Isaiah 1-4

Daily Reading
Isaiah 1-4

Daily Thought

Everything begins with God, not only creation, but character and conduct. The nation of Judah is "a people laden with iniquity, children who deal corruptly" (Isaiah 1:4); Jerusalem "has become a whore" (Isaiah 1:21). This is how prophets talk. Isaiah cries against the sins of the people, the symptoms of destruction, but the sickness is deeper yet; "they have forsaken the Lord, they have despised the Holy One of Israel, they are utterly estranged" (Isaiah 1:4). The first matter of a nation is her devotion to God. 

A prophet will mourn the day; but he speaks of the future as matter of fact: 

It shall come to pass in the latter days
    that the mountain of the house of the Lord
shall be established as the highest of the mountains,
    and shall be lifted up above the hills (Isaiah 2:2). 

Whether these are words of terror or hope is up to us, not God. It is God's grace that allows us to decide whether we are for him or against him, before he does. A nation's only hope, once they have abandoned their God, is to hear and to heed the cry of a prophet.

Daily Prayer

Father God, I am so sorry for turning my back on You. Thank You for Your Son, my Savior. I wish I wasn't so self-centered. Thank You for Your patience. I do repent, I have turned around. You are my Lord, my God, my heavenly Father. Thank You for Your grace.

I will follow You. Thank You for Your Word.

Amen