Read Isa. 1:1-9
Isaiah starts with a bang... or a vision. A vision is an awake dream where God shows a person revelation from heaven. It is a tool God uses to tell his prophets what is to come or secrets God needs to reveal to them. Have you ever caught yourself dreaming while awake and see things in your mind? Capture those images and ask God what he is saying. You don't have to be a major prophet to have visions; you just have to be in tune with the spirit world.
Before we get to the vision we need to know Isaiah's foundation and heritage. His father's name is Amoz which means strong, alert, courageous, and confirm - all characteristics he passed down to Isaiah. The vision he saw has to do with Judah and Jerusalem. He invokes both heaven and earth to be his witnesses. True to what they are involved in (idolatry and sin) Isaiah speaks to them about this. God brought them up and gave them their wealth yet they have forgotten Him. Even the animals instinctively know their masters, but not them. Their sin has reached its limits and God is angry enough to do something about it. He compares Judah to a child that gets spanked only to rebel more. Their thinking is so corrupted and deceived that they are troubled and mentally messed up. They are completely fragmented, wounded, bruised, and hurt. No one has the remedy so they live that way. The land has become corrupted and destroyed by people who don't know God. In verse 8 he speaks directly to Jerusalem and tells her that she is going to be shrunk to a small cottage or tent in a vineyard (he is referring to the remnant). If there had not been a remnant she would have been totally destroyed like Sodom and Gomorrah.
Lord, what a picture of our land today. We beseech you to hear the cries of the remnant and forgive our sins and heal our land.
No comments:
Post a Comment