Thoughts on Scripture

Suggested Reading: Isaiah 9: 8-21

Although this portion of Scripture refers to God’s judgment on Israel, it is important that we take great care to study what angered God so much that He proclaimed this terrible judgment on them. We are told that “these things” were written as warnings for us, so that we are not guilty of the same transgressions and come under the same judgment. In Hebrews it is written that those who have come to the knowledge of the truth and yet deliberately continue to sin have an even greater judgment waiting on them. Therefore, I believe, it is especially important that we don’t cast these warnings aside and think they have no bearing on us. Perhaps not, but it is important that we ensure we are not guilty of the same transgressions. God does not show favouritism.

Where Did the People of Israel Go Wrong?

The first phrase that stands out for me is this, “who say with pride and arrogance of heart…” There is the fundamental error right there. Pride and arrogance are an abomination in God’s sight. He says all over the Bible that He resists the pride and gives grace to the humble. Sometimes He says these words straight out, and at other times we can see His view of an arrogant heart by the way He treated the arrogant. In one parable, Jesus gives us further insight into God’s view of the proud. There was a church leader who came to pray. He made sure that he is right in the front of the church. He looked down his nose at another man with a shady background. He said as much in his prayer to God. The other man, a republican known for cheating people out of their money, was too ashamed of himself to go to the front of the church. He stayed at the back, hiding in the shadows. The flowery prayer of the church leader was a stark contrast to the simple prayer of the “sinner”. He said, “Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner.”

Now how many times did somebody enter our church buildings, looking as if he doesn’t fit in anywhere? He appears out of place. And how many times have we looked down on these people who were obviously not very “religious”?  How many times have we reserved special seats for the “leaders” and other “important” church people, while telling that poor man who wasn’t so well-dressed to take a seat somewhere in the shadows. How many times did we not even bother to offer him a seat? If we are guilty of doing this, we should better take another look at this judgment proclaimed on the Israelites. If we are guilty of looking down our noses at people who don’t fit the religious, “church” look, then we too are on the edge of receiving this judgment. Encouraging for me is the fact that Jesus said the “sinner” received grace in God’s sight, not the church leader who was so impressed with himself. How many of those people received salvation while the important people missed His time of salvation all-together. They were too busy being impressed with themselves to hate or detect their own sin.

See what James had to say about our inclination to consider some people better based on their external appearances:

My friends, if you have faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, you won’t treat some people better than others. Suppose a rich person wearing fancy clothes and a gold ring comes to one of your meetings. And suppose a poor person dressed in worn-out clothes also comes. You must not give the best seat to the one in fancy clothes and tell the one who is poor to stand at the side or sit on the floor. That is the same as saying that some people are better than others, and you would be acting like a crooked judge. My dear friends, pay attention: God has given a lot of faith to the poor people in this world. He has also promised them a share in his kingdom that he will give to everyone who loves him. You mistreat the poor. But isn’t it the rich who boss you around and drag you off to court? Aren’t they the ones who make fun of your Lord? You will do all right, if you obey the most important law in the Scriptures. It is the law that commands us to love others as much as we love ourselves (James 2:1-8 CEV)

Secondly, God quotes their own words in order to show how their arrogance has darkened their minds. They have become so deluded concerning their own importance, that they thought they could bring back to life what God had declared dead. Seeking salvation through good religious works is the same as dressing up a corpse. In this case, as in the most part of the book of Isaiah, God was referring to their religious rituals and traditions. Perhaps I should just make clear that God is not against all forms of religion. There is one kind of religion that God accepts. It is a religion where a person turns his back on the wrong thing and follows and supports the right things according to God’s Word and not according to what the world says is acceptable. It is a religion that is others-centred and not self-centred. Where a person looks out for the needs of others and doesn’t only focus on his own needs. It is a religion where a person takes care of those less fortunate than himself and where he watches his words and doesn’t speak anything that comes up in his mind, disregarding the fact that it may hurt others.

