Isolated From the True God

Just imagine-Jehovah's covenant people have lapsed into apostasy!  They have turned their backs on their Maker, thus removing themselves from under his protective  hand.  Because of this, they are experiencing severe distress.  Do they perhaps blame Jehovah for their hard times? Isaiah tells them:  "Look! The hand of Jehovah has not become too short that it cannot save, nor has his ear become too heavy that it cannot hear.  No, but the very errors of you people have become the things causing division between you and your God, and your own sins have caused the concealing of his face from you to keep from hearing."-Isaiah 59:1, 2.

Those words are frank but true.  Jehovah is still  the God of salvation. as the "
Hearer of prayer," he listens to the prayers of his faithful servants.  (Psalm 65:2)  However, he does not bless wrongdoers.  The people themselves are responsible for their alienation from Jehovah.  Their own wickedness has led him to conceal his face from them.

The truth is, Judah has a terrible record.  Isaiah's prophecy lists some of the charges against them:  "Your own palms have become polluted with blood, and your fingers with error.  Your own lips have spoken falsehood. Your own tongue kept muttering sheer unrighteousness." (Isaiah 59:3)    The people lie and speak unrighteous things.  The reference to "palms . . .polluted with blood" indicates that some have even committed murder.  What a dishonor to God, whose Law not only prohibits  murder but also forbids 'hating your brother in your heart'!  (Leviticus 19:17)  The unbridled  sinfulness of the inhabitants of Judah and the inevitable outcome should remind each one of us today that we  need to control sinful thoughts and feelings.  Otherwise, we could end up committing wicked acts that would separate us from God. -Romans 12:9; Galatians 5:15; James 1:14, 15.

The disease of sin has infected the whole nations. The prophecy says:  "There is no one calling out in righteousness, and no one at all has gone to court in faithfulness. There has been a trusting in unreality, and a speaking of worthlessness.  There has been a conceiving of  trouble, and a bringing of what is hurtful to birth." (Isaiah 59:4)  No One is speaking righteousness. Even in courts of law, it is rare to find someone who is reliable or faithful.  Judah has turned her back on Jehovah and put her trust in alliances with nations, even in lifeless idols.  All of these are "unreality," of no value whatsoever.  (Isaiah 40:17, 23; 41:29) As a  result, there is much talk, but all of it is worthless. Plans are conceived, but they result in trouble and hurtfulness.

Unrighteousness and violence in Judah find a striking parallel in Christendom.  (See "Apostate Jerusalem-A Parallel of Christendom") Two vicious  world wars have been fought involving so-called Christian nations.  Down to the present, Christendom's form of religion has proved powerless to stop ethnic  cleansing  and inter tribal slaughter  among her own members.  (2 Timothy 3:5)  Although, Jesus taught his followers to trust in God's Kingdom, the nations of Christendom continue to rely for security on military arsenals and political alliances (Matthew 6:10 ) Indeed, most of the world's  major arms producers  are found in the nations  of Christendom!   Yes, when Christendom trusts in human efforts and institutions for a secure future, she too is trusting in "unreality."  

Next time: Reaping Bitter Fruit

From the Book Isaiah's Prophecy Light for all Mankind, Volume II, 2001