Conditions?

Isaiah 1:19 (Darby)
If ye be willing and hearken, ye shall eat the good of the land.

Don’t be alarmed simply because you see the big “if” at the beginning of this verse! I know what you’re thinking: “God’s put a condition on how to get the blessings. See, Gary, all of this ‘It’s already yours’ preaching is wrong.” Well, to you who have had that thought I say, “You’re wrong!” Are you ready to find out why?

Here’s the deal with this “conditional offer” that God has put forth: the receiving of the blessing (in this case referred to as “the good of the land”) is entirely up to you. The condition that God has placed on your receiving His blessing is that you’re willing to accept it. Now, if that doesn’t spell out cross-style grace then we have an even more serious issue with which to contend.

Why is this so important? Because it takes away the stress of trying to be justified through our works in order to receive the abundance of life that Jesus came to bless us with. I know some people may say that the King James Version of the Bible reads “obedient” instead of “hearken”, but that translation implies work. Isn’t that the first thing you think of when you hear the word obedience? Doesn’t being obedient mean following the rules? That’s only a partial interpretation of the word used in the original Hebrew text and may simply be a bad translation.

The word translated in this verse for obedient (hearken in Darby’s translation) in Hebrew is ‘shama’ (pronounced sha-mah’) which means to hear, listen to, and obey. If you look up the word in Strong’s Concordance, the first 8 of 9 definitions have to do with hearing or listening. The ninth definition is the only one that has to do with obedience. This makes me ask the question: why was obedient chosen rather than listen or hear? (Save that for another day.)

The truth is simple: if you are willing to listen to, and hear the Word of God, Jesus Christ, then you SHALL eat the good of the land! Why do you think Christ said so many times, “He who has ears, let him hear...”? Your obedience to the word is simply believing that what Jesus said is truth. If you don’t believe that He fully satisfied the requirements of the law; that He came to serve, not be served; that He came to heal, sanctify, redeem, and forgive; then you are not being obedient to the word! But if you listen to what Jesus said, if you hear His message of salvation and abundance, and you believe it, then you have obeyed.

So I’ll ask the question: are you willing to have the abundance of life promised by Jesus and freely given to you by the grace of God? Or, would you rather live under the thumb of the law and base your blessings, your inheritance, on the works of your hands? I, for one, choose the first option. I believe!