But for the most part, empty religious works are shunned by God throughout the Bible. Jesus confirmed this stance while He was walking the earth. The reason for this is that the religion practiced by the church leaders of the time, disregarded God’s laws in their personal and business lives while putting up a religious show on the church days. He rejected their religion because they looked down their noses at others who didn’t abide by their way of doing church. He rejected them because they used their religion as a cloak to hide their selfish and evil ways. They cheated people. They committed adultery. They weren’t generous towards the poor, but they pretended to be God’s children and in the process caused His name to be blasphemed among unbelievers. He rejected their religion because they had deluded themselves into thinking that they can live as they please and then be saved simply because they attended church.  They had meeting upon meeting, conference upon conference, their worship charades where rejected because they taught man-made ideas as commands from God. They were corrupt in heart because while they claimed to know God, they denied knowledge of Him by their actions. If they really knew God, they would know that He rejects any form of injustice. They would have known that there is just no way He is going to turn a blind eye to the fact that they treat others with disdain and then come into His presence with pious performances. The fact that they believe God will let them get away with the wrong thing as long as they go to church proves they don’t know Him at all.

Anyone who knows God will know that He looks at the heart, not the church performance. They would have known that external religious theatrics is offensive in His sight. He looks for hearts that are changed. He looks for hearts that hate injustice and fight for the right thing. But they refused to face the true God and perhaps they realized subconsciously that He had rejected their form of serving Him. Perhaps they didn’t realize it, but either way they decided they knew better than God. They were prepared to take an empty shell, a dead corpse, and dress it up with external trimmings and give it the appearance of being alive and well. They imagined they had the power to bring to life what God considers to be dead. That is the fruit of their arrogance. They were contented with hearts left unchanged while people go through the motions of “serving” God with empty religious rituals. Jesus confirmed this when He told them that they are like white-washed tombs. They were dead on the inside, but appeared spiritual on the outside. They concentrated on cleaning the outside of the cup, while ignoring the filthy inside (the heart) unchecked. Year after year they and those who follow them don’t change one bit. “The bricks have fallen down, but we will rebuild with dressed stone.” They were in fact saying that what they build will look even better than that which God has torn down. They are better than God –at least that’s what they believed in their darkened hearts. God felled down the fig trees, but we will plant larger, fruitless cedar trees. This reminds of the churches of today, they get bigger, but they are more fruitless than ever.

In judgment of their arrogance, God will send enemies to destroy them –for the simple reason that they rejected God’s way of salvation and designed their own instead. However, even when God does that, they will not repent. He will therefore continue His judgment since they are not only going astray themselves, but they lead others astray as well. “Those who guide this people mislead them and those who are guided are led astray.” Leaders and followers alike will go astray. They will be destroyed both by the enemies that God sends against them and they will turn on each other and self-destruct.

——————————————————————————————————————————————————————–
⁸ The Lord has sent a message against Jacob;
it will fall on Israel.
⁹ All the people will know it—
Ephraim and the inhabitants of Samaria—
who say with pride
and arrogance of heart,
¹⁰ “The bricks have fallen down,
but we will rebuild with dressed stone;
the fig trees have been felled,
but we will replace them with cedars.”
¹¹ But the LORD has strengthened Rezin’s foes against them
and has spurred their enemies on.
¹² Arameans from the east and Philistines from the west
have devoured Israel with open mouth.

Yet for all this, his anger is not turned away,
his hand is still upraised.

¹³ But the people have not returned to him who struck them,
nor have they sought the LORD Almighty.
¹⁴ So the LORD will cut off from Israel both head and tail,
both palm branch and reed in a single day;
¹⁵ the elders and dignitaries are the head,
the prophets who teach lies are the tail.
¹⁶ Those who guide this people mislead them,
and those who are guided are led astray.
¹⁷ Therefore the Lord will take no pleasure in the young men,
nor will he pity the fatherless and widows,
for everyone is ungodly and wicked,
every mouth speaks folly.

Yet for all this, his anger is not turned away,
his hand is still upraised.

¹⁸ Surely wickedness burns like a fire;
it consumes briers and thorns,
it sets the forest thickets ablaze,
so that it rolls upward in a column of smoke.
¹⁹ By the wrath of the LORD Almighty
the land will be scorched
and the people will be fuel for the fire;
they will not spare one another.
²⁰ On the right they will devour,
but still be hungry;
on the left they will eat,
but not be satisfied.
Each will feed on the flesh of their own offspring:
²¹ Manasseh will feed on Ephraim, and Ephraim on Manasseh;
together they will turn against Judah.

Yet for all this, his anger is not turned away,
his hand is still upraised. (Isaiah 9:8-21, New International Version)

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