“Children have I reared and brought up, but they have
rebelled against me. An ox knows it’s owner, and a donkey it’s master’s manger,
but Israel does not know, my people do not understand.” Isaiah 1:2-3
Isaiah dives right in with warnings, with chastisement. This is not cheery reading. Why is it here? What does this teach me about the heart of
God?
God is desperately worried about His children, here the
children of Israel. He’s calling them
out in very strong terms. I’m no farm animal expert, but my understanding is
that donkeys and oxen aren’t the brightest crayons in the box. In essence He’s saying even the donkey and ox
know better than His people.
He’s addressing their rebellion by saying they do not know
and they do not understand.
Do all sins begin with the not knowing? In our times, not knowing might be the
greatest rebellion. Not knowing means I
choose to know something else.
“Inconsideration of what we do know is as great an enemy to
us in religion as ignorance of what we should know.” Matthew Henry
I am frequently guilty of not considering what I know. In other words, I choose to ignore what I
know when it’s inconvenient to my pursuit of what I want.
The beginning of Isiah has more questions than answers for me. But questions have the potential to reveal my
heart. And the passion and concern
expressed in Isaiah 1 convinces me that my heart is of great concern to my God.
Verse 4 challenges me to assess my personal discipleship. Is
there anything I have abandoned, despised or forsaken, relinquished or turned
away from?
-Have I abandoned fellowship with God?
-Have I forsaken time with God? (I can try to pretend that
forsaken time with God does not mean I’ve forsaken God, but really in any
relationship if I give up spending time with a person, I’ve given up the person.)
-Have I relinquished reading my Bible? Prayer?
-Have I left spiritual practices behind?
-Have I scorned or despised anything of God?
-Have I turned my back in the act of turning to something
else? How frequently have I ignored God
and my spiritual life?
-Have I turned away or aside from God? Have I chosen another
(person or thing) to pour my time, energy and love into? Who or what am I
following?
I think God is trying
to convey to me in the strongest possible way that rebellion is serious. Sin is serious.
In the Old Testament, in Isaiah, we read of judgment for
iniquity but also of the promise of forgiveness. (v18) I live under that the
new covenant where my sin is forgiven and wiped away! Hallelujah! However, I still need to remember
my sin is serious primarily because my sin is an obstacle to knowing God. And
oh how I want to know God!!
