WHEN GOD WAS DISPLEASED -- Monday:
" Yea, truth faileth; and he that departeth from evil maketh himself a prey: and the LORD saw it, and IT DISPLEASED HIM that there was no judgment." (Isaiah 59:15)
The Prophets served God in extremely difficult times. Great numbers of them lost their lives BECAUSE of their labors. The people to whom they prophesied rarely gave heed to them, but were hardhearted toward the Lord and His Word. A person without Divine support could not last long in such surroundings. This is particularly noteworthy in view of the current slant on religious careers and professionalism–both of which presume wholehearted acceptance by the people.
God revealed to Isaiah that He was not indifferent to the times during which he prophesied. Because God Himself had been rejected, moral and spiritual breakdown occurred at every level. The iniquity of the people had separated them from God (v 2). Their hands were defiled with blood, their fingers with iniquity, their lips with lies, and their tongues with perversity (v 3). No one called for justice. No one honestly defended what was right. They conceived evil and brought forth iniquity (v 4). They energetically sought to do evil, shed innocent blood, had iniquitous thoughts, and wreaked havoc wherever they went (v 7). They knew nothing of peace, their ways were unjust, and they made and walked in crooked paths (v 8). Those who looked for light only found darkness, and they groped about like blind men, stumbling in areas God could have made plain to them (v 9-10). It sounds like a Divine commentary on twentieth century America!
The result of this devastating environment was that it neutralized the power and availability of the truth. Through the Spirit, the prophet put it this way: "So truth fails." He did not mean that the truth itself had succumbed, but that it had passed beyond the reach of the people. More precisely, they had chosen to live in an area truth would not enter. In such a surrounding, if a person shunned, or departed from evil, he became a "prey" to his enemies, enduring persecution because of his hatred of evil. What a sad situation, and it is not confined to the time of Isaiah's ministry.
The Lord was not unmindful of this situation, even though the people had separated themselves from Him. It is written, "Then the LORD saw it." The word "then" indicates that in all of its depravity, when evil was at its peak and the people willingly thrust the truth from themselves, "the Lord saw it." Like the contemptuous effort to build a tower that reached into heaven, "the Lord saw it." Like the inexcusable iniquity of Sodom, "the Lord saw it." A similar expression is found in the book of Deuteronomy. In that text, the people were unmindful of the Lord Who begat them, and forgot the Lord Who formed them. His reaction is written in dreadful words. "And when the LORD saw it, He abhorred them, because of the provoking (them provoking Him) of His sons, and of His daughters" (Deut 32:19). There is a mentality extant in the Christian world that imagines God is not affected by the sight of unbridled sin and iniquity. It is a foolish notion, indeed!
The impact of the injustice and hearty embrace of sin among the people provoked this Divine response: "and it displeased Him That there was no justice." What fearful words to read: "IT DISPLEASED HIM." Such a response is to be avoided with all zeal and dispatch! God killed Onan because he "displeased" Him (Gen 38:10). Once God sent a consuming fire among His people because they "displeased" Him (Num 11:1). When David sinned with Bathsheba, it is written, "But the thing that David had done displeased the LORD" (2 Sam 11:27). Zechariah, during the dominance of the First Covenant, spoke of God even being displeased with the heathen. "And I am very sore displeased with the heathen that are at ease" (Zech 1:15). Men may overlook moral and spiritual decline, but the Living God does not.
While we are grieved at the massive departure from both truth and justice in our time, we find consolation in the fact that God sees it all. We can trust Him to administer precise and timely justice, whether decline is found in a nation, His church, or an individual. Let your faith take hold of these things.
PRAYER POINT: Father, with all of my heart, I do not want to be a source of displeasure to You. In the name of Christ. grant me grace that will enable me to be a source of righteous pleasure and satisfaction to you.