Walking With Christ

Isaiah 46:3 “Listen to me, O house of Jacob, all the remnant of the house of Israel, who have been borne by me from before your birth, carried from the womb;(ESV)

Occasionally, when I’m reading, a single word will just jump out at me and send me down a massive bunny trail. The word of the day is “remnant”. Today, remnant means the left over portion of a thing. A carpet remnant or flooring remnant might be just enough to visualize what that color and texture would look like in a room. In many cases, the remnant has little to no value and is given away as a “sample” or sold at a very low price.

But what about the remnant of the house of Israel?

I followed the trail all the way back to Lot, the remnant of Sodom, and Noah, the remnant of the entire human race. “Remnant” does not specify or even imply exactly how much of the original is left. In the cases of Lot and Noah, it was precious little that was left over.

This speaks to the nearly absolute destruction of the original. The telling part of the story is that God was only interested in the remnant. This remnant would become the root of what was to come.

Romans 11:5 So too, at the present time there is a remnant, chosen by grace.(ESV)

The destruction of Israel was often, but not always, a corrective action. The people strayed and began to serve other gods or, at the very least, forget our God and the promises He made. The branches of the vine began to take away from and even threaten the survival of the root. The pruning was necessary to maintain the viability of the vine itself. At times, the pruning was so severe that it could only have been by divine appointment and through divine protection that any trace of the root survived.

Pruning is a common theme throughout the bible. When the vinedresser prunes the vines, the roots grow deeper in response. Deeper roots work to support heavier fruit later. The corrective pruning we see in the bible is always done out of love. God, the Father, loves us completely and, as such, must correct us when we stray. A father who does not correct his children does not love them. Our Father IS love.

Recently, I heard it said that the more painful the correction, the bigger the fruit that is expected as a result. There will be times in all of our lives when it seems like we are just being beaten down. The enemy seeks to destroy completely. The Father may allow some destruction in the name of pruning, but we must always remember that He will keep a precious remnant.