January 8 - Isaiah 2

Isaiah 2:1-5 In the days of Isaiah, there were many known "mountains" where gods lived. Zeus lived on Mount Olympus and Baal on Mount Cassius (Oswalt, 89). But there will come a day when God's mountain will be "the" mountain and everyone will see it. God's people will rush towards it like a river to learn to walk in His ways and live life the way He meant it to be lived. And, there will be peace - where weapons will be turned into farming equipment. There is no need to fight anymore. In the last days, all of creation will finally see the truth...

Many people live their lives climbing a mountain. It can be a mountain of good works, a mountain of various religions, a mountain of success and wealth, a mountain of fun & pleasure... Each mountain is a way of life, a philosophy of life that will direct the way you live this life. Ooh, a lot of "life" in that last sentence. If those last days came this weekend, upon which mountain will you be? How do you know? Is God teaching you His ways and are you walking in His path?

[Isaiah 2:6 begins a section on the judgment of the LORD (to Isaiah 4)]
Isaiah 2:6-22 Main theme is about the arrogance of human beings when there is only one GOD. Verse 22 sums up this part:
"Stop trusting in man, who has but a breath in his nostrils. Of what account is he?" (NIV)

Sometimes trusting in human beings is easier than trusting in God. Human beings are all around us and sometimes we can be so brilliant and so cool. And, human beings are amazing. We are created in the image of God. Duh. But, sometimes we can get a little ahead of ourselves. Sometimes we have lofty thoughts of ourselves. We've mapped the human genome (the DNA project). We found cells that are so small they had to invent a new word to describe how small they are. We've mapped galaxies beyond our little earth. Gosh, we are amazing!
Yet, in a single moment - without the perfect balance of the atmosphere, oxygen, carbon, pressure, etc. - we would be gone. Who do we think we are? We create religions, philosophies, fame. We mock God openly and Christians are embarrassed to stand in His defense. Bill Maher speaks boldly and says that "Faith is the lack of critical thinking" - basically people who believe in God don't know how to think for themselves.... In other words - God-believers are stupid.

In the end, who will have the final say?
Think about it.

Who do we think we are?



References:
Oswalt, John N. The NIV Application Commentary: Isaiah, Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2003.