THE MANY WOES OF DEFIANCE
TEXT: ISAIAH 5:18-30.
KEY VERSE “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!” (ISAIAH 5:20).
Here is how a poet aptly captured the prevailing defiance of today’s world: “We have kicked the Creator out of creation and searched the universe in vain for a replacement. Frustrated that no plausible one can be found, we fabricated one in a hurry!”
Such was the impunity of the people of Judah at the time of prophet Isaiah. They had backslidden to the point of disrespecting God and sacred things. They drew iniquity with cords of vanity and sin as it were with a cart rope; called evil good and good evil; put darkness for light and light for darkness; put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! They justified the wicked and condemned the righteous. They dared God and scoffed at his judgement. In their foolishness, they considered themselves wise. For all these, God pronounced woes on them.
Today’s moral condition is not better than the above appalling scenario. God is increasingly being abandoned. Now, people are not just drawn to sin by worldly allurements but they are drawing wickedness to themselves with all inventiveness.
Sin is widely promoted by the media and supported by powerful personalities and institutions. Good is regarded as evil and evil as good. People have increasingly become “lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemous, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, truce breakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God.”
You can save yourself from this untoward generation. You do not need to flow in the drift and perish with the rebellious world. You must “book” a place in Christ the Saviour and live righteously for God by His grace.
✍THOUGHT FOR THE DAY It is dangerous to dare God!
BIBLE IN A YEAR: EXODUS 39-40.
MEDITATION
Little things with deadly consequences
- Acting with impunity without reflection or not caring whether it is godly or not vv18,19,24b.
- Falsehood and deception v20.
- Vain and foolish pride v21.
- Drunkenness and gluttony v22.
- Bribery and corruption v23.
- Tempting and seducing others, either deliberately or due to negligence or nonchalant attitude v23.
Woe is a great punishment without limitation and barriers!
Ask for the fear of God that will always flee from sin like Joseph
Ask for a conscience that is sensitive and soft
Intercede for a friend or relation who is careless with sinning
Pray for those hiding under the cover of going to church and yet guilty of “little sins”.
