06/10/23 IT IS WRITTEN
The misdirection in national leadership is the result if misdirection in the hearts of its people. When the heart is ruled by darkness, then the head is filled with darkness.
The following passage was spoken to Israel by a prophet of God. The immediate fulfillment applied to them at that time.
HOWEVER, the principles are applicable to all people and nations at all times. Read the passage as a personal message from God to America, to you. Even when there are some people who maintain a right view and walk in a godly fashion, the sins of a people at large brings suffering to all the people.
(a passage and a brief comment)
Isaiah 1:1-20 NKJV
1 The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.
2 Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth! For the Lord has spoken: " I have nourished and brought up children, And they have rebelled against Me;
3 The ox knows its owner And the donkey its master's crib; But Israel does not know, My people do not consider."
4 Alas, sinful nation, A people laden with iniquity, A brood of evildoers, Children who are corrupters! They have forsaken the Lord, They have provoked to anger The Holy One of Israel, They have turned away backward.
5 Why should you be stricken again? You will revolt more and more. The whole head is sick, And the whole heart faints.
6 From the sole of the foot even to the head, There is no soundness in it, But wounds and bruises and putrefying sores; They have not been closed or bound up, Or soothed with ointment.
7 Your country is desolate, Your cities are burned with fire; Strangers devour your land in your presence; And it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers.
8 So the daughter of Zion is left as a booth in a vineyard, As a hut in a garden of cucumbers, As a besieged city.
9 Unless the Lord of hosts Had left to us a very small remnant, We would have become like Sodom, We would have been made like Gomorrah.
10 Hear the word of the Lord, You rulers of Sodom; Give ear to the law of our God, You people of Gomorrah:
11 "To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices to Me?" Says the Lord. "I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams And the fat of fed cattle. I do not delight in the blood of bulls, Or of lambs or goats.
12 "When you come to appear before Me, Who has required this from your hand, To trample My courts?
13 Bring no more futile sacrifices; Incense is an abomination to Me. The New Moons, the Sabbaths, and the calling of assemblies-- I cannot endure iniquity and the sacred meeting.
14 Your New Moons and your appointed feasts My soul hates; They are a trouble to Me, I am weary of bearing them.
15 When you spread out your hands, I will hide My eyes from you; Even though you make many prayers, I will not hear. Your hands are full of blood.
16 "Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; Put away the evil of your doings from before My eyes. Cease to do evil,
17 Learn to do good; Seek justice, Rebuke the oppressor; Defend the fatherless, Plead for the widow.
18 "Come now, and let us reason together," Says the Lord, "Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool.
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 devoured by the sword"; For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.
DLG thoughts on these verses...
vs. 2
God raised up and nourished our country on Christian values and truth, but the people at large have turned from our Biblical roots and foundation, openly and aggressively rebelling against God.
vs. 3
Even dumb animals depend on the goodness and kindness of their master, but American's have closed their minds and lost their understanding of Christian, Biblical, spiritual, moral standards.
vs. 4
Now we are a nation filled with, and overflowing with sin and corruption. We are now a nation of evildoers and corrupters of other people because we as a nation have forsaken YHWH, the One and Only, True and Living God. American's have provoked God to anger; separating themselves from God and turning away from Him.
vs. 5
What good will it do for God to chastise and correct US? It will only result in rebellious people resisting further. The leadership (head) is sick and the desires (heart) of the people are weak and failing.
vs. 6
The corruption covers US from the basic citizenry to the government leadership. There is nothing sound remaining. Our corruption is oozing and untreated.
vs. 7
Our country is desolate, burned with fire, overrun and devoured by strangers (people who are not committed to our fundamental way of life). We are watching our nation, our home, our land, our way of life being taken away by those who have not been part of our legacy, those who were not built on our Biblical and Christian foundation..
vs. 8
"America the Beautiful" has become like a fruitful field, left unguarded and then being stripped of its wealth by intruders and invaders. The authorized protection has been removed by the managers (politicians).
v. 9
At this point there are only a few God followers remaining. Our society and our leadership is like the wickedness of Sodom and Gomorrah. We have fallen to the depths of degradation.
vs. 10
God is calling to the leadership and the citizenry of USA to hear and heed His word. He refers to our nation by the name of one of the most wicked societies in history.
vs. 11
God is not impressed with religious behavior, which is not true worship and service to the True and Living God. Religious substitutes for Divine deliverance are repugnant to God.
vs. 12
God is not interested in empty Christianity. Formality without substance is hypocrisy.
vs. 13
God rejects a form of godliness, which rejects the true power of salvation. Sin laden "worship" is an abomination to God. He is looking for people to worship Him in spirit and in truth.
vs. 14
Religious ritual and tradition, regardless of its historic value, is empty and blasphemous when it is not the expression of a redeemed person.
v. 15
American Christianity mistakes God for a lap dog, to come at our command. There comes a time when God no longer hears and no longer strives with men. It is not that God does not want to answer prayer, it is that the prayers do not meet the Biblical criteria for being answered.
vs. 16
God calls the church and the nation to surrender. God requires us to be clean, to be separate from sin, to repent (turn from sin inwardly and outwardly).
vs. 17
God requires goodness in our lives. He requires good behavior, justice, honesty, standing for truth, defending the weak and vulnerable.
vs. 18
Come back to reason, Come back to righteousness. Come back to God.
vs. 19
God requires submission and obedience. There are conditions that must be met (by the in-working of God in our lives), if we want to receive the promises and blessings of God.
vs. 20
However, if people refuse to trust, submit, follow God and meet His standards, which are reachable for those who are redeemed, then there will be Divine judgment. Count on it, because God said it.
