I don't know about you, but I've been thinking a lot about this Ebola virus that has come to America. I find myself praying for His supernatural protection and asking Him how extensive this judgment will be.
Are you expecting me to tell you what He said? I'm no prophetess. What I can do is to share with you what has been laid on my heart as I read Isaiah 59 this morning..
I've alluded to recently, here in this blog, John Hagee's book, Four Blood Moons. In the 3rd section of his book, this man of God warned that an unusual appearance of 4 lunar eclipses (blood moons) was "on the horizon", if you'll pardon the pun. The moons, he told us, would appear in conjunction with major Jewish feasts from Spring 2014 through Fall 2015. He emphasized that such an alignment had not occurred for hundreds of years and that, in the past, when only some aspects of such an alignment had occurred, it was associated with major world change. It is not my purpose to expound on his book further here.
Why do I mention this? I bring it up because the "unplanned" Ebola patient, who flew to Dallas, TX, arrived in late September 2014, during Rosh Hashanah and just prior to the appearance of the 2nd of those 4 blood moons. I don't think it is a coincidence.
Verses 1-8 of Isaiah 59 describe a nation of people who are wallowing in sin. Verses 9-15 describe how living in such a nation affects the people of God. The final verses, 16-21, tell of the Lord's response in the situation.
Reading the first 8 verses, I cannot help but think of America. It makes my heart so heavy that it is painful to write this blog this morning.
God states that the nation's sins have caused Him to reject that nation and to not listen to their prayers (vs. 2). What sins?
- Hands covered with blood ( vs. 3) Abortion, anyone? In America we have killed approximately 66 million of our children in the womb since 1973. We have one of the highest murder rates of all the "1st world" countries, and that does not even include the abortion figures.
- Lies (vs. 4). The Message version states it like this: "No one speaks up for the right, no one deals fairly. They trust in illusion, they tell lies. They get pregnant with mischief and have sin-babies." In all of my years, I've never seen such blatant lying in the public square as I've seen in the past 6 years. Some even derisively refer to our President as the "Liar-in-Chief". If this people group even believes that Truth exists, they act as if it doesn't. An abandonment of a truth standard (such as the Bible) leads to a nation parading its sin through the streets and calling it "righteousness".
- Violence (vs. 6-8) There have been times in our nation's history when uprisings in the street have been seen. One which comes to mind was the days of protest against the Vietnam War. But, today, this type of behavior has become so commonplace that we scarcely give it a thought. Peaceful protests are one thing. But, what I'm talking about is those protests that quickly become skirmishes with police, feature looting and destruction, even murder. At the root of these is a false sense of "justice". Unfortunately, injustice is rampant instead.
- Greed is not explicitly mentioned in this passage, but it leads to injustice. At the core of greed is the belief "I will have all that I want, regardless of your need." I am a capitalist and still believe in the virtue of a capitalistic society. But, it is undeniable that our country has increasingly become a place where a very small percentage of extremely wealthy people has greatly increased their wealth while at the same time enslaving the greatest majority. This is unjust.
What of the people of God? Verses 9-15 reveal that God's followers have found themselves caught up to some extent in the sinful attitudes and practices that surround them. While longing for light, they sink further into darkness (vs. 9). In verse 15, it's declared that the person who tries to avoid this national evil is "robbed". The difference between most people of this nation and the people of God is that God's people in this passage are confessing their sins and repenting of them before God. Verses 12-13 (NET Bible) - - -
For you are aware of our many rebellious deeds,
and our sins testify against us;
indeed, we are aware of our rebellious deeds;
we know our sins all too well.
13
We have rebelled and tried to deceive the Lord;
we turned back from following our God.
What does it mean to "repent"? We see in verse 13 that, earlier, God's people had turned their backs on God and walked away. To repent means to turn around and walk in the other direction. So, if we are walking in a particular sin or sinful attitude, to repent means to change our minds, "do a 180", turn around and begin to walk back toward God. This is what God's people in Isaiah 59 did.
What was God's response? We find that in verses 16-21:
1. He put on righteous and justice like a suit of armor.
2. He brought judgment to the unrighteous and rescued the godly who had repented of their sins (vs. 20)
3. He re-affirmed His covenant with His people, vowing to never forsake them.
I seem to have wandered rather far afield from talking about Ebola, haven't I?
Not really. There are some things that we need to face as American Christians.
1. We live in an evil land.
2. We are called to lives of holiness.
3. If we are walking in sin, we need to repent of those sinful attitudes and behaviors, then turn and follow hard after our God.
4. We can have peace, knowing that He is ever-present with us, His Spirit living within us.
If we do that, will we be safe from Ebola or any other judgment that God sends upon America? That is not God's promise. God sometimes chooses to let "the rain fall on both the just and the unjust". (Matthew 5:45) Instead, His promise is better. He has promised to never forsake His own, nor their children, nor their children's children. Look at verse 21:
“As for me, this is my promise to them,” says the Lord. “My spirit, who is upon you, and my words, which I have placed in your mouth, will not depart from your mouth or from the mouths of your children and descendants from this time forward,” says the Lord.
Those of us who cling to Him - - - oh rejoice! No matter what earthly calamity befalls us, we are HIS. He will never forsake His own. Find peace for your soul in that promise today. We are not to fear "the deadly pestilence", we are told in Psalm 91. We are His. Job knew this. As he sat with horrible, nasty, painful boils covering most of his body he triumphantly declared,
"And, though worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God."
Job 19:26
Jesus' last words on earth to His followers, as He returned visibly to Heaven:
"Look! I am with you always, even as the world is ending, I am with you!"
Matthew 28:20
Lord Jesus, it is hard not to be afraid, as we look at the circumstances surrounding us. I pray that you will give me more opportunities to witness to the lost. That is where my real fear needs to reside - - - that friends and loved ones will die and face an eternity separated from You. I know my destination and also know that many of my friends and loved ones are headed to the same place, Your presence. But, I can't say that all of them belong to You. It is for them that I fear. It is for them that I earnestly pray. Oh, rescue them, Lord God! Reveal Yourself to them through whatever means You choose, so that they may choose You and be safe in Your arms, forever. In Jesus' name, amen.
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