Isaiah 5:20 “Woe to
those who call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light
for darkness; who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!
The 1828 Webster’s
dictionary defines the word “haughtiness” as: the quality of being haughty;
pride mingled with some degree of contempt for others; arrogance. In a Bible
study on this verse, I read that the Prophet Isaiah righteously condemned a
licentious and rebellious nation that preferred the ways of the wicked to the blessings
of God. They would pay the price of judgment for their vanity and pride. God
was angry with them because of their haughtiness in the face of warnings
concerning the coming judgment. Many of the Jewish people were sinning openly,
carelessly and recklessly. They had dulled their consciences through their own
vain delusions and presumptions. Do you see any of that going on today? Even
when God sent a prophet to warn them of the consequences of their sin, they
refused to listen. Isaiah told them that God would judge them for their sin,
but what was their response? Humility? Repentance? Sadly, neither. They laughed
and said, “If God is going to judge us,
then let Him do it now! We’ve seen no evidence of His hand, so if He is really
going to do something about our sin, let Him do it now so we may know it’s true.”
What made this haughty response so wicked was that these were not Gentiles.
They were the children of Abraham, and yet they treated God with unmasked
disdain, rebellious ridicule and unbelief.
They had slipped so far from
their covenant obligations that they twisted the very definitions of good and evil.
That which was good they called evil; and that which was evil they called good.
We can just imagine their corrupt leaders describing their adulterous affairs
as necessary and justified, while they condemned good men and women for their
admonitions against such behavior as divisive and intolerant. We don’t need to
look beyond our current culture for signs of this particular evil. God defines
what is good and right. Every day, good is painted as evil and evil is cloaked
under the pretenses of good.
Those who are willing to
dare God to judge them, and to call light darkness, are capable of just about anything.
They often can’t be reached through admonition and rebuke because they listen
to their own counsel or the advice of the wicked. They can’t be trusted to
execute their duties faithfully because they often bring condemnation down upon
the innocent rather than indicting the guilty. A society that has reached the
point where this is common fare among its civic and spiritual leaders is a
society that could be on the brink of judgment. Its collapse is only a matter
of time.
Leaders such as the ones
described in this passage are detrimental to any nation or to any church body.
Civic as well as religious leaders are to be held accountable to the standard
of God’s Word. May God’s Will be done.
No comments:
Post a Comment