THE MEANING OF LIFE
by TJ Kastning

I was disaffected, disenfranchised, and disgusted
So few people I trusted, totally maladjusted

My religion failed me, a listing boat on a dead sea
To a blatant degree I did not foresee

I blamed all but myself and put Christ on the shelf
Foolishly enticed to misprice a diced Christ

Self-reliance and pseudoscience described my noncompliance
I yelled “defiance” in a war of grand alliance

I thought my logic and intellect would save the day
Though selfish illogic and human introspect led me astray

I thought I rebelled against a wrong church
It was a self-confident search from a hypocritical perch

Casting blame on the Christian name
Failing to claim the shell game of my shame

I was a pinball without aim
A guessing game all the same

I felt banned to no man’s land
I could not understand

Then there was a miracle
While I waned satirical, God’s mercy waxed empirical

In a predestined play God declared armistice day
I felt brokenly compelled to pray, mayday mayday

Even still, my heart was still hard and scarred and on-guard
I did not fully regard this love greeting card

He still poured down grace out of place
But I held my poker face, just in case

Undeserving of love I was
Reserving my soul He, because that is what he does

I cannot and will not resist anymore
It is a chore to ignore my role in this vital war

I am his fervent bond servant
Observant to be conversant with truth

On the stage floor of world war
I ask what is the score as you grope and implore after more

Every man feels eternity’s weight
Ecclesiastes 3:11 preaches this trait

No man finds God alone
Our bones groan to this fatal tone

Christ must save you, on this you MUST rely
No deed of petty moralism does salvation imply

For all have sinned and come short of glory
Embrace his forgiveness not just the good story

It is ironic to us that while we are all weak
God’s strength is sufficient, it is God we must seek

The limitless store of mercy will stay your trap door
The key to restore to prewar is to abandon your quest for yours

No one is good
You misunderstood

God’s precious gift is that we inherit eternal merit
Through the blood of Christ, twenty four karat

Do not be allured by the shiny deceit all around
No long-lasting crowns are found in shallow town

While some eat, drink, and be merry unwary
The Bride waits patiently, knowing He tarries

The point I am desperately making
There is more to life than waking, making, and taking

Seek for eternity!
It is not in fraternity

This world is passing away
You are merely clay in decay

We live in an arena
A coliseum, not a concertina

We can live in comfort and die infernal
Or fight for God’s glory and live eternal

Reflect Christ, instead of flesh
Make me like wheat for when you perfectly thresh

You say give thanks, but my flesh chases after wealth
Your great love cares little for comfort or bills of health

You say diligently walk in light to fight the blight
Not as religious rite, keep a Godly line of sight

The deeds of darkness are shamefully disguised
As pleasurable expressions of selfishness immortalized

The lust of the flesh and the pride of life
Is dangled by the one who swings the scythe

Walkers in light will see with spiritual eyes
Appraisers by grace, careful of the lies

Sin holds no lure, no bondage, no attraction
His sheep hear His voice and cling to prayerful action

The battle seems long and resistance comes dear
The price sometimes steep, but what have we to fear

Keep your eyes on Jesus, no matter the cost
Persevere through trial, nothing will be lost

Perfect He will present us, atonement fully made
Names in the Book of Life, penalty staid

Gleaming we will be, not of merit our own
No price we paid for our sin sadly sown

The victory is certain, it has been proclaimed
I will not be ashamed to be defamed, maimed, or unnamed

The Kingdom is forthcoming
The World is succumbing

Choose this day whom you will serve
Make no mistake, there is no grading on a curve

Though this young man may have had good intentions, he did not square what he wrote and performed with Scripture. He did not consider the definition of religion and lumped true religion in with false religions. Worse yet, he took the criticisms of the world against the church and validated them ad hoc.

He makes no allowances for mans’ fallen condition and makes no allowance that even true believers will wrestle with sin. Denying his own hypocrisy, he exposes it and gives the impression he believes himself to be wiser than those who have gone to church before him. There is little to commend in the lyrics and part of it is evil – good intentions cannot overcome bad doctrine.

What this young man did is catchy and this caters to those who “feel” about their faith – rather than abide in Christ. Rather than defend the truth – and encouraging others to do the same – he has missed it severely. To follow Jesus Christ with all our heart, soul and mind is religion – pure and simple.

Lines are unmarked. They are by the author, unchanged and uncorrected. Comments are in brackets [ ]:

What if I told you, Jesus came to abolish religion?

[Jesus did not come to abolish religion. He said not one dot of the "i" or cross of the "t" will be done away with (Mat 5:18). The Bible tells us Christ came to save sinners; to seek and save the lost; to do the Father's will and speak the words of the Father. Never once do the Scriptures even imply, let alone state, Christ came to abolish religion. So, if you told me Jesus came to abolish religion, you would be lying.]

What if I told you getting you to vote republican, really wasn’t his mission?

[Why would you tell me this? Which Christian ever claimed this? And why is political affiliation the first subject about religion, in this context? It is interesting he targets Republican, which appears to be his purpose. The majority of the Democratic Party also claim to be Christian and the Christian left forcefully urges the government to be the savior of the oppressed. By discrediting the right, did the writer imply the left was accomplishing Christ's mission? - that the state is the fulfillment of Christ's mission?]

Because republican doesn’t automatically mean Christian,
And just because you call some people blind, doesn’t automatically give you vision.

[First line: True, but again, who even makes the claim? As for the second line, is the writer claiming those who stand for Biblical principles and call for a return to God in the political arena are calling others blind, or being judgmental? Granted, some people come across judgmental but do we lump all who hold to this message as being in error, or hypocritical, for the sake of the few with poor attitudes? And, on the other hand, is the intolerant right more hypocritical than the intolerant left? And why does this have anything to do with religion, in this context? Implicitly, this young man is calling those who stand for truth to be blind and he tells them, as the lyrics progress, he has the vision. He is what he has judged.]

If religion is so great, why has it started so many wars?

[Total inaccurate view of history: the implication is majority and the charge is initiation. That many wars were joined by those who viewed their mission as an obligation toward God - whether misguided or not, the fact is, these wars were not a majority and often they were begun by opposing nations. Furthermore, there is good Biblical basis that all wars come from God. And as long as there is evil in the world, there will be wars. So, are we now justified to discredit God for originating and directing all these wars? If the religious are guilty, is God more guilty?]

Why does it build huge churches, but fails to feed the poor?

[So what does it matter if a church is large or elaborate? Who are you to judge whether these buildings are erected for the glory of God or not? This is God's business. Did Christ condemn Herod's Temple? Doesn't the Bible praise Solomon's Temple? Nonetheless, most these same churches that have beautiful buildings are also feeding the poor. To make his point, the young man judges and defames those who are doing good works for the sake of the few that don't.]

Tells single moms God doesn’t love them if they’ve ever been divorced

[That some who are religious are legalistic is no cause to discredit all who are religious and especially not those who are truly religious. Furthermore, finding those guilty of this line are fewer in our day than in days gone by. This is more of a straw man than a popular practice.]

Yet God in the Old Testament actually calls the religious people whores

[False. That some of the people accused may be religious does not imply God accused all who were religious. The accusation of whores was not due to being religious but was due to the accused's efforts to please man rather than God, or glorify themselves rather than God. You could say this is the same sin this young man is guilty of because little in these lyrics lines up with Scripture and, thus, cannot please or glorify God. It can only glorify himself and increase his own fame.]

Religion preaches grace, but another thing they practice,

[What religion preaches grace besides the Christian religion? Thus the writer lumps Christianity into the religion pool. And once again, that some are legalistic, he discredits all. That most of the religious are not Christian is ignored because it does not help him make his case.]

Tend to ridicule Gods people, they did it to John the Baptist,

[False religions will ridicule God's people but so does this young man in the lines of this poem, or rap.]

Cant fix their problems, so they try to mask it,
Not realizing that’s just like sprayin perfume on a casket

[This is true for all human nature - not just the religious are guilty of this. However, those who practice true religion are free from this because they understand though they wrestle with their human nature, as Paul describes in Romans chapter seven, there is no condemnation because of the work of Christ Jesus, as described in Romans chapter eight.]

Because the problem with religion is that it never gets to the core,
It’s just behavior modification, like a long list of chores.
Let’s dress up the outside, make things look nice and neat,
Its funny that’s what they do to mummies, while the corpse rots underneath,

[This is true for false religions. True religion abides in the core - Jesus Christ.]

Now I ain’t judging I’m just saying be careful of putting on a fake look,
Because there’s a problem if people only know that you’re a Christian by that little section on your facebook

[This is a good admonition for true believers. Jesus said if you are ashamed of Him, He will be ashamed of you. But this is a mute issue to anyone else, regardless of religion. And, once again, he lumps Christians in with the religious. So, I am wondering, when later in the lyrics he claims to love Jesus, is he NOT a Christian? Has this young man risen above Christianity?]

In every other aspect of life you know that logics unworthy
Its like saying you play for the lakers just because you bought a jersey

[The first line does not make sense. To say using logic is like mixing apples and oranges (Lakers and jerseys) does not make sense. However, this young man has mixed apples and oranges in confusing all religion with true religion and lumping Christianity in with bad religion.]

