It's Time to Own Up

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Opening Prayer

Merciful Lord, today my ears are attuned to Your voice and my heart is open to Your Word.

Read Isaiah 48:1-11

^[1] “Listen to this, you descendants of Jacob, you who are called by the name of Israel and come from the line of Judah, you who take oaths in the name of the LORD and invoke the God of Israel- but not in truth or righteousness- ^[2] you who call yourselves citizens of the holy city and claim to rely on the God of Israel- the LORD Almighty is his name: ^[3] I foretold the former things long ago, my mouth announced them and I made them known; then suddenly I acted, and they came to pass. ^[4] For I knew how stubborn you were; your neck muscles were iron, your forehead was bronze. ^[5] Therefore I told you these things long ago; before they happened I announced them to you so that you could not say, ‘My images brought them about; my wooden image and metal god ordained them.’ ^[6] You have heard these things; look at them all. Will you not admit them? “From now on I will tell you of new things, of hidden things unknown to you. ^[7] They are created now, and not long ago; you have not heard of them before today. So you cannot say, ‘Yes, I knew of them.’ ^[8] You have neither heard nor understood; from of old your ears have not been open. Well do I know how treacherous you are; you were called a rebel from birth. ^[9] For my own name’s sake I delay my wrath; for the sake of my praise I hold it back from you, so as not to destroy you completely. ^[10] See, I have refined you, though not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction. ^[11] For my own sake, for my own sake, I do this. How can I let myself be defamed? I will not yield my glory to another.

Meditate

“Examine yourselves, and only then eat of the bread and drink of the cup” (1 Cor. 11:28, NRSV). We are better at examining others than self-examination. But that is not what we are told to do!

Think Further

God’s scrutiny now turns from Babylon to Jacob/Israel (Common terms for Judah, especially in Isaiah). It was expected that a pagan nation might fall short of the Lord’s standards, but surely not Judah. It, after all, had been chosen by God, rescued from slavery, given God’s law and established in Jerusalem. But no! While its people paid lip-service to trusting God and being faithful citizens of his holy city, they were actually stubborn, treacherous, innately rebellious, and were now in a dire situation.

It wasn’t as though their fiery affliction should have been a surprise. God had warned them of impending judgment over a long period (see Mic. 3:9-12; Isa. 1:1-9) and had eventually taken swift action to jolt them into reality about their waywardness. He wasn’t going to put up with their blaming their idols! But still, they did not want to admit to their own contribution to their situation. What is it about human nature that makes us reluctant to own up to our shortcomings? Sometimes God (or a wise friend) needs to advise us not to fool ourselves about sin that has derailed our lives of faith.

Thankfully, the reminder of unheeded former pronouncements was not the end of God’s communication. God offered to reveal new things (Jer. 31:31-34) that might give them another chance to avert destruction. Because his own honor was at stake, he would temper his anger towards his disobedient people. We are sometimes prone to repent to make sure we are “saved,” but that is only part of the story of salvation. God’s saving love also reaches us because he will not yield his glory to others. Owning up to our own responsibility for our sinfulness opens the door for our transformed lives to bring God the honor and praise he is due.

Apply

Have you been influenced by the rebellious attitude of other Christians? How has your rebellion at times affected other Christians? What has it cost you in terms of losing God’s peace and blessing?

Closing prayer

Lord, I ask that Your Spirit will reveal where I am living in deception. I take ownership of what You reveal and ask for Your forgiveness.

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