Passage: Hear, O heavens! Listen, O earth. For the Lord has spoken: "I reared children and brought them up, but they have rebelled against me. The ox knows his master, the donkey his owner's manger, but Israel does not know, my people do not understand."
Ah, sinful nation, a people loaded with guilt, a brood of evildoers, children given to corruption! They have forsaken the Lord; they have spurned the Holy One of Israel and turned their backs on Him.
Why should you be beaten anymore? Why do you persist in rebellion? Your whole head is injured, your whole heart afflicted. From the sole of your foot to the top of your head there is no soundness -- only wounds and welts and open sores, not cleansed or bandaged or soothed with oil.
Your country is desolate, your cites burned with fire; your fields are being stripped by foreigners right before you, laid waste as when overthrown by strangers. The Daughter of Zion is left like a shelter in a vineyard, like a hut in a field of melons, like a city under siege. Unless the Lord Almighty had left us survivors, we would have become like Sodom, we would have been like Gomorrah.
Journal: God's people are being described as rebellious. What is the basis for this charge? The rebellion is against the covenant God made with Moses on Mt. Sinai and reaffirmed with Israel on the plains of Moab just prior to taking possession of the promised land. It was there that God revealed how His people should live to bring Him glory and to enjoy His fellowship. Obedience was to lead to blessing, and disobedience was to lead to cursing (Deut. 27-28).
Thus, Isaiah is informing Judah that it has broken God's holy covenant. The family has been decimated by the disobedience of the children, as they have become sinful, guilty, evil and corrupt. ("Ah, sinful nation, a people loaded with guilt, a brood of evildoers, children given to corruption! They have forsaken the Lord; they have spurned the Holy One of Israel and turned their backs on Him.")
I remember as a 20 year old talking to my best friend. I had just lost my dad and his parents had recently divorced. He made the statement that he didn't know which of our experiences was worse. My initial reaction, though not expressed, was somewhat indignant. After all, couldn't he still talk to his dad and enjoy his dad. However, as I thought about it both at the time and over the years, I see the point my friend was making in the midst of his hurt. He was really talking on behalf of a covenant, and he was really talking against rebellion. The underlying truth is that rebellion will decimate a family.
So it is here with Judah in the time of Isaiah, even though Judah has a perfect, faithful and loving father. Yet, the sweet relationship He has for His children is being spurned by His children. ("From the sole of your foot to the top of your head there is no soundness . . .") The children had become prideful in the blessing, and had discounted the promise of the curse. They were even worse than "Sodom and Gomorrah," for they had read and learned the lesson that was Sodom and Gomorrah. God, the perfect and loving Father, will always bring a stern rebuke against rebellion, and demand a call to repentance.
Heard 'Round the House:
Song (age 9) and Alex (age 12) are having differing points of view on something or other. Alex makes what he believes to be a rather salient point. Luke (age 11) decides he needs to become involved and informs Alex that his point is not so salient. It is here that this rather detached exchange takes place.
Luke: Alex. Nice point. I'm not sure where you got it but I don't think your brain was involved.
Alex: I think with my brain, but I talk with my mouth . . .
(Come to think of it, I've noticed quite a bit of detachment during the political debates . . . )
Ah, sinful nation, a people loaded with guilt, a brood of evildoers, children given to corruption! They have forsaken the Lord; they have spurned the Holy One of Israel and turned their backs on Him.
Why should you be beaten anymore? Why do you persist in rebellion? Your whole head is injured, your whole heart afflicted. From the sole of your foot to the top of your head there is no soundness -- only wounds and welts and open sores, not cleansed or bandaged or soothed with oil.
Your country is desolate, your cites burned with fire; your fields are being stripped by foreigners right before you, laid waste as when overthrown by strangers. The Daughter of Zion is left like a shelter in a vineyard, like a hut in a field of melons, like a city under siege. Unless the Lord Almighty had left us survivors, we would have become like Sodom, we would have been like Gomorrah.
Journal: God's people are being described as rebellious. What is the basis for this charge? The rebellion is against the covenant God made with Moses on Mt. Sinai and reaffirmed with Israel on the plains of Moab just prior to taking possession of the promised land. It was there that God revealed how His people should live to bring Him glory and to enjoy His fellowship. Obedience was to lead to blessing, and disobedience was to lead to cursing (Deut. 27-28).
Thus, Isaiah is informing Judah that it has broken God's holy covenant. The family has been decimated by the disobedience of the children, as they have become sinful, guilty, evil and corrupt. ("Ah, sinful nation, a people loaded with guilt, a brood of evildoers, children given to corruption! They have forsaken the Lord; they have spurned the Holy One of Israel and turned their backs on Him.")
I remember as a 20 year old talking to my best friend. I had just lost my dad and his parents had recently divorced. He made the statement that he didn't know which of our experiences was worse. My initial reaction, though not expressed, was somewhat indignant. After all, couldn't he still talk to his dad and enjoy his dad. However, as I thought about it both at the time and over the years, I see the point my friend was making in the midst of his hurt. He was really talking on behalf of a covenant, and he was really talking against rebellion. The underlying truth is that rebellion will decimate a family.
So it is here with Judah in the time of Isaiah, even though Judah has a perfect, faithful and loving father. Yet, the sweet relationship He has for His children is being spurned by His children. ("From the sole of your foot to the top of your head there is no soundness . . .") The children had become prideful in the blessing, and had discounted the promise of the curse. They were even worse than "Sodom and Gomorrah," for they had read and learned the lesson that was Sodom and Gomorrah. God, the perfect and loving Father, will always bring a stern rebuke against rebellion, and demand a call to repentance.
Heard 'Round the House:
Song (age 9) and Alex (age 12) are having differing points of view on something or other. Alex makes what he believes to be a rather salient point. Luke (age 11) decides he needs to become involved and informs Alex that his point is not so salient. It is here that this rather detached exchange takes place.
Luke: Alex. Nice point. I'm not sure where you got it but I don't think your brain was involved.
Alex: I think with my brain, but I talk with my mouth . . .
(Come to think of it, I've noticed quite a bit of detachment during the political debates . . . )