But see I played this game too; no one seemed to be on to me,
I was acting like church kid, while addicted to pornography.
I’d go to church on Sunday, but on saturday getting faded,
Acting as if I was simply created to have sex and get wasted.
Spend my whole life putting on this façade of neatness,
But now that I know Jesus, I boast in my weakness.

[Good confession and it is true that many, even those who practice true religion wrestle with sin. Paul describes this in Romans chapter seven and in the next chapter he tells us how we overcome it.]

If grace is water, then the church should be an ocean,

[Bad mantra. The church is not the source of grace. God is and Paul describes this in Romans chapter eight, among other Scriptures.]

Cuz its not a museum for good people, it’s a hospital for the broken

[This is another popular mantra and it helps promote victimhood mentality as opposed to accountability to abide in Christ. The Bible never describes the church this way. The church is described as a fellowship of believers who worship God and encourage each other. And in the bigger picture, the church is the bride of Christ. does Christ come to the hospital to marry His bride?]

I no longer have to hide my failures I don’t have to hide my sin,
Because my salvation doesn’t depend on me, it depends on him.

[The second line is true, however the first line is vague. Many profess to be Christian and live openly in sin. This line seems to allow this but Jesus said, "Go and sin no more."]

because when I was Gods enemy and certainly not a fan,
God looked down on me and said, “I want that man!”

[This is true. Jesus said no man comes to Him unless the Father draws Him. He also said, "You did not chose Me but I chose you" (Joh 6:44; 15:16).]

Which is so different from religious people, and why Jesus called em fools

[This is confusing. Is he saying religious people were not enemies of God, and if so, why would Jesus call them 'fools'? Or, is he saying God did not look down on the religious and draw them to Him? If the second is true, and we are using this young man's definition of religious here, what about the Apostle Paul and other Jewish leaders who truly received Jesus Christ? This young man does not understand what the Bible tells us about religion, nor does he understand the plain definition of the word - and the mess gets worse as the song rolls on.]

Don’t you see hes so much better than just following some rules?

[This is true according to his definition of religion. Nonetheless, the Bible is clear, you cannot follow Christ without adhering to a basic set of rules: believe He was sent by the Father to die for your sins and give eternal life; abide in Christ and sin no more; love God with all your heart, soul and mind; love your neighbor as yourself; love one another and do not forsake the assembly; take up your cross and follow Me, etc. Remember, Jesus said, "My yoke is easy" but it is a yoke, nonetheless.]

Now let me clarify, I love the church, I love the bible, and I believe in sin

[He has spent many lines denigrating what he claims to love, namely, the church. He has demonstrated his willingness to ignore the Bible to make his case against religion. Thus, it is not far-fetched he believes in sin.]

But my question, is if Jesus were here today, would your church let Him in?

[Good question. Given that most professing Christians are not and thus most, or at least many, churches are in the control of worldly men. It is no wonder the popularity of churches and church leaders who denigrate the Word. There is an easy way to determine which churches would listen to Christ and which would not: Those who receive the Word of God in toto will; those who deny the authority and power of the Scriptures will not.]

Remember He was called a drunkard and a glutton by “religious men”

[He was called a drunkard and glutton by Jewish leaders, who were religious. But their religion was practiced to please man, not God. This young man has set up the straw man whereby he can condemn all religious men even though not all religious men agreed with the assessment of the Jewish leaders.]

The Son of God not supported self-righteousness, not now, not then.

[True. Christ condemned self-righteousness and pride.]

Now back to the topic, one thing I think is vital to mention,
How Jesus and religion are on opposite spectrums,

[Over and over, Christ admonishes us to abide in Him (John 15, et al). This is true religion - God, as revealed in Scripture, is our object of worship and we live to please Him and glorify Him with all our heart and soul and mind. When Christ pointed the way to true religion, how can He be on the opposite side of it?]

One is the work of God one is a man made invention,
One is the cure and one is the infection.

[It is true false religions were created by man and sometimes by demons. However, true religion is the work of God. God has declared He is a jealous God and we are to worship no one else but Him (Exo 20:5, et al). To claim this is an invention of man is blasphemous.]

Because Religion says do, Jesus says done.

[Most false religions are built upon mans' work and requirements for his salvation. When Jesus said, "It is finished," He was talking about the payment for our sin. While we are saved by grace, Jesus still commands us to do: abide in Me, follow My commands and while the New Testament makes clear the true believer is Christ's slave, Jesus assures him His yoke is easy and burden is light. James tells us to be doers of the Word. Certainly, we know we are not saved by anything we do (Eph 2:8-9) but the Bible makes clear we must still do (Eph 2:10) - this is our religion: abiding in Christ and glorifying God in every area of our lives.]

Religion says slave, Jesus says son,
Religion puts you in shackles but Jesus sets you free.

[Jesus said all who sin are a slave to sin (Joh 8:34). Paul affirms this in Romans chapter seven, et all, and tells us we are slaves to sin or we are slaves to God's law. - yes, the Bible still affirms our obligation to God's law. The New Testament has many references to our status as slaves of Christ and, as mentioned above, Christ tells us His yoke is easy and burden is light (Mat 11:30). If we truly believe, Christ sets us free from the law of sin and death (Rom 8:2; Heb 9:15) and for us He fulfilled the requirements of the law (Gal 5:1). Now we are free to live a life of obedience in reverent worship of our Lord and Savior (Rom 12:1-2).]

Religion makes you blind, but Jesus lets you see.

[If our religion is in Christ, then we will see (Joh 9:35-39). Without true religion, we cannot see.]

This is what makes religion and Jesus two different clans,
Religion is man searching for God, but Christianity is God searching for man.

[First, we already established the Bible teaches true religion. Christ cannot be opposite of this. Second, the Bible tells us no one seeks after God (Isa 64:6; Rom 3:11). Therefore, false religion is man rejecting God - not seeking Him - by substituting His worship. It is true, as mentioned above, God draws man and not the other way around,]

Which is why salvation is freely mine, forgiveness is my own,
Not based on my efforts, but Christ’s obedience alone.
Because he took the crown of thorns, and blood that dripped down his face
He took what we all deserved, that’s why we call it grace.
While being murdered he yelled “father forgive them, they know not what they do”,
Because when he was dangling on that cross, he was thinking of you
He paid for all your sin, and then buried it in the tomb,
Which is why im kneeling at the cross now saying come on there’s room

[Aside from a few journalistic liberties, these lines are true and mostly sound.]

So know I hate religion, in fact I literally resent it,

[Religion is the object of our worship (Act 17:22). Our religion is manifest in whom or what we honor and obey - who we glorify with our lives. If we abide in Christ, we are practicing true religion - anything else is false.]

Because when Jesus cried It is finished, I believe He meant it.

[When Christ cried, "It is finished," Hw was stating the payment for sin was complete. Our obligation to live in obedience to Him had just begun.]

FINAL COMMENTS:

So this young man hates religion – he has spent the entire poem on it. He has lumped in true religion, condemning it and has even denigrated Christianity. The second line from the end, he reveals his resentment. This is probably the key to this video going viral: there is a generation of bitter young Christians who resent the hypocrisy they watched growing up.

This generation does not realize hypocrisy is a human condition. And, like the legalists whom they condemn, they have no grace to see their brother through the eyes of Christ. The problem stems from the way we have raised a generation of Christians to assess the world around them by how they feel – not by critical comparison to the Word of God.

They do not understand we are in a war – much like the generation before them, they want their life to be comfortable. Because their faith is based upon feeling, they validate the deceptive complaints of the enemy. And, while claiming to love the General, they gun down all His soldiers.

This is the fruit of teaching a generation of Christians to love Jesus but failing to teach them how to abide in Him.

I hope this has been helpful.

The beloved describes how God placed His vineyard, Israel, on a good land; He cultivated it and gave it the best opportunity to produce good fruit. He secured and prospered them but they yielded only bad fruit. Then God asks Jerusalem and Judah to judge between Him and the vineyard. He pronounces the sentence upon them: He will take away their protection and make Israel a wasteland because He looked for justice but found bloodshed; He looked for fairness but only heard the cries of the oppressed. Given the best of advantages, the fruit of the vineyard was sour.

The prophet Hosea, a contemporary to Isaiah, declared Israel to be a luxurious vine (Hos 10:1-2). God had cultivated and prospered the nation. They yielded fruit, but what kind of fruit did they yield? In the second verse, Hosea says the more God blessed them, the more they set their hearts on other gods. Their hearts were false – just like their gods. In verse thirteen, Hosea wrote, the people plowed iniquity and reaped injustice. The fruit of the beautiful vine was only lies.

The lure of the world is deceptive – it calls for us to seek our own prosperity, to seek our status and fame. The Apostle Paul wrote the love of money, or power – mammon – is the root of all kinds of evil and those who take hold of it find emptiness and pain. More than that, they have strayed from the faith (1Ti 6:10). This is where Israel was. God blessed them, but their taste of prosperity caused them to seek after more rather than praise the One who blessed them. Those who love the world can never have enough of it (Ecc 5:10). What appears to be living the dream is a hollow shell that houses emptiness and pain.

