Your Name & Remembrance

Isaiah 26:8.  What does that passage mean?  We chose this as our family verse a few years back.  I was recently studying some other versions of this passage.  The English Standard Version says “In the path of your judgements, O Lord, we wait for you; your name and remembrance are the desire of our soul.”  In order to fully grasp the original intent of the author, we must consider the context.  This particular section of Isaiah is what some scholars have called the oracles and woes against rebellious nations.  

The chapter begins with “In that day the song will be sung in the Land of Judah.”  Isaiah is speaking of a coming day of victory for the righteous.  Verse 7 says “you make level the way of the righteous.”  Then verse 9 says “My soul yearns for you in the night.” So the two verses surrounding verse 8 speak of God’s provision for the righteous, and a yearning from the one who follows Him.  It’s interesting how verse 8 speaks of God’s judgement.  The NIV uses the word “laws.”  It is in God’s judgments/laws that we walk in the path of.  Now why is this important?  What would our children be like if they had no boundaries?  You have heard it said that children yearn for structure and boundaries.  God’s instruction for us, his judgments and decrees, are for our benefit.  

The word path gives the connotation that we are behind Him, following Him.  “We wait for you” means we are patient for His instruction. Isn’t it the times when we pursue and live outside His decrees that we get into the most trouble?  When we jump ahead and live as if it is “all about me and what I want” is when we can be the most miserable.  This can be simple and subtle actions in our lives.  For example, Ephesians 5:28 says “husbands should love their wives as their own body.”  Easy enough right?  Not if I am not in the path of his laws.  It’s interesting how much smoother my marriage goes when I put Alicia ahead of me.  Our relationship has more joy, meaning, and oneness when I wait for Him.  This is so indicative of not just our marriages but our lives in general.

Those of us who claim to be followers of Christ have been redeemed for His name and remembrance. When we make Him famous is when we find the most meaning and substance in life.  Is the desire for His renown, as the NIV puts it, the longing of your soul?  Don’t you want Him to make level the way you should go?