Isaiah 56-57 Revealing Our Own Idolatry And Pride

My commentary says that “Israel went into captivity partly because she had disobeyed the law of God, particularly the 4^th commandment about the Sabbath … This commandment was a special sign between God and the Jews; it was never given to Gentiles.”  “God never before asked the Gentiles to join the Jews in keeping the Sabbath, but here He does so.  He calls the very people He prohibited from entering His covenant nation:  foreigners and eunuchs.  This is another picture of the grace of God.”

But even the remnant didn’t obey.  They soon forgot it and returned to their old ways.  “Taking special time each week to remember the Lord and worship Him helps us to obey His will,” my commentary added.

Now God presents “an indictment against the disobedient:  the hypocritical worshipers … and the Lord pleads with people to humble themselves and submit to Him.”  Here, it was the spiritual leaders He was talking to.  They were watchmen who should put “the care of the flock ahead of their own desires.”  Here, those leaders were trusting in political alliances, and doing so was the same as trusting the false gods that those other countries worshipped, my commentary said.  “Anything that we trust other than the Lord becomes our god and therefore is an idol … one of the best ways to find out whether we have idols in our lives is to ask ourselves, ‘Where do I instinctively turn when I face a decision or need to solve a problem?’ … When the storms starts blowing, the idols will blow away like chaff … The storm does not make a person; it shows what the person is made of and where his or her faith lies.  If we make the Lord our refuge, we have nothing to fear.”

God repeatedly chastened them for their pride, but they wouldn’t change.  They wouldn’t submit.  “But now that was over.  The time had come for God to heal them, guide them, and comfort them.”

Father, all too often my pride gets in the way.  I don’t always turn to You when I face a problem.  Please show me how my doing this is like idolatry.  Show me my idols.  Help me to hate them.  Heal me, guide me, and comfort me and help me to submit to You.

Your Brother In Christ,

Gary Ford