READ: Is. 1:5-8
So the daughter of Zion is left as a booth in a vineyard, as a hut in a garden of cucumbers, as a besieged city. – Is. 1:8
In verse 4, God characterizes His people as ‘the sinful nation.’ They live in sin but do not acknowledge it. The people have despised God’s holiness and become estranged from Him. They have turned away from Him and show only sin. Thus, just like Israel, Judah has fallen into wickedness, following the path that Moses warned so strongly against in Deut. 32. Then, in verse 5, the Lord asks the question: Why should you be stricken more?
The Lord has punished them so many times, with foreign invasions and plundering. Hasn’t that been enough? Yet they continue in their apostasy. The Lord compares His judgments to physical illnesses and painful wounds. He wants to convey: Don’t be so foolish to continue on your destructive path. It only leads to punishment.
In verses 7 and 8, the LORD assesses the current situation: The land is desolate, the cities are burned with fire, foreigners have laid waste to the cultivated fields. And what remains of Jerusalem, that mighty city? It looks like a hut in a vineyard or a cucumber field, a shack made of branches and leaves, meant to guard the vineyard or field against intruders. This besieged Jerusalem is on the brink of destruction.
And what is the state of Christianity today? Canada cannot longer considered to be a Christian nation as it was in its start in 1867. The commandments of the LORD are trampled upon. And what is left of the church?
Or how about our own lives? Are we building the church when we speak ill of others, ignore fellow congregation members, or waste our time with worldly matters? Let us also take that into account when we see the meagre size of the church. What is our first love after the recent liberation?
What is our “first love” as a church (Rev. 2:4)?
Singing: Ps. 79:3
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