“Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! 21. Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight.”
Isaiah’s prophetic ministry was during a very difficult time in Judah and Israel. The Northern Kingdom of Israel was about to be overtaken by Assyria, and the Southern Kingdom of Judah was on the brink of destruction as well. (Except for Hezekiah's righteous reign, Judah would have joined Israel in destruction.) The problem was an age-old problem – people thought that they were smarter than God and thought that they knew better than God. This is not unlike the time in which we live. We have never been better informed, nor have we been more deceived than we are now. Part of the problem was that people thought they knew better about what was good and what was evil than God did. After all, God’s people had the Ten Commandments to guide them, but they were beyond that. The seed of Israel and Judah’s destruction was that they thought they could determine what was good and what was evil, regardless of what God’s word said. We see this happening today. It is happening in obvious ways, for example, in relation to sexual sins of all kinds. God’s word makes plain what is right and what is wrong in this area, yet we think we know better than God. We say that, after all, this is 2014 and the old ways are no longer applicable. The “old ways” are applicable, not because they are old but because they are true. But this is also true in more subtle ways in what we would call “little sins.” For example, the Bible teaches us, particularly in the New Testament, that we are to be careful what we say about people, yet gossip is rampant –even in churches! People today are bent on turning biblical morality on its side and casting it away all together. We can’t do this with impunity and not pay a price for it. I want to be careful in my own life and in my own thinking, for if I’m not careful I will find myself calling good evil and evil good. This is wrong even in subtle, less obvious ways. Another part of the problem was that people thought they were smarter than God. Isaiah wrote: “Woe unto those that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight.” We need to be careful lest our brains run away with our wisdom. We think that we know so much, and compared to other generations, we do know more than people have ever known. We have knowledge at our fingertips on the internet. If I want to know something, I just look it up on the internet. The problem is that when we are wise in our own eyes, we seem to think that just because we tnow something it must be right. We think that the more we know, the smarter we are. This is not necessarily so. When our self wisdom drives us away from God and what He wants with and for us, we have been deceived. The solution to the two problems above is found in Proverbs 3:5-7: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; and lean not unto your own understanding. 6. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. 7. Be not wise in your own eyes: fear the Lord and depart from evil.” When we trust God, we trust His wisdom and His directions for our lives. When we acknowledge Him and depend on His understanding, we will not call good evil and evil good, nor will be wise in our own eyes. We need to realize that there is wisdom greater than human wisdom, and that the Wisest One wants to give us our understanding and our knowledge. This is what I need to do and what you need to do! Do it! Bro. Joe
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AuthorDr. Joe Beauchamp is the author of this blog and website. Categories
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