Tag: Disobedience is Painful - Isaiah 1-6

Isaiah 1:30-31

For you shall be like an oak

whose leaf withers,

and like a garden without water.

And the strong shall become tinder,

and his work a spark,

and both of them shall burn together,

with none to quench them.

Tag: Reject God’s Word and Reap the Pain

The above text should be read in contrast to:

Psalms 1:1-3

Blessed is the man

who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,

nor stands in the way of sinners,

nor sits in the seat of scoffers;

but his delight is in the law of the Lord,

and on his law he meditates day and night.

He is like a tree

planted by streams of water

that yields its fruit in its season,

and its leaf does not wither.

In all that he does, he prospers.

Isaiah is prophesying about nation of Israel’s rebellion against God and Hs Word.   Although there are numerous places in Isaiah that we read about the grace, mercy and glory of God, most of the book is captured in the above passage.  Because the nation (especially the spiritual and moral leaders) have rejected God’s commands, God will bring punishment upon them and their descendants.   In contrast is the Psalms stating that when we walk-in the counsel of God and meditate upon His Word day and night, we can rejoice in God’s blessings.  We will be like a tree that flourished vs a tree dried up that has become tinder for the fire of God’s wrath.  Obedience to God’s Word is the difference between leaves that blossom and those that wither.   Faithfully following God’s Word is the difference between being planted by deep water and being a garden, dried up and waterless.   There is no secret to God’s good favor.   It is simply believing in obedient faith God’s word.  The difference between fruit and famine is simply reading something in God’s Word and obeying that small portion vs ignoring God’s Word (or, worse, reading it and deciding not to obey what it says).    The nation of Israel refused to do the simply acts of obedience like being thankful for what God had given them.  Instead they were ungrateful and complaining.   Instead of trusting in God and making Him the center, they made their possessions, positions and property their god(s).   They worshipped someone else instead of God.   As a result their blessings were turned to pain and suffering.   So is God’s formula.