Isaiah 9:1-10:4, Pardon the Interruption

The Gloom of Judgment in Isaiah 8 and the Promise of Light

Hear the word of the Lord. But there will be no gloom for her who was in anguish. In the former time. He brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali. But in the latter time he has made glorious the way of the sea the land beyond the Jordan the Galilee of the nations.

The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. Those who dwelt in the land of deep darkness on them Has light shined. You have multiplied the nation you have increased its joy. They rejoice before you as with joy at the harvest as they are glad when they divide the spoil.

For the yoke of his burden and the staff of it for his shoulder the rod of his oppressor. You have broken as on the day of Midian. For every boot of the trampling warrior in battle tumult and every garment rolled in blood will be burned as fuel for the fire.

For to us a Child is born to us a son is given and the government shall be upon his shoulder and his name shall be called wonderful counselor mighty God everlasting father Prince of peace of the increase of his government and of peace.

There will be no end on the throne of David and over his kingdom to establish it and to uphold it with justice. And with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.

The Lord has sent a word against Jacob and it will fall on Israel and All the people will know Ephraim and the inhabitants of Samaria who say in pride and in arrogance of heart. The bricks have fallen but we will rebuild with dress stones.

The sycamores have been cut down, but we will put cedars in their place. But the Lord raises the adversaries of resin against him. This and stirs up his enemies. The Syrians on the east and the Philistines on the west devour Israel with open mouth.

For all this his anger has not turned away and his hand is stretched out still. The people did not turn to him who struck them nor inquire the Lord of hosts so the Lord cut off from Israel head and tail palm branch and read and one day the elder and Honored man is the head.

The prophet who teaches lies is the tail. For those who guide this people have been leading them astray and those who are guided by them are swallowed up. Therefore the Lord does not rejoice over their young men and has no compassion on their fatherless and widows.

For everyone is godless and an evildoer and every mouth speaks folly for all this. His anger has not turned away and his hand is stretched out still. For wickedness burns like a fire it consumes briars and thorns.

It kindles the thickets of the forest and they roll upward in a column of smoke through the wrath of the Lord of hosts. The Land is scorched and the people are like fuel for the fire. No one spares another.

They slice meat on the right. But are still hungry. And they devour on the left, but are not satisfied. Each devours the flesh of his own arm. Manasseh devours Ephraim and Ephraim devours Manasseh together.

They are against Judah. For all this his anger has not turned away and his hand is stretched out still. Woe to those who decree iniquitous decrees and the writers who keep writing oppression to turn aside the needy from justice and to rob the poor of my people of their right.

That widows may be their spoil and They may and that they may make their fatherless their their prey. What will you do on the day of punishment and the ruin that will come from afar? To whom will you flee for help?

The Christmas Interruption and the Break from the Grind

And where will you leave your wealth? Nothing remains but to crouch among the prisoners or fall among the slain. For all this his anger has not turned away and his hand is stretched out still. Well, are you looking forward to a Christmas break?

Especially you teachers and students. Probably all of us are you know, sometimes sometimes interruptions breaks are Rude and unwelcome. So a polite person will say pardon the interruption, but sometimes they are we welcome an interruption.

I'm part of the appeal of Christmas. I think is the break. It's an interruption in the daily grind. The normal routine that's been wearing us down now near the end of the year. Another part of the appeal of Christmas, of course are the gifts but unless your children.

You have to reciprocate, you know, you know, we can't expect just to get gifts. We have to give them right and so you know, so pardon the interruption and all the happy Christmas talk we might want to break from the grind of Christmas shopping because it can be hard to know what to get for someone the gift-giving routine itself.

Becomes a grind doesn't it? Maybe not for you. I don't know but. So it seems seems to me though. I just kind of sense it that by December 26 There's a sense and maybe no one wants to say it out loud. But there's this kind of a feeling that we're looking forward to a break from Christmas.

You know to New Year's you can kind of eat out and spend some of that extra money. Maybe we got for Christmas and then we might then we might not want to admit it. But there's been all this Christmas talk and all this New Year's stuff and everything's been so uncertain.

We're secretly looking forward To getting back to the routine back to that, you know comfortable familiar daily life. You might not think it's coming now, but wait until that last week of the year, you know, you've had your break.

Oh, let's get back to normal. Of course, that's if normal Is nice this fairly fairly pleasant. What if normal was this horrendous and torturous? Captivity of affliction perhaps one of my favorite Christmas movies if you want to call it that sort of a Christmas movie is one.

