Isaiah - Verse By Verse

Isaiah - Day 64

versebyverse | July 30, 2008 18:13

Scripture:  Isaiah 3:11 (NIV):  "Woe to the wicked!  Disaster is upon them!  They will be paid back for what their hands have done."

Thought:  To me, it would be good to truly understand the "disaster" coming to the "wicked."  It would awaken many to the truth in store.

Question:  Am I of the "wicked" or the "righteous" ones?

Often in Scripture we see the "righteous contrasted with the "wicked."  This is especially evident in the book of Proverbs and Psalms.  To me, the purpose of these contrasted verses, wherever they appear, is to cause us to question our own status before God.

Who are the "wicked"?  To me they are anyone who rejects Jesus Christ as God in the flesh.  Normally we think of heinous sins as depicting the wicked, but, to me, the greatest wickedness, far exceeding murder, adultery, thievery, etc., is to decide that Christ cannot save your soul, or that He never really existed, or that He is not the Son of God (God incarnate), or an eternal being equal with God the Father, or that what is recorded about Him in the Scriptures is not true, including His own words, or to twist or change His words.  Complete unbelief about Him, as He is revealed in the Bible, and rejection of His offers of forgiveness and cleansing from sin, are the most wicked sins of all.  For the Father to extend Himself to us through His Son is the greatest act of love ever; and to have that act snubbed or minimized or changed in any way is the heighth of evil.      

To the "wicked" we see the curse of "woe."  Certainly a dreadful, woeful curse is deserved for someone who slaps God in the face so clearly as to reject His Son.  Webster defines woe as:  "a condition of deep suffering from misfortune, affliction, or grief."  Would anyone want to be found in the shoes of the "wicked", standing before God?  His Day to them will truly be a day of "disaster"!

"They will be paid back for what their hands have done."  What have their "hands" done?  Their hands have acted in every aspect of living out what they believe in their heart and soul.  What do they believe?  They have chosen to believe in any number of false "gods".  (See many previous verses in Isaiah to find acts of idolatry, injustice, pride, oppression of others, etc.)  Here is another evidence of the biblical truth, "you will reap what you sow."  Given time to work out, this saying is fundamentally true always.  Oh, that we would live with this truth in mind!

Prayer:  Lord God, help me to respond to Your warnings.  Cause me to face any unbelief I may have.  Help me to think about what I sow.  Do not let me live in denial regarding future judgments.  And may I ever accept and cling to Jesus Christ, Your Son!  Amen.   

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