Trust and Obey
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Some time ago, one of my dear childhood friends felt life had become hopeless and ended her own life. I saw her mom some months later. She said to me, “It has been hard, but my faith has been made stronger.
I have left behind the name it and claim it theology of my past. It does not work in the reality of life.
I think about them often.
My friend forgot that God is there for us in the ebb and flow of life
Her mom came to the place where she realized that misplaced trust leads to heartache.
Oracles are heavy words against a person or a people. Chapters 13-23 are a list of oracles against at least 9 different Nations around Judah. In some way or another each of these Nations were looked to by Judah for support, defense, protection, etc.
The theme of these 11 chapters is the same: God plans on judging the nations of the world, therefore it is useless for God’s people to trust in anything or anyone but Him!
13 and 14 are against the Mesopotamian powerhouse of Assyria and Babylon
14-17 are against the closer neighbors of Philistia, Moab, Syria, and the Northern Kingdom of Israel.
18-20 deal with Egypt
21-22 are delivered to 4 groups of people, and it is harder to determine exactly who these people are.
Nonetheless it seems like the “desert by the sea is a reference to the powerhouse of Babylon. In Isaiah’s day Babylon is a part of the Assyrian Empire, but in the near future Babylon will take over as the dominant world power. Isaiah telescopes several rounds of destruction of Babylon to remind us of an important truth:
God is the one constant in the ebb and flow life.
God is the one constant in the ebb and flow life.
For the Lord has said to me, “Go, post a lookout; let him report what he sees.
When he sees riders— pairs of horsemen, riders on donkeys, riders on camels— he must pay close attention.”
Then the lookout reported, “Lord, I stand on the watchtower all day, and I stay at my post all night.
Look, riders come— horsemen in pairs.” And he answered, saying, “Babylon has fallen, has fallen. All the images of her gods have been shattered on the ground.”
Isaiah predicts in verse 2 that God will send the Medes (modern day Iran) to conquer Babylon.
The Prophet Daniel lived to see this occur in its final form. And in the book of Daniel, there is much said about how God’s Kingdom will outlast and dominate every other Kingdom of the World.
We live in a bandwagon society. Everybody jumps on the latest fad, the latest things to be excited about, or the latest thing to be upset about. So much of this is fleeting. We can’t trust in things that are fleeting.... even nations. Even if that Nation is the United States. God and His Kingdom alone endures. This is where we should place our confidence and direct our efforts.
Misplaced Trust leads to heartbreak in the ebb and flow of life.
Misplaced Trust leads to heartbreak in the ebb and flow of life.
Therefore I said, “Look away from me! Let me weep bitterly! Do not try to comfort me about the destruction of my dear people.”
If we see the first oracle in chapter 21 as being against Babylon, then the other 3 in chapter 21 and 22 seem to be directed toward nations that had trusted in Babylon.
The rest of chapter 21 speaks of Dumah and Arabia, these were Nations who no doubt would see the rise of Babylon as a positive. But it was simply exchanging one bad master for another.
This had led to heartbreak. In chapter 22 the primary focus is the people who live in Jerusalem (called symbolically the Valley of Vision). In the early part of the chapter it looks like things have turned out well for Judah. Things are looking up. But someone has said you don’t go to the valley to get a long term vision. In the valley you only see what is right around you. Isaiah gives the mountain top view.
An oracle against the Valley of Vision: What’s the matter with you? Why have all of you gone up to the rooftops?
The noisy city, the jubilant town, is filled with revelry. Your dead did not die by the sword; they were not killed in battle.
But it is all short term. Isaiah sees a bigger picture. Judah gets a short reprieve from the pending problem of Assyria, but in the long (120 year) outlook, its going to get really difficult for Judah.
Misplaced trust may work for a while. Sin is fun for a season. It may even seem like that sin is prospering you. You may feel like you are getting away with something, but it will catch up with.
I think it also should be mentioned that the popular preachers actively spoke against what the men of God like Isaiah, and Jeremiah, and Ezekiel had to say.
So much so that even when Judah was deported to Babylon, Ezekiel was telling them “yall might as well settle in, we’re going to be here a long time” but the popular preachers were saying this is short term.. dont sweat it.
Point: Misplaced Trust can be placed on preachers who don’t declare the Word of God, but instead tell what people want to hear.
Applications
God is so worthy of trust. He’s unchanging. He can handle what is going on in your life. He will save you from your sins, keep you saved, order your steps, and do better with your problems than you or anyone or anything else can do.
It is easy to put your trust in the wrong things, the wrong people, (even if the wrong people is yourself). You can listen to the wrong voices… even the wrong preachers and teachers. and it will only increase your heartbreak. In other to trust God, we need to turn from sin. we need to turn from short sightedness. The Bible calls this turning from sin and turning to God REPENTANCE. That starts with making Jesus your savior and Lord and it includes a daily turning over of our affairs to Him.