Yeah, I don't. I don't seem like it. It seemed like you see it as much as you used to but It's Stalag 17 and when Steve Stalag 17. Yeah. Yes, it's about American prisoners of war and World War two in Germany around Christmas time.

What do you think Christmas was like for American prisoners in in 1944? Well, it was a break sort of is illustrated by this movie. It was an interruption in their daily grind of Deprivation they got some gifts from outside.

Even if they were just ping-pong balls. But they came in handy by the way. They had some extra rations and they were even able to throw a party. Even if it's just the same old guys, you know, you live with and your barracks the prisoners barracks.

But they could sing Christmas carols and get a break even for two prisoners a breakout. Well here in Isaiah 9. I didn't give away anything if you see what if you haven't seen the movie. I really haven't given it away because you'll never guess who the two prisoners are who break out.

Anyway here in Isaiah 2 and into chapter 10. We see a break an interruption in the normal torturous grind and then is breaks usually do. They come to an end. This inner this interruption and all this talk about judgment this interruption ends and we're back to the grind of Judgment and we see that here in two major parts first the interruption and then the determination.

First of all, there's the interruption and we looked at that in some depth last week. It flows out of the gloom that was before it. Chapter 8 was a gloomy chapter and it just flows right into chapter 9.

But chapter 8 filled with predictions of afflictions and a misery this is gonna be a flood compares it to like a river and flood stage a flood of Distresses that will sweep many of them away and it will come right up to the necks of the remnant that will return.

Even they though come almost swept away. There's hunger. There's rage. There's contempt. There's deep darkness. There's the gloom of anguish. But that's chapter 8 but then comes chapter 9 verses 1 to 7 in interruption.

Interruption that doesn't need to be pardoned. So it's a marvelous light gloom is Replaced by glory all because of the Sun who was given. Well part of Israel remember the context here part of Israel Galilee up there by the Lake of Galilee is suffering Degradation contempt because now at this time as a is writing it is occupied by the Gentiles.

The Assyrian Empire has basically sent their army in there and they have annexed it. So they are walking in darkness. But he says they have seen a past tense perfect tense to be technical. But it's as if it's already done a great light.

The Lord has already made them glorious Glory for gloom even though it really hasn't happened in their experience yet. So so far they haven't really seen it yet. But Isaiah speaks of it as if they had but the certainty of that coming interruption that the glory for gloom relies not.

You know kind of on the unpredictable Free will of people to understand a big little distraction here, but there's this theological debate going on out there that since people have free will and since there's so many of us and we're all Complex and it's like, you know.

It's kind of like the weather of a butterfly flaps its wings in the Amazon that throws off all the weather predictions. And so it's just so complex. No one by the way speaking of weather just yesterday, you know, Friday.

I was driving Down up to Danville and the weather was on Friday morning and saying We might have some snow. It should maybe a little bit of accumulation just on the grassy areas, but it won't touch anything else.

Okay. Totally and they were and then on the way back from here that evening. Where there was I'd going 10 miles an hour on 86 because there was snow on the road and people were just you know. There was a couple cars in the ditch had gone off.

They were playing the same weather prediction. Even though we were basically in the middle of blizzard, but that just because the weather is so complex. People can't predict it and there's this theological debate going out there.

That is the same way with the choices people make people and themselves are complex. And then there's so many of us and we interact with each other it's just so complex and God has to allow free will and so even God can't know what's coming in the future because as He has to allow us the free will to do what people want to do.

And that's called open theism. I like to call it mini theism. It's because it's like makes a mini God, but there's that out there. It's just so calm, but he can't know but here you see. Hey, he you could say predict.

He doesn't even just predict does he what's gonna happen? Isaiah writing about the year 700 BC. He doesn't just predict it he He decrees it will happen. He talks of it as if it has already happened. So it's not just a prediction based on expected trends, you know for another example.

Well, I will skip that example, but I Imagine then the complexity of being able to predict how history would unfold. With you know all the competing empires all the individuals all their own internal politics and all the way they interact with each other and then the battles got To be fought and predict how things would come out in about 700 years from an Isaiah's writing but but this that there would be an interruption in the gloom is so certain it's spoken of as if already done.

Because this isn't just a prediction of how things gonna might turn out if trends continue. It's not like a long-range weather forecast. This is the decree of the Lord for whom history is his story so the decree issued in eternity past is So ironclad it means that what he declares is spoken of as if already done even before it comes out as displayed in history and That decree is that the land that is currently as Isaiah writes in darkness Galilee occupied by these Gentiles.

