The Invitation to Return, Part 2

“…and rest…” Isaiah 30:15a

Isaiah’s first call is to repentance. His second is to rest, which may feel slightly peculiar to our Western ears.

When we hear the word rest, we tend to think of the absence of activity: a day off, an empty calendar. Hebrew has a word for that: shavat, to cease from working, the root of Shabbat.

But that’s not the word used here. Isaiah instead uses nachat, from the root nuach, and nuach is something more. It isn’t simply stopping. It carries the meaning of settling into a place of security. It’s the word Scripture uses when God gives His people “rest from all your enemies around you” (Deuteronomy 12:10). The threat is gone. The land is finally secure.

What might this look like for us? Think of coming home at the end of the day. You enter your home and close the door behind you. You sink into your favorite chair, drop your guard and let out a deep exhale. You’re no longer on high alert. The chaos is outside. Inside, you’re safe.

That’s what makes this call so striking. Judah is anything but secure in a physical sense. Assyria is at the door and the threat of invasion is imminent. Judah’s response: send caravans on the road south, treaties in hand, in an attempt to procure security by her own means. Self-defensive. Security by hypervigilance.

And it’s in direct opposition to God’s invitation. God calls His people to rest: not simply to cease, but to enter into His gift of security. In the land. In His promise.

Michelle Lynn Nipp

I believe God wrote a wondrous story – His story – to capture the hearts and minds of all His creation. My passion is sharing this story! Through word studies, bible teaching and other resources, I want to see you experience the absolute awesomeness and wonder of history’s greatest story, the Bible.

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