For wickedness burns like a fire; it consumes briers 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. Isaiah 9:18‭-‬21 ESV ¶Manasseh and Ephraim, like two arms, left and right, each opposing the other, never realize they arre devouring themselves. Each is separate and different, not so they can war against each other, but so they can complement each other. All the while, the real enemy, Assyria, is crouching ready to deliver God's judgement.

For the look on their faces bears witness against them; they proclaim their sin like Sodom; they do not hide it. Woe to them! For they have brought evil on themselves. Isaiah 3:9 ESV ¶Isaiah saw through it: the false fronts. What can be done when the look on your face, the tone of your voice, is wrong, when its inappropriate, when a demeanor is adopted that, though it may be right for the situation, is false? Our countenance improves, becoming even glorious, when we by the Spirit gaze into God's word (2 Cor 3:15-18). Peter describes a way of life, when we receive and live by His "precious promises", that we become partakers of the divine nature (2 Pe 1:4). The characteristics of God’s nature become my own through His creating work in me.

For behold, the Lord God of hosts is taking away from Jerusalem and from Judah support and supply, all support of bread, and all support of water; the mighty man and the soldier, the judge and the prophet, the diviner and the elder, the captain of fifty and the man of rank, the counselor and the skillful magician and the expert in charms. And I will make boys their princes, and infants shall rule over them. And the people will oppress one another, every one his fellow and every one his neighbor; the youth will be insolent to the elder, and the despised to the honorable. Isaiah 3:1‭-‬5 ESV ¶Ever the astute observer, Isaiah notices what happens when the powerful abdicate their responsibility to serve God and their people, and instead serve only themselves. Chaos, the chaos of inexperienced youth, eventually emerges to replace it. The rulers may change, but the people remain oppressed. Jesus's double revolution, on the other hand, not only addresses abuses of power, but...

It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be lifted up above the hills; and all the nations shall flow to it, And the haughtiness of man shall be humbled, and the lofty pride of men shall be brought low, and the Lord alone will be exalted in that day. And the idols shall utterly pass away. And people shall enter the caves of the rocks and the holes of the ground, from before the terror of the Lord , and from the splendor of his majesty, when he rises to terrify the earth. Isaiah 2:2‭, ‬17‭-‬19 ESV   ¶The heights were places of physical advantage, being able to see and defend in all directions. One might hide in caves out of fear, but one occupies the high places out of confidence, not to cringe but to dominate. Is our confidence in seeing clearly, or in hiding? Setting up on the heights also means becoming a target. Living on higher ground means being active, n...

The Lord reigns, let the earth rejoice; let the many coastlands be glad! Clouds and thick darkness are all around him; righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne. Fire goes before him and burns up his adversaries all around. His lightnings light up the world; the earth sees and trembles. The mountains melt like wax before the Lord , before the Lord of all the earth. The heavens proclaim his righteousness, and all the peoples see his glory. All worshipers of images are put to shame, who make their boast in worthless idols; worship him, all you gods! Zion hears and is glad, and the daughters of Judah rejoice, because of your judgments, O Lord . For you, O Lord , are most high over all the earth; you are exalted far above all gods. Light is sown for the righteous, and joy for the upright in heart. Psalm 97:1‭-‬9‭, ‬11 ESV ¶If we were to come into the presence of a great and powerful person, we might be excited, even joyous at the opportunity, but we might als...

Now concerning food offered to idols: we know that "all of us possess knowledge." This "knowledge" puffs up, but love builds up. If anyone imagines that he knows something, he does not yet know as he ought to know. But if anyone loves God, he is known by God. 1 Corinthians 8:1‭-‬3 ESV ¶It is not in loving that we become puffed up, but in the incessant searching for more knowledge thereabout. What we try to gain by seeking knowledge can only be found by faith. It is like what puffeth up the leavened bread with nothing but air. What God offers is unleavened, not puffed up, full of nutrition, available immediately and without adornment.

The Lord reigns; he is robed in majesty; the Lord is robed; he has put on strength as his belt. Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved. Your throne is established from of old; you are from everlasting. Psalm 93:1‭-‬2 ESV ¶We are able to observe, measure, predict, and put to use the world around us because of the One who established and maintains it. He is enthroned above it. To get things done, all of us assume the rules that govern the world around us to be stable ("established", as the Psalm says), but how many of us stop to wonder: "why?". At whatever level we look, there are rules, code, the sustaining Word of God commanding: "Fiat! (Let there be!)" Scripture tells us that in the beginning was the Logos (Word), when spoken, that separated light from darkness, being from nothingness, the original on/off signal, the first great digital divide. Apart from Logos, nothing was made that has been made. Our experience of the world...