The Heavens Hear

Isaiah 2:7-8 English Standard Version (ESV) 7 Their land is filled with silver and gold, and there is no end to their treasures; their land is filled with horses, and there is no end to their chariots. 8 Their land is filled with idols; they bow down to the work of their hands, to what their own fingers have made. Previously, Isaiah spoke out in verse 6 that the house of Jacob and the people in it, had been rejected by God. These two verses we are looking at go into more detail of why He has rejected them. Their land being filled with silver and gold, almost unending wealth is listed as a reason. But why? Having that much wealth, be it a nation or an individual, makes it very easy to rely upon your resources for every need, as opposed to leaning on God's guidance and direction, His power to bless you with what you need when it is needed. It is putting the things of the world before you as a safety net instead of the Almighty Creator of the universe...

From Isaiah 2 – 8 Their land is also full of idols; they worship the work of their own hands, that which their own fingers have made. 9 People bow down, and each man humbles himself; therefore do not forgive them. 10 Enter into the rock, and hide in the dust, from the terror of the Lord and the glory of His majesty. Bob Dylan famously sang, "You gotta serve somebody." Isaiah 2:9-10 offers proof of this that predates the Nobel laureate, but also an indication that not all service and subjugation is equal. Inveterate do-gooders by our own oft convenient and shifting definition of convenient good, we want to cry foul to God's verdict in verse nine. People who bow down, we reason, people who go through such motions actually do humble themselves, don't they OBLIGE God to forgive them? His vantage point, however, is wider than a verse nine snapshot carefully cropped to human advantage. Backing up only as far as verse eight, He shows Isaiah and his readers more than bowe...

From Isaiah 2 – 7 Their land is also full of silver and gold, and there is no end to their treasures; their land is also full of horses, and there is no end to their chariots. 8 Their land is also full of idols; they worship the work of their own hands, that which their own fingers have made. Years ago, my computer was running slowly. I got the assistance of a friend who told me that the machine's memory was overburdened, clogged up by items on the desktop and programs running in the background. Remember, he said, even if you don't see it, it is using up resources. The Holy Spirit speaking through Isaiah in verses seven and eight of the prophet's second chapter would agree. He has dealt with the hot and exotic sins which are impeding the nation's sanctification process toward perfect communion with God in the preceding verses. Even if the people listening to him excise soothsayers and the temptations that come with foreign cultures, they aren't well before God ...

Isaiah 2:5-6 English Standard Version (ESV) 5  O house of Jacob,     come, let us walk     in the light of the Lord. 6  For you have rejected your people,     the house of Jacob, because they are full of things from the east     and of fortune-tellers like the Philistines,     and they strike hands with the children of foreigners. After four verses of Isaiah telling what the glorious future of Judah and Jerusalem will look like, he now calls out to the house of Jacob, those 12 tribes that God set apart to be His people, His representation of Himself in the nations of the Earth, to walk in His light. How wonderful to be called to walk in the divine glory that is His alone. And much as we can only see certain things when revealed in the shining sunlight of our sun, to walk in the light of His Son, Jesus Christ, much will be ...