The Book Of Isaiah. Day 17, Woes, Part Three: The Love Of Living In Darkness

As we study the series of woes pronounced in Isaiah 5, we come today to the woe of the love of living in spiritual darkness. Of all the people on earth at that time, Isaiah's nation had the most light, spiritually speaking. They had the most knowledge about the Lord. In order to live in spiritual darkness, a person had to choose to live that way. 

The same can be said of most developed nations in the world today. For example, I'm a citizen of the United States where we are free to own a Bible, attend worship services, and study about the Lord by internet or television or radio. In order to walk in darkness, we have to choose to walk in darkness, because even a person who has no interest in hearing about the Lord has heard about Him. 

"Woe to those who draw sin along with cords of deceit, and wickedness as with cart ropes, to those who say, 'Let God hurry; let Him hasten His work so we may see it. The plan of the Holy One of Israel---let it approach, let it come into view, so we may know it.'" (Isaiah 5:18-19) Evil goes with them wherever they go. They commit sins in their homes. They commit sins in public. They aren't ashamed to live wickedly in front of anyone. They also don't believe the Lord is going to judge them. Arrogantly they say, "Where is this judgment you keep warning us about, Isaiah? Things have been going along the same way, day after day, for a long time. Wouldn't the Lord have already punished us by now? He's not going to do a thing!"

Ah, but it is only because of the Lord's mercy that they haven't already been judged for their sins! As the prophet Jeremiah will later say, "It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not." (Lamentations 3:22) The Lord would be within His rights to destroy the nation. However, He will not go that far. Honestly, the Lord would be within His rights to destroy my own nation for the things that have taken place here and are still taking place; it's only because He is merciful that He has not done so. As the Apostle Peter said, the Lord is patient and longsuffering with us because He does not want anyone to perish but wants everyone to be saved. (2 Peter 3:9) He wants everyone to hear the gospel message. No one who has heard the word of God can stand before His judgment seat someday and claim He never gave them an opportunity to repent and be saved.

"Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter. Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight." (Isaiah 5:20-21) This speaks of twisted values. This is talking about throwing aside godly principles and eschewing the morals of the elders and replacing those things with the attitude of "anything goes". Or, to use a very modern term with which you are probably familiar, "You only live once." Or, "YOLO", as it's often called. 

While it's true that we only live once in these mortal bodies, the life we live in these mortal bodies is not the end. We have a soul---an eternal soul---and everything we do in our life on earth matters because of that soul. Our brief life on earth is as short as the blink of an eye when compared to eternity. So what matters most, living it up or living for the Lord? What is the real truth, that serving the carnal flesh brings real satisfaction or that serving the Lord brings real satisfaction? Is there no joy in serving the Lord? Is there happiness only in serving the flesh? Satan, the enemy of our souls, would have us think that serving the Lord is a boring and restrictive life. He wants us to believe that the Lord doesn't let us have any fun and that we have to sit around with solemn expressions on our faces and our hands clasped in prayer at all times. Nothing could be further from the truth! Nothing is as exciting as a personal relationship with the Almighty God who created us. Nothing brings more joy and satisfaction. Nothing provides as much peace and comfort. Nothing makes our daily lives more meaningful and fulfilling.

Our generation, like the generation of Isaiah's day and Jeremiah's day, needs to do this: "Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls." (Jeremiah 6:16a) The word of God is not outdated. It is relevant in every generation. It applies to every situation we will ever encounter. It guides us not only into a joyful and satisfying life now but also guides us to salvation and an eternity spent in the wonderful presence of our loving Creator.