The book of Isaiah begins with a stern admonition to the Jews. They had a problem - their worship of God was intensely self-focused. They checked in on feast days and the Sabbath. They prayed and offered incense. They sacrificed and they worshiped. But their hearts were greedy for gain. Their hands were covered in the blood of their countrymen.
God looked at the Jews with the patience of a father and called them to repent. He warned them through His prophet Isaiah, "Judgment is coming."
And judgment did come. In 586 BC, Nebuchadnezzar accomplished the destruction that God had told them of as far back as Moses' time. The Jews would spend years upon years in exile, suffering for the sins they had committed since before the age of the kings.
One might have hoped that Israel (and specifically the tribe of Judah) learned her lesson. Unfortunately, they didn't.
IN the book of Malachi, we read the exact same charge leveled against the remnant of post-exilic Jews. They had been through the punishment God had prepared for them in Babylon. They had cried out to God in repentance. And the lesson God had tried to teach them had been forgotten as soon as He rescued them.
Once again, the cycle of Israel's disobedience declared itself. Her pride flew like a flag in the face of God Almighty. And again, God began to prepare another judgment.
We look at Israel, and as much as we want to appear holy and full of understanding, we scoff at the repetitive nature of her sins. We stick our noses in the air and quietly think, "I would have figured it out." And in that thought, we accomplish the very sin we pride ourselves to be free of.
In church, we get all excited about our "worship" time. We brag about our new music and cool instruments. We lift our hands in praise, we bow our heads in prayer. And we think we've got it covered, that we're something special.
How soon will God, the Almighty Ruler, abandon His patience with us? How soon will He punish us for our pride? If God so quickly destroyed Israel, His chosen and beloved people, for her sins, will He hesitate to destroy us who mock Him with our pretentious worship?
The second chapter of Isaiah ends with a command from God that we as Christians MUST heed:
"Stop regarding man in whose nostrils is breath, for of what account is he?"