That that nation the nation of it well. Well that Galilee will see a great light that Israel at this time, which is just diminishing. It's being besieged from all sides attacked seems to be shrinking.

Literally, it is shrinking because enemies are taking land away from it. It's it's spoken of in earlier chapter chapter 7. It'll it'll dwindle so small that you could feed the whole thing with one cow and a couple of sheep.

But he says here that it is now Increasing although it's not yet in their experience increasing but it's going to be increasing. It'll it will finally become that company of peoples that Isaac blessed the original Israel Jacob to be Gathering of people from all nations.

It will no longer be gloomy but glad in verse 3. Yeah, no longer gloomy but glad and they'll have spoil that they will divide notice that the given spoil. There will be what's the Christmas Carol? Joyful and triumphant.

They they are declared that they are that already even before they become that so now no longer will they be conquered spoil taken from them. Remember earlier one of us the second son is. You like you got to love that name.

May hair shall I'll hash bass. Spoil hastens, how's the rest go? But they are they are gonna be spoiled by enemies. But now no longer that now they're gonna be no longer conquered but more than conquerors dividing the spoil because as Paul says in first Corinthians 3 all things are yours and this is because of the interruption in judgment because as in chapter 8 we were in gloom.

We mourned in lonely exile here and tell the Son of God up here, but then There's the interruption. You don't need you don't need to pardon. This interruption. Well, it's very welcome the Messiah who fulfills this promise.

He has set us free. In verse like in verse 4 chapter 9 verse 4. He's broken the yoke of our former bondage. Broken the slavery of our sins. Jesus said in John chapter 8 verse 34 that everyone who commits sin and That's everyone.

Okay is a slave of sin. So that's the that's the captivity. We're under sin had a yoke on us. It controlled us even if we wanted to do good which left to ourselves. We don't really do that. Well, even if we did we couldn't do it because our master sin wouldn't allow us it had power over us.

But there was an interruption. There was a welcome break. The Sun set us free and he said if the Sun sets you free. You will be free indeed. So in verse 5 the weapons formed against us the military hardware literally serious.

It's not gonna work. The lies the pornography on the internet that tempts us the bad relationships the greed for stuff That tries to consume our Christmas. The sin that clings so closely all the all the enemies Against us will eventually be burned up and God's judging fire and all this in verse 6 because To us a child is born to us a son who will set us free is Given Again Again a son, you know, there's been a lot about sons and in these first nine chapters of Isaiah Isaiah had two sons who were signs.

One son is a sign that Emmanuel to say in Hebrew God is with us. Remember Isaiah tells the king of Judah a has When they were threatened remember that they were so seized with fear says their hearts shook like a trees shake in the storm.

He tells them, you know a has asked for a sign. God will give you a sign. No matter how supernatural whatever you ask for son could stand still whatever you want and he declines he says no things. He doesn't want a sign.

And so God provides the sign of his choosing a son Will be born of a virgin and he will be Emmanuel literally God with us now, it's significant. To whom this sign was was offered To a has King a has he's not a big character in the Bible, but there's one interesting thing about a has.

A has of all people is is given a a son as a sign. You see a has Burned his own son in the fire as a human sacrifice. That's a heads Second Kings chapter 16 verse 3 it just sounds appalled you can listen to this verse.

He he that's hey a has. Even how can you he was this bad? It says he's one of them. He was one of the bad Kings. He did not go the way of David and he even burned his son as an offering according to the despicable Practices of the nations whom the Lord drove out before the people of Israel.

I was he's with those Canaanites. He's like them. We don't know now when he did this. I would guess he did it after this time after Isaiah talks to him because Isaiah doesn't rebuke him for it. You would think he would but a has was the kind of father think about who a has was.

That he was given a son as a sign. He was the kind of father Who would kill his own son if he thought it would help him give him an advantage. That's why These people with a has as their King. They deserve the distress and the hunger and the rage and the darkness and the gloom that they get in chapter 8.

But there is an interruption for to us a child is born to us a son is. It's given. Do you notice that? The son is given. He's not earned. He's not he's not a Christmas gift. You know, we get if we've been nice.

He's checking his list. And not naughty. He's not the Lord's part in the kind of reciprocal relationship. We have you know, we get him what he wants. Maybe that iPhone 10. Well, maybe he didn't want that.

