January 23, 2025

GOD’S WORD FOR TODAY:

“Surely they are like stubble; the fire will burn them up. They cannot deliver themselves from the power of the flame. There will be no coals to warm them or fire to sit beside. This is what they are to you— those with whom you have labored and traded from youth— each one strays in his own direction; not one of them can save you.” (Isaiah 47.14-15)

REFLECTION ON GOD’S WORD:

Who are they who “are like stubble”? They are the ones who have been groomed by the favor of “the queen of Babylon.” They are also the ones who sought to please the queen in order to gain favor. As her prideful address of “there is none beside me” stands in stark contrast to God Almighty who declares the same for Himself, we are without doubt called to see the great conflict as it unfolds. God alone is sovereign and authority even over her. She is called to serve His will and His will shall be done. She exercises all possible avenues to gain advantage over citizens, nations, captives and by extension over God. This is a key element to understanding her depravity and all those who share her same mentality. That key is ” having knowledge of God but denying His existence and prominence.” If that sounds familiar to you, it should. This is the mantra of the Cast out Lucifer whose name is Satan the Accuser in all other realms. The fate of Lucifer, once an honored servant of God, will be the same for Babylon and those like her. There will be no matter of magic, illusion, subterfuge or vehement denial that will change the fate of those who not only fail to acknowledge the One True God but devote their existence to living contrary to the ways and thoughts of God. Isaiah will share the Word of God in this way,

“For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord.
“For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
So are My ways higher than your ways,
And My thoughts than your thoughts.“

(Isaiah 55.8-9)

God says that her final judgment will come by fire. The fire is twofold. First is the fire of “her passion.” She will consume all those who seek to curry her favor for their own existence. This must be a watchword to every person and every nation. The alliances that are sought to support and enhance one’s own position, especially when they prove untenable, are no more than dalliances. Dalliances amount to no more than “casual and sexual relations.” The words from the prophets speak of Israel’s unfaithfulness, as well as those of her enemies, in this fashion. The writing of Hosea is a great example of the power of this illustration as Gomer becomes the image of Israel. Hosea becomes the image of God in this illustration to show faithfulness and duty to redeem, reconcile and restore. The thrust of the “marriage relationship” between God and His people, indeed God and the whole of creation, is faithfulness and duty which are born out of love. It is not an Old Testament concept alone. It carries over into the New Testament with the Church being the Bride of Christ. The power of the New Testament image is that Jesus is the Christ and the image of God in the world. Hosea was a good man and yet he was still but a man. Jesus is the Christ, the son of God, the son of David in whom there is no fault or false pretense. As good as Hosea was, he was no Jesus. His faithfulness endures to all generations! He was above the fire of passion which leads to succumbing to temptation. Satan sought to seduce Jesus into becoming like him. Think of the three temptations: food, relationship and power. Their manifestations may take many forms but the function of them remains the same. Paul will speak of this in terms of lust, the unholy fire, which burns within the heart and mind of human beings. The word he uses is “porneia” from which we get the word “pornography.” Ezekiel speaks of the unspeakable things revealed to him in the dark recesses of the temple in which the profane leaders participated. The prohibition of “false sexuality” rises up mainly from this determination as the abomination of desolation within the temple as men sought favor from men and women from women and the prostitution of heart, mind, body and soul became the common substitute for right worship. (There may be a hint of this in the story of “The Woman at the Well” and “The Woman Caught in Adultery.” They were symbolic of a greater distortion in the right relationship between humanity and God.) Paul will say, “It is better to marry than to burn with passion since they cannot control themselves.” (1 Corinthians 7.9) What is the meaning of “control”? It is about submitting to the singularity of serving God, dying to the flesh but living in the spirit. It highlights the teaching of Jesus to the disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane preparing them for what was ahead, “Pray so that you will not enter into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” (Matthew 26.41)

What of the second fire? That fire is the judgment of the spirit by the Spirit. It is evidenced in the outpouring of the Spirit as Christ promised on the day of Pentecost. It will be further and more finally, the outpouring of the Spirit on the entire world to judge the heart, mind and soul of humanity. That fire will reduce all elements of life into essential matter as the farmer separates the wheat from the chaff and throws the chaff into the fire. More so, it is like the refiner who melts the mined ore to skim off the dross and be left with fine gold. Dross and chaff. How much of these are in our lives and burdening our spirit from soaring like one on the wings of an eagle? The fire of God measures us by our true intentions and the aligning of our lives’ work with those intentions. It is the fire of judgment which will come upon the whole world. What does Isaiah present in this matter? Verse 47.14 says “Surely they are like stubble; the fire will burn them up. They cannot deliver themselves from the power of the flame. There will be no coals to warm them or fire to sit beside.” The truth will be that they will desire the fire as it speaks to them of passion which for them is unbridled. But that fire will consume them. They will not be able to escape it. Yet it will leave them cold and wanting fire to warm them from the void and isolation of being without God (and sadly being with the knowledge that they are not a god.) There will be no coals. They will burn with desire and they will be cold to the truth. It is a picture of fire and ice. It is the reality of God’s judgment and the fate of those who will not submit to Him and abide by His will. Mighty ones of God, do not let that be you or us!

TODAY’S PRAYER IN RESPONSE TO GOD’S WORD:

Father, in these days we are finding the need to believe even more real than ever before. We all have known trouble, some in greater ways than others, but You are offering us the assurance that we will not be consumed by it forever. Regardless of the “time” we are in and the “time” we have been given, we ask for Your Holy Spirit which Jesus asked You to share with us, to lead and guide and direct us in the paths we should go. Teach us what we still need to learn. Empower us to put that learning into action. Bless our actions not as a works righteousness which we know is folly but righteous works which declare Your glory and further witness the truth that can set all who believe free from death. So may we live by the name of Jesus our Christ. AMEN.