13 And the Lord said:
“Because this people draw near with their mouth
and honor me with their lips,
while their hearts are far from me,
and their fear of me is a commandment taught by men, 14 therefore, behold, I will again
do wonderful things with this people,
with wonder upon wonder;
and the wisdom of their wise men shall perish,
and the discernment of their discerning men shall be hidden.”
15 Ah, you who hide deep from the Lord your counsel,
whose deeds are in the dark,
and who say, “Who sees us? Who knows us?” 16 You turn things upside down!
Shall the potter be regarded as the clay,
that the thing made should say of its maker,
“He did not make me”;
or the thing formed say of him who formed it,
“He has no understanding”?
REFLECTION:
The words in verse 13 are powerful. Each of us has sat in church with our mind far from God or prayed a familiar prayer with our lips and not our heart. Familiarity is important, but it can also lead to boredom or, worse, contempt.
Worship means to pay honour to God or to show great love and devotion. Has your worship routine grown stagnant? How can you refresh it and make it meaningful and truthful? You may begin by praying that each time you worship, you would experience and know God in a new way.
PRAYER:
Stay with God for a little longer. Continue to converse with God and listen to what He wants to tell you. Then write down any thought and/or prayer in your spiritual journal.
5 In that day the Lord of hosts will be a crown of glory,
and a diadem of beauty, to the remnant of his people, 6 and a spirit of justice to him who sits in judgment,
and strength to those who turn back the battle at the gate.
7 These also reel with wine
and stagger with strong drink;
the priest and the prophet reel with strong drink,
they are swallowed by wine,
they stagger with strong drink,
they reel in vision,
they stumble in giving judgment. 8 For all tables are full of filthy vomit,
with no space left.
9 “To whom will he teach knowledge,
and to whom will he explain the message?
Those who are weaned from the milk,
those taken from the breast? 10 For it is precept upon precept, precept upon precept,
line upon line, line upon line,
here a little, there a little.”
11 For by people of strange lips
and with a foreign tongue
the Lord will speak to this people, 12 to whom he has said,
“This is rest;
give rest to the weary;
and this is repose”;
yet they would not hear. 13 And the word of the Lord will be to them
precept upon precept, precept upon precept,
line upon line, line upon line,
here a little, there a little,
that they may go, and fall backward,
and be broken, and snared, and taken.
REFLECTION:
The priests and the false prophets in Judah were so drunk that they vomited all over the tables. Isaiah chose repeated words to mimic the staggering and stumbling of the drunkards: “do and do, do and do, rule on rule, rule on rule”.
Yet these drunken leaders mocked Isaiah for the simplicity and repetition with which he presented the Lord’s messages. So, God determined that the Assyrians would speak in a language God’s people could not mistake – the language of sword, fire, devastation and misery.
If we do not listen to God’s quiet, loving voice, he remains capable of grabbing us by the shoulders and shaking us until we pay attention!
What have you listened to God’s voice lately? And how did you respond?
PRAYER:
Stay with God for a little longer. Continue to converse with God and listen to what He wants to tell you. Then write down any thought and/or prayer in your spiritual journal.
1 In that day the Lord with his hard and great and strong sword will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent, Leviathan the twisting serpent, and he will slay the dragon that is in the sea.
2 In that day,
“A pleasant vineyard, sing of it! 3 I, the Lord, am its keeper;
every moment I water it.
Lest anyone punish it,
I keep it night and day; 4 I have no wrath.
Would that I had thorns and briers to battle!
I would march against them,
I would burn them up together. 5 Or let them lay hold of my protection,
let them make peace with me,
let them make peace with me.”
REFLECTION:
Read the passage slowly and with imagination. Picture everything vividly, as if you were a child reading a story with beautiful, lifelike illustrations.
What do you notice about the way God interacts with “Leviathan the serpent”? With “the vine”? What is He like? Now put yourself in the scene. What part do you play? How do you feel?
Picture God turning to you and inviting you to talk with Him about what you are feeling and thinking. Does He ever seem angry to you, or uncaring? What’s it like for you to hear Him say otherwise? Share with Him your thoughts and feelings and allow the conversation to unfold.
PRAYER:
Stay with God for a little longer. Continue to converse with God and listen to what He wants to tell you. Then write down any thought and/or prayer in your spiritual journal.