Maybe once our ties. Maybe once our us to be baptized. Maybe once our church attendance. And he returns the favor after we've given him what he wants by getting us a son. No, that's not what happens. That's not the kind of relationship we have with him.

He's Given he's been given already. He did it first. That's the basis of our relationship with the Lord. Our covenant with God begins by him giving the son. To interrupt our our bondage to sin to break through the thick darkness that we were in.

In the interruption, we have marvelous light to bring us from gloom to glory. It begins by him giving the son. He loved us first. Not our earning this time not our exchanging gifts. We are given the son that we might get a break and be set free and be free indeed.

That's not to say if some teach today that now that we're free. We're free to sin. You know, we had the yoke of sin on us and that's been broken and now. We don't got to take his yoke, you know, he's kind of give it's an option take my yoke on you.

But we can say no thing we don't we want that in. No, we're some say we're free to indulge the flesh. We're free to watch all the porn. We want free to slander anyone. We want you know slander without bothering and check facts.

Free to blow off Church free to chase dollars or skirts. And claim that we're well, I'm saved by grace. I'm going to heaven because the this I have this. You know having the Sun is my king as my lord.

That's just an optional extra that I'm choosing not to do right now. But the Sun that we are given is the one who has who is he in this passage he has the government. On his shoulder. I was if he's been given to us.

He's been given to us to rule over us to sit on the throne of our heart and Extend his rule over our lives forever. He is a wonderful counselor. He's unlike the kinds of counselors, you know, the people were chasing after here.

In chapter 8 remember the the necromancers the psychics the mediums the dead. They're having seances and seeing what the old dear departed grandpa has to say about this. Whatever they need today seeking the people seeking the counsel of the stars astrology.

Reports are that astrology is becoming more popular. That this is you know, they say this is a time of uncertainty. Everything looks on. Unstable people are perplexed. They're confused. And so they're looking to astrology for counsel.

What an amazing thing that is, you know with all our scientific knowledge, you know, we know now we known this for a while but we Astrology didn't know it when it came about that the soak that the so-called stars that astrology.

Used to think where the wine you know, why do some of those stars move and some most of the rest of them mistake. Well, because we know they're planets. They're not stars at all. It's just a basic kind of you know, that's you learn that elementary school.

It's a basic fact. Well our advanced knowledge. Yet people are still turning to superstitions that are based on complete ignorance of the cosmos instead of turning to the Lord Who created the stars? But the Sun will be a.

He'll be a wonderful counselor he is and he is that to us now. He is that to us through his word gives us counsel through the Bible. He gives that through his church through through his body through the Holy Spirit.

Jesus called him the Holy Spirit the other counselor of the same kind. That he promised to leave us. He is also the mighty God. That's interesting. Christ Jesus he is. The mighty God you wouldn't say that about any person on Isaiah's day, but that's what he says about the one who interrupted The judgment he's the mighty God.

He's not just a man. He's not like the world that. People like King Ahaz were impressed by. Ahaz was so impressed by the pagan altars of the Assyrians. You know He didn't think the whole temple thing in Jerusalem that the Lord set up that didn't look as good as what the world had the Assyrians had and so he He sent a description of one with Assyrian altars to his people back in Jerusalem said build one like that.

You know He was impressed by that not by the mighty God like people today are so impressed by what the world can do with the right music with the lighting with The videos with the crowd manipulation and so they designed a church around that but we should be impressed by a mighty God.

By the power of salvation. That's in his gospel. And the son won't be a mighty God and the everlasting father he'll be a father very much unlike Ahaz who gives he'll be a father this Wonderful counselor this mighty God several lasting father who gives himself for his children rather than a Selfish father like Ahaz who sacrificed their children for themselves.

He has literally sacrifices son in the fire maybe today. Parents sacrifice their children on the altars of their careers because I got to make more money. That's what matters to them. So they'll let the let the TV raise the kids or on the Sacrifice their kids on the altar of their own lust because they got to have that they got to have that new honey.

She just looks too good rather than being faithful to the wife and the children that he had with her. So this son is a father who lasts forever he's everlasting and he is the Prince of Peace. Unlike a has whose decisions brought war.

You know a has thought it was a good idea to bring the Assyrians in to that area To get rid of Israel and of course the long-term result of that was the Assyrians brought oppression and eventually attacked Judah.

It was war it was desolation. This son Who was given? Will bring peace. He'll bring restoration tranquility Reconciliation first with God as he appeases the wrath of God by taking the punishments that our sins deserve and then Peace with other people as he shall from you know, remember chapter 2 talking about.

