Isaiah 22:1-25 Jerusalem
Jerusalem is not spared a dire prophecy of its own. Isaiah tells them that, because they are trusting in men instead of God, they too are going down.
Instead of being on their knees in sackcloth and prayer, the people of Judah and Jerusalem are celebrating. What are they celebrating? Their alliance with Assyria to protect them against Israel and Syria. They have placed their own selves into captivity. They are taken without even a fight.
God has shown Isaiah clearly what this alliance means. And it brings him bitter tears, without comfort. Isaiah sees how the people have abandoned God. He knows that their reliance on man will fail. He has seen the fall of Jerusalem as clearly as he sees his own reflection in a pool of water.
“For the Lord God of hosts has a day of tumult and trampling and confusion in the valley of vision, and battering down of walls and a shouting to the mountains” (verse 5). Jerusalem will fall. Her walls in which she trusts will be torn down. Her houses will be broken into. And her people will be carried away in chains. MAN cannot stop this. No matter how many alliances they make, this fall WILL happen.
God has given Judah MANY opportunities to repent. Their eventual downfall would even been delayed because of the times they would return to Him. But He KNEW it wouldn’t last. His people’s hearts were too stubborn and proud. If their ‘pride’ had been placed in God and having a real relationship with Him, they probably would have been safe. But their pride was in their own strength and the strength of their allies. God didn’t figure into this picture. And THAT is what got them in trouble!
From blessing Abraham and Sarah with an impossible child, to protection from the plagues in Egypt, to parting the Red Sea, to mana in the wilderness, to the fall of Jericho, to the battles David led, to MANY MORE miracles than can even be numbered, GOD was proving to the world that HE cared for His children. HE was their source. He was also their disciplinarian. They were to look to Him in times of trouble and to examine their behavior for cause. They were to follow His Laws and statutes. THEN it would be well with them in the land.
Things turned bad when they turned away. Even when they tried to hold onto God’s hand and the hand of the world, things were bad. God WILL NOT share His place with anything! Either HE is Lord of ALL your life or He is not. There is no in between. That is just as true for us as it was for Israel from its ‘conception’. It will still be true to the end of time.
Times are looking dark ahead in this world. We too have a choice as to where to put our trust. Do we trust in God or do we rely on man? Trusting in God does not mean ignoring the events around you. It does not mean being like the man who refused the help God sent to him through the hand of man. It means trusting Him, no matter what comes. It also means asking Him if this ‘rescue’ is from His hand. When the ‘rescue’ is a gift instead of an indebtedness, it is more likely to be from His hand. ‘Strings’ have a way of getting tangled and tying us in knots; binding us to things that we should stay clear of.
The best way to know is to ask Him. And LISTEN for the answer. Sometimes it takes a while for that ‘answer’ to arrive. This is where I get into trouble. I want to know right away! I have trouble with patience and waiting for a reply. I’m working on this, but I know I have a LONG WAY to go on this issue. But when I honestly need an immediate answer (life or death circumstances), He meets me there with His answers. I was just shown something in this moment. He ALWAYS meets me at my point of NEED. NOT at my point of WANT. I might WANT an answer, but until I NEED it, I to exercise faith in Him and have patience. Even with all that is going on in the world, faith and patience are what He asks of me (and you).
Father God, THANK YOU that I can trust You, NO MATTER WHAT. I may not always understand and may want answers before You are ready to release them, but I trust You to keep me ALWAYS in Your hands. I am safe. NO man can pry me from Your hands. And I will listen to You in times of need so I can know which course to take and which hand to hold of those reaching out. I KNOW one will always be Yours. I just don’t know what ‘skin’ it will be wearing at the time. Help me ALWAYS ask You first and help me wait for Your answer.
