Passage Read: Isaiah 59-62
Meditation Verses: 59:3-4
Thought
God's people are separated from Him because of their sins: bloodshed and lies. Yet God emphasizes the lies and doesn't mention how their hands are covered with blood, unless it's by their deception. "No one sues righteously and no one pleads honestly. They trust in confusion and speak lies." There are conflicts and no one tells the whole truth, instead, they deliberately withhold or distort key details. Their hope is that confusion will lead to winning their case, not caring that the other party suffers wrongly. They only care about not being punished for or caught in their wrong. Or in taking advantage of someone who doesn't know the whole truth. So the innocent pay the price. Of all the sins God could point out, He calls out their lying and deception--not just outright lying, but lack of clarity and honesty, their half-truths and withheld details meant to create confusion and uncertainty and gain an advantage.
Application
God values honesty, truth and transparency. Protecting myself with misdirection, half-truths and lies or taking advantage of someone who doesn't know the whole story, God hates all that, because it forces innocent people to suffer for my sins or someone else's. Whoever did wrong needs to bear the responsibility and consequences of their sin, hopefully learning from their mistakes--or determining never to make a mistake that could bring another harm! Especially if it's me who did wrong! God will not count me innocent if I trust in confusion to protect myself or someone else. He expects me to "speak the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth" at all times, no matter how big or small the matter may be in my eyes. That's what loving my neighbor and treating them as I want to be treated looks like.