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In Christ, Mark
In Christ, Mark
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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
Jerusalem staggers, Judah is
falling; their words and deeds are against the Lord, defying his glorious
presence. The look on their faces testifies against them; they parade their sin
like Sodom; they do not hide it.
Woe to them! They have brought
disaster upon themselves. Tell the righteous it will be well with them, for
they will enjoy the fruit of their deeds. Woe to the wicked! Disaster is upon
them! They will be paid back for what their hands have done.
Isaiah 3:8-11
This ends this
reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
Loss of God’s supply and support.
Young inexperienced leaders rising
to power.
Neighbors violating neighbors.
Elders disrespected by their juniors.
Qualified people afraid and
unwilling to lead.
All are signs of judgment as
revealed by the third chapter of Isaiah but what was the catalyst for the
judgment?
The answer is found in today’s
scripture and devotion as we look at the sixth sign, sinners on parade, indicating judgment is happening or is about
to happen. Look again at verses 8 through 11:
Jerusalem staggers, Judah is falling; their words and deeds are against
the Lord, defying his glorious presence. The look on their faces testifies
against them; they parade their sin like Sodom; they do not hide it.
Woe to them! They have brought disaster upon themselves. Tell the
righteous it will be well with them, for they will enjoy the fruit of their
deeds. Woe to the wicked! Disaster is upon them! They will be paid back for
what their hands have done.
We know that the target of this
chapter has been the Israelites dwelling in the city of Jerusalem and kingdom
of Judah. As we read these words from the Bible, we are told that the city and
kingdom are teetering on the brink of destruction, staggering.
Why?
Because they have made the ill-fated
choice to turn against the Lord and defy Him.
This wasn’t some subtle, behind
closed door kind of defiance. No, the scriptures tell us that the people sinned
openly, parading their sins the way the destroyed city of Sodom had done prior
to God’s wrath coming upon it and not attempting to hide their wicked,
transgressive words and deeds.
God had delivered the Israelites
over and over and over again, rescuing and delivering them to safety. You would
think the Israelites, in gratitude, would worship and adore Him, never wanting
to live in any way that would dishonor Him.
But that’s not what happened. The
Israelites instead pushed God aside when they didn’t need Him and went after
their own sinful desires, worshipping false gods and idols in plain sight of
the One who commanded them to have no other gods before Him.
Is it any wonder that God’s
judgment came? And looking back at Sodom and Gomorrah, did the people of Israel
not understand that God would punish any city or nation where the people chose
iniquity over righteousness?
In the midst of God’s judgment
which came in the form of the Babylonian attack and subsequent exile, the
Israelites had no one to blame but themselves. They had been the impetus for the
disaster that came upon them as God made them pay for what their hands had
done.
Friends, the word of God leaves us
with several questions:
Are sinners on parade in our cities
and nations today?
Is God any less tolerant of blatant
disobedience and disrespect unto Him today than He was in the days of the Old
Testament?
Could there be another Sodom or
Gomorrah event coming in the future, well before Jesus returns to hit the reset
button on all creation and do away with the heaven and earth as we know it?
In the end translation, God’s
judgment can and will come on anywhere that sinners decide to flaunt their
wickedness and evil in the sight of the Lord God Almighty. And when that
happens, the impious, immoral, and irreverent ill have no one to blame except themselves.
Amen.
In
Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com
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