May 4: Isaiah 1
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The opening chapter of Isaiah focuses on rebellious, wayward Judah and Jerusalem - the tribe of David and his city.
They are like children who’ve become rebellious against their Father (3). Their behavior betrays an inner cancer: they have forsaken the Lord; despised the Holy One of Israel; they are utterly estranged (4).
They are not worse than the rest of the human race; only tragically typical - no better than Sodom and Gomorrah (9-10). Paul will confirm this later - see Romans 3:10-18. So God calls them to look around, in v. 5-8: your cities are burned, and you are covered with “sores.” Look at the fruit that you are getting.
This fetid fruit grows because God is displeased with them: while they live like hell they presume to be able to stretch out their hands to heaven (15). But God sees that their hands are covered in blood, and so He hides His eyes; He will not listen.
Is our country - supposedly full of Christians - in any different place? Sexual immorality always ends in blood - in our case, the blood of countless infants - most killed for convenience. Yet the inner cancer of that immorality is feminism, a rebellion against God embraced by many Christians. We say, “God bless America.” But should He? Only if we repent. Only then shall we “eat the good of the land” (19). Otherwise, we can only expect to be as desolated as our wombs (7).