“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.” Isaiah 3:8-9 ESV
Reflection: why do what is right?
We were walking through some new houses being built the other day, and it is so interesting to see how some builders, some tradesmen try to cut corners in their work. Take a simple example of walk-in showers, where it is critical to prepare the floor, walls and ceiling to handle tile and moisture, which requires specialized materials to prevent problems like cracking and mold. It is possible to tile directly on regular sheetrock, and you would never know what’s behind by looking at a finished, beautifully tiled shower. But as a homeowner, you most likely will end up with costly repairs years later, when the builder and tradesmen are long gone.
And we might ask ourselves, why would anyone do such an intentionally wrong thing towards others?
Clearly, this is a simple example of greed. It costs more, takes longer, to do this right. And, whether they do it right or not, they can charge the unknowing homebuyer the same amount. But this principle is true in all parts of life. Doing things right is generally more costly than taking shortcuts. To cheat someone, giving them the illusion of work done right, is deceptive. It is using the tools of the devil, who is a liar and a father of lies and liars. As Christians, we are held to a different standard. We do what is right, to the best of our abilities regardless of cost, because God is our Father.
Isaiah chapter 3 starts out by the Lord God declaring “For behold, the Lord God of hosts is taking away from Jerusalem and from Judah support and supply, all support of bread, and all support of water;” Isaiah 3:1a ESV. And it it not just bread and water He is taking away. He is also removing all key positions such as mighty men, soldiers and leaders; really leaving the people in chaos, disarray and completely defenseless. It is very interesting to think about this, that God has been so involved in setting up the leadership structure of His people. But why would He do this, why remove these key positions?
We read later, our focus verses today, “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.” Isaiah 3:8-9 ESV. Notice why the Lord says that His people has stumbled and fallen, “because their speech and their deeds are against the Lord, defying his glorious presence.” Think about it, their identity alone as God’s people wasn’t sufficient, because they started doing evil. They aligned themselves with sinners and evildoers, learning how to do evil. Remember, that was exactly what happened to Eve and Adam in the garden. Learning about evil. So God takes His hand of blessing, of protection off of them, saying
“Woe to them! For they have brought evil on themselves.” Isaiah 3:9b ESV.
His wrath is to remove His protection, to let them have their way, so to speak. And, this is nothing new in history. In fact, Paul wrote hundreds of years later the same exact pattern. “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. Romans 1:18-23 ESV. And, what was the effect of this disobedience against God?
Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves,” Romans 1:24 ESV
God removed His blessing, His protection. And we see the same today. The arrogance of man, thinking that there is no God, or that it doesn’t matter if we cut some corners here and there. “Everyone else does it”, so to speak. But, that is a temptation and a lie. It does matter, to God, and therefore to us. God says “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.” Isaiah 3:10-11 ESV. So, as we soon end this year, and move into a new year, let’s always do what is right, regardless of the cost.