Isaiah 22


Isaiah 22:12-13 (ESV)
In that day the Lord GOD of hosts
called for weeping and mourning,
for baldness and wearing sackcloth;
and behold, joy and gladness,
killing oxen and slaughtering sheep,
eating flesh and drinking wine.
“Let us eat and drink,
for tomorrow we die.”


What is the point of God’s discipline? When God disciplines his people it is not just to punish them because he is angry. It is to turn them back to the right way. It is to redirect them. Discipline is for correction. Yet in Isaiah 22 the people of God see his discipline and fail to repent. Rather than brokenness over their sin, they choose fatalism. “We’re going to die,” they say, “so we might as well go out with a big party! Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.” How that must grieve the heart of God.


How do we react and respond to bad things happening in our lives? Does it draw us closer to God in introspection, confession, and dependence, or do we rebel against his hand of discipline? Sometimes discipline comes from God because we are not listening to him. Sometimes it comes because, like a good coach in athletics, he needs to push us harder in order to develop in us the character that he desires. Either way, we have a choice. We can trust him, or we can choose self-centered conceit. When we choose self, we may party or we may despair. What we do not do is hope.

Whether in response to sin in our lives, or out of a desire to grow us deeper in our faith, God’s discipline is always for our good. With the Apostle Paul, we can say,

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (2Cor 12:9-10).

We will never know that truth without the hardships. It may not feel like it today, but somethings are worth the pain. Trust him, and live in hope.

Comments