Judah’s Rebellion (2 Chronicles 28:5-15)
“This is the vision concerning Judah and Jerusalem that Isaiah son of Amoz saw during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.
Listen, O heavens, and give ear, O earth, for the LORD has spoken:
“I have raised children and brought them up, but they have rebelled against Me. The ox knows its owner, and the donkey its master’s manger, but Israel does not know; My people do not understand.”
Alas, O sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a brood of evildoers, children of depravity! They have forsaken the LORD; they have despised the Holy One of Israel and turned their backs on Him.
Why do you want more beatings? Why do you keep rebelling? Your head has a massive wound, and your whole heart is afflicted. From the sole of your foot to the top of your head, there is no soundness— only wounds and welts and festering sores not cleansed or bandaged or soothed with oil.
Your land is desolate; your cities are burned with fire. Foreigners devour your fields before you— a desolation demolished by strangers. And the Daughter of Zion is abandoned like a shelter in a vineyard, like a shack in a cucumber field, like a city besieged. Unless the LORD of Hosts had left us a few survivors, we would have become like Sodom, we would have resembled Gomorrah.
Meaningless Offerings
Hear the word of the LORD, you rulers of Sodom; listen to the instruction of our God, you people of Gomorrah!
“What good to Me is your multitude of sacrifices?” says the LORD. “I am full from the burnt offerings of rams and the fat of well-fed cattle; I take no delight in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats. When you come to appear before Me, who has required this of you— this trampling of My courts? Bring your worthless offerings no more; your incense is detestable to Me— your New Moons, Sabbaths, and convocations. I cannot endure iniquity
in a solemn assembly. I hate your New Moons and your appointed feasts. They have become a burden to Me; I am weary of bearing them. When you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide My eyes from you; even though you multiply your prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are covered with blood. Wash and cleanse yourselves. Remove your evil deeds from My sight. Stop doing evil! Learn to do right, seek justice, correct the oppressor, defend the fatherless, plead for the widow.”
“Come now, let us reason together,” says the LORD. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they will be as white as snow; though they are as red as crimson, they will become like wool. If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the best of the land. But if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword.” For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.
The Corruption of Zion
See how the faithful city has become a harlot! She once was full of justice; righteousness resided within her, but now only murderers! Your silver has become dross; your fine wine is diluted with water. Your rulers are rebels, friends of thieves. They all love bribes and chasing after rewards. They do not defend the fatherless, and the plea of the widow never comes before them. Therefore the Lord GOD of Hosts, the Mighty One of Israel, declares:
“Ah, I will be relieved of My foes and avenge Myself on My enemies. I will turn My hand against you; I will thoroughly purge your dross; I will remove all your impurities. I will restore your judges as at first, and your counselors as at the beginning. After that you will be called the City of Righteousness, the Faithful City.”
Zion will be redeemed with justice, her repentant ones with righteousness. But rebels and sinners will together be shattered, and those who forsake the LORD will perish. Surely you will be ashamed of the sacred oaks
in which you have delighted; you will be embarrassed by the gardens that you have chosen. For you will become like an oak whose leaves are withered, like a garden without water. The strong man will become tinder and his work will be a spark; both will burn together, with no one to quench the flames.”
Isaiah began his ministry during the last few years of Uzziah’s reign. Uzziah began well, but ten years before he died, he committed a grievous mistake; he forced his way into the temple where only the priests were to go to offer sacrifices. God immediately struck Uzziah with leprosy and he was evicted from the temple and lived in isolation for the last ten years of his life. Uzziah’s son became the regent in his stead. During Uzziah’s reign, business was booming in Judah. As a trade crossroads, Judah benefited every time a caravan passed through. Wealth was flowing… for some people. Lots of people were making showy sacrifices at the temple, pleasing the priests. But underneath all this prosperity, a tide of spiritual sewage was flowing. God chose Isaiah to warn the people of Judah and to try to bring them back to Himself.
True, the people of Judah were observing new moon festivals and appointed feasts, but they were also sneaking off to groves of sacred oaks, gardens, and Asherah poles, and committing revolting sins. The people seemed to feel that all they had to do was to offer rich sacrifices, and God would overlook their sexual immorality and their abuse of the poor, the destitute, the widows and orphans. God appointed Isaiah to warn these people that if they didn’t repent thoroughly, they would see their land desolate, their cities burned by fire, and strangers devastating their fields.
Amos prophesied at the same time, and God gave Amos a similar message. “In that day,” declares the Lord GOD, “the songs of the temple will turn to wailing. Many will be the corpses, strewn in silence everywhere!”
Hear this, you who trample the needy, who do away with the poor of the land, 5asking, “When will the New Moon be over that we may sell grain? When will the Sabbath end, that we may market wheat? Let us reduce the ephah and increase the shekel; let us cheat with dishonest scales. Let us buy the poor with silver and the needy for a pair of sandals, selling even the chaff with the wheat!” The LORD has sworn by the Pride of Jacob: “I will never forget any of their deeds.” (Amos 8:3-7)
APPLICATION: It was never God’s perfect will for either Judah or Israel to suffer defeat and to be taken to exile. But when these people ignored all the prophets whom God sent, abusing and even killing them, God had no other choice. Actually, each time these people sneaked off to an oak grove or to a shrine of some kind, they were making their own choices, turning their backs on the One True Living God to worship demons. In the end, God allowed them to be carried off to the countries that worshiped those demons as their national gods. Only when the Israelites went into exile did they appreciate how good things had been in Israel and Judah. Those exiled from the Northern Kingdom never returned as a people; it was only exiles from Judah who returned under Ezra and Nehemiah.
What must we learn from these prophecies? Some people want to confuse God with the commercialized version of Santa Claus, forgetting that even Santa has his list of who’s naughty or nice. The people of Judah deluded themselves, trying to believe that fantastic sacrifices in the temple would buy them divine favor and pardons for all the sins they were planning to commit. But Galatians 6:7-10 tells us, “Do not be deceived: God is not to be mocked. Whatever a man sows, he will reap in return. The one who sows to please his flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; but the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not grow weary in well-doing, for in due time we will reap a harvest, if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to the family of faith.”
When any individual chooses to reject God, God will not force Himself on that individual. When any nation chooses to reject God, God will not force Himself upon that nation. Today, many nations around the world have rejected God and are serving new deities such as green energy and industrial expansion at the expense of the poor. It is well known that some of the metals needed for batteries for electric vehicles are mined using child labor. Trendy clothing frequently begins in sweatshops in poor countries, the workers collecting a pittance for long hours under poor working conditions. While we may ignore these facts, God does not.
Robert Pierce, the founder of World Vision and Samaritan’s Purse, used to pray, “God, let my heart break with the things that break Your heart.” Pierce’s work began when he gave the last $5 he had to care for a little girl in a missionary orphanage in China in 1947. Untold millions of people have benefited because Pierce prayed that prayer. Today, let that prayer be ours! Let us not be like the people of ancient Judah. Let us pray for God to open our eyes to the needs around us and let us truly worship Him, refusing to play religious games. No, God is not Santa Claus. Santa can’t forgive your sins, but God can, if you will truly repent.
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, we confess that we are sinners and cannot free ourselves from our own sins. Please forgive our sins and help us to truly repent. Thank You for sending Jesus as the ultimate blood sacrifice for those sins. Lord, let our hearts break with the things that break Your heart and let us do all that we can to help the poor, the widows, and the orphans. In the matchless Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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