We all have gone astray like sheep. Yet, in the midst of our straying, God does not stray from pursuing us. He is love and He will not abandon us.
We all went astray like sheep,
we all have turned to our own way;
and the Lord has punished Him
for the iniquity of us all.
The other day, this was the verse of the day in the Bible app, which is how I tend to start my mornings. I reach for my phone to turn my alarm off, and I try to make the first thing I look at a Bible verse, instead of scrolling through my various notifications. (Truth be told, I am not always the best at this.)
This specific verse was quite striking to me; when I read the first three lines, I thought I knew what would follow in the fourth. I thought it would say something like “and the Lord punished him, because he strayed away” or something along those lines that emphasized the offense of the individual(s) mentioned in the previous verses.
But I was wrong. The fourth line was indeed the opposite of what I expected.
“…for the iniquity of us all”.
Wow.
Let’s look at the entirety of this, and then revisit the shock I felt while reading. This verse says that “we” all went astray, and turned away from the Lord. And the Lord punished “him” for the iniquity of “us all”.
We have three main parties in this verse; “we/us all”, “the Lord”, and “him”.
“We/us all” have strayed and gone our own way. “The Lord” is seeking punishment for the iniquity committed, and “him” is the one who received the punishment.
If “we/us all” are the ones who have committed the inquiry, then why are they not the ones paying for it? Instead, “him” took the fall instead.
This verse is from Isaiah in the Old Testament, so the author would not have explicitly known about Jesus; however, the “him” in this verse is a prophecy for the ultimate mission of Christ, to offer redemption and salvation to those who have gone astray.
Now that we have an understanding of this verse, let us go back to that shock I mentioned feeling when I read the fourth line.
Why was it my natural instinct to assume God would be wrathful toward those who have gone astray?
I think this says a lot about my heart and what I believe about God.
It is not news to you that the world we live in is broken, full of hurt, evil, and a myriad of terrible things.
So it is not surprising that we tend to view God through this lens; it is the lens that has been instilled in us most of our lives. We are used to the hurt that comes with relationships, and sometimes, we assume things about God based on the way we understand the world.
That is exactly what I did while reading this verse.
I read about someone going their own way, going astray from God, and I assumed the punishment was going to come down full force on that individual.
Then I read the fourth line, and I felt shocked.
I was reminded that God, my God, is bigger than the past hurt I have felt, and He deserves much more credit than assuming He will hurt me the same way the world has.
Beloved, our God is Love. He loves us so much that when we go astray, instead of leaving us to our own demise, He offers us a way back through His Son, the “him” in the verse.
He does not act vengefully toward us, but again and again, welcomes us back with open arms.
I felt that this verse was exactly what I needed to hear the day I read it. It is such a beautiful thing when God reminds us of His love for us, and helps correct the distorted view we have of Him at times, even when we don’t realize it.
Reading this verse was such an awakening that there is still hurt in my heart that needs to be surrendered and redeemed to God.
However, from the timing of this verse, I know that my God is ready to walk through that healing with me, revealing things to me that need His attention bit by bit, offering me perfect Love to heal the hurt.
He is willing to do the same for you, beloved.
Always remember that even when you go astray, even when you do your own thing and turn from the way of the Lord, there is Someone who took the fall so that you may return to the Father again and again without shame.
He is with you.
He is for you.
Go in peace.
Thanks for being patient with us through this series. If “We All Went Astray Like Sheep” was encouraging or insightful for you in any way, please let us know and consider sharing “We All Went Astray Like Sheep” with someone else.
Author:
Hello, friends! My name is Haleigh! I am studying Pastoral Ministry at Bethel University. One of the most prominent passions in my life is women’s ministry. I have such a heart for women and helping them see how God created us for such an intentional purpose. Read more of my writing here.
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