Main verse: Isaiah 44

Good morning!

            When Israel was released from captivity in Egypt sometime around the 14^th – 16^th century B.C., the people talked incessantly about going to the mythical land flowing with milk and honey which, is a metaphor used to describe a “fertile land” or, Canaan (Exodus 3:8). After having witnessed everything that the Lord did to the Egyptians, the crossing of the Sea of Reeds, and the Shekinah Glory of God, one would think, “If that happened to me, there is no way I would ever doubt the Lord’s word and I would remain faithful until the day I die!”. Sadly enough, the nation continued to sin against the Lord God. By the time Josiah became king over Judah, the Lord had fully determined to expel the nation from the fertile crescent (2 Kings 22:14-20).

            Israel, as you may or may not have derived from scripture, was liken to a “Yo-Yo.”  When a good king came to power, the people became followers of the God of their ancestors and when a bad king came to power, the people followed the king into sin. In verses 1-5 of Isaiah 44, the Lord talked about three diverse groups of people that the children of Israel fell into: Jacob (Fallen man), Israel through lineage, and Jeshurun “The Upright One”. All three groups witnessed God’s blessing, but it was their response that told the world what they really believed. With the establishment of the Sanhedrin around 57 BCE during the Roman occupation of Jerusalem, three religious sects vied for power: Pharisees, Sadducees, and the Essenes. The Fathers of Modern Judaism, Pharisees, believed in oral or the “Unwritten” law” passed down from the Lord to Moses. The Liberal Sadducees incorporated Hellenist teachings into their system of beliefs, rejected the oral beliefs, and strived to incorporate a “Literal translation” according to the Torah. The Essenes believed the two former sects corrupted the Temple and the city of Jerusalem, and left Jerusalem for a monastic lifestyle (Jewish Virtual Library). Considering the diverse beliefs and theories not to mention the amount of infighting in religious circles that the Jewish nation could lose sight of the God of their ancestors because as Aeschylus so aptly put it, “In war, truth is the first casualty.” Sadly. Christianity, Judaism’s shirttail relative, is facing the same judgment as Judaism. Here is the rub, if people do not get ahead of the Devil in religion and politics by talking to each other for the purpose of ferreting out the truth the result will always be war (Mike Krier).

            Considering the three people groups mentioned in the introduction, where do you stand, are you a Christian in name only, affiliated with a Christ like family but refuse to be obedient and as a result have fallen away. Or are you a Christian who actively seeks guidance from the Lord even if it means losing friends and family connections? My encouragement for you today is, “Make your election count” (2 Peter 1:10-11).

I.H.S. MK