Jesus said, “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch that does not bear fruit He takes away.” [Joh 15:1-2 ESV] This is where we are in the Song of the Vineyard. Israel will not bear good fruit – in fact, worse than bearing no fruit, they produced sour fruit. So, God removed them from the land. First, He removed their protection (v 5). Then, He laid waste to the land and withheld the rain (v 6). We know from history, Judah was led into captivity for seventy years. When God brought them back to their land, they rejected the false gods of the nations around them. However, in their zeal for their own power, they also rejected the Messiah. After that, God removed them and desolated the land for almost two thousand years.

Matthew presents Jesus’ parable of the vineyard and the tenants (Mat 21:33-41). The owner of the vineyard prepared it just the same way Isaiah describes it in the song. Then he leased it out to tenants. However, when the owner of the vineyard sent his agents to collect the rent, the tenants beat some and killed others. Finally, he sent his son – with the assumption they will respect the next of kin. But the son was cast out and murdered. Jesus asked what the people thought the owner of the vineyard would do about this and affirmed he would cast the tenants out and lease the land to those who would honor the lease. The purpose of this parable was to explain to the Jews the age of Israel had come to an end (at least for a time) and that they would be dispersed, just as Isaiah had warned.

Why was Israel committed to this awful end? Isaiah gives the answer in verse seven: Israel was the vineyard of the Lord of hosts – He is the commander of armies. What He commands must be done. To refuse Him is to bring dire consequences. He prospered the men of Judah but they abandoned justice for disobedience and they abandoned righteousness for oppression.

Some people believe the only role for the Christian is to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ. But here God makes clear we are responsible to stand up for truth and justice. I am not talking about good feelings, self-esteem and social justice. In fact, social justice is the opposite of true justice because it demands the oppression of one man to relieve the oppression of another. God says He is looking for justice and He is looking for righteousness. When He looks upon our community and our nation, will He find what He is looking for, or will He find disobedience, bloodshed and oppression?

When Jesus told the story of the vine – He is the true vine – He warned against not bearing good fruit, just like Isaiah is warning Israel in the Song of the Vineyard. His warning is that those who do not bear good fruit would be cast out and tossed into the fire, or eternal damnation (Joh 15:2, 6). We cannot bear good fruit unless we abide in the vine. If we abide in Christ, we will bear good fruit, we will be His disciples and we will abide in His love (Joh 15:7-11).

Israel had a choice to bear fruit for God or bear fruit for themselves. The world calls us to bear fruit for ourselves, but it is sour fruit. Many people claim to be Christian but are working to bear fruit for themselves. But just as God cast away His vineyard, so He will destroy these people in Hell (Mat 7:21-23). What kind of fruit are you working on?

The second verse of chapter four begins with the words, “In that day.” So does the first verse. In fact, there were two verses in the last chapter that began the same. Isaiah 3:7, in that day – Judah will be desperate for a king. Isaiah 3:18, in that day – Judah will be reduced to slavery. Isaiah 4:1, in that day – there will be a scarcity of men. Isaiah 4:2, in that day – the Messiah will return with glory.

Are all these days the same day? Three of these days speak of catastrophe upon Judah and the fourth day speaks of the glory of the Messiah. It is common in prophecies for the word from God to apply to more than one time, in that, one fulfillment is a foretaste of another fulfillment. For example, there are several passages in Isaiah that speak both to the first coming of Christ and the second. In our study of chapter three of Isaiah, we mentioned the destruction that came upon Judah when they were led captive to Babylon. This could have been a foretaste of future events when Jerusalem was destroyed in 70 AD. More than one million Jews were killed in that siege and the nation was dispersed for 2000 years. If the three days mentioned in chapter three and the first verse of chapter four refer to the latter event, then it is plausible the day mentioned in verse two is the same day.

So three “in that day” references foretell future doom and the fourth “in that day” foretells future glory for the Messiah. It can be construed these all refer to the same day. For in the day Jerusalem was finally sacked, the message of the Messiah went out to the entire world, planting the seed for the coming of the Messiah to reign on earth.

The third verse in this passage jumps to the Millennial Reign of Christ – the Branch – when the remnant of Israel will be called holy. Isaiah 27:9 refers to this time when the sin of Jacob will be removed. Jeremiah 31:33-34 says in those days God will write His law on their hearts and forgive their iniquities. Romans 11:26-27 refers also to the time when the wickedness of Jacob will be removed and their sins will be forgiven.

It is worthy of note, the Jeremiah passage does not mention the Jews returning to God by their own initiative. It is God who writes His law on their hearts. It is God who claims them as His people. The passage in Romans beginning in verse twenty-five does not mention Israel returning to God on their own initiative – there are no seekers. In fact, the Apostle Paul wrote there will be a partial hardening of Israel until the time of the Gentiles is completed. This means very few Jews will be saved during this time. But when the time comes, all Israel will be save because the Messiah will “banish ungodliness from Jacob” and write a new covenant and take away their sins. The Bible said this, not me – that God chose few to be saved during this period. This is supported by the end of the third verse of the passage in Isaiah, where it says the remnant in Jerusalem will be saved, “everyone who has been recorded for life in Jerusalem.”

The Book of Life is mentioned in Revelation 13:8 and it says the Book was written, and the names written in the Book, before the creation of the world. The Apostle Paul wrote to the Christians, explaining God chose us in Christ before the creation of the world (Eph 1:4) and that same apostle wrote God hardened the hearts of Israel until the time of the Gentiles is complete (Rom 11:25). Isaiah said no one seeks after God (Isa 53:6; 64:6-7) and Paul affirms this (Rom 3:11). When the Messiah comes to reign, it will be the time of Zion’s glory and everyone of the Jews – or at least those in Jerusalem – are predestined to be saved and Isaiah says their names are already written in the Book of Life.

Isaiah wrote in the fifth verse, “the LORD will create over the whole site of Mount Zion and over her assemblies a cloud by day, and smoke and the shining of a flaming fire by night.” [ESV] This will be a literal reminder of God’s miraculous leading of the children of Israel in the desert for forty years. The Messiah will lead not only Jerusalem, but He will lead the nations.

The next part and the end of the chapter are very interesting. Isaiah wrote there would be a canopy over all the glory at Jerusalem and that there will be a booth, or shade, to protect from the heat and the storms and rain. At the creation of the world, there was a canopy protecting the earth from rain and there was no rain until the Great Flood. Until that time, the earth was watered by mists and dew (Gen 2). In the account of the Flood (Gen 6-8) the earth burst open and water sprang forth and the protection from the floodgates of heaven was removed. It was a time of great catastrophe. The catastrophe was so intense, the earth’s orbit was varied, the calendar changed as did the climate. In the Book of Revelation, we are told there will be great catastrophes to come and the climate will change again (Rev 6:12; 8:12). These passages imply the orbit of the earth may be affected again and this is supported by the words of Christ. In Matthew 24:22, referring to the sun’s scorching heat during the tribulation, He said the days will be cut short for the sake of the elect – otherwise everyone would die. To shorten the day, the rotation of the earth must change. The climate will be unbearable – yes there will be global warming but it will not be caused by man (Rev 16:8-9). When Christ reigns in Jerusalem, no more will the sun scorch the people (Rev 7:16) and Christ will wipe away every tear.

Isaiah is warning the people because they have rejected God. In that day, there will be three dooms – and then glory. The Messiah will reign and He has already chosen those in Jerusalem to be among the elect. Israel will rebel against God no more – for they will have God’s law written on their hearts. We, too, can choose to receive Christ or reject Him – but no one will come to faith unless their name is written in the Book of Life. This is not something to ignore – plead with God that your name is written in the Book – repent of your sins and follow Christ.

64 pages and on sale at Lulu.com. You will find the book challenging – because it presents Scripture as the foundation for the author’s observations – you won’t find any feel good, watered down Gospel here.

God is the God of hosts (v 1), that is, He is the leader of a vast army, or armies. “O LORD God of hosts, how long will you be angry with your people’s prayers? You have fed them with the bread of tears and given them tears to drink in full measure.” [Psa 80:4-5 ESV] In the first chapter of Isaiah, we learned God was not going to listen to their prayers (1:15). Now, in this third chapter, we will learn how and why God gave “them tears to drink in full measure.”

Isaiah said God will take away their food and water and their ability to provide for their needs. Verses fourteen and fifteen give us a clue this was done through regulation, but we will get to that in a moment. Along with removing supply and support, God removed the counselors, the leaders, the policymakers and all the influential people in law, religion, military, professions, art and entertainment (v 2-3). God replaced those who were skilled with those who were adolescent and impulsive (v 4-5). And the people were oppressed but they did not repent.

When the skilled, the learned and the wise are replaced by the impetuous and foolish, society becomes a culture of death. Neighbors oppress each other – everyone wants to micromanage each others’ lives. Youths openly disrespect their elders – mocking them in public, stealing, robbing and invading their homes. Those who have squandered their lives in sloth, mock and attack the honorable – those who work hard and speak the truth. I didn’t get this from the daily paper. Read it for yourself, it is all in verse five.

The times will be so harsh, that a man who has an extra coat will be asked to lead (v 6-7).

Solomon said the fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom (Pro 1:7). He also said a fool finds pleasure in evil (Pro 10:23) and here we see, in the third chapter of Isaiah, a culture obsessed with evil. In verse eight, Isaiah says their speech and their actions were against the LORD and that they rebelled “against His glorious presence.” [NASB] Jerusalem and Judah were chosen by God – His glorious presence was among His people – but they rejected Him. If the fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom and fools find pleasure in evil; does it not logically follow that a nation in rebellion to God is a nation of fools?

