“Come, My people, enter your chambers, and shut your doors behind you;
hide yourselves for a little while until the fury has passed by.”
(Isaiah 26:20)
“Shelter-in-place” is not a new idea. Quarantines have been used (and sometimes, sadly, abused) as protection against the spread of disease for many generations. Through the prophet Isaiah God instructed the people of ancient Judah to hide for a time against something far worse than a contagious virus. God Himself would soon bring punishment on Judah’s captors. He would send death and destruction, righteous punishment for sin and unbelief. To protect His people from what was surely coming, God lovingly commanded them to hide in their homes—for a little while.
We are currently “sheltering-in-place” for another “little while.” It’s making us uncomfortable. Freedom-lovers chafe under restrictions. The sinful nature in us always inclines to do the very opposite of any command, even when we know the command to be good, useful, or protective. Even sensible precautions can become irritatingly burdensome the longer they are enforced, and homes can begin to feel like prisons when the “little while” lasts longer than anticipated.
Waiting is hard: Ask any child who is counting down the days until Christmas! Not knowing the length of time that the people of Judah would be expected to hide in their homes, the prophet had already counselled, “Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD God is an everlasting rock.” (Isaiah 26:4) That’s godly counsel for us, as well. Hold to Jesus and His word, dear ones! When people tried to move Jesus more quickly than He knew to be the will of His Father, He replied, “My time has not yet come.” Not knowing Jesus’ timetable, His disciples may well have chafed a bit. They may have asked (either in genuine curiosity, or, remaining sinners even when believing, in impatience,) “When will the time come?” But Jesus would not be pressured into untimely action. Trusting His Father, He waited for “the appointed hour.”
Trusting in God, we too will wait. But let our waiting not be idle! We have extra time right now for prayer and Bible study, for meditation on God’s holy word, and for acts of Christian service. Do you know people who are isolated? Call them on the phone. Rediscover the lost art of writing letters to distant family and friends. When God commanded the people of Judah to hide, He didn’t add, “and do nothing.” No, the whole of scripture warns against idleness. Like all blessings, time is a precious gift, given not to be wasted but stewarded joyfully and responsibly in the worship of God and the service of neighbors. Rest is restorative and recreative; idleness dissipates energies and leaves us weary and dispirited.
For three days Jesus rested in His tomb before rising to life again. The grave “hid” Him in God’s safekeeping until it was time for resurrection. That little word “until” is important. It implies temporary duration. A current reality continues only until something changes it. Isaiah urged the people of Judah to hide “until” the fury had passed. Then they were to come out of hiding to lead public lives of faith once again. So will it be for us. After the virus has passed and it is safe to gather in public once again, we will assemble for worship and go about our daily lives of Christian discipleship. Until then, we wait actively … and pray fervently … and love our neighbors wholeheartedly in witness to Jesus, the Lord Who is always our “Shelter-in-Place.”
Prayerfully,
Pastor Walt Pohland
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