Isaiah 5:20–30
Therefore, as the tongue of fire devours the stubble,and as dry grass sinks down in the flame,so their root will be as rottenness,and their blossom go up like dust; – Isaiah 5:24
Click to read passage
Isaiah was facing a people deeply caught in sin. The most frightening thing was not only that they had done wrong. It was that they no longer knew they were wrong. The most dangerous thing about sin is that it does not only lead us to do wrong things. It slowly changes the way we see. At first, we know something is wrong. After doing it for a while, we start to think it is not such a big deal. Eventually we even find reasons to defend ourselves, calling wrong things right. What sin ultimately brings is not just a departure in our actions. It is the loss of our standard for telling right from wrong.
Not only that, the passage goes on to say, “Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and shrewd in their own sight” (verse twenty-one). The hardest thing to change in a person is not a lack of knowledge. It is thinking we already understand. When someone cannot even see their own problem, they will feel even less need to change.
The older we get and the more life experience we gain, the more we may be tempted to say, “I have lived for decades. I know how to live my life.” Even when we come before God, we may not truly want to listen to Him. We may simply want Him to agree with our decisions. But faith is not about asking God to agree with us. It is about letting Him become our standard again, letting Him correct our sight and change our life.
In this passage, the people had reached a point where even God’s warnings could no longer wake them up. When people keep rejecting God’s light, even calling darkness light, discipline follows. God raised up a nation from far away to come against them, and “no one can rescue them” (verse twenty-nine). In the end, they faced only darkness and calamity.
This shows us how serious sin is. If left unaddressed, sin does not stay as a small mistake. It gradually hardens the heart until even God’s reminders can no longer be heard.
Reading this, we may wonder, is God being too harsh?
Behind this severe discipline is still God’s love. It is like parents who see their child heading toward danger. If gentle reminders do not work, they will raise their voice and pull the child back. That moment may look harsh, but it is not because they do not love the child. It is because they love the child too much to watch them keep walking toward danger.
Sometimes God deals with us the same way.
If we keep refusing to listen, refuse to repent, and even justify our sin, God may allow us to go through some pain, so that we stop and see our true condition.
Today’s passage invites us to turn back to Him while there is still time.
Reflection:
Are there things in our lives that displease God, but that we have grown used to? Are there things we keep defending, while refusing to let God’s word correct us?
Prayer:
Dear God, please shine Your light into our hearts. When we call evil good and call wrong right, please give us humble hearts willing to accept Your correction. Do not let us grow numb in our sin. Discipline us, so that we may turn back in time and walk again on the path that pleases You. In the name of the Lord Jesus we pray, amen.
Click to read passage
Isaiah was facing a people deeply caught in sin. The most frightening thing was not only that they had done wrong. It was that they no longer knew they were wrong. The most dangerous thing about sin is that it does not only lead us to do wrong things. It slowly changes the way we see. At first, we know something is wrong. After doing it for a while, we start to think it is not such a big deal. Eventually we even find reasons to defend ourselves, calling wrong things right. What sin ultimately brings is not just a departure in our actions. It is the loss of our standard for telling right from wrong.
Not only that, the passage goes on to say, “Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and shrewd in their own sight” (verse twenty-one). The hardest thing to change in a person is not a lack of knowledge. It is thinking we already understand. When someone cannot even see their own problem, they will feel even less need to change.
The older we get and the more life experience we gain, the more we may be tempted to say, “I have lived for decades. I know how to live my life.” Even when we come before God, we may not truly want to listen to Him. We may simply want Him to agree with our decisions. But faith is not about asking God to agree with us. It is about letting Him become our standard again, letting Him correct our sight and change our life.
In this passage, the people had reached a point where even God’s warnings could no longer wake them up. When people keep rejecting God’s light, even calling darkness light, discipline follows. God raised up a nation from far away to come against them, and “no one can rescue them” (verse twenty-nine). In the end, they faced only darkness and calamity.
This shows us how serious sin is. If left unaddressed, sin does not stay as a small mistake. It gradually hardens the heart until even God’s reminders can no longer be heard.
Reading this, we may wonder, is God being too harsh?
Behind this severe discipline is still God’s love. It is like parents who see their child heading toward danger. If gentle reminders do not work, they will raise their voice and pull the child back. That moment may look harsh, but it is not because they do not love the child. It is because they love the child too much to watch them keep walking toward danger.
Sometimes God deals with us the same way.
If we keep refusing to listen, refuse to repent, and even justify our sin, God may allow us to go through some pain, so that we stop and see our true condition.
Today’s passage invites us to turn back to Him while there is still time.
Reflection:
Are there things in our lives that displease God, but that we have grown used to? Are there things we keep defending, while refusing to let God’s word correct us?
Prayer:
Dear God, please shine Your light into our hearts. When we call evil good and call wrong right, please give us humble hearts willing to accept Your correction. Do not let us grow numb in our sin. Discipline us, so that we may turn back in time and walk again on the path that pleases You. In the name of the Lord Jesus we pray, amen.