Damariscotta Baptist Church

 

 

Today’s Scripture tells it like it was, in Isaiah’s day, and unfortunately, like it is in our day. This description of human sinfulness and fallibility is spot on. Interestingly, Isaiah begins this section writing in the second-person plural, then at verse four he changes to third-person plural, and then he ends this section with first-person plural. Isn’t that often how we see human sinfulness? We can easily see the speck in our friend’s eye, and are quick to let them know when they are sinning. We can even more easily see the sins of the world, and “everyone else.” And then if we are honest, hopefully recognize the log in our own eye, and have to admit, we too, are part of the human race, we sin and we fail. 

Verses 1 and 2 remind us of the previous chapters that have led up to today. Isaiah points out the point of view of the Jewish people of his day. 

In their minds, they had done everything physically possible to make sure they were able to receive God’s blessings. 

What was it with God’s arm, was it too short? 

Was He not listening? Was He deaf? 

Isaiah answers with, of course not. 

Your lack of blessings from God has nothing to do with Him, but everything to do with you. 

You see, the elephant in the room was that they had “iniquities” and “sins,” that created a chasm between them and God. As we have previously read in chapters 57 & 58, some of those iniquities and sins were actually the way they were practicing their religion, combined with their broken social system of violence and injustice. God had established a covenant with His people in order to promote a society that lived out human relationships which mirrored the ethics of the Creator. 

Isaiah didn’t see it then, and we don’t see it now. 

Verse 4 gives us another one of Isaiah’s vivid illustrations. The evil that took residence in their society was not something that was easily overlooked, it was endemic. It was regularly found among particular people or in a certain area. In fact, it was conceived and had given birth, like the “eggs of vipers,” and the webs of spiders. Isaiah had described this as not only something that was useless, this evil was downright deadly. 

He goes on to describe how evil had taken over all of the parts of their bodies. 

Their “hands” to “acts of violence”
Their “feet” to the shedding of “innocent blood”
Their “thoughts” to “evil”
Their ways were marked with ruin and destruction.

Isaiah then described the road they were on, it was crooked. 

The complete opposite to the level highway of holiness that God prepared for His people back in chapter 40. Those that traveled on those crooked roads would find destruction, not peace. 

By the time we get to verse 9, Isaiah’s reflection of the human condition included himself. Isaiah was not regretful for some minor sins, or slip-ups. He had come to recognize that on their own, humans did not have the capacity to produce righteousness and justice, those things which God called for back in chapter 56. Isaiah claims in verses 9, 11 and 14 that “justice” cannot be found. He goes on to state in verses 14-15 that “truth” and “honesty” cannot be found either. Without these virtues, verse 9 describes our condition as “all darkness.” So dark, “light” cannot penetrate it. And the reason for this darkness is because the human race lacks the moral “eyes” needed to see the light. 

The morality that is truly needed is eyes that recognize that the injustice and unrighteousness are not only crimes against each other, they are crimes against the Creator who made us. The reason they are such terrible sins, in the eyes of Isaiah, is because in reality they are “rebellion” against the Lord of the universe. 

There’s the catch! 

Think about it, even today many in our society believe there is no Creator, especially one that we should be responsible to, in any way. That being said, it makes sense that these same people don’t find anything wrong with the strong snatching of resources for survival from the weak. It actually has a name, it is called, “survival of the fittest.” Evolutionary theory suggests that it is needed in order for “higher forms of life” to maintain their status. 

Isaiah vehemently opposes this theory. He claims that whatever we do to one another is the same as what we do to God. Again, can’t you see Isaiah throwing his arms up in exasperation? What has become of the people of God? Even after their return from exile, what hope is there? God was calling for righteousness and justice to be a by product of their restoration, and yet, it was utterly impossible. It may seem that there was no hope, yet Isaiah doesn’t see it that way. What Isaiah is trying to tell God’s people is that what was needed was not more discipline and good intentions for God’s commands to be fulfilled. God has provided hope and we will read about God’s answer next week in the next segment of this passage. 

For today’s Scripture, we have Isaiah, in his frustration with God’s people, telling them that their world was messed up. Their faith was no longer centered on what God wanted, but what they wanted. Isaiah’s message was that the Israelites needed a revival. There are many Christians who believe the same thing is needed for us today.  Wouldn’t it be great if we could experience another “Jesus Movement” revival, like the one that occurred in the 1970’s? I think so. 

But there are some interesting facts about revivals. Revivals start among those who are closest to God. Consider the revival in 2 Chronicles 7:14

If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

Revivals don’t come from those who are not God’s people, they begin with those who gladly call themselves a child of God. The 1970 Jesus Movement began at Asbury College in Wilmore, Kentucky, with a group of students praying for God to visit the campus. They had been praying for over a year. There had been a change of presidents and the school culture and town had developed bitterness and animosity. But it wasn’t until one of the praying students, who was known as one of the “best” of the student body, delivered a message at chapel where he openly began to confess his own need for God. That was all it took. 

The message of calling others to change and stop their sinful ways remained, however, the focus on how to make sure it would happen began with “our” need and the faithfulness of God to meet “our” need. 

This text leads to the ever existing question:

“Why do we do things that are so obviously destructive of even our own best interests, in the long run?”

“Why do we choose to do things to one another that are not merely self-serving but are outstandingly vicious and cruel?”

“Why are we fascinated with the violent and horrible?

History has attempted to answer these questions. Karl Marx suggested the problem was due to economics. John Dewey claimed it was due to ignorance. The world sees Good and Evil as being eternal entities of the universe. 

They are seen as a given in existence and our world is a product of their constant conflict. 

So in the world’s mind the only way to be relieved of the conflict is by existentialism which is practiced in Buddhism and Hinduism. 

When we look at the Bible, we learn that the problem with evil is part of the created system. However, the Bible describes the conflict like this:

Creation preceded evil
God is light, and in Him is not darkness at all (1 John 1:5)
He created the universe as an expression of His own goodness (Genesis 1:4 and so on)
God permitted His creatures the possibility of choosing not to live within his purposes, we call it “free will”
Our first parents made a choice that created a virus into the system

This infection has corrupted the core of what it means for us to be human, our capacity to image Genesis 6:5
The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time.

Just as cancer cells are capable of capturing the cells around them and turn them into their own type of destructive cells, the Bible claims there is a moral cancer set loose in the human system. 

Were we honest, we would have to admit just how correct the Bible is. We can pretend we are capable of achieving the righteousness of God, in our own strength, but reality is, we would be deluded and deceitful. Just like the cure to cancer does not lie within the cancer cell itself, the cure does not lie within ourselves. Were it so, we would have figured it out long ago. 

The answer to these questions lies in the mercy of our Maker, the Creator, who didn’t just create and leave us to ourselves to figure it out. He has solved the problem of this disease. He has given us a way to pay for the high price of justice. 

The price He paid was the life of God’s one and only Son, Jesus Christ. You are not your own;  you were bought at a price. 1 Corinthians 6:20

Recognize the Lord’s Supper.