“The Lord has taken his place to contend; he stands to judge peoples. The Lord will enter into judgment with the elders and princes of his people: “It is you who have devoured the vineyard, the spoil of the poor is in your houses. What do you mean by crushing my people, by grinding the face of the poor?” declares the Lord God of hosts.” Isaiah 3:13-15 ESV
Reflection: whose side is God on?
We bought a couple of breads at a local bakery before Christmas – it was $20! For two loaves of bread? Not sure about you, but I think that is very expensive. And, looking at national trends, many struggle to make ends meet as we seem to have inflation out of control in many sectors; food being one of them. I’m sure we all remember the “egg crisis” from about a year ago, which mostly was a “manufactured” crisis. And, as prices of basic goods are out of control, you might have also noticed that governments are speeding as if there is no end to the supply of money. Interestingly, there also seems to be an increasing number of very wealthy people. So what is going on? Is it really just the old adage of “the poor getting poorer and the rich getting richer”?
There is no question that there is a “wealth transfer” going on right now.
As Christians, we can get confused here too, somehow questioning whether God sees what is going on. Even wondering how He can allow the rich and powerful to get away with taking more and more money and control from the poorest, the weakest in society. We can even witness this playing out at a global scale, where innocent people in some of the weakest countries and areas are being driven from their homelands. It just doesn’t seem fair; it doesn’t seem right. Will God hold the rich and the powerful accountable?
We read from Isaiah that this has played out before in history. It is not the first time that money and power have corrupted people. He tells the powerful and the wealthy of His people, “It is you who have devoured the vineyard, the spoil of the poor is in your houses. What do you mean by crushing my people, by grinding the face of the poor?” declares the Lord God of hosts.” Isaiah 3:14b-15 ESV. Notice here that God is speaking to the ones that He had placed or allowed in place to govern and manage the resources. But, this assignment comes with responsibilities. It is not just to increase the spoils for themselves. It is to govern well, so that all can benefit.
So what does the Lord God do?
“The Lord has taken his place to contend; he stands to judge peoples. The Lord will enter into judgment with the elders and princes of his people” Isaiah 3:13-14a ESV. He declares that He will not allow this to go on. There are consequences for the mismanagement and greed of the “elders and the princes”. So God judges their actions – they are held to account for their work. And since God is the same yesterday, today and forever, He will also hold judgement over what is going on in the world today. Notice how God appears as He prepares the judgement – as “the Lord God of hosts”. He appears with His heavenly armies, to execute the judgment.
So what about us? You and I, in our little corners of the world? To begin with, we have to remember that God sees all. That means all the words spoken, the actions done, whether it is a minor matter, or significant injustice, are seen and will be judged. We need to live right in all parts of life as God’s people. We must manage “the talents” we have been given, to the best of our abilities, so that they will bring an increase in the kingdom of heaven. Jesus reminds us that it is not so much about what we have been entrusted with, but what we do with what we have been given. He says that “Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more.” Luke 12:48b ESV.