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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.
Woe to you who add house to house and join field to field till
no space is left and you live alone in the land.
The Lord Almighty has declared in my hearing:
“Surely the great houses will become desolate, the fine
mansions left without occupants. A ten-acre vineyard will produce only a bath
of wine; a homer of seed will yield only an ephah of grain.”
Isaiah 5:8-10
This ends this
reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
The first four plus chapters of
Isaiah send a clear message: Disrespect and disregard God and you will suffer
the consequences of His judgment. One could also say, “Woe be it to anyone who
slights the Lord God Almighty!”
Woe indeed is what the people of Israel
experienced as God’s penalty of destruction and exile came upon them. Starting
at the eighth verse of Isaiah, Chapter 5 through the end of the chapter, we
find six specific woes mentioned, six specific sins that had provoked God to
anger against His people.
Woe to you who add
house to house and join field to field till no space is left and you live alone
in the land.
The Lord Almighty
has declared in my hearing:
“Surely the great
houses will become desolate, the fine mansions left without occupants. A
ten-acre vineyard will produce only a bath of wine; a homer of seed will yield
only an ephah of grain.” Isaiah 5:8-10
Looking at this word of God, we
need to know that it isn’t condemning someone having a house or property. That
is not sinful in and of itself. But when one places their focus on accumulating
more and more homes and land, to where there is nothing left for anyone else to
enjoy, then the focus is on greed and self-centeredness with the object of one’s
desire being the unbridled accumulation of wealth. Money becomes the point of
value and not God, leading us to these words of Jesus on the matter of life and
money:
“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love
the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot
serve both God and money.” Matthew 6:24
Many of the people of Israel chose
to serve money and God was not going to allow that to go unchecked.
So what were the consequences that
brought woe and sorrow to the sinful Israelites?
Look again at what the Lord God
Almighty declared:
“Surely the great
houses will become desolate, the fine mansions left without occupants. A
ten-acre vineyard will produce only a bath of wine; a homer of seed will yield
only an ephah of grain.” vv 9-10
If one wanted to accumulate properties out of wanton greed,
then God would make sure those efforts would be fruitless. The great houses and
mansions would become desolate and without occupants after the Israelites were
hauled away into captivity.
Additionally, any attempt to reap a harvest from the vineyard
or fields would fail as ten acres of vineyard, acres that would normally yield
500 baths (or 4,000 gallons) of wine would only produce a single bath (8
gallons). In the fields, a home of seed would only result on an ephah of grain
or one tenth of the yield one should gain. Neither of these returns from the
land indicates a sizeable profit.
Greed will not result in anything productive or profitable
for anyone who worships money over God is engaging in the iniquity of false
worship. Since God hates sin, we need to know that He will not favor anyone who
chooses transgressive behavior over righteousness.
Instead of blessing, the sinner will experience woe. Please
make sure you are one of those counted in that number.
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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