May the mumbling commence!
It is frightening to stand in the presence of the living God. Ask Isaiah, and he will tell you. Read the response of Isaiah to being in the Lord’s presence from Isaiah 6:5-10 –
"Woe to me!" I cried. "I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty."
Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. With it he touched my mouth and said, "See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for."
Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?"
And I said, "Here am I. Send me!"
He said, "Go and tell this people:
'Be ever hearing, but never understanding;
be ever seeing, but never perceiving.'
Make the heart of this people calloused;
make their ears dull and close their eyes.
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
hear with their ears,
understand with their hearts,
and turn and be healed.’"
Have you ever thought you were hot stuff and then ran into someone much better than you? Did that person embarrass you in front of your friends? You probably were singing the blues to. “Woe to me! I am ruined.” Not only am I unclean I am also living in the midst of people who are unclean.
Just when we recognize the filthy nature of our attitudes that guide our thoughts, words, and actions, the Lord provides a painful cleansing. How about a glowing live coal touched to your lips? No thanks? A glowing coal removed the guilt from Isaiah’s lips. And, once guilt is removed, the Lord challenges Isaiah to action. “Whom shall I send?” And Isaiah responds, “Here I am. Send me.”
It is way too easy to accept a mission without reading the fine print. Think about it. How many times have you signed agreement to terms of usage of a product without carefully reading all the fine print? I have done it more times than I would like to admit. After all, there are pages and pages of it. What did Isaiah commit to?
Here is the message that God put on the mouth of Isaiah: hear but don’t understand, see but not perceive, hear but don’t comprehend. In this way, they will not respond, turn, and be healed. Isaiah was going to a tough audience with a message they did not wish to hear!
No wonder he immediately asks God, “How long?” Can you and I speak the message God puts on our hearts even before a tough audience, who will be hearing a message that do not want to hear? Wouldn’t it be easier to beat some sense into them? If we do, then we will be forgetting our own sinful nature. Read from 2 Chronicles 28:9-15 –
But a prophet of the Lord named Oded was there, and he went out to meet the army when it returned to Samaria. He said to them, "Because the Lord, the God of your fathers, was angry with Judah, he gave them into your hand. But you have slaughtered them in a rage that reaches to heaven. And now you intend to make the men and women of Judah and Jerusalem your slaves. But aren't you also guilty of sins against the Lord your God? Now listen to me! Send back your fellow countrymen you have taken as prisoners, for the Lord's fierce anger rests on you."
Then some of the leaders in Ephraim – Azariah son of Jehohanan, Berekiah son of Meshillemoth, Jehizkiah son of Shallum, and Amasa son of Hadlai – confronted those who were arriving from the war. "You must not bring those prisoners here," they said, "or we will be guilty before the Lord. Do you intend to add to our sin and guilt? For our guilt is already great, and his fierce anger rests on Israel."
So the soldiers gave up the prisoners and plunder in the presence of the officials and all the assembly. The men designated by name took the prisoners, and from the plunder they clothed all who were naked. They provided them with clothes and sandals, food and drink, and healing balm. All those who were weak they put on donkeys. So they took them back to their fellow countrymen at Jericho, the City of Palms, and returned to Samaria.
May we not increase our sin in this way! Though they are our enemies and the enemies of the Lord, they still deserve to be clothed, feed, watered, and healed. Their weak should be carried, and all of them should be guided home. May it be so!
Enough mumbling for now…
Peace Out
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