Isaiah 27:7-9 - Has
the LORD punished Israel in the same way he has punished her enemies? No, for
he devastated her enemies, but he has
punished Israel only a little. He has exiled her from her land as though blown
away in a storm from the east. The LORD
did this to purge away Israel's sin. When he has finished, all
the pagan altars will be crushed to dust. There won't be an Asherah pole or
incense altar left standing.
Many of Isaiah’s messages gave warnings to the Jewish people
to turn from the sin in their life and worship only God. God punished them
greatly when they did not listen…even giving them second and third chances to
change their ways. This message also included just how serious it was for those
that did not know Christ at all….who lived in sin continually…and drew his
people to worship false Gods and idols. Those places had been completely
destroyed…no one left.
Someone must have complained that their punishment was
unjust…harsh…a little too undeserving. For
Isaiah takes the time to make a stark comparison between the two groups of
people. Punishment… harsh as it may have
been…was a far less thing than death. Punishment….undeserving as each Jew felt
it was….brought a way for them to stop sinning...and come back to God for one
of those second …or third chances.
I can’t help but think back to raising my own children. As
bad as life gets for them some days…cause nobody is perfect…how much worse their
lives would be if I had never disciplined them?
Sometimes I think I was way too soft on them….and didn’t discipline them
enough. But when I look at some of the lesson I know they learned…I know I didn’t
drop the ball completely.
That’s how it is with God’s love. We go off on a track by ourselves and lose
our way…and he steps in with a lesson…sometimes devastating….to get our
attention. We either gripe and whine…even
get angry and bitter …or change our tune quickly and get back on track.
We could be like Jonah….who accepted his call to preach…but
did not like where he was sent to deliver the message of God. He ran…hid on a ship…got tossed overboard…and
swallowed by a fish. (Read Jonah 1 for
the unabridged version.)God left him there three days before he relented and obeyed.
OR…we could be like Paul….who got way off track…even to the point of killing
the very Christians that he was supposed to be worshiping with. (Look at Acts 9
for the whole story.) He definitely got the point quickly…and got to work
correcting his mistake…even for the rest of his life.
The point to both of these stories is that even though God
disciplined them...they both got the point and became willing vessels of God to
spread the gospel. At times I have
mirrored the personality of both…and even though I have never murdered another
Christian…I may as well of given those I did not share the gospel of God with…. a death sentence.
Father…thank you for reminding me that discipline is
good. Thank you for providing times that
I had to stop and rethink my walk with you.
Forgive me for the times I have been like Jonah… and ran…or just plain
covered my ears to your will. Forgive me
for the times that I kept my mouth shut…and di dnot share your love with
others. Please God if it is not too late…and
any of those people I let slip through the cracks has a chance to be saved….let
someone…even me cross their paths…so they can learn about you…so I can even do
it right this time. Amen.
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