Stubborn Israel
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Isaiah 1:1-9
1. The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah. 2. Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth; for the Lord has spoken: "Sons have I reared and brought up, but they have rebelled against me. 3. The ox knows its owner, and the ass its master's crib; but Israel does not know, my people does not understand." 4. Ah, sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, offspring of evildoers, sons who deal corruptly! They have forsaken the Lord, they have despised the Holy One of Israel, they are utterly estranged. 5. Why will you still be smitten, that you continue to rebel? The whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. 6. From the sole of the foot even to the head, there is no soundness in it, but bruises and sores and bleeding wounds; they are not pressed out, or bound up, or softened with oil. 7. Your country lies desolate, your cities are burned with fire; in your very presence aliens devour your land; it is desolate, as overthrown by aliens. 8. And the daughter of Zion is left like a booth in a vineyard, like a lodge in a cucumber field, like a besieged city. 9. If the Lord of hosts had not left us a few survivors, we should have been like Sodom, and become like Gomorrah.
Isaiah 48:1-11
1. Hear this, O house of Jacob, who are called by the name of Israel, and who came forth from the loins of Judah; who swear by the name of the Lord, and confess the God of Israel, but not in truth or right. 2. For they call themselves after the holy city, and stay themselves on the God of Israel; the Lord of hosts is his name. 3. "The former things I declared of old, they went forth from my mouth and I made them known; then suddenly I did them and they came to pass. 4. Because I know that you are obstinate, and your neck is an iron sinew and your forehead brass, 5. I declared them to you from of old, before they came to pass I announced them to you, lest you should say, `My idol did them, my graven image and my molten image commanded them.' 6. "You have heard; now see all this; and will you not declare it? From this time forth I make you hear new things, hidden things which you have not known. 7. They are created now, not long ago; before today you have never heard of them, lest you should say, `Behold, I knew them.' 8. You have never heard, you have never known, from of old your ear has not been opened. For I knew that you would deal very treacherously, and that from birth you were called a rebel. 9. "For my name's sake I defer my anger, for the sake of my praise I restrain it for you, that I may not cut you off. 10. Behold, I have refined you, but not like silver; I have tried you in the furnace of affliction. 11. For my own sake, for my own sake, I do it, for how should my name be profaned? My glory I will not give to another.
It’s not looking good for Jerusalem, is it? Isaiah cannot for the life of him understand why God’s chosen people continue to sin. Why they worship idols, and go their own way, when the truth has been revealed to them. But that must be how it is to be a prophet! God may reveal truths to you, but others don’t hear. God may give you a message to save all of mankind from certain doom, but their hearts are hardened and their minds closed. God kept it up, though! He loves us too much to leave us alone, lost and wandering without a beacon.
By Chapter 48, Isaiah was projected into the future, just as John was in Revelation. God reveals to Isaiah that he will send a sign that cannot be denied. God recognizes that we are stubborn and slow to hear the truth; and slower still to change. We worship idols—we even make ourselves gods in our own eyes! We live to satisfy our every whim and desire without a thought for God’s desires. He made us to worship Him. When we refuse to do that we sin. When we worship money, our children, athletes, power and influence, politicians, and military strength, ourselves – we are telling God that He is not the most important thing in our lives! Throughout the history of the world, God continually gave us another chance to be redeemed—to “get it.” And even with the final sign--Christ crucified and risen – we struggle to make right decisions, to choose the right path, to live rightly. We continue to suffer the consequences of our choices!
God makes it pretty clear: “My glory I will not give to another.”
I hope you spend your day glorifying God, worshipping Him and rejoicing that you are being refined in the fire of His love.
Mary
