Count on God, Not Foreign Alliances

 Greetings in the Lord~

Today's word comes from Isaiah chapters 6 and 20.  Chapter 6 will be a familiar one for many Christians because of Isaiah's response to the Lord, "Here I am, send me!"  He volunteers to go to Israel and preach and prophesy, and many Christians get encouraged to serve the Lord in like manner.  However, what Isaiah was told to preach is never really mentioned in sermons.  Basically, he was told to preach God's words that would have the effect of hardening the hearts of rebellious listeners; thus, making God's judgment against them certain and justified.  I affectionately like to call this type of ministry, "The Buck Stops Here;"--God is out of patience and has determined to bring His correction. 

At this point in Israel's history they are two separate nations, Israel in the north and Judah in the south.  Most of the northern Israelites did not go to Jerusalem to pray in the temple anymore, but they erected their own idols in Bethel and in other high places.  They had a residual understanding of God, but for the most part were idol worshipers and lived like the nations around them.  In fact, they relied on the help of foreign nations quite a bit when threatened by Assyria instead of calling on God's help, but let's not get ahead of ourselves.  At the end of the day, it could be said that a majority of the country did not worship God and were not true to His Covenant anymore and their corrupt lifestyles mirrored that; thus, they were ripe for God's judgment.  Isaiah was called to preach God's truth to them---a tough calling indeed.  

So we can understand part of God's word for us today---that we are in a season of "Isaiah's" being raised up to preach to a spiritually rebellious crowd and they vehemently reject him, thereby making God's judgment against them sure.  Obviously, this represents much of the adherents to today's Democratic party and the values they espouse, and any other hate group out there or perverted social justice group that hijack real problems and then twist it to further their own agenda and cloud the minds and hearts of their followers with hate and anti-God rhetoric.  For them, hearing truth will have the effect of making their hearts harder, their mocking more venomous, and their violence more readily to erupt at the drop of a hat.  They are ripe for God's judgment, or correction, however you like to say it.  And we've been seeing some of that manifest through natural disasters, etc. but our Western culture does not readily identify with this kind of thing so it gets disregarded and overlooked.  But truth be told, we are a nation that is in need of repentance, and that does include all of us!

Moving on to Isaiah 20, we find a very short and curious chapter.  In it, we read that God tells Isaiah to walk around naked and barefoot for three years.  Ultimately, his nakedness is a sign of the coming embarrassment and shame and captivity to Judah and the Philistine city of Ashod (and any other nation) for putting their trust in foreign, i.e. pagan nations, instead of God.  In this case, Ashod had made contracts and alliances with Egypt and Cush/Ethiopia, so that on the day when Assyria would attack them, Ashod could call on Egypt and Cush for help and be saved; that was the idea, anyway.  But of course, when they saw Egypt and Cush get overrun by Assyria, they panicked!  "...For they counted on the power of Ethiopia (Cush) and boasted of their allies in Egypt!  They will say, 'If this can happen to Egypt, what chance do we have? We were counting on Egypt to protect us from the king of Assyria.'"  Isaiah 20:5-6  And their day did come and they were overrun by Assyria with no one to help them.

 So what does that mean for us today?  It means, that whether you are a leadership that aligns with God's values or leaders that don't, it is important to turn to God alone for help.  Don't count on your foreign alliances to save you; don't count on your great military strength or wealth or the advice of your advisors or even your own intellect and reasoning instead of praying to God for help.  God hears the cry of the needy and He responds to the humility of prayer and fasting.  Even Nineveh repented before the Lord and was spared judgment, so we know that no matter how wicked your behavior has been, God can save the truly repentant.  Also, this is a word to the Democrats who may have made secret alliances with nations/groups that perpetuate anti-American sentiment and policy, they will not help you on the day of your disgrace and disaster.  Likewise, the Trump administration should not look to other "friendly" nations in which to get help, build their case, or rely upon other than seeking the face of God---if they do, they too, will experience the same losing fate.

We are in a season where God is listening to the cries of His people and will respond to the humility of prayer and fasting and petitioning; it is His delight to save!  God parted the Red Sea!  God leveled the walls of Jericho!  The Lord is a miracle-working God who desires to give salvation and show His life-saving glory and justice throughout all the earth.  Let us turn to Him in times of trouble and begin to praise the Lord who delights saves!

~Be blessed and be a blessing.

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