The Remnant Is the Hope of the Nation

“Except the Lord of hosts had left unto us a very small remnant, we should have been as Sodom, and we should have been like unto Gomor­rah.”—Isa. 1:9.

When Isaiah laid out the case against Judah and Jerusalem, it was not a pretty picture that he gave.

He told them that cattle and donkeys know their owners and their place but the people of God didn’t know who their God was (vs. 3).

He charged them as a “sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers” (vs. 4). Because they had forsaken the Lord, “they are gone away backward” (vs. 4). Backward? Yes, they were at that time headed in the wrong direction.

And remember, your direction will determine your ultimate destination.

The issue with a church may not be where they are now, but where their current direction will have them in five years.

The diagnosis of their “backward” direction was “the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it” (vss. 5,6).

Even the religious observances which were still taking place (vss. 11–15) were rotten to the core. When the Lord said, “I am full” (vs. 11) of it, it is an “I’m fed up with it” indictment.

So the situation in the nation was quite grim and the future appeared foreboding. It looks much like the chaotic condition that has devel­oped in America.

Our nation is in trouble morally and spiritually. A return to God is needed. Unless we have a genuine revival in our churches, the un­raveling of the fabric of our nation will continue.

As dark as the picture is in Isaiah, chapter 1, don’t miss the hope and the promises of God.

1. A remnant has spared the nation.

“Except the Lord of hosts had left unto us a very small remnant, we should have been as Sodom, and we should have been like unto Gomor­rah.”—1:9.

Remember Sodom and Gomor­rah were destroyed when a remnant could not be found.

You and I can be that remnant for America. We can’t be the remnant unless we give God first place and put the Devil in his place. We can’t be friends with the world and be God’s friend in the world at the same time (Jas. 4:4).

2. The redemption of the Lord is still available.

“Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land: But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.”—Isa. 1:18–20.

That’s plain enough!

3. The restoration of the nation shall come.

Because there is a remnant who will herald the Lord’s redemption, He promises,

“And I will restore thy judges as at the first, and thy counsellors as at the beginning: afterward thou shalt be called, The city of righteousness, the faithful city.”—Vs. 26.

The Lord can put things back in place “as at the first” and “as at the beginning.” Then “afterward” the city will get its reputation restored.

So, come on, my fellow servants, let’s push discouragement to the curb, let’s take a place as the remnant and let’s sound out like a trumpet the redemptive message of God. Today is the day. Let’s do it!