Isaiah wrote, “The expression of their faces bears witness against them. And they display their sin like Sodom; they do not even conceal it.” [v 9a NASB] In other words, the people are not ashamed of evil. Even in our modern churches, we go out of our way to commend perversion for the sake of extending the love of Christ. Where does the Bible say to do this? Let alone the Old Testament prophets, even the Apostle Paul condemned perversion and lifestyles of sin. In the first chapter of Romans, he said by their unrighteousness they suppress the truth (Rom 1:18). Paul wrote that God made His eternal power and His divine, or holy, nature obvious so that all men are without excuse (Rom 1:20). But man exchanged God’s wisdom for futile foolishness – you cannot rebel against God and maintain wisdom at the same time. Paul said they claimed to be wise while they became fools – they exchanged the truth about God for a lie. To the rebellious heart, God gave them over to their perversions (still in Romans chapter one) – they had no shame, and no limits to their shame because God gave them over to their sin. And to the church that glories in the perversions of man, God says He will not listen to their prayers (Isa 1:15; Jer 7:4,16). “Woe to them, for they have brought evil on themselves.” [v 9b NASB]

We reap what we sow: “Tell the righteous that it shall be well with them, for they shall eat the fruit of their deeds. Woe to the wicked! It shall be ill with him, for what his hands have dealt out shall be done to him.” [v 10-11 NASB] In the midst of God’s judgment, He gives encouragement to those who follow Him to continue in their walk because they will reap a good reward. While those who chase evil will find their doom. Somehow, Isaiah’s words fail to translate into the modern mantra of “God hates sin but loves the sinner.”

Looking for freedom, they became slaves to oppression. Isaiah said women ruled over them and they were oppressed by children (v 12) – or the foolish and immature. The role of man was debased – leadership was abandoned to feelings and self-esteem. Real men could not be found. He finishes this verse, “Those who guide you lead you astray and confuse the direction of your paths.” [v 12b NASB] As in ancient Judah, so today we are confused. The truth is made to sound judgmental, arrogant and hateful and the lie is broadcast as love and compassion. We struggle to understand the meaning of the word “is” while lawmakers pass oppressive legislation so we can “see what is in the bill.” Meanwhile, we have leaders professing faith in Christ who openly mock the truths of the Scriptures and even the words of Christ Himself. Jesus said “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” [Joh 8:31-32 ESV] Like Solomon said, “the fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom (Pro 1:7)” But what was the Jews answer to Christ? “We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?” [Joh 8:33 ESV]

So, back to the people of Isaiah: the people refused to reason with God (Isa 1:18) and they have suffered calamity upon calamity and oppression upon oppression. Now, God takes His place in court to judge the people (v 13). He enters into judgment against the elders and leaders of the people – and then the women – and then the men (v 14-4:1).

Black’s Law Dictionary defines entering judgments as, “the formal entry of the judgment on the rolls or records of the court.” This is “necessary before bringing an appeal or an action on the judgment.” The entry of the judgment is further defined as, “recording of it in the judgment book.” So, God has written it in the Book of Judgments but there is no appeal – only an action upon the judgment – His action. He is the LORD of hosts.

The leaders were judged for devouring the vineyard – they scooped up everything that man produced. “The plunder of the poor is in your houses.” [v 14 NASB] No wonder the people were poor, they were taxed out of all they produced. In the next verse, God accuses them of “crushing My people” and “grinding the face of the poor.” Having already taxed them to poverty, the wealthy leaders have regulated them to eliminate any commercial competition. This is may have had a lot to do with verse one, “removing supply and support.”

God can destroy an economy with natural disaster, enemy invasion – or the people’s own greed. Isaiah said that neighbors oppressed each other (v 5). We see this even today, having lost our foundation for law, we have laws for everything – we clamor to write legislation, in the name of consumer protection or some other rationalization, which limits the ability of small companies – or poor people – to enter into the marketplace. We want to license every venture and regulate the where and how of enterprise. And, slowly we are losing supply and support. Upon this, our leaders build their empires and God says He has entered a judgment against them.

What is the judgment against the leaders? Isaiah has already declared they will be removed and stripped of their honor. They will be killed and the social structure they were proud of will disappear. Chapter fourteen of Isaiah gives an account of the rebellious leaders of the world meeting Satan in hell. They will be horrified when the one they honored and followed has become like them – debased and eaten by worms. As Christians, we can be certain the One we glorify and follow, the One we enjoy and look forward to enjoying forever, will be even more great and glorious than our hearts and minds can even imagine. We will not be disappointed.

The judgment doesn’t stop there. The next word is “moreover.” This means the judge is still writing the judgment.

This moreover has to do with the women. While men chase after vanity, it is typically the women who attend to family – the raising of the children – the raising of the next generation. But what have these women been doing? Isaiah describes them as proud, seducing with their eyes and their dainty steps and fancy jewelry. What is their judgment? First, their hair will no longer be their glory because it will be replaced with scabs. Second, all their adornment will be gone. The clothing and adornments they used to seduce and add to their glory will all be gone. Third, they will be outfitted for captivity – or slavery. They will stink; they will be tied with ropes; their hair will be plucked out; they will wear rags and sackcloth; and they will be marked with a branding iron. Fourth, their men – even their mighty men of battle – will fall by the sword.

Society will be in disarray – what little is left. There will be so few men, that seven women will take hold of a man and offer to supply their own food and clothing – just so they will not be left disgraced and alone. This will not be a day of prosperity.

The day came for Jerusalem. Nebuchadnezzar led thousands captive to Babylon. The final chapters of the Book of Second Chronicles give the account of the fall and dispersion. Jeremiah gives the account of the disarray and despair of the remnant that remained. Isaiah wrote this account as a warning to the people of Judah and Jerusalem. But his words are also a warning for us today. When we see the course of our affairs traveling parallel with those of the people in Scripture, we can only assume our doom and judgment may take a similar direction.

A common saying is, “It is never too late to repent.” That’s not what the Bible says. “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.” [Heb 3:15 ESV]

When Moses went up the mountain to receive the Ten Commandments, God gave instructions to the people, saying, “You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” [Ex 19:4-6 NIV] So, the promise is made, God will treasure His people as long as they walk in His ways. There are several other passages in Scripture that prophecy the nation’s doom if they abandon the ways of the LORD. God is not one to go back on His promises, or His covenants.

So, Isaiah declared God had abandoned His people (v 6). This is the fulfillment of His promise to a rebellious people. They had incorporated into their worship, or culture, the religions of the East – picking the parts and pieces that gave them a sense of fulfillment in life. This is similar to many professing Christians today who have taken up Yoga for exercise, abandoning the Scriptural pattern for meditation. Others have abandoned reliance upon God to overcome sin and accepted the Hindu twelve-step practice of Alcoholics Anonymous. In fact, many have set up recovery programs as idols, replacing their walk with Christ, with exaltation of victimhood. Many have accepted the wisdom of the world, quoting and following the tenets of Buddhist, Hindu, Baha’i faiths and others. Further illustrating their rebellion, Isaiah lamented Israel’s practice of divination, or the occult, specifically to foretell future events. Today, we have professing Christians using tarot cards, Ouija boards and other mediums for entertainment and comfort. The people embraced pagans, or paganism – the worship of the earth. Today it is known as environmentalism, saving the planet and going green. The wisdom of man has so interwoven the Gospel of Christ, there is no longer any alarm when modern pastors twist the Scripture, or add to it, to make it more palatable to man.

If you claim to be a Christian, if you claim to follow Christ, if you claim a future hope of life eternal, then be sure to attend to your walk. Paul calls us to work out our salvation with fear and trembling – that is, having a holy fear of whom we serve, living in obedience – knowing this, it is God who works through us to bring us to completion (Php 2:12-13). We cannot mix the ways of the world with following Christ. Our walk is not about feeling good, it is about obedience to a holy and just God. In Matthew 7:21-23, Jesus warned not everyone who claims to follow Him will be saved. Many will do great things in the name of Christ, but they are not following Him and He will say, “get away from Me; I never knew you.”

Another common idea in the modern Christian church is that God blesses those who are faithful to Him. We see wealth as a sign of God’s blessing. The disciples had this illusion also. In Mark chapter ten, Christ was talking about how hard it is to be saved and how especially hard it is for the wealthy to enter the kingdom of God. The disciples’ reaction was, “Who then can be saved?” If it is hard for the rich to be saved, why do we view wealth as a blessing from God?

Isaiah says, the people abandoned their walk with God; they incorporated the philosophies; practices and cultures of the world; they dabbled in the occult and they embraced pagans – but they were rich. Despite the fact, as Isaiah mentioned earlier, God had warned the nation by hardship and catastrophe that judgment was coming, yet they were wealthy – they had much. To use modern vernacular, Isaiah says they had plenty of money, they had plenty of entertainment and nice cars (v 7). The land is full of idols – the people worship the work of their hands (v 8).

