Readings for today: Isaiah 27-30
“Therefore hear the word of the Lord, you scoffers, who rule this people in Jerusalem! Because you have said, “We have made a covenant with death, and with Sheol we have an agreement, when the overwhelming whip passes through it will not come to us, for we have made lies our refuge, and in falsehood we have taken shelter…” (Isaiah 28:14-15)
What a time to be reading through Isaiah! To reflect on his words as he spoke to his people. There is much here that feels so familiar. Particularly as we think about where we find ourselves in this cultural moment. We too have made a covenant with death. Abortion. Suicide. Addiction. Violence. Depression. Riots. Police brutality. Racism. Classism. COVID-19. The symptoms are legion and they are further complicated by the lies we tell ourselves. The deliberate spin and falsehoods in which we too take shelter. Our refusal to acknowledge our sin. Our refusal to take an honest look in the mirror. Our refusal to humble ourselves before God is extracting a terrible price. Suffering. Pain. Heartbreak. Grief. Loss. Thousands are dying. Thousands more losing businesses and homes. There is a tidal wave of mental health needs beginning to break on our shores. And the full cost of this time won’t be known for years to come as our children struggle to overcome the social and educational losses they’ve suffered during this time.
It’s a lot to take in and if we aren’t careful, we will quickly be overwhelmed. We simply are not strong enough to meet the demands of this moment. We are not wise enough to chart a path through the pain. Thankfully, God is sufficient for the needs of this hour. His grace is more than enough. His mercies are new every morning. His faithfulness is greater than we can ever hope for or imagine. Israel knew this, of course, but she had forgotten God in her pride. So Isaiah reminds them in the midst of their national crisis to look to God. To return to the Lord. To remember His promises. “Therefore thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I am the one who has laid as a foundation in Zion, a stone, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, of a sure foundation: ‘Whoever believes will not be in haste.’ And I will make justice the line, and righteousness the plumb line; and hail will sweep away the refuge of lies, and waters will overwhelm the shelter.” Then your covenant with death will be annulled, and your agreement with Sheol will not stand…” (Isaiah 28:16-18)
Only God can annul our covenant with death. Only God can overrule and override our agreement with the grave. Death is the righteous punishment for original sin. Death is the righteous wage we earn as we sin each and every day. Our hearts are corrupt. Our desires disordered. Our loves disoriented. Our souls confused. This is true for us both personally and corporately. Our culture is obsessed with death as well. We see reflected public policy. We see it reflected in the laws we pass. We see it alive and well in our political discourse. So much selfishness. So much greed. So much hate. So much shame. Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely which is why we can never lift ourselves out of this death spiral.
Friends, our only hope is to turn to Christ. To make Him our goal. To make Him our aim. To make Him the telos of our lives and the supreme treasure of our souls. Only by submitting ourselves to Christ is the covenant of death annulled and judgment of death lifted. For He Himself took our place. Bore our sin. Paid the price in full. It is finished. The wrath of God was turned away. The justice of God was satisfied. The power of sin broken. Death was defeated. And all of this is ours through Christ Jesus. He is the foundation God laid in Zion. The precious cornerstone on which the Kingdom of God is built. He was tested and remain true. He was shaken but remained sure. He is the only foundation on which we can build our lives, our nation, and our world.
Readings for tomorrow: Isaiah 31-35