The prophet Isaiah said "Except Jehovah of hosts had left unto us a very small remnant, we should have been as Sodom, we should have been like unto Gomorrah." {Isa 1:9}. Isaiah looks back into Israel's history and sees, in their past, a cycle of rebellion; and with a prophetic eye, he looks ahead into some of their future departures and to some of the judgments God would bring upon this nation. He then compares them to a body that has been smitten from the top of the head to the sole of the foot with every kind of bruise, wound, and sore. The wounds had not been treated. Why did God tolerate such rebellion? Why didn't He just destroy them all? Isaiah said that God desired to preserve a very small remnant. The apostle Paul quotes from Isaiah when he says, "If the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, it is the remnant that shall be saved." {Rom 9:27, Isa. 10:22} A remnant is that which remains after the major part is taken away. The remnant of God's people would be those who remained faithful to him after the majority had turned away. Down through the ages, only a few were really dependable. Only a small number of men could be depended on to be obedient and faithful to God.
Remnants of the Past...
We read of a man named Enoch who lived during Adam's generation {Gen. 5:1-24}.
"Enoch walked with God: and he was not for God took him." In a
generation when others were wicked, this man stood out because he "walked with
God." {Heb. 11:5} Enoch was faithful to God when others were not. In
Genesis 6,
we read of man's wickedness; yet, "Noah found favor in the eyes of Jehovah...
Noah walked with God" {Gen. 6:8-9}. In a day when others were wicked, and
what they thought in their hears "was only evil continually," Noah walked
with God. Noah's faithfulness is seen in Gen. 6:22, 7:5. "By faith, Noah
prepared an ark to the saving of his house" {Heb. 11:7}. Out of all the
people who lived on earth at that time, only eight were saved from the flood's
destruction. Peter said, "That were aforetime disobedient, when the
longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein
few, that is, eight souls were saved through water" {1 Pet. 3:20}. Noah, in
his generation, stood out as part of God's remnant.
In Numbers 13-14, we read of Israel on the way to the promised land. Over 600,000 men, old enough to fight, came out of bondage. Counting the 600,000 men, the Levites, women, children, and older men, there were perhaps three million who left Egypt to go to Canaan. But, how many adults who left Egypt finally crossed over Jordan into the promised land? Joshua and Caleb were the only two permitted to enter. Others sinned in the wilderness, and their carcasses fell there {Heb. 3:17-19}. Even Moses, who led the people of Israel, sinned. He viewed the land from Mt. Nebo, but was not permitted to enter {Deut. 34:4-5}. Could we not refer to Joshua and Caleb as being part of God's remnant?
In New Testament times, God sent into the world his son Jesus who preached and, by the miracles He performed, proved Himself to be God's Son. He healed the lame and made the blind to see. Multiplied thousands followed Him. In John 6:11-13, He fed 5,000 with a little boy's lunch of five barley loaves and two fishes. Yet, when His teaching became hard, many of His disciples turned back and walked no more with Him {Jno. 6:60-66}. Jesus asked the twelve, "Would you also go away?" Simon Peter answered "Lord to whom shall we go? Thou has the words of eternal life." {Jno. 6:67-68} Could we not refer to the twelve as being part of God's remnant? They stayed with the Lord when others were turning away.
In Acts 2, after the the Lord established the church, added men to it, and they became citizens in the kingdom of Christ, one would think that if there was ever a time when man could be faithful, it would have been then. God's Son came and died for them, by His resurrection from the dead proving Himself to be who he claimed to be. "And declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead." {Rom. 1:4} Now, through His blood, men can enjoy salvation and hope of heaven. "In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace." {Eph. 1:7} Surely they would be faithful now, but the same principle applied; only a few in His church could really be depended on. In the letter to the church at Sardis, what do we learn? "You have a few names even in Sardis who have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with Me in white, for they are worthy." {Rev. 3:4} They had a name, but in reality they were dead. Only a few...
Remnant of the Present...
In Luke 8, we read the parable of the sower. The seed that fell on the wayside ground
represented those who heard, had great anticipation, but never obeyed. The stony ground
represented those who heard, believed, and obeyed for a while; but in time of temptation,
they fell away. The thorny ground represented those who heard the word and obeyed, but
other attractions led them away. The cares, pleasures, and riches of this world robbed
them of their eternal reward. The few, the minority, represented by the good ground
identifies those who were genuinely converted to Jesus Christ, who stood fast regardless
of the consequences. Again, we see that only a small remnant can be counted on to be
faithful.
Remnant of the Future...
"...'Lord, are there few who are saved?' And He said to them,
'Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to
enter and will not be able.'" {Lk. 13:23-24} Jesus also made this statement in
Matthew. "Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad
is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because
narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there
are few who find it." {Matt.7: 13-14} Do you see who is going to make up the
remnant of the future? The remnant of the past and those who are now among God's remnant
will compose the remnant of the future. Will I be part of that remnant? "For we
must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things
done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad."
{2 Cor. 5:10} According to Paul, in Romans 14:12, "So then each one of us
shall give an account of himself to God." If you desire to be in the future
remnant--you must be part of God's present remnant. Dear reader, are you part of that
remnant?
My good friend makes a thought-provoking point. So many times we allow ourselves to be caught up in the "numbers game." We look at the swelling numbers who belong to the religions around us and wonder why we don't have the same growth. Take a good look at the history of God's people. God's people have never been among the greater numbers. Did this discourage the faithful in the past? In the days of Israel they were not the greatest in number. Neither were they in the days of Christ and the apostles, or of the early church. Yet, they were still God's people. I would rather be with the few of God's people than the majority in the world. Where do you desire to be?--KG