Isaiah 28:1 NIV
Woe to that wreath, the pride of Ephraim's drunkards,
to the fading flower, his glorious beauty,
set on the head of a fertile valley—
to that city, the pride of those laid low by wine!
Three thoughts occur to me in reading through this chapter: what we take pride in, what we trust, and what we listen to. Reading the verse above I am reminded of our reality TV programs, our Pop Culture heroes and the faces we see on the front of magazines. People get engaged, get married, have children, get sick, break up, and die every day, but it's news when it's someone we have somehow decided is important. Let's face it, some of these "important" people are pretty pathetic. What do we glory in? What do we take pride in? Why are we more excited about being in the same restaurant as some movie star than we are about visiting orphans and widows? It seems our priority system is out of sync with God's.
Maybe what we take pride in is twisted because of what we trust.
Isaiah 28:15 NIV
You boast, "We have entered into a covenant with death,
with the realm of the dead we have made an agreement.
When an overwhelming scourge sweeps by,
it cannot touch us,
for we have made a lie our refuge
and falsehood our hiding place."
"We have made a lie our refuge and falsehood our hiding place." That's what happened when Adam ate from the tree. That's what happens when we look to money, fame, positions, connections, or anything but God for our security. We make a lie our hope and God will never let a lie stand. Every lie will be exposed. Every falsehood revealed. In verse 17 God says he will sweep away the lie. We're like the man Jesus described as building his house on sand.
So, who will we listen to? The lies of our culture or the truth of God who has a time and place for everything? He knows what is appropriate. He knows how he created us. He knows how and when he will bring down the lies. Who will we listen to?
Father, I confess that I have too often been enamored with the glory and the lies of the world. Forgive me. May I walk in your truth and your light. May I listen well to you.
By His grace,
Rick Weinert
District Superintendent
EFCA Northern Mtn District
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