A Little Study on Isaiah 1

No Bible Thumping Here:

This post is going to have a lot to do with the Judgment of God.  Let me begin by saying, I'm no Bible-thumper, and I don't like to emphasize this particular topic over God's mercy and His love.  That's because I just don't believe that the best way to motivate people is to tell them, "God will judge you."  The "fire and brimstone" preaching, in my opinion, usually only turns people away from God.  

However, I do think that from time to time, the simple awareness of God's Judgment, when it's happening/when it's not happening, and an understanding of His motivation behind His judgments is extremely helpful.  To that end, I'm writing this post, but with the disclaimer that you really need a book on this subject to even begin to adequately explain it.  

How Judgment Works:

Throughout the Bible, whenever God judges, you see several things in play: 

1. His judgments are always aimed at bringing His people back to Him.  It's never arbitrary or separated from His love.  It's like a parent who disciplines His children-though this example is of limited use because judgments are on a much more massive scale than spanking a child.

2. God always gradually steps up judgment.  He does not obliterate people groups in an instant because of a sinful act-that's always the last resort.  He steps up His judgments as people continually refuse to turn back to Him. 

3. This is always after He has reached out in love toward people repeatedly and after He has shown mercy and patience.  He always sends warning messages, either through signs and wonders or through prophets that speak a message of warning.  These messages are not always obvious to those who hear them (if you are hard of hearing, you won't hear what is obvious), but God warns clearly nevertheless.  

Isaiah 1 is a great example of some of these things in action:

"Where should I strike you next, as you persist in rebelling?  The whole head is sick, the whole heart diseased.  From the sole of the foot to the head there is nothing healthy, only wounds, bruises and festering sores that haven't been dressed or bandaged or softened with oil.  Your land is desolate, your cities are burned to the ground; foreigners devour your land in your presence; it's as desolate as if overwhelmed by floods."  -Isaiah 1:5-7

Here, God is in the midst of seeking to turn His people back, but they have repeatedly refused to repent.  He is now desperate ("Where should I strike you next...?") as any concerned parent would be with a child that is refusing to stop acting wickedly in spite of consistent discipline.

Judgment Starts with the House of God

Dore's Last Judgment

When God starts judging, Scripture says that He begins, not ends with His people (see 1 Peter 4:17).  Israel and His Church by extension, are the first to be judged because they should know better.

Continuing in Isaiah 1, God demonstrates His feelings toward hypocrisy.  If the actions His people take outside of the temple/church are not consistent with what they do inside then God doesn't really care too much for the so-called worship services of His people toward Him.  Not caring is actually a bit of an understatement-He actually says that He ceases to enjoy them!

"New moons, Sabbaths, calling convocations-I can't stand evil together with your meetings!  Everything in me hates your [religious] festivals; they are a burden to me-I'm tired of putting up with them.  

When you spread out your hands, I will hide my eyes from you; no matter how much you pray, I won't be listening; because your hands are covered with blood.

Wash yourselves clean!  Get your evil deeds out of my sight!  Stop doing evil, learn to do good!" 
-Isaiah 1:13b-16a.  

Angry God Face!

These passages can seem a little bleak, but even in the midst of this passage (there are many other passages to back up this point too) we see that God is willing to be patient with a people that are trying to go in another direction when we see Him say, "learn" to do good.

It does take time to learn and develop the practice of doing good, especially when evil has been handed down to us from previous generations.  Thankfully God knows this and is more than willing to work with us.  Additional parts of this same chapter (see Isaiah 1:18-20) drive this point home.

Conclusion:

I think it's really important for the church to study the Judgment of God so that we know when we are being judged and how we can respond to it properly.  In such cases I believe we will be pushed into taking action that will bring new relevance and power to our worship services as well as revival in our personal lives.

Toxic Charity (Book Review)

I just recently read this excellent book, and I thought it was so impactful to my thinking that I've decided to recommend it to nearly every person I know.  I bought it because I was searching for how to do a better job at giving to the poor.  I know Jesus says, "Give to all who ask" but I was deeply troubled by the fact that outright giving to some would be tantamount to enabling.  That said, I feel I got an answer through my reading of Toxic Charity, but I also got a lot more than I bargained for.  (My conclusion was pretty basic, give to all who ask, but be careful what you give).

Lupton's thesis states that charity, without building self-reliance into people, builds dependency that results in people (and their surrounding cultures) to gradually become worse off and poorer than they would have been without the aid.  Instead of freely giving all the time, there should be a gradual transition from dependency to development in people.

A Few Eye-Openers: 

1. Africa, after receiving over 1 TRILLION in foreign aid is poorer and less literate, with a stagnated life expectancy.  

2. Lupton shares a personal anecdote about an inner city dad basically being emasculated when "charity tree" givers show up with free presents at Christmas. Why?  Because it's shameful to him as a man that he can't provide for his family.

3. Local mosquito net companies in Africa going out of business because so many are given away by Westerners. 

4. A Nicaraguan pastor's irritation with missionaries that are "...turning [his] people into beggars." 

It's not all about the problems though.  Perhaps the best thing about the book is that the author, Lupton, who has over 40 years of experience working with the urban poor, doesn't just whine and complain about toxic charity-he also offers viable solutions so as to create life-giving charity on both a large and small scale.  

One WARNING I would give about reading this book: you've got to read the whole thing to understand Lupton's argument.  I kind of felt that he was pretty one-sided for 3/4ths of the book, but in the final quarter he balances out his argument to be very redemptive of the practices we currently have in many charitable organizations.