May 23, 2024

Passage Read: Isaiah 7-10
Meditation Verses: 8:11-14

Thought

The Lord spoke to Isaiah with mighty power and told him not to walk in the ways of his own people, who cry, "Conspiracy!" in regard to everything they call conspiracy, everything they fear. But Isaiah is not to fear what they fear, but fear the Lord alone. Interestingly, he equates what men fear to what they consider holy! The Lord alone is to be considered holy, and to be all Isaiah fears and dreads, then the Lord will be a sanctuary to Isaiah, but a stumbling block to all who fear what men fear. The Lord spoke this with great power, so as to emphasize that Isaiah should fear and obey Him alone, to listen and believe Him only, and to not fear what the people feared and called conspiracy. Only if the Lord alone is what he feared and believed and trusted would the Lord be a place of safety and security for him.

Application

Interesting instruction in this day when men call all kinds of things "a conspiracy," and when all kinds of conspiracy theories seem to be true. The Lord speaks nothing of the truthfulness of anything men call conspiracy; He only commands Isaiah not to fear the things that men call conspiracy. What they call conspiracy is what they fear and reveals what they fear: They fear rulers lying and deceiving the people, and abusing their power over the people to oppress then. They fear disease and death. But they don't fear the Lord. They claim to believe in Him, but they spend more time listening to conspiracy theorists than they do to the Lord. They cherish the words of the fear-mongers more than the words of the Lord. They fear abuse and oppression and death more than they fear the Lord, who has allowed all this abuse and foolishness and wickedness to run rampant because men do not believe in Him or fear Him or obey Him. They have no peace because they fear other things more than the Lord; He is no sanctuary to them. This is as true today as back then. I must fear the Lord alone and not fear what men fear. The Lord alone is the mighty one, and if I fear Him above all things, He will be a safe sanctuary for me, even though all the world around me burns.