Isaiah 5:8-10
Not far from our home is a very large an extremely beautiful
house sitting on the very top of a large hill, its view from the front is the
high school and it makes one wonder why would someone spend that kind of money
to look down on a high school? The hill
the house sits on is landscaped and the wrought iron fence and gates would far
exceed the cost of my home, and yet it was only lived in for a little over a
year, then it went up for sale. I do not
know if someone has purchased the house and hopefully made it a home, but the
question comes to mind, did the original owner build it to be seen by all, with
no regard for the view?
The woes
in the Scripture listed above have to do with houses, but before going there, do
you recall that Isaiah was not the only prophet speaking to Judea and Jerusalem
at this time, so was Micah. Now the
Spirit speaking through Micah had this to say to the oppressors; “They covet fields
and seize them, and houses, and take them away; they oppress a man and his
house, a man and his inheritance.
Therefore, thus says the Lord: behold,
against this family I am devising disaster, from which you cannot remove your
necks, and you shall not walk haughtily, for it will be a time of disaster.” (Micah
2:2-3, ESV)
You
may be wondering why is God so upset with a man acquiring more houses and land,
and the answer is; God in His great love for the Jewish people had provided the
land so that all of His people had some, and so the buying up of land and
houses was always done at the cost of another person. When God said “Woe,” a person of
understanding should woe. But these
people were arrogant, and they became reliant on self and not on God, and have
we not seen that to be a recipe for disaster, both for nations and families.
These
oppressors had the intent to get rich by seizing the land, “but God” had other
plans for their greed. The houses became
empty and the harvests were meager. Do
you remember when Ahab seized Naboth’s vineyard? We have the account in 1 Kings 21, where Ahab
played nice at first and all he wanted was the vineyard of Naboth in that it
was next to the palace of King Ahab and he wanted it for a vegetable
garden. One small problem, Naboth
understood that it was an inheritance from his father, and from his father’s
father, given to them by God. Do you
recall Ahab’s wife, she was one wicked woman, her name was Jezebel, and she was
totally into getting what she wanted at all times and at all cost? This is the plan she devised; “So she wrote letters in Ahab's name and sealed them with his seal,
and she sent the letters to the elders and the leaders who lived with Naboth in
his city. And she
wrote in the letters, “Proclaim a fast, and set Naboth at the head of the
people. And set two worthless men
opposite him, and let them bring a charge against him, saying, ‘You have cursed
God and the king.’ Then take him out and stone him to death.” And the men of his city, the elders and the leaders
who lived in his city, did as Jezebel had sent word to them.” (1 Kings 21:8-11) God is all knowing,
and sent Elijah to confront the king, and what does the king say to Elijah; “Ahab said to
Elijah, “So you have caught me, my enemy.” (1 Kings 21:20) We should never forget that when God’s word
is spoken, and it confronts the kings and presidents of this world, they have a
choice, to see them as my enemy, or to repent.
King Ahab repented, but you need to read the plans God had for Jezebel.
“There is a sufficiency
in the world for man’s need but not for man’s greed.” (Mahatma Gandhi)
From the Back Porch,
Bob Rice
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