Isaiah Chapter 1:1-29
I want you to think about a couple of words today as we look again at the first Chapter in Isaiah…
The two words are “listen” and “hear”. When you were a kid, did your parents ever say, “Listen to me, and I want you to hear me this time!”? Fathers and mothers who genuinely care for their children can be heard pleading with their precious prodigy in this way because it is a personal relationship. Nothing is more personal than a mother or father tending to their child’s needs.
Isaiah Chapter 1 verse 2 says, “I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me.” God was their Abba Father. He nourished them and tended them with great faithfulness. He was a personal God then, and he is a personal God now. He is the SAME yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Where are you at today. Have you walked away from a personal God that you used to take seriously?
So, how did this happen? How did Judah and the Israelites end up walking away from a God that they used to take seriously? How did they come to a place where they thought that such things as caring not for the cause of a widow, being rebellious, and being companions of thieves was ok? There is a clue in verse 29. “For they shall be ashamed of the oaks which ye have desired, and ye shall be confounded for the gardens that ye have chosen.” The Israelites were dabbling with other gods. Even the worship of trees appealed to them. The problem with dabbling is that other gods have other morals and values that rub off on you. These morals and values demean you and reduce you to functioning without the kindness and love of our Father You begin functioning with selfishness and greed.
Our God is a personal God. NOT the god of fire, or water or rain that the Israelites were chasing after. These gods are not personal Gods. They do not care deeply for you. There is not a different God to go to in order to pray about each different struggle! Do not allow addictions to be the gods that you go to. There is one God for each of our struggles. Casting all our cares on HIM because he cares for us!
Isaiah is giving a stiff warning to the Israelites. In this first chapter Isaiah talks about how the Lord reached over and wiped-out Sodom and Gomorrah for their wickedness. Isaiah basically was saying to the Israelites, Stop, listen and not only that, HEAR it this time. Receive it! If not, you will end up as Sodom and Gomorrah did!
Do you know what kind of God the God of the Bible is?? Are you ready to LISTEN and HEAR from a personal God?
God loves you personally. He knows everything about you. You are so precious to him. He is so personal that he is ALWAYS there to walk with you through EVERY struggle.
Listen and hear as God is telling you that NOW is the time to make a change if you are headed down a wrong road. NOW is the time to cling to him. Walk with him and talk with him. I am not kidding! Go for a long walk and just talk to him. He covets a very personal relationship with you. He cares for you in a way that gods with a lower case g cannot.
Get rid of your pet sins! Trust God enough to follow his ways, for his paths are straight and they lead to doing right. His ways lead to caring for widows, loving our brother and not defrauding them, and of course our great commission as a church, sharing Christ with others.
In anticipation of next weeks devotional, please read verse 11 of Isaiah Chapter 1. What is this verse saying to the children of Israel? Does this verse have any meaning for you?
May the God of glory bless you and walk with you.
Pastor Tom