Thus says the Lord,
your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:
“I am the Lord your God,
who teaches you to profit,
who leads you in the way you should go.
Oh that you had paid attention to my commandments!
Then your peace would have been like a river,
and your righteousness like the waves of the sea;
your offspring would have been like the sand,
and your descendants like its grains;
their name would never be cut off
or destroyed from before me.” (Isaiah 48:17-19)
We lament when we learn the hard way that we should have listened to God. In this passage from Isaiah, God laments that his chosen people did not pay attention to his commandments. His lament centers on what his Israel could have had, not on their disobedience and unfaithfulness.
God passionately expresses of his love for Isarael. He wanted the best for them. Peace steadily flowing like a mighty river. Righteousness like the constant waves of the ocean breaking upon the shores.
We usually view God’s commandments negatively – what we must be doing or must not be doing. God’s laws are primarily positive. He wants the best for us, which is why he gives us his commandments.
We only receive God’s commandments positively when we are a new creation in Christ. We gladly receive them as the Father’s care in looking out for us. Apart from Christ, as sinners, we only receive his commandments as a threat and an obligation.