May 26, 2024

Passage Read: Isaiah 19-22
Meditation Verses: 22:12-13

Thought

The Lord brought disaster near them; it was coming to consume them. So they made all the preparations they could to withstand the onslaught, but they didn't turn to the Lord, they didn't admit that this was the Lord's doing, to bring them to repentance. Instead of weeping and humbling themselves and seeking the Lord's forgiveness, they ate and drank and lived large on what they guessed might be their last day on earth. It didn't occur to them that if they died tomorrow, they would be in torment forever, so they didn't fear and didn't turn to the Lord. But that's why the Lord brings trouble and disaster, so that arrogant, unbelieving men would stop and consider their eternal soul and what awaits after death. Many remain unwilling to consider the Lord; they eat and drink on the eve of destruction and hope that there is nothing more beyond death. That brings no joy to God, but only further provokes Him and ensures their doom.

Application

The Lord shows favor to those who fear Him, even though they die. The Lord desires repentance in men, humility and an acknowledgment that the Lord is God and has every right to command our behavior and lives. We are nothing before the Lord, yet valued by Him, so much that He takes pains to bring us to a knowledge of the truth, even through suffering in this life. That is not His preferred way to work: He had spoken again and again, that men might hear and repent at just the word. But too many men are more stubborn than that, and require pain and the threat of death before they'll even consider the possibility of God. And sadly, too many refuse even then. I don't want to be hard-hearted and deny the work of God in turning me back to Him. When grief and trouble come, let me see and hear Your message. Let me see and hear before You must bring grief and trouble into my life.