Daily Devotion: Isaiah 38:17

Isaiah 38:17      "Behold, for peace I had great bitterness: but thou hast in love to my soul delivered it from the pit of corruption: for thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back."

This morning, I want to look at the last part of this verse: "for thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back."  For me, this is a beautiful statement and yet when I stop to think about it, I realize even more the great price that was paid for my redemption.  There must have been an action taken place in order for my sins to have been cast behind the back of the Father. That action was the removal of my sins and I don't pretend to understand the mechanics of how those sins were removed from me. I am thankful my God had grace enough to take my sins away from me and cast them behind His back. But where did they land when He cast them?  What happened at that point? These words are recorded in the Old Testament and we must go to the New Testament to see the completion of this action. I would like for Scripture to explain this process.

"When the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons." (Galatians 4:4-5)  How did the process of redemption take place? Again, let us look at Scripture. "For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." (2 Corinthians 5:21) Jesus was sent to redeem His people by becoming sin. He knew no sin. He committed no sin. He had no sin, but He was made sin. What caused Him to be made sin? Let's go back to our text verse: "thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back." Again I ask, "Where did they land?" I submit to you that they were not just thrown without a specific landing place. They "landed" on the person of Jesus Christ and by that action, the removal of my sin caused Him to be made sin. 

 When did that happen? "Your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you." (Isaiah 59:2) The sins were not committed by Jesus, but He was made sin by my iniquity. I submit that it took place when Jesus was on the cross. We hear Him crying out, "My God, My God, Why hast thou forsaken me?"  Why did the Father forsake His Son?  He would not look upon sin; therefore, He turned His face away from His only begotten Son. My sin caused the Father to forsake His own Son while on the cross. As I think about these things, I am both thankful and remorseful to think my sins brought the death of Jesus.