Isaiah 1:5-9 “Why should ye be stricken anymore? ye will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment. Your country is desolate, your cities are burned with fire: your land, strangers devour it in your presence, and it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers. And the daughter of Zion is left as a cottage in a vineyard, as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers, as a besieged city. Except the Lord of hosts had left unto us a very small remnant, we should have been as Sodom, and we should have been like unto Gomorrah.”
We cannot say that we are unaffected by the things that are taking place in our world today. We are all wounded by the sins of this world to some degree. Isaiah uses a medical analogy to describe what exactly was awaiting Judah as a result of its behavior as a nation. The medical term for their lack of relationship with the Lord was relapse. They had been healed to a certain degree many times in the past, but the healing was never complete. They continued to do what made them ill in the past and if they continued on they would get exactly what it was that they had to begin with. Just like with us today. If we continue doing the same old thing, we can’t expect anything other than the same old results.
Isaiah was not born into the depths of poverty nor brought up in religious ignorance. Their history was passed on from generation to generation orally. Past failures and past successes were given to the next generation and then that generation would pass it on as well.
So Isaiah knew the events that led up to the many victories of his people and he also knew the events that took the nation to ruination. He had perfect hindsight through the oral tradition of His people plus a clear vision of the future from God. His fingers were on the pulse of Judah at the time of these writings.
The problem that Judah was facing was they were totally infected by the sin they were living in. The infection was spreading to every portion of their nation and if the process continued, there would be no hope. Infection is treated easily until it is deeply entrenched in the vital areas. Infection is easily treated until the reason for infection becomes immune and adapts to the course of treatment. If we fail to continue with the medication that we are given the resulting surviving germs are more resistant to the treatment. The heart-hardening of Isaiah’s people was evident. They were involved in a full blown spiritual infection and there was no form of treatment in place.
It wasn’t simply that the people were sin-sick, but the places that they lived were sin-filled as well. Godlessness had increased and even creation was suffering the effects of their sinful behavior. The signs of despair were evident because the strength of the nation was waning and financially things were on a decline. It wasn’t that God’s wrath was imminent it was already quite obvious that it was beginning.
(1) The Wounded Generation of 2012.
Verse 5 “Why should ye be stricken any more? Ye will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint."
If we look into our history as a nation, we can see that every time there is a great advancement in our financial, material, or personal quality of life there is usually a decline in moral and ethical responsibility. This is caused by a shift from reliance upon God to self-reliance, and the end result is a loss of blessings. We see it in the story of Israel in God’s Word, but if we read American history carefully we can see the same pattern mirrored in our nation.
This passage says why should you be stricken and it doesn’t offer the possibility that nothing will happen. There will be consequences because of your sin. The only question to be answered is when the consequences will take place.
Isaiah then goes on to tell about the sickness of the head. Wrong thinking, wrong ideas, and motives are responsible for the difficult situation that our nation and our world finds itself in today.
-If you keep the thoughts off of the things that are immoral, then the action can never take place.
-If you never allow yourself to get to the point where murder is an issue, you will never take a human life.
-If the thought never entered your mind to steal something that belonged to another, a theft will never take place.
The absence of teaching right and wrong from God’s Word has weakened the very moral fiber of this nation.
Along with wrong thinking, Isaiah brings forward the charge of a weak heart. He isn’t talking about heart disease here, but is charging his fellow countrymen with having “no guts” to change things.
How has the church in America lacked intestinal fortitude? We have failed to call sin what it is. The problem with this recognition of sin seems to be based on what different churches view as important.
-If you feel that numbers are important, in regards to attendance and offering, there are some that will overlook sin for the sake of their fellowship. This kind of thinking removes the responsibility of holding a brother or sister accountable for fear of losing them as a member or missing out on their offering.
-Some are so focused on the external, that they overlook the needs of a poorly dressed seeker of Jesus in favor of the well dressed hypocrite. Those who think that outward appearances are always true to someone's relationship with Jesus or projected spirituality usually are greatly disappointed.
Isaiah is trying to get us to that we are going to fall flat on our faces again, if we don’t get our heads screwed on straight and have the guts to do what we know that we ought to do. The longer we wait, the worse things are going to get.
(2) When infection sets in there is no treatment that works.
Verse 6 “From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment.”
Isaiah said, “You are sick from head to toe.” That is a pretty dismal prognosis if it were to have come from our doctors. Let us look at this description in light of what we see in our country today. Think of the binding of a muscle and joint that has slipped out of the location that it was designed to be in. Without a restrictive wrapping or cast, the healing will never take place properly. We have become a nation without moral and ethical boundaries. If you are allowed to do whatever you wish, the consequences will continue as long as the freedom aspect continues. Until the boundaries, the wrappings, the restriction are in place and left in place, God ordained morals and ethics will not happen. If a protective covering is not placed over an open wound, the infections that are surrounding it will set in and cause the open wound to worsen. There needs to be a protective covering. The covering of the shed blood of Jesus Christ is sufficient for all wounds of all proportions. The problem that many have in seeking this treatment is the boundaries that are in place to prevent any further injuries of the same nature. It goes against the “do as you please” mentality of this day. There is nothing placed on the wound to soften the resulting scab.
How many have cut themselves on the knuckle of one of their fingers? When that wound is healed, unless there is a softening of the area, it keeps ripping and tearing open. Yes, it usually heals but the resulting scar is often readily visible and more pronounced then need be. Let the anointing of the Holy Spirit’s guidance be the anointing oil to the wound, and allow it to soften as it heals, and lessen the scars that are left behind. Nothing slows the growth of a new convert more than the course and uncaring remarks from some of the saints of the church who expect instant sanctification of a soul that was deeply entrenched in sin on their way out of the depths of the society in which we all live.
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