We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to our own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all. (NIV)
Isaiah 53:6
Today’s Reading: Isaiah 53:4-6
Yes all of us have gone astray. Paul wrote to the Roman church:
“There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom 3:22-23).
You are not lumped in with the group. You can’t hide amongst the crowd because Isaiah also says, “each of us has turned to our own way.” This was a personal decision that you made. Each of us bear a personal responsibility in our decision to stray from God’s desired path for us.
The Hebrew word for “turned” is pānâ which means to face in a direction. Whichever way you are looking is the direction in which you will go. Isaiah says that we have turned to our own way. We are looking at ourselves and going where we want to go. But we are to look at God and go in His direction. God says:
“Turn (pānâ) to me and be saved,
all you ends of the earth;
for I am God, and there is no other” (Isa 45:22).
The Hebrew word for “our own way” is derek which plainly means a road, highway or journey. It can also describe a course of action, a habitual pattern or a moral choice. Thus, we are looking to ourselves to determine our actions and we are making bad moral choices. The result is that we have sinned and we have nobody else to blame but ourselves. Each of us have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Proverbs says:
“For the Lord gives wisdom;
from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.
He holds success in store for the upright,
he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless,
for he guards the course of the just
and protects the way (derek) of his faithful ones” (Prov 2:6-8).
If we look to God and turn to His ways, He will hold success in store for us. We will make good moral choices and that will lead to wisdom, knowledge and understanding so we can continue to make good moral choices. We cannot simply change our ways and do better. We have to first look to God and then we will turn to Him and then our actions will follow.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways submit to him,
and he will make your paths straight” (Prov 3:5-6).
We have failed to submit to God in all our ways. But because of Jesus, we can have our sins forgiven and be given a fresh opportunity to lean not on our own understanding but to submit to God and follow His path. And it’s all because of Jesus.
Christ in the Old Testament 
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