In the 8th
century B.C. God sent a prophet to preach in Israel. That prophet’s name was Isaiah. God’s charge against Israel was that they had
forsaken Him, they had turned to evil and broken his holy laws. We can almost hear Isaiah as he described the
ugliness of their sin, “Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, A seed
of evildoers, children that are corrupters: They have forsaken the Lord, They
have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, They are gone away backward. 5 Why
should ye be stricken anymore? Ye will revolt more and more: The whole head is
sick, and the whole heart faint. 6 From the sole of the foot
even unto the head there is no
soundness in it; But wounds, and bruises,
and putrifying sores: They have not been closed, neither bound up, neither
mollified with ointment” (Isaiah 1.4-6).
Isaiah’s description of the ugliness of sin is spot on. The nation of Israel was full of wickedness,
murders, bribery, injustice, immorality of every kind, and worst of all they
had turned to idol worship, idolatry.
Because of the nation’s sin God was going to send judgment upon
them. Isaiah was there to warn the
people and give them a way of deliverance.
This was God’s offer, “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord:
Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; Though they be
red like crimson, they shall be as wool” (Isaiah 1.18). If they would have repented of their sin,
asked God for forgiveness, and turned to live for Him, God would have forgiven their
sin and preserved their land. Alas, the
biblical and historical record tells us of Israel’s continued pursuit of sin
and the devastating judgment of God upon their land and nation. There is a frightening parallel to this story
taking place in our own day, in our own land.
Some would ask the question,
what is God waiting for? The answer to
that question is found in the Bible.
Peter said, “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men
count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should
perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3.9). God’s desire is that we repent of our sin and
turn to Him. God’s desire is to forgive
our sin and save our souls. God sent His
Son, Jesus Christ, who died on the cross of Calvary as payment for the sin of
the whole world. God offers forgiveness
to all who will call on Him by faith and ask Him to save them. However, we have to be willing to turn from
our sin and wickedness to Him. We have
to be willing to give up our sin and ask Him to deliver us from our own evil
ways. God’s patience and delay in judgment
is actually grace. God’s delay in
judgment is an opportunity to repent and be saved. I pray that our nation will see revival and
turn back to God before it is too late.
I pray that if you have never personally trusted Jesus as your Lord and
Savior, that you would repent of your sin and ask Him by faith to save your
soul right now. Judgment day is coming and
that is a fact. Are you ready?
as some parts of the USA get worse other parts get better the foundations for cancer or even the food drops in africa... we as a country have always stood up for the world around us... we are wicked but we are good... in the bible the way i interpret it the world was overcome with wicked people and wicked thoughts leaving little room for the charity that we have today... maybe that is the balancing act
ReplyDeleteI appreciate your confidence in our great nation, however, the prophet Isaiah said, "But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteuosnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away" (Isaiah 64.6). No amount of good works in one area of life can make up for breaking God's laws in another area of life. I believe God is still using our nation for great good around the world. The problem, as pointed out in the post, is we are headed in the wrong direction. We are steadily moving away from God and historically that never turns out well for a nation. If we do not repent of our national sins and turn back to God, it is not going to be pretty! Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteYou are halfway right on this. But some points are way off.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure your observation has some basis, which half is "way off" and what brings you to that conclusion?
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