Isaiah (7)

“Hear the word of the Lord,
You rulers of Sodom;
Give ear to the instruction of our God,
You people of Gomorrah.
“What are your multiplied sacrifices to Me?”
Says the Lord.
“I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams
And the fat of fed cattle;
And I take no pleasure in the blood of bulls, lambs or goats.
“When you come to appear before Me,
Who requires of you this trampling of My courts?
“Bring your worthless offerings no longer,
Incense is an abomination to Me.
New moon and sabbath, the calling of assemblies—
I cannot endure iniquity and the solemn assembly.
“I hate your new moon festivals and your appointed feasts,
They have become a burden to Me;
I am weary of bearing them.
“So when you spread out your hands in prayer,
I will hide My eyes from you;
Yes, even though you multiply prayers,
I will not listen.
Your hands are covered with blood.”  (Isaiah 1:10 - 15).

I am picking Isaiah back up, the last post in this series was February 21, if you are new to the thread, or want a refresher, go to the “labels” list and click on “Isaiah”.

A friend was telling me about a book he has been reading purporting to give a secret code to understanding events in American, based on a series of kings in the Old Testament. We don’t need a secret code, we need Jesus. In fact, as Paul makes clear in 1 Corinthians Chapter 1 and Colossians Chapter 2, Jesus Christ is our wisdom and understanding and in Him are “hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge”. If the Cross of Christ is not at the center of what we are seeking then we are seeking the wrong thing. If our eyes aren’t focused on Jesus we are focused on the wrong thing.

The Scriptures provide many examples of how God deals with nations and peoples. While God’s relationship with Israel and Judah, His Old Covenant people, is the main focus in the Old Testament of how God deals with a nation to which He has given extraordinary light and knowledge, there are many examples in the Old Testament of how He deals with other nations - we don’t need a hidden code, a special way of looking at something, we don’t need to “force” interpretations to make our points - God’s Word and ways are clearly written in the Bible for those who will read the Bible in the light of Jesus Christ.

Jesus taught that “to whom much is given, much is required.” I think it is fair to say that that not only applies to individuals and families, but also to nations, to any group of people - and I think the scope of Scripture bears this out. God holds people accountable, He holds nations accountable. If I may be excused to using a popular phrase, this is not rocket science.

In the above passage from Isaiah, God calls the rulers of Judah “rulers of Sodom,” and He calls the people of Judah “people of Gomorrah.”

These rulers and people were trusting in their religious exercises; their sacrifices, their holy days, their many prayers. They were acting as if Yahweh was a pagan god who could be placated by ritual, by outward ceremony, by putting on a show. God says, “I have had enough...I take no pleasure.” He calls their offerings “worthless”, their incense “an abomination”, He “hates” their festivals” and “feasts”, He says that when they pray that He will “hide my eyes from you” and that He “will not listen.” Lastly God says, “Your hands are covered with blood.”

Whether it is ancient Israel, or modern American, or any other people, singing “God Bless America” or its equivalent, while a nation’s hands are “covered with blood” makes God sick (speaking in human terms). When our hearts and souls engage in sin, when the “whole head is sick and the whole heart faint” with sin and rebellion, and yet a people deceive themselves with religious activities and words and prayers - God will judge that people, He will judge that nation; in fact, such a disconnect between the inner soul of a people and its outward self-deceiving words and behavior is a sign of the judgement of God, it is a sign that God is giving them up to their own ways, their own deceitful thoughts. This is not a time to end speeches with, “God bless us,” but rather, “God help us.”

A church that cares for the nation in which it lives, will care enough not to participate in self-deception, in a self-anointed righteousness that flies in the face of justice, equity, righteousness, and truth. Might does not make right. God cannot be bought with wealth and prosperity. The worship of the dollar, or the pound, or the Euro, or any other currency, must not be substituted for the Cross in the life of the Christian, in the life of the church. Success, whether personal or national or even in a church organization, may not mean the blessing of God; it can mean quite the opposite - it can mean that God has allowed a people to go their own way, allowing them to be drunk in their pursuit of pleasure. We are not called to emulate success, we are called to follow Jesus - and Jesus died on a Cross.

God through Isaiah is speaking to a religious people, a people with the Temple of Solomon in their midst, a people with a priesthood stretching back to the time of Moses and Aaron, a people who could rightly recall many times that God had intervened in their history, a people whose constitution was written and ordained by God - that is a pretty good pedigree. Yet, God calls the rulers of this people “rulers of Sodom”, and He calls the people “people of Gomorrah” - is there something we can learn from this?