God Is Faithful, From Age To Age

This is a powerful woe against Israel (actually Judah, but Isaiah viewed Judah as the legitimate Israel since its kings were in the line of David). Israel maintains its rites of worship, yet it knows its God less than an ox or donkey knows its master (3)! Imagine, lots of so-called worship, but no one loves or even knowsGod’s heart. (Sounds a lot like the Western church.)


Israel has engaged in pagan worship (29-31) and her streets are overrun with bribery and murder (21-23). Worst of all, no one in Israel will speak for those who are oppressed. Israel’s sin isn’t just selfish; it is unconscionable.So God gives Israel a choice. Cease from evil and learnto do good, he speaks through Isaiah (16-17). (Incidentally, these words also apply to the New Covenant. Yes, Christ secures our righteousness, or right-standing, before God, but we actively participate in our sanctification by putting “to death the deeds of the body” [Romans 8:13]). Reason with me, God goes on to tell the Israelites. “If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land; but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be eaten by the sword.”


Sadly, we know the outcome of these warnings that consume the first 39 chapters of Isaiah. Israel does not comply, so God allows its destruction, all the while preserving a remnant that will carry on the promise God made to Abraham in Genesis 12. And because of this remnant, this promise extends to we believers today! Even in Israel’s faithlessness, God was faithful and will always be faithful, to the very end.


Created 11 months ago