Today is Monday, April 27th, 2009; Karen's Korner #1556
Portions of Isaiah chapter 5: beginning with verse 8; our God of Love also hasn't put up with our chosen bad behaviors indefinitely throughout history:
You Who Call Evil Good and Good Evil
"Doom to you who buy up all the houses
and grab all the land for yourselves---
Evicting the old owners,
posting no trespassing signs.
Taking over the country,
leaving everyone homeless and landless.
I overhead God-of-the-Angel-Armies say,
'Those mighty houses will end up empty.
Those extravagant estates will be deserted.....
"Doom to you who use lies to sell evil,
who haul sin to market by the truckload.
Who say, 'What's God waiting for?
Let him get a move on so we can see it.
Whatever The Holy of Israel has cooked up,
we'd like to check it out.'
"Doom to you who call evil good
and good evil.
Who put darkness in place of light
and light in place of darkness,
Who substitute bitter for sweet
and sweet for bitter!
Doom to you who think you're so smart,
who hold such a high-opinion of yourselves...
You line your pockets with bribes from the guilty
while you violate the rights of the innocent.
"But they won't get by with it. As fire eats stubble
and dry grass goes up in smoke.
Their souls will atrophy
their achievements crumble into dust.
Because they said no to the revelation
of God-of-the Armies,
Would have nothing to do with The Holy of Israel.
That's why God flared out in anger against his people,
reached out and knocked them down.....
The mountains trembled
as their dead bodies piled up in the streets.
But even after that, he was still angry,
his fist raised ready to hit them again.
He raises a flag, signaling a distant nation,
whistles for people at the ends of the earth.
And here they come---
on the run!...
Their arrows are sharp
bows strung....
They growl and seize their prey;
dragging them off--rescue for that one!
They'll roar and roar and roar on that Day;
like the roar of ocean billows.
Look as long and hard as you like at that land,
you'll see nothing but darkness and trouble.
Every light in the sky
will be blocked out by the clouds.
Bible Commentary: "God condemns six sins: exploiting others; being drunk; blaspheming; confusing moral standards; being conceited; and perverting justice. Because of these sins, God punished Israel with destruction by Assyria. A similar fate was awaiting Judah if they didn't turn from their sins.
"Ironically, our pleasures - if they do not have God's blessing - may eventually destroy us. Leaving God out of our lives allows sin to come into them. God wants us to enjoy life, but to avoid those activities that could lead us away from him. Turning away from God exposes us to judgment.
"The nation's heroes, the great and honored men, would suffer the same humiliation as the common people. Why? Because they lived by their own values rather than God's. Many of today's heroes in TV, movies, and books are idolized because of their ability to live as they please. Are your heroes those who obey God or those who defy the world in order to serve God?
"When people do not carefully observe the distinction between right and wrong, destruction soon follows. It is easy for people to say, 'No one can decide for anyone else what is really right or wrong.' They may think getting drunk can't hurt them, extramaritial sin isn't really wrong, or money doesn't really control them. But when we make excuses for our actions, we break down the distinction between right and wrong. If we do not take God's Word, the Bible, as our standard, soon all of lifes' moral choices appear fuzzy. Without God, we are headed for a breakdown and much suffering."
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