“I am Yahweh. I do not change. I am why Jacob’s descendants are not destroyed.” (Malachi 3: 6)
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Yahweh Heal our Land
Isaiah’s prophecy is applicable to us today. I’ll explain what I mean by examining a few verses in Isaiah chapter 1:
10 Hear the word of Yahweh, you rulers of Sodom; give ear to the instruction of our Elohim, you people of Gomorrah.
[The reference to Sodom and Gomorrah is metaphorical. Yahweh is talking about the people of Judah who were behaving like the people of Sodom and Gomorrah before Yahweh destroyed them and their cities about 1000 years earlier. More specifically, He is talking about Jewish people living in Jerusalem, because they had perverted Yahweh’s holy city.]
11 “What are your multiplied sacrifices to Me?”, says Yahweh. “I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of fed cattle; and I take no pleasure in the blood of bulls, lambs or goats. 12 When you come to appear before Me, who requires of you this trampling of My courts?”
13 “Bring your worthless offerings no longer, incense is an abomination to Me. New moon and sabbath, the calling of assemblies—I cannot endure iniquity and the solemn assembly. 14 I hate your new moon festivals and your appointed feasts, they have become a burden to Me; I am weary of bearing them. 15 So when you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide My eyes from you; yes, even though you multiply prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are covered with blood.”
16“Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your deeds from My sight. Cease to do evil, 17 learn to do good; seek justice, reprove the ruthless, defend the orphan, plead for the widow.”
18 “Come now, and let us reason together,” says Yahweh, “though your sins are as scarlet, they will be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they will be like wool.”
19 “If you consent and obey, you will eat the best of the land; 20 But if you refuse and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword.” Truly, the mouth of Yahweh has spoken.
Religiosity is Not the Solution
Yahweh was disgusted with every aspect of religion that the people of Judah practiced in front of Him. He wanted none of it.
It was as though the people of Judah thought that their religion made them special in Yahweh’s eyes and that practicing it pleased Him. Yahweh was telling them in no uncertain terms that their behavior revealed their true heart condition and disgusted Him.
To Yahweh, they were like the people of Sodom and Gomorrah, and their religious practices didn’t make things right.
Through Isaiah, Yahweh was telling the people of Judah that they needed to change their ways and do right. In other words, they needed to repent. They needed to turn and go in the opposite direction. If they continued to rebel against Him, Yahweh was telling them that He would bring calamity on them just as He had done to Sodom and Gomorrah.
Yahweh had similar problems with Judah’s brothers and sisters to the north, Israel, but Isaiah’s prophecy was not addressed to them. Yahweh used other prophets to speak to the Northern Kingdom. Israel rejected Yahweh’s warning, and the Assyrians destroyed their country and took them captive in about 722 BC.
When Isaiah started prophesying, Judah was prosperous. You could even say that their prosperity led them to behave in despicable ways. Through Isaiah, Yahweh was telling the people of Judah that He would make them destitute if they didn’t repent.
Isaiah started prophesying in about 790 BC while Uzziah was King of Judah. He continued prophesying through Kings Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah. Yahweh didn’t inflict the Babylonian captivity on Judah until about 200 years later in 586 BC.
The people of Judah had only themselves to blame. They had plenty of time to get things right, but they failed to take Yahweh seriously. Yahweh had no choice but to follow through with what He told the people of Judah He would do.
The United States Today
The United States today is like Judah during that time. We are prosperous, but we have turned against Yahweh. We think our prosperity can protect us, but we are wrong now just like Judah was then. As a nation, we are oblivious to our condition.
We need to repent. If we don’t, Yahweh will punish us the same way He punished Judah, and we will have no one to blame but ourselves.
Some will argue foolishly that Yahweh is not concerned about and involved in the affairs of nations today the way He was then. Yahweh always has been involved in the affairs of nations, and He always will be.
With that thought in mind, consider this promise from Yahweh:
“If My people who are called by My Name will humble themselves, pray, seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will heal their land.” (2 Chronicles 7:14)
That means Yahweh’s people are ultimately responsible for what happens to any country. If people who know Yahweh fail to humble themselves, pray, seek His face, and turn from their wicked ways, He will have no choice but to punish the entire nation.
We have a job to do. Let’s do it.
Some people reading this may think that President Trump is a disaster, that he is an embarrassment to the nation. I’m telling you flat out that that is not the case. He was put in place against all odds to reset this nation’s course. He’s doing it despite every imaginable obstacle that has been thrown in his path.
If we get onboard with President Trump, we will prosper. If we don’t, we won’t.
President Trump isn’t perfect, but he’s the man Yahweh elevated to the highest office in the land. He has been given a mission, and he’s pursuing it. In the process, he’s getting to know Yahweh. Hardship is waking him up to reality. Eventually, the president will understand that his success will be determined by his learning to lean on Yahweh.
We need to do the same thing. We need to lean on Yahweh and obey Him. The first order of business is to repent.
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“The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me. Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.” (John 17: 22-24)
