Divine Justice
Here is the Lord cursing Judah through Isaiah:
And I will make boys their princes,
and infants shall rule over them.
And the people will oppress one another,
every one his fellow
and every one his neighbor;
the youth will be insolent to the elder,
and the despised to the honorable.For a man will take hold of his brother
in the house of his father, saying:
“You have a cloak;
you shall be our leader,
and this heap of ruins
shall be under your rule”;
in that day he will speak out, saying:
“I will not be a healer;
in my house there is neither bread nor cloak;
you shall not make me
leader of the people.”
For Jerusalem has stumbled,
and Judah has fallen,
because their speech and their deeds are against the LORD,
defying his glorious presence.For the look on their faces bears witness against them;
they proclaim their sin like Sodom;
they do not hide it.
Woe to them!
For they have brought evil on themselves.
Tell the righteous that it shall be well with them,
for they shall eat the fruit of their deeds.
Woe to the wicked! It shall be ill with him,
for what his hands have dealt out shall be done to him.
My people—infants are their oppressors,
and women rule over them.
O my people, your guides mislead you
and they have swallowed up the course of your paths.
(Isaiah 3:4-12 ESV)
Does that not sound like our society?
Does not “And the people will oppress one another, every one his fellow, and every one his neighbor” sound like democracy?
Does not “the youth will be insolent to the elder, and the despised to the honorable” remind you of “don’t trust anyone over 30” and “baby-killers”?
“My people—infants are their oppressors, and women rule over them.” Hmmm… How long until Hillary is president?
How cursed is a society that worships what in earlier times were feared as divine wrath for serious sins?
There is no new thing under the sun.
This is the most disturbing.
“I will not be a healer;
in my house there is neither bread nor cloak;
you shall not make me
leader of the people.”
Enjoy the decline.
We already have a leader that is an infant. So, a woman next.
And how long has it been since this passage was the subject of the sermon? How long since the leaders of the Church proclaimed an alternative way to the way of the world? How long since we have been reminded that he who stands in the strength that God supplies is more than a conqueror if we fasten on the whole armour of God with the belt of truth as its foundation, the breastplate of righteousness, the helmet of salvation on our heads and the shield of faith to protect us while we have sound footingwith our feet in the sandals of peace. This life is nota hippy love-in, but a battle against powers and authorities unseen by most of those who serve it. How long since we remembered that we are supposed to be part of the church militant, in boot camp, not holiday camp.