The World Sends Envoys (Is. 28-40)
As I read through Isaiah again in my quiet time, the reality of friendship with the world being enmity with God hits me hard. The middle section of the book is full of evidence that God is for His people and is working behind the scenes to get them to realize He alone is God, to submit to His authority, to rely on His strength alone, but they continuously slip back into the now comfortable patterns they have known for so long. But first, let me back up just a bit. Chapters 28-30 hold much woe and many cautions about living like the world around us; even if they are directed at Ephraim and Jerusalem, we too can learn from them. God’s Word is faithful and true; hear these warnings: Viewing truth as stupidity: The “worldly” leaders of the time saw God’s words spoken through Isaiah as stupid and rejected God’s attempts to instruct them in the way they should walk, resulting in their coming destruction (Is. 28:9-13). Scoffing truth and delighting in delusion: Not only did they reject G