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If our text for today from Isaiah
chapter 29 were to be reviewed by a wine

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magazine, the review might describe it
as an unassuming little text with a fruity

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nose and a surprisingly rich body.
And that sounds about right. This little

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portion of Scripture, these nine short
verses, are certainly what we might think

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of as a meek text. They lack the poetic
magnificence of the song of the vineyard

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in Isaiah 5. They lack the dramatic
confrontation between the prophet and

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the king that sets the stage for the
revelation of the coming of Immanuel in

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Isaiah 7. They lack the spell-bindingly
passionate imagery of the suffering

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servant songs that point so vividly to
Jesus. And yet there is something about

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this little portion of the Bible that
makes it stand out. Indeed, there are two

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aspects of this unassuming little
text that make it worthy of our attention

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today. The first notable aspect of
this text is the fact that this little text

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of four verses, I'm sorry nine verses,
is cited or alluded to four times in five

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places in the New Testament, three times
by Jesus and once by Paul. And all four

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of these references highlight a
different part of this brief text. In

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Matthew 15 and Mark 7, Jesus quotes
Isaiah 29:13 as he condemns those who

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observe the commandments of God
outwardly but do not love God in their

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hearts. In Matthew 11, Jesus responds
to those who are sent by John the Baptist

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by quoting verse 18's reference to
the day that the deaf shall hear and the

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eyes of the blind shall be opened as
evidence that the kingdom of God was

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upon them. Paul too invoked this passage.
In 1st Corinthians 1 he cites verse 14

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as he contrasts the wisdom of God
with the wisdom of man. And finally, in the

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Beatitudes of Matthew 5, Jesus alludes
to verse 19 of this text when he speaks of

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the meek inheriting the earth. By the way,
that word meek is one of those perfectly

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legitimate but not very helpful
translations. The Hebrew word unna'im is

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most often used to refer somebody
who is economically poor or in financial

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distress. By extension then it is
sometimes used to refer to those who are

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oppressed by others because of their
powerlessness. And then it's also used to

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speak about those who recognize their
weak and powerless state. In those cases

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it's sometimes translated humble.
But this call to meekness challenges us.

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There is an attitude in American society
today that connects this kind of meekness

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with failure. That regards humility as
a trait that belongs to life's losers. We

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tend to admire those that the German
philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche once

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characterized as the Übermensch, the
overcomer, the talented, the wealthy, the

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successful who assert their dominance
over the meek and the humble and the

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poor. For us to be one of life's
unawim is not a particularly desirable

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characteristic. After all there's no
television game show eager to crown

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someone as America's unawim. Career
counselors don't advise you to claim to

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be an unawim on your resume. You
see no business wants to hire the unawim.

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Well we might expect that of the world.
But that mindset also infects the church

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as well. I suspect that very few pastors
highlight their poverty, their meekness,

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and their humility on the Pastor's
Information Form. That you will one day

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soon be asked to supply to your district
president to share with the congregation

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that may be interested in calling you.
After all no congregation really wants

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one of the unawim as its pastor or
deaconess. Nobody wants the unawim.

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Nobody except God. God loves the unawim.
In the kingdom of God being one of the

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unawim has nothing to do with worldly
success or external circumstances. I'll

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give you an example. I had the
opportunity this summer along with

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my wife to spend a few
days with a man I know who is

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today a Franciscan monk living in
obscure circumstances in a small

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unassuming little hermitage and
monastery in the rural backwoods of

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middle America. To judge by all outward
circumstances this fellow has little to

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commend him. You wouldn't be
particularly impressed with him except if

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you met him except for the length of
his beard. But this fellow has not always

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been an obscure nobody. He was once
a fairly well-known figure in the American

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popular music scene. He's appeared on
51 albums. His own records have sold over

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5 million copies. Yet today he lives
softly and quietly on a little portion

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of not particularly desirable land
devoting his days to study and prayer

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and worship and promoting works of
charity. He is one of God's unawim. Not

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because he walked away from success
and honor and wealth to live in diminished

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circumstances but because in Jesus he
has come to understand that to be one of

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God's unawim is to be totally dependent
upon the grace of God. The unawim live the

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reality of God's Word to Saint Paul
in 2nd Corinthians 12. My grace is

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sufficient for you. My power is made
perfect in weakness. Nobody wants the

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unawim. Nobody except God. Recognizing
that God loves his unawim leads to the

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second notable aspect of our text today.
The theological theme of great reversal.

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The theme begins in verse 17 where
we read that in the day of God's great

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redemption the forests of Lebanon
will be made into a fruitful field and the

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the fruitful field will
be made into a forest.

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The deaf will hear, the eyes of the blind
will see, the joy of the unawim will be

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revealed, renewed in Yahweh and the poor
will be elated by the Holy One of Israel.

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And this is not a bribe. God isn't saying
to you that if you're a good boy or girl

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who give you some candy at the end of
the day, God is saying to you that those

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who have found their contentment and joy
in Him today will be blessed until their

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little portion becomes a cup overflowing
with joy in the fullness of His presence.

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So what of you? All of you gathered
here today are uniquely talented and gifted

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individuals and God is not asking you
to abandon the world and go live in a

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monastery in the woods or to put on
some external show of humility to impress

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those around you. This unassuming little
portion of God's Word instead invites

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you to rest in the complete dependence
of faith in him. It encourages you to

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abandon the quest for human fame and
today's glory, to set aside ego to forego

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honor, to be Christ and Christ alone, to
live from Him and in Him and for Him. It

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invites you to be joined with Him in His
ignominy, to share in His suffering and

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death, and to live in the certainty of
the promise that God gives you today

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through the prophet Isaiah in this
little portion of God's Word. In that day

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the meek will obtain fresh joy from the
Lord and the poor among mankind will

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exalt in the Holy One of Israel. In the
name of Jesus who has made you his

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unawim and promises to raise you
up with him on the last day to fullness of

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joy. Amen.