Isaiah chapter 22 verses 8 – 13 (NIV)
The LORD stripped away the defenses of Judah,
and you looked in that day
to the weapons in the Palace of the Forest.
You saw that the walls of the City of David
were broken through in many places;
you stored up water
in the Lower Pool.
You counted the buildings in Jerusalem
and tore down houses to strengthen the wall.
You built a reservoir between the two walls
for the water of the Old Pool,
but you did not look to the One who made it,
or have regard for the One who planned it long ago. The Lord, the LORD Almighty,
called you on that day
to weep and to wail,
to tear out your hair and put on sackcloth.
But see, there is joy and revelry,
slaughtering of cattle and killing of sheep,
eating of meat and drinking of wine!
“Let us eat and drink,” you say,
“for tomorrow we die!”
Back when I was a young Christian, my first Pastor used to say that the bible was as up to date as today’s newspaper. It’s still as up to date regardless of how we access our news.
This portion of Isaiah describes how much of the world looks to everything but God to achieve satisfaction without any regard to the things of God. Isaiah explains that the way back to God is through genuine repentance, but people prefer to live for themselves.
Thankfully, the way back to God has been made available to us all. Jesus opened the door for us, and it will not shut until His return. It’s a reminder that we can trust what we read in God’s word, but that it’s also important that we act on it too, because for some people, Christians are the only bible they will ever read. We need to make sure that we are correctly reflecting it’s teaching.
Dear Lord,
Help me to reflect Your teaching so that others can find their way back to You. I pray in Jesus’ Name. Amen.