Well there were the Lord will arbitrate our disputes the resolve it says the conflicts for many people. So that you know, we'll be able to turn our our weapons into gardening tools. We won't need weapons anymore.

We're not there yet. Okay, we're not there yet, but The Sun has already been given and that's what Christmas is about that. The edict was declared an eternity past. And it came into history about 2 ,000 years ago and It and now the one with the government on his shoulders.

Now he must reign until he puts all his enemies. In other words all the reasons that we still do need guns and police and armies he puts all the temptations all the sins that cling so closely and He will put finally even death itself under his feet and We can be sure of that because he has decreed it from eternity past and he says in verse 7 He is zealous.

He's passionately Committed he is absolutely determined to bring it about. So that's what he interrupted the gloomy dark record of history with on that first Christmas a Sun was given To us who were slaves in darkness.

He gave us a break and to break out from that and That's what he's zealous to do. Well now some people don't universalist imagine that everyone gets a break you know a permanent break, you know, there's there's peace and goodwill toward men.

A Misquoting, you know the angels who appeared to the shepherds on that first Christmas. The angels actually said in Luke chapter 2 verse 14 glory to God in the highest and on earth peace. Among those with whom he God is pleased.

But what about for the others? What about for those? He's not pleased. And we've seen in verse 1 here back in Isaiah 9 that that some who were past tense in anguish in the former times. Who experienced in those former times contempt and degradation, you know, like the prodigal son who has to eat with the pigs?

Some get a break they get a permanent break an interruption in the judgment and they go from gloom to glory some but not all. For others now, they might get they might get a short break. They might get an eruption in their gloom This world and Maybe all the interruption they ever get the pleasures that it has.

They might get they might get Ping-pong balls a little extra meat maybe in their rations a Little cheer as they hear the good news that a son was born for someone but then sadly For some of those For the unrepentant for those who won't receive the gift of the son who was given.

It's back to the grind of judgment. There was an interruption. Now there's a determination and we see that determination expressed in four sections from chapter 9 verse 8 to chapter 10 verse 4 God is determined to continue the gloom of four kinds of people first the arrogant second the godless.

Even the respectable kind of godless you have a form of religion and third the wicked and finally the unjust. Now first the Lord has it says in chapter in verse 8 the Lord has sent a word. Notice that he sent the word already He has past tense issued it.

It is against He says against Jacob and it will future fall on Israel so Isaiah as he writes this is now between the time the order the word the decree has been issued and The time that it will fall on them.

It will manifest itself. It will come out in there in life and It is against he says against Jacob against the Israel. That is it? Really Israel. The Prophet Hosea said about the same time that Isaiah was alive Hosea up in the north of Israel.

He said that this Israel is Not my people he too had He too had a son who was a sign and he too gave him a name To show what he was and then he named the son not my people. Now Paul wrote in Romans 2 that no one is a Jew who is one that merely merely Outwardly based on the words on natural descent on On birth in Romans chapter 9 verse 6 He wrote that not everyone who is of Israel is of Israel the true Israel by faith.

Now some are I'll be an anti-semitic here because still today there are believing Jews who who received the son as the father's gift to them and they are our brothers and sisters, but but here in Isaiah the word the decree the Determination to continue judgment is is against this physical this merely outward Israel that doesn't believe and it will fall on them and it did.

When the Assyrians destroyed the northern kingdom of Israel in 721 BC taking away those ten tribes who have disappeared. I mean, they're gone. They've been gone for a long time. And then that word fell in 586 BC when the Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem and took Judah into exile but there was an interruption and That judgment in their captivity.

They were allowed to come back to Judah and the interruption was so that The Sun could be given now for those who rejected the Sun. The word fell on them in 8070 when the Romans destroyed Jerusalem. Slaughtered thousands and many others were just scattered all over the world now here back in Isaiah 9 They are between the issuing of the decree.

The word has gone out and the falling of it on them. But rather being humbled by the judgment. They've already experienced all that stuff in chapter 8 that the gloom and the anguish now they're being humbled by that.

They're arrogant. Notice how defiant they sound in verse 10, you know, sure the bricks have fallen. Those foreign armies have come in they've broken down our walls in our buildings, but they say we will rebuild with dress stones.

I'm gonna rebuild better than ever. The invaders have cut down our sycamore trees not to worry. We will read we will put cedars in their place. We're gonna replant and there'll be better trees than ever.

