Last of the Exiles or First of the Remnant?

And it shall come to pass in that day
That the remnant of Israel,
And such as have escaped of the house of Jacob,
Will never again depend on him who defeated them,
But will depend on the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, in truth. Isaiah 10:20

Years ago we began buying new houses, and I was one of them in this case, until the new neighborhood in the old hometown was completed around 2003. This week, the last of those new homeowners from back in the day put their house on the market. It brought home to me the ending of the great adventure I stepped into way back in 1989. It gave to me once more that urge to grab the one responsible and shake him well and good until he admitted what happened to cause the great fall of this enterprise. I know better.

If there is one person at fault, he or she might be too afraid of some vigilante justice to admit the fault. More likely is that it is no one person's fault. Perhaps it is the fault of all of us who worked to build up what turned out to be just another sand castle in this world; another House of Usher coming to a great fall. I begin to wax literary.

What causes mourning in me over this is the broken and strained relationships. A family who became a part of that enterprise moved away this week. A couple of friends from way back in the early days retired not long ago. Others are still hanging in there. Are they that remnant? The problem with waiting for the remnant is that each of us is not permitted to know whether we might be the first of the remnant or just another sad story among the last of the exiles. I was in the first group of exiles, but where may others fall as the last of the sand blocks tumbles and crumbles to the ground?

The good news is that in Isaiah's day there was a remnant. And in our day, there is a rapture and we may get to meet Jesus in the clouds of His glory all together as one! The promises of God contain our hope in this dark world. And our great hope has gone to prepare a place for us!

Have a great Friday in our wonderful Lord Jesus!
Bucky