Isaiah 5:1-6:13
God likens Israel to a vineyard--"the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel".
"He looked for justice, but behold, oppression; for righteousness, but behold, a cry for help" (v.7).
We manage to live in ways God never intended--ways that limit His blessings on what we do:
"Woe to those who join house to house; they add field to field, till there is no place where they may dwell alone in the midst of the land!" Verse 9: "Truly many houses shall be desolate, great and beautiful ones, without inhabitant". (Unfortunately, we have recently witnessed this very thing happen in our country as many beautiful homes now stand empty.) (But what about me? What does God look for in my life and what does he actually find? Does He find justice and righteousness?)
God also pronounces, "Woe to those who rise early in the morning, that they may follow intoxicating drink". They party with music and wine in their celebrations, "But they do not regard the work of the Lord, nor consider the operation of His hands. Therefore my people have gone into captivity, because they have no knowledge" (v. 11-13). Verse 18, 20: "Woe to those who draw iniquity with cords of vanity, and sin as with a cart rope (what a visual!); . . .Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness . ..bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!" Verse 22, "Woe to men mighty at drinking wine, woe to men valiant for mixing intoxicating drink, who justify the wicked for a bribe and take away justice from the righteous man". Chapter 5 finishes with a description of the army that will carry away Israel "and no one will deliver. In that day they will roar against them like the roaring of the sea. And if one looks to the land, behold, darkness and sorrow; and the light is darkened by the clouds" (v. 29-30).
In chapter 6, Isaiah "saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple". His encounter with the Almighty changed Isaiah's life. "You will never deal effectively with your sin without first realizing who God is. When you study His Word and begin to grasp His holiness, a deep reverence for Him grows in your heart" (Dr. Stanley). (Am I growing in reverence for God?)
Psalm 105:23-36
The Psalmist recounts God's hand in the events that Israel experienced in Egypt. (Do I recognize God's hand in my life?)
Proverbs 24:28-29
A warning against "bearing false witness" against your neighbor---using your lips for deception, and seeking to pay back in return. (Do my lips speak deception? Do I seek revenge?)
I Corinthians 15:29-58
Paul asks if there is no resurrection, then why not "eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!" He warns them to "Awake to righteousness, and do not sin; for some do not have the knowledge of God. I speak to your shame". (Do I prove all things and hold fast that which is good (I Thessalonians 5:21?)
Concerning the resurrection, Paul says that when you sow seed it does not come back up; the seed dies and a new plant is generated. He differentiates the flesh of men, animals, fish, and birds. (According to this passage animals are not "people in fur coats" as some suggest.) "The body is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption." He elaborates: It is sown in dishonor--raised in glory, sown in weakness--raised in power, sown a natural body--raised a spiritual body. "And as we have borne the image of the man of dust (Adam), we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man (Jesus)". Because there is a resurrection from the dead Paul says this: "Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ: Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord"! (What kind of fruit is in my vineyard?)
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