Worshiping the work of your hands can have a double meaning. In the first case, all idols are the work of mans’ hands. Idols don’t make themselves. In fact, in chapters to come, we will read of Isaiah mocking man for worshiping something he created himself out of scraps of wood and stone. They reject the true God, who made everything, to worship a god who is dependent upon man to create his image. In the second case, man can become consumed with his work. His work can become his idol, or the pleasures his wealth brings – the result of his work – can become his god. In other words, he worships the work of his hands because he is consumed with his abilities, or with the wealth brought about by the fruit of his hands.

Many professing Christians today are consumed with their wealth and with their work. They live for their next pleasure or investment. As a result, they have little time for God – they have ideas of what a Christian is supposed to be, but they do not know how to follow God.

The result of worship of the work of our hands is arrogance in our hearts. This is a natural consequence: we create our own god, whether that god is an idol of wood and stone, or an empire built upon the work of our hands. It would follow, the creator of god, or empires, would rightfully (and I say this in the loose sense) become proud of his accomplishments. I have met several professing Christians who refused to give God glory for their wealth because, they told me, God had nothing to do with it – it was hard work and it was the work of their hands. I have met others who give God credit, or at least a portion of the credit, with their mouths, but nothing in their work or practices gives glory to God. These men become proud in themselves, their abilities and their accomplishments.

God says man and mankind will be brought low and humbled. This means all men – each, the group, the whole! The Apostle Paul tells us every knee will bow and every tongue confess Jesus Christ is Lord of all (Php 2:10; Rom 14:11). Isaiah carries this further saying, “All who have raged against him will come to him and be put to shame. [Isa 45:24 NIV]

Those who have truly received Christ have already humbled themselves. To walk with Christ is to humble oneself – because we are following. We are not leading – we don’t make demands of God, we don’t tell Him what to do, or what He should do and we don’t defy Him when things don’t go our way – we follow. We pray nothing for our kingdom, be it great or small. We pray for God’s kingdom (Mat 6:10). We travel this life with Christ’s yoke upon us (Mat 11:29). Christ turns us where He will – not where we will – we follow. If we have not humbled ourselves and are not following Christ, we can be certain we are not saved.

Since those who follow Christ are humbled already, the only ones who remain, whom God will crush and bring to nothing, are the rebellious, as Psalms chapter two contends. Twice, in this passage, Isaiah says the eyes, or haughty look, of man will be humbled, or brought low and the pride of man will be brought low, or humbled (v 11 and 17). So, this is important and God has determined this will happen.

God will destroy what man holds dear. Lebanon was once known for its cedars. In fact, Solomon used cedars from Lebanon in the construction of the temple (1Ki 5-7). The cedars are no more (v 13). Some catastrophic scientists say this happened as a result of a planetary flyby that resulted in a shifting of the poles of the earth. Regardless how it happened, God brought it about. He will flatten the mountains and the hills, high towers – skyscrapers and such – and fortresses. Even large and stately ships will be destroyed. With the recent earthquake and tsunami in Japan, we have witnessed God’s use of nature to destroy whole cities and even ships upon the sea were not safe, but were dashed to pieces. When the day of the Lord shall come, nothing will be safe from God’s wrath.

Three times Isaiah refers to “from dread of the LORD and the splendor of His majesty.” [v 10, 19, 21] Twice, he appends this with “when He rises to shake the earth.” [v 19, 21] So this is established – God’s plan will not be thwarted. In that day, all mans’ idols will be thrown out (v 20) or disappear (v 18) and the earth will be shaken. “The LORD alone will be exalted in that day.” [v 17]

Regarding this wrath, in the thirteenth chapter of Isaiah, he prophesies the day of the LORD will be a cruel day, the land will be desolate and sinners destroyed within it (13:9). Jeremiah says there will be terrors on every side and no one will escape (Lam 2:22). Ezekiel agrees with Isaiah, in that, people will throw their wealth – or idols – into the street (Eze 7:19); it will be a time of doom for all nations (Eze 30:3). The Prophet Joel says the day of the LORD will be a time of destruction (Joe 1:15) and all who live in the land will tremble (Joe 2:1). It will be dreadful and no one will endure it (Joe 2:11). Amos says it will be a day of darkness (Amo 5:18,20), as did the Apostle Peter (Act 2:20). The Prophet Zephaniah says God will punish princes and kings (Zep 1:8); the cry will be bitter and the whole world will be consumed and come to a sudden end (Zep 1:14,18).

The day of the LORD will be a very dreadful day. Isaiah warns the people to go to the rocks and hide in the ground (v 10). The Apostle John wrote of that day, “Then the kings of the earth, the princes, the generals, the rich, the mighty, and every slave and every free man hid in caves and among the rocks of the mountains. They called to the mountains and the rocks, ‘Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?’ ” [Rev 6:15-17 NIV] How great is the dread that man will call on the rocks to fall on him and crush him – to hide him from the terror of the Almighty God?

In recent years, we have witnessed great catastrophes. Hurricane Katrina wiped out much of Louisiana. Earthquakes and tsunamis have wiped out cities in Haiti, the East and the islands and now Japan. One thing is certain, catastrophes are growing ever stronger and are occurring more frequently. God is warning us of impending judgment to come. However, we cannot even grasp the terror that is to come – for even in the catastrophes of recent, is there any record of men fleeing to the hills and calling the rocks to fall upon them? Certainly, many fled for their lives – but none have yet begged for death.

If the catastrophic scientists are correct, the day of the LORD will come on the wings of planetary catastrophe. What if Mars were to appear again to the naked eye as it has in the past? And what if it appeared one-hundred times larger than the moon? What if the earth were engulfed in meteor showers and all the plates of the earth were shifting for hours on end – not minutes, but hours? The sky will be dark and the moon turned to blood (Joe 2:31; Act 2:20; Rev 6:12). The earth will be shaken (v 19, 21). Whatever means God uses to display His majesty, it will be a day of great terror.

The voice of the preacher testifying to God reaching out in love will be stopped. All mankind, whether great or lowly, will flee to the mountains – and they will call out to inanimate objects, the rocks, which are now very animate, to fall on them. The dread, or terror, of the LORD will be revealed (v 10, 19, 21).

God says He will crush the rebellious and here we see the rebellious begging to be crushed. Isaiah tells us there are none who seek after God (Isa 64:7) and here we see mankind, faced with imminent danger, preferring death to receiving life. In vain, man has exalted himself and opposed the Almighty God – “the LORD alone will be exalted in that day” [v 11].

In the previous passage, Isaiah describes the glorious reign of Christ. In this passage, he describes the coming destruction of rebellious mankind. These men have witnessed the reign of Christ, the justice and the glory – and just as God’s chosen people of Isaiah’s day rejected God’s covenant, so to, will all mankind reject God’s covenant and face destruction. The rebellion of Israel and the rebellion of man is the exaltation of self, the work of our hands, the philosophies and ideals. Be they great empires or lowly estates, mankind glories in the subset of creation rather than the Creator (v 8; Rom 1:25). Isaiah ends this passage with the warning not to exalt man, or mankind. Man is but a breath (v 22, see also Psa 144:4). What is a breath compared to the majesty of the One who controls the universe and is able to crush the planet?

Because of this moral decay, the money has become worthless and her luxuries have become tasteless. Here God absolutely debunks the current conventional wisdom that we need to focus on economic matters and leave moral matters to personal choice. This has been the devil’s lie through the ages to take mans’ eyes off his obligation to honor God by keeping his attention upon material needs. This passage demonstrates how rejection of God’s law first destroys morals and then destroys economies.

Who are these leaders, the ones with blood on their hands? Isaiah says the rulers are rebels, companions of thieves. That is, they are destroying the system of justice and godly government with the intention of enhancing their personal wealth and rewarding their benefactors. These men love bribes and chase after gifts – even to writing the gifts into law. A good example of this is the current trend toward government entitlements, subsidies and bailouts – the leaders buy their votes by distributing other people’s wealth and they have abandoned justice. When the godly are stripped of their assets, who is left to defend the fatherless and the widows?

In Proverbs 24:11,12, Solomon admonishes us to, “Rescue those being led away to death; hold back those staggering toward slaughter. If you say, ‘But we knew nothing about this,’ does not he who weighs the heart perceive it? Does not he who guards your life know it? Will he not repay each person according to what he has done?” [NIV] Rescuing the helpless from oppression is the opposite of our natural tendency to pursue personal gain and comfort. If we follow our sin nature, we will seek pleasure to the exclusion, or oppression, of others. Lord Acton once said, “Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” So it follows, if our sinful nature tends toward oppression of others for our personal gain, how much more compounded is this evil when we rise to positions of leadership and of power?

Our Founding Fathers understood this principle – the depravity of man and his sin nature. That is why they feared establishing the new nation upon a government of the few. They established, instead, the states and the people as rulers who elected representatives in their place.

In this Isaiah passage and in Solomon’s admonition quoted above, we are admonished to seek justice above our quest for personal wealth and comfort. God knows our heart and He guards our life – He knows when we ignore justice for the sake of personal gain. That is, He knows when we will not take the time to speak or demonstrate His truth and His law because our business or financial interests have taken priority.

After restating Israel’s offenses, He declares He will get relief from His foes and He will avenge Himself upon His enemies (v 24). Then He will restore justice. The rest of the passage (1:24 – 2:5) is a picture of what this will look like.

