I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.
Today, I am reading and commenting on Isaiah 5-8.
Isaiah’s prophecy concerning God planting a nation the way one might plant a vineyard applies to many nations throughout history., certainly not all, but many. I am most familiar with the ways in which the United States was blessed and showed signs of being a blessing to others, but other nations also show signs of being established by God to bring blessing to the world. God looks for a crop of justice and righteousness from these nations, but time and again He gets oppression and violence. Isaiah describes people who gather wealth unto themselves and then use it to isolate themselves from others. Isaiah describes how such actions lead to reduced productivity. When too great of a portion of a nation’s wealth is concentrated in too small a portion of its population, that wealth becomes worth less. Lack of justice and violence against the innocent will summon invaders much the same way that scattering sugar on a counter top will summon ants.
Isaiah’s account of his calling is quite powerful. First Isaiah tells us that when he found himself in the presence of God he recognized that he was unworthy and deserving of death, but God cleansed him of his sin. God does not call us because we are more righteous or more worthy than others. Then God asks “Whom shall I send? Who deliver my message to the people?” To which Isaiah responds, “Here I am. Send me.” I imagine this two ways:
Isaiah is standing there, kind of in a corner. He looks around and sees no one else. So, in a quiet, somewhat timid voice, he says, “I’m here. I guess I could go.”
Or
Isaiah is standing there off to the side. He steps out waves his arms, and goes, “Me, me, pick me.”
Both of those sometimes represent how I feel. Sometimes I feel like I am jumping up and down and asking God, “What do you want me to do? Just tell me and I’m on it.” Other times, I feel like I’m off to the side and I hear God asking for someone to do something that I don’t want to do. I reluctantly speak up and say, “I guess I could do that.” And sometimes I feel like I react to God calling by saying, “Um, did you say something? I’m not sure I heard you. Can you repeat yourself?” In any case, God’s calling was not unique to Isaiah. He calls to every person and wants to know if we will go where He sends us.
Finally, when God gives Isaiah His message He tells him that his audience will hear but not understand, and see without learning. They will refuse to see what God is showing them or hear what He is saying and thus will not understand and seek His healing. So, Isaiah was called to deliver a message to people who would not listen and respond. He knew that most, if not all, of his audience were not going to turn to God for healing, but he spoke God’s message nonetheless. Yet Isaiah is one of the most important prophets of the Old Testament. So, God does not measure our success by how many people respond to the message we deliver, or any of the other measures we may use to measure success. He measures our success by whether or not we do His will. Do not think like everyone else. Preserve the teachings of God and put your hope in Him. There will be those who choose to follow Him to whom you can entrust His instructions.
