Thanksgiving Day – Isaiah 12

I like reading the testimonies on Answering Islam of Muslims from all over the world who have come to Christ.  I read about Farid, a Russian who grew up in a Muslim home but was an atheist until he learned about death.  He slowly began to adopt Islam, but it wasn’t until he got a scholarship to study physics in the U.S. and met a Christian who asked him what he believed, that he really fully embraced Islam.  But confusion about why Islam discouraged exploration of the belief that Jesus died as a sacrifice for our sins led him out of Islam into agnosticism.  Prayer for his soul, however, led him to attend a church service with a Christian friend and he was converted.  He says, “God is no longer a remote creator who closely watches my life, weighing my bad deeds against my good deeds. He is an infinite being who cares about me personally, and who wants me to be fully committed to him. He wants me to trust in him and in him alone, and he wants me to grow spiritually and become more like him, so that the light of his greatness may shine through me.”

Isaiah speaks of a day of similar testimony.

You will say in that day:  “I will give thanks to you, O LORD, for though you were angry with me, your anger turned away, that you might comfort me.

“Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the LORD GOD is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation.”

With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. And you will say in that day:

“Give thanks to the LORD, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the peoples, proclaim that his name is exalted.

“Sing praises to the LORD, for he has done gloriously; let this be made known in all the earth.  Shout, and sing for joy, O inhabitant of Zion, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.”  (Isaiah 12 ESV)

In light of the deliverance that Yahweh is going to bring Israel and the world in the last days, Isaiah predicts a day of thanksgiving and praise to Yahweh.  He depicts the thanks of a single individual as a representation of the thanks of all people.  The peoples will acknowledge that God was justly angry with them but will be grateful that His anger ceased and He instead comforted them.  Salvation is from God so we can trust Him and not be afraid.

This thanks is followed by testimony to God’s salvation and of the thanks-giver’s trust in Yah Yahweh (translated here, LORD GOD).  Yah is a shortened form of the divine name Yahweh.  We see it in personal names (Isaiah, Yeshaiyahu, Yah has saved) and in the phrase hallelu yah, hallelujah, “let us praise Yah.”  Opinions as to why Isaiah uses this unusual name for God range from it’s a copier’s error, to it makes it emphatic, to it signals the Messiah as distinct from the Father.  What is clear is that the one who trusts in Yahweh will not be afraid in the judgment.  Yes, God was angry with us, but He poured out His anger on the Son so He could pour out His comfort on us.

God’s salvation is deep and rich and like a well we can draw from it to meet our needs.  And we will not be selfish with this salvation but seek to let others know about Him and how wonderful He is.  We will make known His deeds among the peoples.  Singing will be an appropriate avenue for letting the world know of His glory and how great He is in our midst.

Discussion Questions

1. What is one of your favorite Thanksgiving Day experiences?
2. Before you came to Christ, why was God angry with you?
3. Describe the level of joy you had when you received Jesus’ salvation.
4. What was it that brought you to Christ?
5. How have you made His name known since you came to know Him?
6. Is there a song you enjoy singing that expresses your joy in His salvation?