ISAIAH

Chapter 1

God's children, those He created and chose to be His children,
those He taught and nurtured, watched over and protected,
have turned their back on Him and His ways.
Even animals express a greater loyalty to the one who has cared for them.
They know where home is.
But God's children gave no thought to the One who has had their good
as the focal point of His watchful care over them,
His instruction to them.
They had done their own thing
and, by so doing, had encouraged others to do so as well,
building a kingdom of self-focused interests
and amassing a burden of tremendous guilt.
They had been punished, but their waywardness persisted.
Their lives were a wreck.
They had cast aside all that they were taught,
had abandoned everything of value.
They were on their way to total destruction.
Yet they continued with the practice of making sacrifices.
It was what they were used to doing.
But their words and actions in worship were empty,
contradicting their everyday behaviors.
It was without purpose or meaning; it was tradition.
It failed to bring with it an acknowledgement of their wrong-doing,
repentance and a commitment to follow God's law,
His instructions that would give life.
God was tired of what He saw and heard.

Yet He continued to reach out and plead with His children.
He presented another invitation for them to repent.
Willing obedience to His ways could yet change their course.
Their refusal and on-going rebellion would, however, seal their fate.
God was through with protecting them from the consequences of their waywardness.

Still God knew that there were those of His children,
though few in number,
who were sincere in their worship.
He is a righteous God and the released consequences
would separate those who were truly penitent, repentant,
and willing to commit to obedience
from those whose hearts were hardened through their rebelliousness.
And they would be known as His faithful children,
restored to their rightful position with Him.

Twila Charles Leichty
March 7, 2009