“For our offenses are many in your sight, and our sins testify against us. Our offenses are ever with us, and we acknowledge our iniquities: rebellion and treachery against the LORD, turning our backs on our God, fomenting oppression and revolt, uttering lies our hearts have conceived. So, justice is driven back, and righteousness stands at a distance; truth has stumbled in the streets, honesty cannot enter. Truth is nowhere to be found, and whoever shuns evil becomes a prey. Isaiah 59:12-15 (NIV)
There remains a deadly wound by neglecting the Word of Life. This treasure is given to us as our protection, our consolation, our encouragement, and our way to know the Way, the Truth and the Life. Nothing on earth compares to it. Indeed, it is alive and living and sharper than any double-edged sword. It penetrates to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow, and it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. To be sure, one who seriously reads Scripture will either be in the process of continually changing or they will quit reading the Bible because it is simply too convicting. And it is the whole of Scripture that makes a believer in Christ Jesus whole. We are not given the prerogative of picking and choosing what we want to believe or seeking to change what we do not like – that which does not appeal to our fleshly senses. We see in our passage for today that Truth (God’s Word) had stumbled in the streets and honesty was nowhere to be found. Sounds a lot like our day, Amen?
God has given us His Word as our guide for all of life. Indeed, God told Moses that these were not merely idle Words, they were to be their life. That’s a huge “Pay Attention” here! Remember, Jesus did not leave His children as orphans but gave us the Holy Spirit to be with us and this same Spirit within us enlightens the Word of God for us and to us so that we might be a changed people. Jesus never intended for the Scriptures to be neglected or changed. Indeed, in the Sermon on Mount He tell us in Matthew 5:17-18: “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.”
We are all in progress or else we would be home with the Lord. And God is forever working on our hearts conforming us into the image of His Son and His primary vehicle to do this is through Scripture. And we neglect it to our own harm and destruction. Remember, there can be no peace apart from obedience to God as presented plainly in His Word.
“Hear, O earth: I am bringing disaster on this people, the fruit of their schemes, because they have not listened to my words and have rejected my law.” Jeremiah 6:19 (NIV)