Before we look at this, let’s backtrack a bit and see how we got here. In the previous passage (Isaiah 1:1-20) God stated his displeasure with Israel and warned them of His coming judgments upon them. He was displeased with their outward exercise of their faith – that is, their observing the religious framework by going to church, to use modern vernacular, and their sacrifices, or tithes and offerings. They observed the form, but their hearts were not set upon following God because they were self-absorbed. So God declared He was not going to listen to their prayers and He implored them to come and reason together – and God’s grace should lead us to repentance. He concludes with a warning: those who obey will be given the best from the land but the rebellious will be devoured by war.

What happened between verse 20 and verse 21? If the people were inclined to repent and obey, this would have been the end of the Book. But, as God declared in Isaiah 1:3, “My people do not understand.” This lack of understanding is not an educational or intellectual matter – it is a hardening of the heart. On the human level, this hardening comes from the people’s self-absorption, or mans’ natural inclination to focus upon personal wealth and comfort. In the sixth chapter of Isaiah, the chapter that tells of God’s commissioning of Isaiah, we are given God’s view of this hardening. God tells Isaiah to preach to a people who will not listen – they will hear but not understand, they will see but not perceive. Why? Because God hardened their hearts so that they would not repent and be healed. Isaiah asked God, “How long?” And God answered the people will remain hardened until the land lies in ruin, as described in chapter one. This is a difficult saying but God has revealed He hardened the hearts of the people to bring about His plan, or His will.

Many Christians have a difficult time understanding how a loving God could destine, or predestine, people to destruction. We will not try to tackle this subject right here but to bring up three points. First) we must understand, God’s ways are higher than our ways (Isaiah 55) and some things we will never be able to explain or settle in our own minds (Deu 29:29). Second) already, as we studied previously, Isaiah violently tore apart the picture of a loving God, replacing this picture with an image of a just God. We know from Scripture God is both loving and just. We cling to the loving aspect and lose balance – forgetting that God is just. Third) when Christ was on the earth, He told the crowds the same thing God told Isaiah, that their hearts were hardened so they could not understand. He explained this in part to the disciples, who, like us, had a hard time understanding why God would harden people’s hearts (Mat 13:11-17).

The answer to the question about what happened between verse 20 and verse 21 is the people’s hearts were hardened. The nation shrugged off the offer to reason together with Almighty God. This explains the restatement of offenses and God’s declaration of coming judgment.

God’s prophecy of imminent judgment is three-fold, beginning in verse 24: First) God will get relief from His foes; Second) God will purge the nation, specifically the City of Jerusalem, of impurities, and; Third) God will restore a just government and Christ will reign in Jerusalem.

It is hard to imagine a Creator, such as ours, a God of awesome power (and I don’t use that term in the loose, modern sense) – who created the vastness of the universe and the minuteness of subatomic particles – it is hard to imagine an all-powerful being, such as He, putting up for a moment the rebelliousness within the heart of man. I can imagine it would be tiring – not as if God could be worn down as a man, but nonetheless, God says He will get relief from His foes – those who are in rebellion to Him.

Many theologians have interpreted the dispersion of the nation of Israel to be God’s rejection of this people – a cancellation of the covenant with Abraham. Some have interpreted Scripture to say God has now replaced Israel with the Church – that is, the Church now takes the place of Israel in the covenant, or within a new covenant. However, for these men to be correct, we are going to have to disregard the following passage, as well as much more of the Book of Isaiah, more works of the Old Testament prophets, the entire Book of Zechariah and portions of the Book of Revelation.

Paul wrote regarding Israel, “Theirs is the adoption as sons; theirs the divine glory, the covenants, the receiving of the law, the temple worship and the promises. Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of Christ, who is God over all, forever praised! Amen.” [Rom 9:4-5 NIV] Of all the writings of the Apostle Paul, there is no passage where he declares the covenant revoked. In fact, in chapter ten of Romans, he wrote God would make Israel jealous by extending a covenant to the Gentiles. Continuing this conversation in the next chapter, he declares God has not rejected His people but has left a remnant throughout history.

In the books of Ephesians and Colossians, Paul goes into details about the mystery of the gospel – the salvation of Israel and the Church. In the Book of Romans, he gives us a glimpse of this mystery and he warns us Gentiles not to become conceited in our judgment upon Israel (Rom 11:25-27). He explains Israel will be “ hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in” and then God will complete the work of purifying the nation of Israel, just as Isaiah prophesied in this passage.

When God purifies Israel, “rebels and sinners will be broken and those who forsake the LORD will perish.” [1:29-31] Those who worship created things, rather than worshiping the Creator will whither. The mighty man will “become tinder” and all his work a spark. This is hard for us to imagine. We have witnessed godless men build great empires, empires that appear indestructible – some lasting for generations. But God will overcome His opposition; He will have relief from His foes and He will purge and restore the nation of Israel.

In Psalms 37, David admonishes us to be still before the LORD and wait patiently, not fretting the dominions built by wicked, or worldly men, to carry out evil schemes (v 7). Those who hope in, or obey, the LORD will possess the land and the evil will be cut off (v 9). Later in Isaiah, he preaches all the works of evil will be as stubble, or tinder, and will burn up (47:14) and Malachi affirms this (Mal 4:1). So, as we look at the world around us and we see the injustices mounting by the moment, our duty is not to fight God’s battles for Him. Our duty is to wait – this means we live a life of obedience, never wavering to stand up for the truth. Paul, in Ephesians 6:10-18, wrote we should remain strong in the Lord, in God’s strength – not our own, and to put on God’s armor so we can stand and resist evil. He reminds us our battle is not against the people we see, but against the unseen forces – who are in opposition to God and who use the people we see as instruments of their evil. Our duty is to stand, to stand firm for the truth while opposing the evil – to wait upon the LORD.

Micah 4:1-3 quotes Isaiah 2:2-4 word-for-word. Micah and Isaiah were prophets contemporary to each other. If God has given the same message to two different prophets, it can only mean this is an important message. God wants us to know what His Son’s reign will look like and we need to set our hearts upon this. Jesus told us Jerusalem is the City of the Great King (Mat 5:35). David reminds us to pray for the peace of Jerusalem (Psa 122:6) and Isaiah says we are to give God no rest on this matter until “He establishes Jerusalem and makes her the praise of the earth.” [Isa 62:6-7 NIV].

When God restores Jerusalem to its full glory – when He returns justice to the throne of Israel God’s temple will be established as the chief among the mountains (v 2). Whatever is “chief among the mountains” is the highest law of the land, or lands – the whole earth. Christ will rule from His temple and His law will be the highest law of the land. Paul declares in Colossians 1:16, Christ created all things, “whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by Him and for Him.” God made it – He owns it – He rules it. And it will be so. Notice, Paul did not get into Christ’s ownership of dirt and plants and trees – he struck where it is important, in that, Christ owns the law and all authorities. He owns all that He made and they are subject to Him.

Some people tell us this authority is reserved for Christ only at the end time, or during the millennial reign, but not now. Paul refuted this in 1Corinthians chapter fifteen, where he wrote Christ must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet (v 25) – this means Christ must reign, even now. When Christ ascended to Heaven, He sat down at the right hand of the throne of God (Heb 8:1, 12:2). Does He sit on a throne to merely observe the affairs of man? And is the throne of God so ineffectual that man owes no allegiance to the One who reigns in power? And if Paul is correct, in that, our battle is with the principalities of the air – and it is not we who fight, we stand while God battles – and He conquers, has that same God laid aside His authority, stepping aside for man to write his own law and become his own authority? The Prophet Ezekiel declared all nations are responsible to follow God’s law (Eze 14:12-23).

Jeremiah tells us God set Jerusalem “in the center of the nations, with countries all around her. Yet in her wickedness she rebelled against My laws and decrees. . .” [Jer 5:5,6 NIV] The mission of the nation of Israel was to be a beacon of God’s law and His grace to the nations. Israel rebelled and was destroyed but Isaiah prophesied they will be restored to their former glory. This time they will accomplish the purpose God established for them. Not only will Christ rule and His law become the highest law, but all nations will stream to it (v 2). They will say, “let’s go to Jerusalem and learn Christ’s ways so we may walk in His paths.” [v 3]

Law systems are promulgated and established by an organized system of learning. As law systems developed during the Middle Ages, nations established universities and centers of learning to promote organized systems of law. In the early days of the Anglican System, which is based upon Scripture and which laid the foundation for American law, great and famous names, such as Coke, Raleigh, Moore and Blackstone, congregated and taught at the Inns of the Court. From these Inns came the judges and attorneys who would represent this law and the system became entrenched so that it resisted the efforts of the proponents of the restored Roman system, which was based upon secular law and was sweeping its way throughout Europe. This explains much of the difference between America and the laws and cultures of Europe.

When Christ comes to reign in a restored Jerusalem, Isaiah tells us the nations will abandon the Romanized system, the Anglican system, the Islamic system, the Chinese, the Hindu and even all tribal systems of law. The nations and the people will flock to Jerusalem to learn Christ’s law and “the law will go out from Jerusalem.” [v 3] There will be a new system of law – a better system – a system of perfect justice, not flawed by human interpretation because the Lawgiver will be on the throne and He will be instructing the nations.

