Isaiah (3)

Listen, O heavens, and hear, O earth;
For the Yahweh speaks,
“Sons I have reared and brought up,
But they have revolted against Me.
“An ox knows its owner,
And a donkey its master’s manger,
But Israel does not know,
My people do not understand.” Isaiah 1:2-3.

The heavens and the earth are called to bear witness to God’s Word through Isaiah the prophet. Isaiah is not selecting twelve citizens of Judah to act a a jury, he is calling the entire universe to witness what God is saying and to judge the actions of Judah and Jerusalem. Isaiah is not going through a jury selection process, he is bringing the heavens and the earth into the courtroom - for the truth of God’s Word will be apparent to those who can still see clearly, who have not been intoxicated by rebellion, who still remain in harmony and accord with their Creator.

Even in our own violent times, most of us are repelled at reports of patricide and matricide; to kill one’s own parents is beyond what we can comprehend. We are also puzzled when children hatefully rebel against parents who we know to be kind and giving and loving; taking advantage of their parents, perhaps stealing from them, maybe even robbing them of all they have - be it large or small. It is as if the children have repudiated their parentage, denied their father and mother; going so far as to abuse their parents for the children’s gain and benefit.

Rebellion breeds rebellion - we reap what we sow and we cannot control the harvest of hate and violence that springs up when we sow rebellion - those who plant seeds of rebellion will not eat the harvest...the harvest will eat them.

In our passage the heavens and earth are witness to the centuries-old love and kindness of God toward Judah; He has been their father and they have been His sons and daughters. He has cared for them, delivering them from the slavery of Egypt, making provision for them in their Wilderness wanderings, making further provision for them in Canaan, and continuing to care for them through the centuries...even when they have rejected Him and aligned themselves with other gods, with other “parents”.

But enough is becoming enough, for God is a holy Father, a righteous Father, and a just Father. As God was rearing His son Israel He laid out what the future would look like if Israel were obedient and faithful to His ways, and also what the future would look like if Israel repudiated the ways of God’s family. (See Deuteronomy chapters 28 - 31). Throughout the Bible we see that God disciplines those He loves (Revelation 3:19; Hebrews 12:4 - 11), and we also see that those who reject God’s progressive discipline, that those who refuse to say to God, “Thy will be done,” will suffer the consequences when God says to them, “Since you do not want my will, I will allow your will to be done.”

Judah the son had rejected Yahweh the Father - Judah repudiated its Divine parentage, its birthright, its blessing. Even an ox and a donkey know better, they know where they belong, they know their master - they understand more than Israel and Judah. And I think they understand more than we probably do today.

God has been good to all the peoples of the earth (Acts 17:24 - 28; Psalm 104); His common grace and goodness have been showered on us all, whether we are thankful or unthankful (Matthew 5:45) - but sadly we take the life-giving sun and the refreshing rain for granted, we take this marvellous planet we live on for granted, we do not recognize the providence of God in our lives; we think we are here to take, take, take and then take some more. We will take as individuals, as families, as nations - we are like the two-year old who thinks, “What’s mine is mine and what’s yours is mine.” What is amusing in a two-year old is toxic in adults. We may make rules to govern how we take things, but in the end they do not curb our appetites; the farther we are from God the more insensible to goodness and charity we become.

As we shall see, Judah made idols, and we have made our own idols - they are a bit more sophisticated than Judah’s, and perhaps for that reason they are more insidious.

I imagine that every people group has experienced the grace and mercy of God, not the least of which is the USA; and yet “American does not know, America does not consider.” The same can be said for many nations, perhaps for most nations, for God is not a respecter of persons. When a people reject the image of God as the West has done, what is left? How much further can we go in our rebellion before enough is enough?

Ah, but then there is the professing church. While God is the Father “from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name” (Ephesians 3:15), He is the particular Father to His sons and daughters in Jesus Christ (Romans 8:29; Hebrews 2:9 - 13). Just as ancient Israel wanted a king so that it would be like the surrounding nations, so much of the church wants to be like the world, the present age, so that it will blend in and not be distinctive, not be identifiable. We do not want others to know who our Father is, we may huddle together on Sundays and sit around His Table, but when we leave our gatherings we are careful to identify with the parents of the world, the gods of the world, and are careful not to mention who our Father is - we want to blend in, we want to be accepted, we are ashamed of our Father’s House, we are ashamed of our elder brother Jesus Christ.

Perhaps we have forgotten Peter’s words that judgment begins with the house of God (1 Peter 4:17). God is not like an earthly judge who might make judicial exceptions for his own family while judging others according to the law - we must not make God in our image and we are fools if we attempt to do so - God is altogether righteous and just and holy - He is not to be manipulated and He will not conform or bow to our wishful thinking. If God judged Israel He will judge us. If God judged the nations around Israel He will continue to judge the nations of the world. If God judged Israel - Judah He will judge His New Israel, the Church (see Revelation chapters 2 - 3 as an example).

The ox and the donkey get it - they know who their master is, and in some degree they know who they are; and they certainly know where they belong.

What about us?