Isaiah 10:1. Woe unto them that decree unrighteous decrees, and that write grievousness (misfortune) which they have prescribed.
It’s snowing, it’s snowing, on a lazy Saturday morning! Yes friends, some of that white stuff is floating down from the heavens in my area. Wasn’t expecting it, but there it is, some good ole snow in the winter time. (smile) And again, this past week I did not receive any quotes from our friend Anselm, don’t know what’s wrong, don’t know if he’s decided to stop aspiring to inspire us for our tomorrows. The long and short of the story though, is that I have to wing it on my own again. (smile) So let’s see what the Lord has to say to us on this first Saturday in Lent of 2023. Let me open the Good Library and see where it directs us. Soon come.
Oh Mama! The Good Library opened in the book of Isaiah to a section that’s titled: ‘Woe to the Abusers of Justice.’ And that’s still a very good topic to talk about today because the abuse of justice and the abusers are so very prevalent in these evil and ungodly times. And what does Isaiah say on the subject. He declares (ah Lord eh!!!): ‘Woe unto them that decree unrighteous decrees, and that write grievousness (misfortune) which they have prescribed.’ (Is. 10:1)
And I don’t need to tell or remind us, that in this time of ours, there are so many unrighteous and grievous decrees being written, promulgated and eventually made law that Isaiah would have laughed at the comparatively small amount in his day. That’s because almost every law that’s written and passed nowadays is selfish, greedy and for the benefit of a handful of power brokers. And what’s the consequences of that kind of law making ? Isaiah said it very clearly on the Lord’s behalf. ‘To turn aside (deprive) the needy from judgement (justice), and to take away the right (what is right) from the poor of my people, that widows may be their prey, and that they may rob the fatherless.’ (Is. 10:2)
We couldn’t have put it any better my people. The poor, widows and orphans are suffering terribly in these times of plenty, because the rich and powerful are greedier than ever and enabling the system to give them more than they already have, while making it ever so difficult for the rest of the people to rise up and live a decent life, a life like what Christ died for them to have. The wickedness in our society is ever so rampant that it’s unbelievable. It’s like Bruh David describes it in Psalm 58, titled ‘Unjust Judges.’
He says: ‘Do ye indeed speak righteousness, O congregation (ye rulers that represent God)? do ye judge uprightly, O ye sons of men? Yea, in heart ye work wickedness; ye weigh the violence of your hands in the earth. The wicked are estranged from the womb: they go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies. Their poison is like the poison of the serpent: they are like the deaf adder (cobra) that stoppeth her ear; which will not hearken to the voice of charmers, charming never so wisely (ever so skillfully).’ (Ps. 58:1-5)
Oh my people, our world is in such an ungodly uproar with all the wickedness and evil that’s being perpetrated each and every day in it. I don’t believe we’ve ever seen the levels of hate, anger, violence, strife, greed, selfishness and ungodliness that now permeates it. And the sad aspect is that the entire world is caught up in that evil and negative scenario, not only a few nations. With all the new technology and quick means of travel and moving information, our world has indeed become more like a global village than a far-flung entity.
That means information and people, both good and bad can be moved around and across our world with ever increasing speed with the good or bad news they bring. And that’s exactly what’s happening. The purveyors of evil are spreading their greedy tentacles far and wide in their ungodly desire to control the world. That’s why there’s so much simmering as well as unleashed tension all over the globe right now. Consequently, nobody’s happy, and everyone has oodles of complaints, they consider legitimate. And in fact, many of them are.
But here’s an interesting question that Isaiah posed to the wicked way back when. ‘And what will ye do in the day of visitation (punishment), and in the desolation which shall come from far? to whom will ye flee for help? and where will ye leave your glory?’ (Is. 10:3) Ah my fellow believers, that’s a very interesting question. What will happen to evil-doers when the Lord is ready to settle His accounts eh?
But before we get to that, here’s what Bruh David asked the Lord to do to the wicked in Psalm 58. ‘Break (away) their teeth, O God, in their mouth: break out the great teeth of the young lions, O Lord. Let them melt (flow) away as waters which run continually: when he bendeth his bow to shoot his arrows, let them be as cut in small pieces. As a snail which melteth, let every one of them pass away: like the untimely birth (stillborn child) of a woman, that they may not see the sun. Before your pots can feel thorns (burning thorns), he shall take them away as with a whirlwind, both living, and in his wrath (as in his living and burning wrath).’ (Ps. 58:6-9)
Wow! Bruh David didn’t make joke in asking the Lord to dispose of the wicked, both quickly and painfully. But here now is Isaiah’s answer to the fate of the wicked, as decreed by the Lord. ‘Without me they shall bow down under (among) the prisoners, and they shall fall under (among) the slain. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out (in judgement) still.’ (Is. 10:4)
Yes friends, we bleat about how God is long-suffering, and He is, otherwise we would have been wiped off the face of the earth a long time ago. But nonetheless, He punishes for wrong behaviour in His own way. And that time the Lord allowed the Assyrians to dominate Israel for a number of years, for their disobedience, greed and injustice. So, if He can allow His chosen people to feel His wrath, what’s to prevent Him from doing the same to us eh? Absolutely nothing!
And believe me people, if we keep on living the evil and ungodly way we’re currently doing, sooner or later we will indeed feel the wrath of God! Perhaps we’re even feeling it now, with all the global tragedy that’s happening. But the Lord has promised to protect the righteous, that’s why some (a remnant) of the Israelites survived the Assyrian domination and returned to the fold of God. ‘The remnant shall return, even the remnant of Jacob, unto the mighty God.’ (Is. 10:21)
Meanwhile Bruh David was somewhat more vociferous when he spoke about the rejoicing of the righteous. He writes: ‘The righteous shall rejoice when he seeth the vengeance: he shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked. So that a man shall say, Verily there is a reward for the righteous: verily he is a God that judgeth in the earth.’ (Ps. 58: 10-11) And so it should be…and so it is! The Lord protects the righteous, but punishes the evil doers. Please, please, let us not be numbered amongst the latter. That’s wisdom of eternal proportions! Much LOVE!
…to go against God’s will…is to feel His wrath…to do His will…is to enjoy His blessings…
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