Under God’s perfect and just law, war will be necessary no more. God often talks about war as judgment from God. War is one of the methods whereby God disciplines the nations and brings about His plan and will and this will continue to the end of the age. Daniel’s encounter with God’s messenger, in the Book of Daniel chapter ten, seems to imply that wars on earth are a reflection of the wars in heaven. If wars are ongoing in the heavens, how can we expect to be free of war in a fallen, sinful world, ruled by godless kings?

When God gave the covenants to Adam and Noah, He instructed them to populate the earth and use the resources to be productive (Gen 1:28, 9:1). The Bible tells us God created man in His own image (Gen 1:26). When we are productive, that is, making things from the materials He gave us, we reflect the image of our Creator. He created; we sub-create, or produce from this creation.

In his rebellion, man quickly abandoned this covenant and gathered into the cities (Genesis chapters ten and eleven). Instead of spreading out upon the land, being fully dependent upon God, man chose to congregate and look to human leadership and provision. Cities and states rose up and wars broke out. These wars quickly became a convenient and efficient model for accumulating wealth as opposed to working and producing. War is a symptom of man’s effort to be ruled without God – and we could make this case all throughout history and on to current times.

When the final age has come, when Christ rules and reigns in Jerusalem, He will settle the disputes among nations and war will be necessary no more. Not only will weapons of war be recycled into machinery for production (v 4) but man will no longer train for war. All mankind will serve one God. “Come, let us walk in the light of the LORD.” [v 5 NIV]

Thus far, Isaiah has given us a picture of God’s plan: He chose a nation for Himself. The nation rebelled according to God’s plan. The nation will one day be restored and purified and God will have vengeance upon His enemies according to His plan. Christ will rule and reign in Jerusalem. Man will flock to learn God’s law system. Justice will reign upon the earth and war will be necessary no more. The rebellious will be overthrown. They and their grand dominions will wither and become fuel for the fire. This is what God said through Isaiah and this is how it is going to be.

Isaiah begins his thesis rebuking a rebellious nation. The ox and donkey, once domiciled, know their masters, but the nation hand-picked and raised by God exhibits no understanding of the One they serve (v 3). The Apostle Paul talks about the natural rebellion within man in the Book of Romans.

The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities — his eternal power and divine nature — have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. [Rom 1:18-20 NIV]

Jude, the brother of Jesus, uses similar language when speaking of the past and future condemnation of the rebellious:

See, the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones to judge everyone, and to convict all the ungodly of all the ungodly acts they have done in the ungodly way, and of all the harsh words ungodly sinners have spoken against him. [Jud 14-15 NIV]

In Jude’s passage, he quotes the Prophet Enoch. Enoch was the seventh from Adam and the father of Methuselah -who was the longest living man of record. Enoch, himself, did not live to see a long life, as he was translated to heaven without dying, because he walked with God [Gen 5:23].

The Book of Enoch is not Scripture, although it was looked upon as authoritative by the ancient Jews. The Book(s) of Enoch we have today was written approximately the first century AD, copied from earlier manuscripts which were not preserved and documented as well as Scripture. Thus, we find errors and conflicts in the text. However, the book should not be ignored as there are passages that give insight into the historical context of Scripture.

Enoch prophesied the coming destruction of mankind, that is, the great Flood (section XX, chapter 106). He wrote the destruction would occur upon the death of his son, Methuselah. Some historians claim the Flood began seven days after the death of Methuselah; the seven days representing what was in that day the allotted time of mourning (see Gen 7:4,10). This is interesting but I am digressing.

What makes Jude’s reference to Enoch noteworthy is the ancient people were well aware of God’s use of the heavens, or planets, and the earth in creating and exhibiting catastrophe. The violence of the planets was instrumental in the creation of Greek and Roman mythology and the pagan worship of planets. The final act of planetary catastrophe, in fact, happened during the reign of Hezekiah in the days of Isaiah, when God caused the shadow of the sun to go backwards ten steps (Isaiah 38) – which also stretched our calendar from 360 days to the current 365 days. So it is no small thing when Isaiah begins his written dissertation with “Hear, O heavens! Listen, O earth!” [Isa 1:2 NIV]

Micah, also makes reference to the witness of the earth; challenging man to defend his case before the mountains – and the foundation of the earth. His implication is not a figurative recital of our defense to the hills as listening ears. Far from it. By calling upon the foundations of the earth to listen to the charges and the defense, Micah is clearly making the case for a coming catastrophe.

Stand up, plead your case before the mountains; let the hills hear what you have to say. Hear, O mountains, the LORD’s accusation; listen, you everlasting foundations of the earth. For the LORD has a case against his people; he is lodging a charge against Israel. [Mic 6:1-2 NIV]

We have in our modern, American, Christian minds a picture of a loving God who patiently waits for all men to come to salvation. Isaiah is exploding that stereotype and even the Apostle John paints a picture of a just and mighty God who exercises wrath over the kingdoms of man in describing a future catastrophe upon mankind. That the people would have the faith to call upon immovable objects (which are now moving) to fall upon them can only mean there is a great catastrophe to come.

Then the kings of the earth, the princes, the generals, the rich, the mighty, and every slave and every free man hid in caves and among the rocks of the mountains. They called to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?” [Rev 6:15-17 NIV]

Unmoved by the descriptions of a just and mighty, or violent, God and lacking recent catastrophic experience, we impute upon ourselves a loving God and we look at the world around us as fragile – and in need of our protection. So, we have a loving God and a fragile earth: both for the benefit of and centered upon a self-indulgent people – just as in the days of Isaiah, as we shall see very shortly.

So, once again, it is no small thing why Isaiah begins the text as he does. The implication is clear to a people familiar with catastrophe – a people who have at least heard the legends, if they have not experienced the events – a people familiar with an angry earth, a shifting planet that can crush mankind, and, in fact, devoured mankind in the time of the Flood. Bear in mind, in those days, there was no dispute or theories against the Flood as there are today. Archeology has demonstrated every race and nation of man, in ancient times, gave witness to the story of the Flood.

When Isaiah writes, “Hear, O heavens! Listen, O earth!” he is not exercising literary license. This is not his latent Shakespeare. He is warning of a coming destruction – a coming catastrophe. Micah supports this vision of catastrophe in his opening remarks, describing a God of catastrophic judgment.

Look! The LORD is coming from his dwelling place; he comes down and treads the high places of the earth. The mountains melt beneath him and the valleys split apart, like wax before the fire, like water rushing down a slope. [Mic 1:3-4 NIV]

What is this destruction coming upon the nation of Judah? Isaiah describes it, in part, in verse seven: “Your country is desolate, your cities burned with fire; your fields are being stripped by foreigners right before you, laid waste as when overthrown by strangers.” [NIV] Hosea affirms this desolation in his description in Hosea 4:3, “Because of this the land mourns, and all who live in it waste away; the beasts of the field and the birds of the air and the fish of the sea are dying.” [NIV]

Are you concerned about endangered species? Hosea has just given us the description of the judgment – the result of rebelling against God. So, for all you who are concerned about saving the planet – get right with God and cast off rebellion. It is that simple. Also, you might want to put on a good pair of shoes because I am going to step on your feet at least once more before this first segment is completed and many more times before we get through the Book of Isaiah.

Jesus Christ referred to a coming desolation (that is, “coming” as in looking at the prophecy from His time) in Matthew 23:37-39. It is interesting Jesus would have to rebuke Israel for their rebellion and their unreadiness to receive Him for who He claims to be. After the time of Isaiah, God had dispersed the nations of Israel and Judah among their Assyrian and Babylonian captors. Miraculously, as prophesied by Isaiah and others, the Lord brought the people back to their homeland. You would think they would have shed their rebellion and embraced their Messiah. Nonetheless, in Jesus’ day, the people persisted in their rebellion.

We should examine this rebellion – and, I think upon examination, we might see a similarity to the rebellion of Jesus’ day to that of Isaiah’s day – and quite possibly to that of today in modern, Christian America.

In verses two and three, Isaiah explains the people have rebelled against God and they lack understanding. Hosea wrote, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.” [Hos 4:6, NIV] So, we come to the question, “How do we gain understanding?” Let’s take a lesson from the book of Psalms: “I have more insight than all my teachers because I meditate on [God's] laws. I have more understanding than the [leaders] because I obey [God's] instructions. I have kept my feet from every evil path so that I might obey [God's] Word. . . Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.” [119:99-101,105] We are told from this passage, wisdom comes from study of the Scriptures and understanding comes from obeying the Word of God. To reject the Word of God, or even to avoid it, is rebellion.

After disclosing the nature of the sin to be rebellion, Isaiah asks, “Why should you be beaten anymore? Why do you persist in rebellion?” [v 5 NIV] The New King James Version puts it another way. “Why should you be stricken again? You will revolt more and more.” So we may conclude, they willfully persisted in rebellion – even though God had warned them before. Haggai, speaking of another day, disclosed God had brought judgment before and the people still refused to follow God (Hag 2:17).

The first principle of hermeneutics (hermeneuter) is the proper application of Scripture to the proper times and people. Many whom I have talked to, including ministers of God’s Word, tell me God is not speaking to us in the Book of Isaiah – He is speaking to a people long ago. The time is wrong and we are not in rebellion because we love Jesus. After all, we are exercising our best lives now and living purpose driven lives, are we not?

