Isaiah 58:1-63:14
We continued looking at the prophecies of Isaiah, which majored on the
future glory of Jerusalem in the end times. After all that God’s people have
suffered in times past and will suffer in the days to come, the Lord will finally
defeat their enemies and make all things right. What a glorious day that will
be!
In the middle of these passages was a verse to which Jesus referred,
to describe His purpose on earth. “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, for He
has appointed Me to preach Good News to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim
that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the downtrodden
will be freed from their oppressors, and that the time of the Lord’s favor has come”
(61:1,
2; Luke 4:17-19). After Jesus read this verse aloud before the people of Nazareth, he
said, “This Scripture has come true today before your very eyes” (4:20).
While the future of Jerusalem is interesting, I found my attention
drawn to the opening section we read. I couldn’t help but think of modern
America as I read the list of sins that Judah was guilty of. “Listen, the Lord
is not too weak to save you... but there is a problem — your
sins have
cut you off from God. Because of your sins, He has turned away and will not listen anymore.
Your hands are the hands of murderers, and your fingers are filthy with sin.
Your mouth is full of lies and your lips are tainted with corruption” (59:1-3).
The indictment continued, “No one cares about being fair and honest.
Their lawsuits are based on lies... They cheat and shortchange everyone. They
spend their time and energy spinning evil plans that end up in deadly
actions... Our sins are piled up before God and testify against us... We have
turned our backs on God. We know how unfair and oppressive we have been, carefully planning
deceitful lies. Our courts oppose people who are righteous, and justice is nowhere
to be found. Truth falls dead in the streets, and fairness has been outlawed. Yes,
truth is gone, and anyone who tries to live a godly life is soon attacked” (59:4-15).
Sadly, these words could describe the country in which we live, a
country in which the vast majority claims to be Christian; but something is
wrong. If
the vast majority were indeed Christian, living conscientiously by the Word of God,
seeking to glorify the Lord Jesus, living as to be salt and light in our
society, and holding up the Gospel as the answer to our ills, then none of these things
listed would be true.
Our nation’s problems are only the fruit of a root issue — we have
turned our backs on God. We are a people who are Christian in name only, false worshipers, as
described in Isaiah 58. We pay lip-service to our God but we live for ourselves. We go through
the motions of religion but we neglect our relationship with the Lord. Our sins
are piled up before Him. What else can He do but allow the consequences of our
actions. If we desire a nation without Him, then we will have to endure
the hell that is to come.
Daily Reflection
If the nation was a reflection of your commitment to God, what would
it look like? Are you a true follower of Christ or a false worshiper, a
Christian in name only? How do you know?
BiAY.org | Daily Reflections Day 208 — 157 Days to Go
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