Application to the Heart
Wednesday, May 7, 2009
Isaiah 66
Isaiah 66:17 "Those who sanctify and purify themselves to go into the gardens, following one in the midst, eating pig's flesh and the abomination and mice, shall come to an end together, declares the LORD.”
In God’s dealing with man, he seeks to judge those that have compromised in their faith. These are the people who no longer listen to God, instead, they listen to anything that they hear. These are the ones who forsake the revelation of God and now become the epitome of “following one in the midst.” What is evident from the text, with the listing of pig’s flesh and mice, is that it does not seem to matter to them how much of an abomination they become against the Lord. With those who “sanctify and purify themselves to go into the garden” this is not a one time event but suggests an organized cult possibly lead by an elder or leader. As we already know, God is a jealous God, and this outright sin against him will not go unpunished as his hand moves towards judgment.
Recently I was reminded by an old and very popular saying, “a rolling stone catches no moss.” The idea behind it, was that if you keep moving, keep focused, then all those extra things in life that tend to tie people down would not be able to hold you back. Likewise there wouldn’t be enough opportunity for a rolling stone to grow moss upon itself. I tend to think that most of the time when we wander into “whatever” it is because we have lost the focus of God within our life. If we were really focused on the Lord, if we really knew what was at stake, we simply would not have the time or the chance to wander into some strange garden and perform weird ritualistic ceremonies. The problem is that there is an organized front meant to distract us and we are indeed fallen creatures. We must remind ourselves that we are new in him every morning, and pray that the Lord “keeps us from temptation.”
J. Alec Motyer, Isaiah: TDOT, (Downers Grove : IVP, 1999) p. 404-5.
Wednesday, May 7, 2009
Isaiah 66
Isaiah 66:17 "Those who sanctify and purify themselves to go into the gardens, following one in the midst, eating pig's flesh and the abomination and mice, shall come to an end together, declares the LORD.”
In God’s dealing with man, he seeks to judge those that have compromised in their faith. These are the people who no longer listen to God, instead, they listen to anything that they hear. These are the ones who forsake the revelation of God and now become the epitome of “following one in the midst.” What is evident from the text, with the listing of pig’s flesh and mice, is that it does not seem to matter to them how much of an abomination they become against the Lord. With those who “sanctify and purify themselves to go into the garden” this is not a one time event but suggests an organized cult possibly lead by an elder or leader. As we already know, God is a jealous God, and this outright sin against him will not go unpunished as his hand moves towards judgment.
Recently I was reminded by an old and very popular saying, “a rolling stone catches no moss.” The idea behind it, was that if you keep moving, keep focused, then all those extra things in life that tend to tie people down would not be able to hold you back. Likewise there wouldn’t be enough opportunity for a rolling stone to grow moss upon itself. I tend to think that most of the time when we wander into “whatever” it is because we have lost the focus of God within our life. If we were really focused on the Lord, if we really knew what was at stake, we simply would not have the time or the chance to wander into some strange garden and perform weird ritualistic ceremonies. The problem is that there is an organized front meant to distract us and we are indeed fallen creatures. We must remind ourselves that we are new in him every morning, and pray that the Lord “keeps us from temptation.”
J. Alec Motyer, Isaiah: TDOT, (Downers Grove : IVP, 1999) p. 404-5.
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