Psalm 50:15, “Call on me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me.” In his love for you, he might take that weed from your life. If that is the case, may God be praised! However, what if that weed remains in your life? Has your God abandoned you? Has your Rock failed you? Nothing could be further from the truth! He promises us in Hebrews 13:7, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” Though other things or people might fail us, your Rock promises that he will always be there beside you. He promises to give you the strength that you need when you are feeling overwhelmed by the weeds. We read in Isaiah 40:29, “He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.” Our Rock will be with us, giving us the strength that we need for each day. We, also, have this promise from God: “We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28) Though it may not seem like it at the moment, God will use that weed for a benefit. We may not see the benefit that God wants to give us immediately. We may not see it next week, next year, ten years from now. We may not see the benefit this side of eternity. However, we have this promise from our God, who loved us so much that he sent his Son into the world to be our Redeemer, and who does not lie to us. Therefore, we can have this confidence when we are in the weeds. We also have this promise and this hope. Even though the weeds continue to surround us, they can only last so long. The apostle Paul tells us in Romans 8:18, “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.” Paul isn’t dismissing the sufferings, the weeds, but he is looking forward to the time when he would be in heaven. That same hope, that same trust is ours, even as we are surrounded by the weeds. We are looking forward to that time when we will be in heaven, where “God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” (Revelation 21:3&4) Our Rock, our heavenly Gardener, continues to be with us, despite the weeds of this life.

In the parable of the wheat and the weeds, the owner of the field said, “Let both grow together until the harvest.” (Matthew 13:30) In that context, we are reminded that we will live in a world where we will be surrounded by unbelievers. Since their time of grace has not come to an end, we pray that the Holy Spirit would create faith in their hearts, so that they might be harvested as wheat and be gathered into the heavenly granary. We also know that we will be surrounded by the weeds of sin of our own doing. We thank God that those sins have been paid for and we pray that we will avoid them, in thanksgiving for all God has done for us. We also know that, since the world lost its perfection when Adam and Eve sinned, there will be weeds of difficulty that we will face. We thank our God for his many promises that he is with us, he strengthens us, and will, ultimately, deliver us from them when we get to heaven. Yes, we continue to live among the weeds, but we have a Heavenly Gardener, who will take care of them. Amen.