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Daily Devotion: Isaiah 1:2-4

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Isaiah 1:2-4    "Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the LORD hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me.  (3)  The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider.  (4)  Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the LORD, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward."

I like to think of myself as a positive preacher in that I like to speak things which uplift the heart and mind.  I have tried to pray about which book to attempt to study after finishing the book of Proverbs and my heart could not leave this book of Isaiah.  As we go through the book, we shall see there are words of warning, condemnation, and also words of healing and hope. I pray to balance my thoughts, but we must be honest with ourselves as we begin this book. What do we see as we look about in our nation, our communities, and our own individual lives?  I think the words that summed up the nation of Judah at the time of this writing can also, to a great extent, sum up our own nation. If we are completely honest, there are many areas of action in our nation that can be described as, "they have forsaken the Lord." Until we can come to this understanding, we will never see a need for repentance and change. I do not intend to do a verse by verse study of this book, but I want to focus on the change, in my opinion, that is necessary. Later in this chapter, we see God speaking to the people in saying, "Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD." (Isaiah 1:18)  May we use this book as an exercise in reasoning together with the Lord. Let us listen to what God is saying and then translate those words into prayer for our nation. May the Lord send revival across the land and may it begin with me.

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