Learning Righteousness from Judgment

Isaiah 26:7-14

“The path of the righteous is level; you make level the way of the righteous.  In the path of your judgments, O LORD, we wait for you; your name and remembrance are the desire of our soul. My soul yearns for you in the night; my spirit within me earnestly seeks you. For when your judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.  If favor is shown to the wicked, he does not learn righteousness; in the land of uprightness he deals corruptly and does not see the majesty of the LORD. O LORD, your hand is lifted up, but they do not see it.  Let them see your zeal for your people, and be ashamed.  Let the fire for your adversaries consume them.  O LORD, you will ordain peace for us, for you have indeed done for us all our works.  O LORD our God, other lords besides you have ruled over us, but your name alone we bring to remembrance.”

Isaiah is having a conversation with God, it seems that he is recalling the benefits of his relationship with God the Father.  If you as a follower of Christ are not having these kind of talks with the Father, you may want to revisit Psalm 103:2-14.  Maybe Isaiah was reading Psalm 105:4-5, “Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always.  Remember the wonders he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced, O descendants of Abraham his servant, O sons of Jacob, his chosen ones.”

When the word judgment comes to your mind, where do your thoughts take you?  The last part of verse 9 jumped off the page, could this be what we as followers of Christ should be praying, “For when your judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.”  Our nation is experiencing the results of a time where justice has a price tag, when the famous and the very rich can get a stay out of jail card, the result of these actions is more evil.  But you and I should understand God will do as He has stated in Romans 12:9, “Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord.”  And if you have flesh like mine, you want God to do it at this moment, but rain on your flesh, believe Jesus tells the truth and pray as Isaiah did for God’s judgment on our nation.  For when we experience God’s judgment the people learn about righteousness and wickedness is punished.  When we as a people are not experiencing His judgment evil behavior is encouraged.

I was visiting with a high school friend and we were talking about this present darkness our nation is in and Mike said; “Bob, even the non-believers understand it is so.”  It seems to me that the USA is repeating the action of Judea in Isaiah 5:12, “They have lyre and harp, tambourine and flute and wine at their feasts, but they do not regard the deeds of the Lord, or see the work of his hands.”  Is it not our duty as Ambassadors of Christ to warn them of the imminent judgment of God? 

Is it not wrong for the righteous to be quiet, for we do understand the judgment is an eternal judgment, and in Christ we have life in the full now and forever?

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice