Joy Outside The Camp

Hear the word of the LORD,
​​You who tremble at His word:
​​“Your brethren who hated you,
​​Who cast you out for My name’s sake, said,
​‘​Let the LORD be glorified,
​​That we may see your joy.’
​​But they shall be ashamed.”  Isaiah 66:5

Inside the camp is a form of religion but a denial of its benefits. They have discovered self-righteousness. Paul was convinced of his righteousness until he met Jesus on the road to Damascus. In just a short time, he was cast out of the camp of the religious ones. God showed it to Isaiah in his time, we read of Paul's story in the Acts, and we can see it now or will very soon. Of course our prime example is our Lord Jesus Himself, who was finally rejected by the religious camp so much that the Romans were obliged to have our Lord executed. And all along, those inside thought up a convincing righteousness for themselves.

So, I left you hanging yesterday, but today is the explanation and we are indeed joyful outside the camp with our Lord Jesus. That is of course the key point. We want to be where Jesus is. We are glad to be cast out with Him, as long as it is with Him. We don't want to be cast out for being obnoxious or rude. Nor do we we want to be cast out because our sin is so bad that even experienced sinners are appalled at the sight of us. None of us seek a casting out, it just comes with believing in our Lord Jesus.

So happy outside the camp! Have fun in Jesus today,
Bucky