The first indication of our hermeneutered exemption, is the leaders of Judah were described as the rulers of Sodom and the people were described as the people of Gomorrah. And we know Sodom and Gomorrah were entirely godless. According to Scripture, God was unable to find even ten who followed him; in fact, the only ones who even tipped their hat to God was Lot and his family (Gen 18). So, in all fairness, in America today there are still a substantial remnant. Thus, we cannot be compared to Sodom and Gomorrah; or, can we?

There is a common saying, “If God withholds judgment upon America, He owes an apology to Sodom and Gomorrah.” I take great exception to this notion. First, because we have no business establishing standards for God’s judgments; and Second, because we do have substantially more numbers per capita following Christ and working to turn the hearts of the people back to God. Nonetheless, Judah, too, had a remnant – yet God still compared the leaders and the people to Sodom and Gomorrah. If God can make this godless application to His chosen people, could this charge apply to us, today? Could we be guilty of the same rebellion that Isaiah confronted Judah with – as did the other prophets, in that time and others, – and as Jesus did in His time?

These are a rebellious people. They are likened to Sodom and Gomorrah – but, to use current vernacular, they also go to church. Isaiah states they are performing the sacrifices and attending the assemblies – they even remember the celebrations and holidays (v 11-14). But what does God say of all this? He declares their attendance to be a “trampling” of the courts, or building (v 12). He tells them their offerings are meaningless because sacrifice without obedience is worthless (v 11, 13; see also 1Sa 15:22). Additionally, God warns their rebelliousness has distorted their laws and their courts (v 16, 17) and they have blood on their hands (v 15).

Understand this: law always follows the religion, or lack thereof, of the people. This is especially true in America, where our Anglican system of laws were based upon Scripture and derived from a strong faith in God. As we have been turning from God, our laws have begun to incorporate secular elements of the Roman law system and now the push is to incorporate Sharia law, or the Islamic system. Only a return to God – when the people of God cast off their rebellion – will the laws in our land be corrected.

Unjust laws always lead to bloodshed. Whether we are lenient with hardened, violent criminals or tolerant of abortion and euthanasia. Shedding the blood of the innocent is described by God as pollution – “bloodshed pollutes the land” – in Numbers 35:33. So, my good, earth-loving friend, if you want to save the earth from the ravages of pollution, turn the law and the people back to God.

Isaiah has established the people were rebellious and willfully lacked understanding, yet they continued to go to church, or assembly. After declaring their attendance a “trampling” and their offerings an offense, he follows this up by declaring God has no interest in their prayers and is unwilling to listen to them (v 15). It is rather obvious Isaiah was not schooled in a modern, American seminary. Otherwise, he would know God is a “God of Love.” Instead, he has violated that concept twice and we are not two-thirds the way through the first chapter of his thesis!

A generation after Isaiah, God raised up the Prophet Jeremiah. He, too, condemned the people for living in rebellion though they continued to go to assembly. In chapter seven of his thesis, he warns the people about being deceived by the notion that going to church renders any merit for trusting in God’s protection or belonging in the kingdom of God. He makes the same accusations regarding worthless offerings, lack of obedience and shedding of innocent blood. And what did God tell Jeremiah? God told him not to pray for these people (Jer 7:16).

When we read the Old Testament, we see in every generation God’s provision and mans’ rebellion. It is easy to sit, in Sunday School fashion, listen to the stories and render judgment against the people – certain to a fault that had we lived among them, we would have championed the cause of the Lord. But Christ struck this notion down when He accused the Pharisees of His day, who sat in judgment of the men of old who killed the prophets, of their complicity in the murders (Luk 11:47-51). So, too, we are complicit in rebellion – it is in our heart.

What does this rebellion look like? Jeremiah gave us a picture of it in chapter five, verse thirty-one. “The prophets prophesy lies, the priests rule by their own authority, and my people love it this way. But what will you do in the end?” [NIV] The Apostle Paul tells us, “For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. [2Ti 4:3-4 NIV] There is nothing new under the sun. As man was before, so he is today.

Here is the connection to Sodom and Gomorrah and here is the connection to the modern, American professing Christian: the connection is the authority. The picture in Isaiah’s day (and Jeremiah’s) is a people who were positive; they were confident; they were not concerned with the minor setbacks God had thrown in their way to get their attention. They were glad to go to church – where the preaching was based upon human authority. You could say, they were purpose driven, or living their best life because their focus was upon what going to church was going to do for them – and they were more than happy to broadcast the positive gospel of the authority of man. They were not interested in learning how to follow God or encouraging others to do so.

God is calling us – individually and as a nation. He is calling us to reason with Him (v 18) – grace leads to repentance. He tells us twice our sins are the color of bloodshed and twice He promises to make us white, or whole – the twice-telling makes this important. God continues His plea with the promise of His everlasting provision if we repent and obey and He warns of a catastrophe to come if we persist in our rebellion. The application is to individuals and to nations. Isaiah was speaking to the nation of Judah but does this verse apply to the nation of America? The answer is simple hermeneutics: It has applied to all the great nations of the world – who rebelled – and are no more. Why should we be granted an exemption?

We will continue with verse 21 of the first chapter of Isaiah next week. Meanwhile, if you would like to review previous studies in Isaiah, go to http://cominus.com/cominus-papers/.

At the large church I used to attend, several times the pastor spoke against the people he saw on television protesting abortion doing corny things as an embarrassment to God. He lumped all protestors to the same standard and never attended an abortion clinic protest to see for himself – that would cost him a sacred ball game. And, though he claimed to be pro-life, he spent more time beating up those willing to stand for truth than those promoting “choice.”

Youth ministers are the largest group I have contended with in this argument of what embarrasses God. You would think the men whose primary job is to help young Christians rise up for God against peer pressure would be strong promoters of truth. But it seems they have the hardest time, themselves – personally – with peer pressure. They rely upon it heavily among their group and preach a conformity that is more in line with the world’s thought than it is with God’s. They promote their favorite teams and have their pictures taken with famous people, but they are quick to put down those who stand unashamed for God’s truth as arrogant and an embarrassment to God.

About a year ago, I was arguing with several youth pastors on Facebook who were promoting the film, “Jesus Save Us From Your Followers.” This is a movie promoting acceptance of homosexuality and other deviant lifestyles. The premise is Christians owe the homosexual community an apology for years of bigotry and hate. Where are the youth pastors who will raise up a generation of Christians to stand against sin? Does love trump truth? No, true love promotes truth – and warns against the evils of sin.

When Jesus was on earth, did He once apologize for the actions of John the Baptist? or any of the prophets? John the Baptist hung out in the desert clothed in animal skin, eating bugs and honey. He stood up against all the evils of the day – and he called people names! Isaiah preached naked for three years (Isa 20). While Ezekiel lay on his left side for 390 days, then lay on his right side for 40 days (Eze 4) – forcing others to feed him and clean up his urine and excrement! Yet, Christ praised these men – and quoted them – but never condemned their actions or apologized for them. Will somebody read the Scriptures, please, and point me to one verse where God complained of His people embarrassing Him.

Going back to John the Baptist: When Christ was confronted about John, He asked the people what they expected to find in the desert – “A reed swayed by the wind?” Or, in other words, a wimp, or an embarrassment. Then Christ set the record straight by commending John for his violence. Yes, his violence – standing up for the truth of God is violence among the principalities. Then Christ admonishes us all to become violent – not physically violent but violent against the thoughts and culture of the day (Mat 11:12).

The God of the Bible is a very big God. Not only is He the ONLY true God, He is bigger than our feeble, fallen minds can comprehend. Paul tells us in Romans chapter ten we cannot bring Christ down, nor can we raise Him up – that is, we cannot compare Him at our level, or bring Him to it. Our confession is to be “Jesus Christ is Lord.” Isaiah tells us God’s thoughts are not our thoughts (Isa 55) and in Job 38 to 41 God gives an account of His greatness and rebukes those who would bring Him down to man’s level. There are many other Scriptures declaring God’s greatness – He does not need the counsel of man. If He needs no counsel, it follows He needs no approval of man. If He needs no approval, how can He be embarrassed?

It seems the majority of youth pastors are more concerned with being cool and favorite teams, these days. There are few who teach Christian youth to stand strong in the Lord. And this whole conversation about embarrassing God is to dumb us down and promote conformity with the rest of us – who are already conformed to the world’s standard of what a Christian should be. What does the Scripture say?

Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on His law he meditates day and night. [Psa 1:1-2 NIV]

When we promote conformity with the world, when we speak of God to bring Him to our level, we sit in the seat of mockers. Bringing God down to our level will not bring one soul to Christ. Those who will reject God will reject Him on every level. If we teach our children not to be an embarrassment to God, they will be afraid to preach the truth to a fallen world.

It is true, Christians sometimes do embarrassing things; sometimes the purpose is malicious, sometimes just pure stupidity – we are fallen beings. But thank God, we are saved by grace and not by what we do. On the other hand, there are those who claim to be Christian but they exhibit few attributes of one who is saved by grace. Do any of these people embarrass God? How can God be embarrassed when Scriptures tell us He is glorified in ALL things? – the good, the evil and the embarrassing.

Rise up and get away from the seat of mockers. The young need to be educated to get into the Word of God and stand firm for the truth. Look up to God – don’t try to bring Him down.