Pride Thwarts Salvation (Isaiah 15, 16)
The oracle concerning Moab is truly tragic. We see an invasion and devastation that sends Moab begging for shelter to Judah. A defeated people, refugees, trying to survive. Zion answers in the affirmative. We will help. Come to us, and you will never face threat again, safe under the throne and rule of the Messiah. However, pride gets in the way!
The striking revelations in this passage are:
-God is concerned with all people. He grieves over the hardships and tragedies of everyone. 15:5
-There is refuge and salvation to everyone who would turn to God. Jews and Gentiles alike.
-The sin of pride is what stands in the way of people being rescued. God would save them if they would trust Him, but they prefer to place their trust elsewhere, ultimately in their own judgment.
In 16:5,6 we see the contrast most plainly. Verse 5 offers the refugees love, faithfulness, justice, and righteousness. However, in verse 6 we see the answers of the sinful heart: arrogance, pride, insolence, and idle boasting. All Hebrew words that mean similar things, haughtiness, but the fourth term “idle boasting” really conveys the idea of someone who is self-deluded. They live in their own made-up reality. Today, one can’t help but think of the expressive individualism that leads people into living in fantasy delusion. Faith and trust in God is the way to living in and through reality, as tough as it can be.
This oracle reminds me of one of my favorite movies, “A River Runs Through It”. Help and love are there, freely offered to all who will have it. Unfortunately, we can’t force those we love to accept the reality of faith and trust in God.
The striking revelations in this passage are:
-God is concerned with all people. He grieves over the hardships and tragedies of everyone. 15:5
-There is refuge and salvation to everyone who would turn to God. Jews and Gentiles alike.
-The sin of pride is what stands in the way of people being rescued. God would save them if they would trust Him, but they prefer to place their trust elsewhere, ultimately in their own judgment.
In 16:5,6 we see the contrast most plainly. Verse 5 offers the refugees love, faithfulness, justice, and righteousness. However, in verse 6 we see the answers of the sinful heart: arrogance, pride, insolence, and idle boasting. All Hebrew words that mean similar things, haughtiness, but the fourth term “idle boasting” really conveys the idea of someone who is self-deluded. They live in their own made-up reality. Today, one can’t help but think of the expressive individualism that leads people into living in fantasy delusion. Faith and trust in God is the way to living in and through reality, as tough as it can be.
This oracle reminds me of one of my favorite movies, “A River Runs Through It”. Help and love are there, freely offered to all who will have it. Unfortunately, we can’t force those we love to accept the reality of faith and trust in God.
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