Prior to being taken into captivity by the Babylonians, Isaiah warns the people of Jerusalem and Judah of their impending judgement. God will take away their supply and support. They will be hungry. They will be without home. Neighbor will rise up against neighbor. The haughty women who parade about flirting, as they flaunt their beads and bangles will lose it all. Their fine jewelry, their fancy clothes will be no more. There will be no honor anywhere.
"Jerusalem staggers,
Judah is falling;
their words and deeds are against the Lord,
defying his glorious presence.
The look on their faces testifies against them;
they parade their sin like Sodom;
they do not hide it.
Woe to them!They have brought disaster upon themselves." (Isaiah 3:8-9 NIV)
Judah is falling;
their words and deeds are against the Lord,
defying his glorious presence.
The look on their faces testifies against them;
they parade their sin like Sodom;
they do not hide it.
Woe to them!They have brought disaster upon themselves." (Isaiah 3:8-9 NIV)
My son, John, is working on a set of photographs depicting the 7-deadly sins. He has completed wrath. ( http://johnarthurphoto.com/blog/ ) Yesterday, I was trying to imagine what he will come up with for gluttony. Someone stuffing their face? Then I read an interesting article this morning about gluttony being the desire for anything in excess. http://www.relevantmagazine.com/god/practical-faith/socially-acceptable-sin Gluttony could, in effect, pertain to over-indulging in anything: money, fine jewelry, even cheap jewelry. It could pertain to the many compulsive behaviors and addictions that afflict the world. It appears to me that Jerusalem and Judah had become a bit gluttonous - OK - maybe a lot gluttonous. They were the favored people of God. They had it made and so they indulged in a lot of worldly things and began to forget who it was that had blessed them. If they were going to be over-indulgent, it probably would have been a good thing to indulge in loving and worshipping the God who had blessed them so and maybe they would have avoided captivity in Babylon.
But, they did not. They became haughty, self-centered, helping no one but themselves. Each to their own, as they say. And, they suffered because of it. The children of God (including us today) have a really bad habit of forgetting God, of turning our backs on the one who has blessed us and then out in the wilderness, back into slavery, back aimlessly wandering through the wilderness (from whence the name of this blog comes). Sure enough, there is usually repentance for many of God's children once we've been cast out into the wilderness. We realize our sin and turn back to God receiving the blessings of His presence. You see, that is a huge part of why we end up in trouble. We fail to recognize our sin when we're so busy enjoying it. Everyone does it so, it can't be a sin. Woe to the people when sin is no longer sin!
The circle doesn't seem to end, though. Once we repent and have received forgiveness and multitudes of blessings by this generous God of ours; we begin to overindulge, again, worshipping the gifts rather than the Giver, and then back out in the wilderness we go so that we can remember again who God is.
Isaiah's prophetic warning was for Judah and Jerusalem. It was fulfilled with the Babylonian captivity. It was again fulfilled when the Romans toppled Jerusalem. Isaiah's warning is for all God's children, even today. Do not allow your gluttonous desire for things of this world kill your desire to worship and serve the LORD your God, by doing His will among you.
What did Jesus ask Peter to do? "Feed my sheep." It's not about you. It's not about me. It's about us being in relationship with one another, serving one another, so that God might be glorified.
God's Peace - Pr. J
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