Week 5: The Desolation of Rebelliousness

Isaiah 1:19-20 English Standard Version (ESV)

19 If you are willing and obedient,
you shall eat the good of the land;
20 but if you refuse and rebel,
you shall be eaten by the sword;
for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.



How often have we seen this principle played out in the Old Testament even before the time of the kings came to an end? In my personal devotional reading I am going through the Book of Joshua, seeing Israel going through and taking the land obediently and taking over the already established and fruitful vineyards, fields, and livestock. But overshadowing it is the knowledge that the Book of Judges comes next, where we see the nation spiral downward in their obedience, only to be ruled over and over again by the nations around them.

And then reading this we come to the knowledge that this prophecy tells of an even greater falling away of the nation that leads to one of the darkest times in their history. It is much the same in our spiritual lives. We are told how good things will be if we trust and obey, and how desolate we will be in our spirit if we are rebellious to His word, and yet what is our tendency? To go after the things that are outside of His will for us, to think that the good things in us are of our own making perhaps?


Lord, you have spoken to us, and continue to speak to us, of what you would have us do. Give us the strength of character to be obedient, the willpower to follow through with your word. Too often I have been rebellious and found myself wandering in the wasteland of self. And yet you are ever faithful to call and bring me out of the desperation and into your presence. My prayer is that I would learn and not be endlessly repeating the lesson.  

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