Isaiah 1 is basically God’s condemnation of the behavior of the nation of Israel. He lists sin after sin after sin. And then, in the middle of verse 23, my eye caught this phrase: “Everyone loves bribes, and follows after rewards.” This struck in my heart because I believe that it is a good description of American society. We are often (usually) in for what we can get. Think about it! How many times have you gone out to eat somewhere because you had a coupon? How many times have you bought something because it was on sale? How many times have you made a decision because there was some gift or benefit for you? I do these things all the time and each and every time, the benefit that I receive is a bribe or reward for making that decision. Decisions made in this fashion are about what we can get out of it, not what God wants or what might be best for someone else. Bribes. Rewards. It’s basically how our society works.
This is God’s judgment on such a society:
Therefore the Lord says, the Lord of hosts, the Mighty One of Israel, “Ah, I will rid Myself of My adversaries, and take vengeance on My enemies. I will turn My hand against you, and thoroughly purge away your dross, and take away all your alloy. I will restore your judges as at the first, and your counselors as at the beginning. Afterward you shall be called the city of righteousness, the faithful city.” (Isaiah 1:24-26).
I had a great-aunt. She passed away a number of years ago. But when she passed away and her children were cleaning out her home, they found rooms and closets full of dolls. Now there’s nothing wrong with dolls per se, but in this case, all the dolls were in their original boxes and hidden away. Most had been purchased from TV shopping channels. She just bought and bought and bought. Today we call such people hoarders. But the fact is that many of us buy things that we really don’t need. (That’s why dollar stores are so popular; we can indulge without bankrupting ourselves.) The idea is that we self-indulge; we buy to make ourselves happy (whether we buy food, experiences, or stuff). Rather than seeking the Lord and being content with what He has given us, we buy, buy, buy. We get, get, get. We do, do, do in an effort to assuage the pain of living this life rather than turning to the Lord.
The Lord wants to purge us of our compulsions and compel us into His loving arms. The prophet Isaiah writes:
“When the Lord has washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and purged the blood of Jerusalem from her midst, by the spirit of judgment and by the spirit of burning, then the Lord will create above every dwelling place of Mount Zion, and above her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day and the shining of a flaming fire by night. For over all the glory there will be a covering. And there will be a tabernacle for shade in the daytime from the heat, for a place of refuge, and for a shelter from storm and rain.” (Isaiah 4:4-5:1)
We don’t need to try to run away from the problems that pound us. God is our place of refuge and our shelter from the storm. There is an old hymn that talks about this:
The Lord's our Rock, in Him we hide
A Shelter in the time of storm;
Secure whatever ill betide
A Shelter in the time of storm.
A shade by day, defense by night
A Shelter in the time of storm;
No fears alarm, no foes afright
A Shelter in the time of storm.
The raging storms may round us beat
A Shelter in the time of storm
We'll never leave our safe retreat
A Shelter in the time of storm.
O Rock divine, O Refuge dear
A Shelter in the time of storm
Be Thou our Helper ever near
A Shelter in the time of storm.
Chorus:
Oh, Jesus is a Rock in a weary land
A weary land, a weary land;
Oh, Jesus is a Rock in a weary land
A Shelter in the time of storm.
How often do I run to Jesus during the storms of life? Rather I would eat, buy, do to distract myself from the things that really aren’t going to go away. Better that I understand that no foe can stand against my Lord and to trust Him, regardless of how the circumstances look. Better that I school myself against bribes, rewards, and self-indulgence and instead lean on the Shelter that is ever near.
© 2012 Robin L. O’Hare. All Rights Reserved. Permission granted for nonprofit and church groups to use this article in its entirety (including this notice). For other uses, please contact servinggodalone@yahoo.com.
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