Judgment against Israel’s Pride
Isaiah 9:8 – 21 “The Lord has sent a message against Jacob, and it has fallen upon Israel. All the people will know it—Ephraim and the dwellers of Samaria. With pride and arrogance of heart they will say: “The bricks have fallen, but we will rebuild with finished stone; the sycamores have been felled, but we will replace them with cedars.”
The LORD has raised up the foes of Rezin against him and joined his enemies together. Aram (Syria) from the east and Philistia from the west have devoured Israel with open mouths. Despite all this, His anger is not turned away; His hand is still upraised.
Judgment against Israel’s Hypocrisy
But the people did not return to Him who struck them; they did not seek the LORD of Hosts. So the LORD will cut off Israel’s head and tail, both palm branch and reed in a single day. The head is the elder and honorable man,
and the tail is the prophet who teaches lies. For those who guide this people mislead them, and those they mislead are swallowed up. Therefore the Lord takes no pleasure in their young men; He has no compassion on their fatherless and widows. For every one of them is godless and wicked, and every mouth speaks folly. Despite all this, His anger is not turned away; His hand is still upraised.
Judgment against Israel’s Unrepentance
For wickedness burns like a fire that consumes the thorns and briers and kindles the forest thickets which roll upward in billows of smoke. By the wrath of the LORD of Hosts the land is scorched, and the people are fuel for the fire. No man even spares his brother. They carve out what is on the right, but they are still hungry; they eat what is on the left, but they are still not satisfied. Each one devours the flesh of his own offspring. Manasseh devours Ephraim, and Ephraim Manasseh; together they turn against Judah. Despite all this, His anger is not turned away; His hand is still upraised.
It was never God’s will for Judah and Israel to separate from each other, nor was it God’s will for either nation to be destroyed and their citizens slaughtered or carried off as slaves. These tragedies took place because of three sins: pride, hypocrisy, and unrepentance.
It was pride that drove Solomon’s son Rehoboam to give a ridiculously arrogant answer when the people came begging for some relief from his father’s stringent measures. It was pride that fueled the subsequent antipathies between the nations of Israel and Judah, with Judah claiming to worship the God of Israel all the time its citizens were sneaking off to every shrine and high place imaginable. It was pride that drove some of the kings of Israel to destroy as much of the city walls of Jerusalem as possible while they carried off treasures from the temple. And it was pride that caused the people to say, “The bricks have fallen, but we will rebuild with finished stone; the sycamores have been felled, but we will replace them with cedars.” For these people, everything was always going to get better and better and they couldn’t conceive of a future that included disaster.
Blinded by pride, the people have fallen into hypocrisy. The elders and honorable men and the prophets are those who should have been providing righteous leadership and guidance; yet, they are the very men who are now leading everyone else astray by their examples and their manipulative explanations for their behavior. “For those who guide this people mislead them, and those they mislead are swallowed up. Therefore the Lord takes no pleasure in their young men; He has no compassion on their fatherless and widows. For every one of them is godless and wicked, and every mouth speaks folly. Despite all this, His anger is not turned away; His hand is still upraised.”
For generations, God has remained patient, repeatedly sending prophets to warn and to advise, but nobody has been listening. Now the evil has reached its tipping point. Young men are so corrupt that God cannot take any pleasure in their bright spirits, for those spirits are darkened and depraved. While God has always watched over orphans and widows, now He is withdrawing His care from them, for even the orphans and widows have resorted to fetish worship and sacrifices at shrines. All the Israelites have turned their backs on the One True Living God.
The worst sin of all is that Israel has remained unrepentant, despite untold numbers of prophets warning them to change. “For wickedness burns like a fire that consumes the thorns and briers and kindles the forest thickets which roll upward in billows of smoke. By the wrath of the LORD of Hosts the land is scorched, and the people are fuel for the fire.” The very wickedness of the people themselves is causing God to remove His hand of protection, allowing marauders to devastate the land. Not only will foreign invaders create havoc, but the people themselves will turn upon one another, like snakes, each one trying to devour all the others.
“No man even spares his brother. They carve out what is on the right, but they are still hungry; they eat what is on the left, but they are still not satisfied. Each one devours the flesh of his own offspring. Manasseh devours Ephraim, and Ephraim Manasseh; together they turn against Judah. Despite all this, His anger is not turned away; His hand is still upraised.”
APPLICATION: Yesterday we celebrated Christmas, but we must remember, God is NOT Santa Claus, and even Santa “knows if you’re naughty or nice.” The ancient Israelites certainly were not the only members of the human race to succumb to pride, hypocrisy, and unrepentance. All those things started with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Adam: “The woman You gave me gave me the fruit and I ate it. Hey, God! This mess isn’t my fault. I was just trying to honor my wife. Didn’t you want me to do that?” Eve: “It was that serpent with his smooth talk! The serpent beguiled me and I ate the fruit.” No, Adam and Eve were not remorseful, only ashamed. Each of them tried to blame someone else, pretending that they were still all right. At point in that story does either Adam or Eve sound the least bit repentant.
Throughout the history of Israel and Judah, God has continued to send prophets warning His people, but they haven’t listened. How frustrated Isaiah must have been as he saw things deteriorating spiritually while he continued to utter warnings!
It’s tempting to look back and criticize those of previous generations, but look at the state of our world today. Improved communications and social media are tools that can be used for good or evil. Sometimes the flood of evil appears overwhelming. As I write this, Russia is still trying to swallow up Ukraine. Bigger corporations continue to engulf smaller ones. But the Light still shines in the darkness and the darkness has NOT overcome it! Today, let us examine our lives and let us pray earnestly for God to send His light and His truth throughout our families, our territories, our countries and our world! Don’t allow pride, hypocrisy, and unrepentance to conquer!
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, we confess that we have frequently given in to pride, hiding our sins as hypocrites, and then refusing to repent when You have sent the convicting power of the Holy Spirit. Lord, cleanse our hearts with the inspiration of Your Love, so that we may worthily glorify You and magnify You. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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