We're not worried. We'll rebuild better than ever. We're resilient. We're unbowed. We're unbroken and everybody cheers. They chant. We are Israel. We are Israel. We'll tough it out we can withstand anything.

It's bravado and it's exactly the kind of motivational talk. We hear a lot of in our culture particular in this country, you know a mass shooting a terrorist attack a disaster. Oh, it's not because we're being afflicted.

It's not because there's anything that we need to repent of. We're just this great Pure terrific nation. God loves us. And so we just chant we are stronger. We are America. We will rebuild we'll build better than ever even as our families and our society falls apart.

It's sheer defiant arrogance. Here the northern kingdom of Israel will ally they are allying with they have allied with the Syrians and They think that that will be their insurance policy against the us Syrians.

The current-day Israel, but I our Iraq I should say but Isaiah says that the Lord is raising up adversaries against resin. That's the king of Syria whom they've allied with he's raising up adversaries against them so he's gonna be replaced.

This man they put so much trust in this foreign king. The Lord the Prince of Peace is stirring up his enemies. He's provoking war against resin against Syria. So they're gonna be overturned. Because and he he's doing it because Israel trusted in them in Syria instead of the Lord and they'll find that what they trusted in in Place of the Lord is destroyed by the Lord's decree and Then they'll have Syrians on the east of them and Philistines on the west of them enemies on all sides.

Devouring them taking their land their cities one by one and yet. Even as they dwindle even they're being assaulted besieged from all sides. That still won't be enough to exhaust the Lord's wrath at them.

So he stretches out his hand as a sign of a military commander to attack. As long as the generals arm is stretched out. His army knows to continue the charge to not let up no break in the assault no interruption in the hostilities the signal is to strike them down and Then when they're in bait being invaded from all sides Syrians at ease Philistines of the West then.

Is he finally satisfied? As he exhausted his anger as he vented at all. It's his justice now. Finally after all the destruction and the punishment and death. Has it finally been appeased? No, he says for all this.

His anger has not turned away and his hand it's stretched out. Still there's no break. No interruption from the punishment. The Lord is ordering for them to experience. Well next are the godless now despite the Lord issuing the order punishment to follow them despite being surrounded on all sides by enemies.

Despite the money God not delivering the perfect life. Despite the romance the V relationship not protecting us from divorce. Despite science not being able to keep us alive forever. Despite the government not being able to give us everything we want or our favorite politician not being able to be.

Being able to deliver on all his promises the godless. They still won't repent. They'll still trust in those things. They still won't turn to the Lord that they still don't seek God for answers. They still aren't willing to live for him.

Oh, they may be respectable and even religious. They may be the leaders of the religion. They may be prophets like these people here. They may be the head or the tail of Israel. The Lord said he's cutting off the head and the tail.

The head is the elders the leaders of the people and was other was the government the esteemed people on TV who tell us How to live what to believe the tale of the prophets the preachers. Those called prophets who claim to have words from God say thus say of the Lord.

And are really just telling people what they want to hear. They are the tail is being wagged by the dog of public opinion. Cheery men with nice hair and a big smile telling everything you need to know about how to have your best life now.

Assuring you that you're saved. Because you went down an aisle way back when you were in kindergarten, even if you bear no fruit. Even if you won't submit to his government, you're all right. They'll tell you.

They're being wagged by what people demand. They tell them even as everything is falling apart. Now they should be guiding the people with the Word of God. But they teach the lies of motivational speaking about how the cross Shows how much you're worth.

It's all about you. Don't you know you're worth dying for that's what it's about. It's all about us and our happiness rather than the glory of God. Where we'll find our happiness. So he says in verse 17.

The Lord doesn't rejoice over their young men. He's a care for their poor and helpless. They're all godless. They're all chattering about nonsense. Positive mental attitude slogans to distract them from the reality of what the true God is doing to them.

So he lets their young men die in battle. He lets the homeless freeze to death in winter. He lets the sexually immoral be consumed by AIDS. The families keep falling apart and creating angry children who go shoot up schools while we respond with meaningless chance.

For all this this unrelenting judgment his anger is not turned away. He's still Furious his hand is stretched out. Still he's still signaling attack no break no interruption. Third the wicked burn and are burned.

Wickedness burns like fire. He says, you know, like one of those massive wildfires if you've seen the news this past week. It's consuming parts of Southern California. This arid land covered with dry brush set on fire and then is stoked higher and higher by the Scorching Santa Ana winds that come blowing in off the desert.