1: The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.
2: Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the LORD hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me.
3: The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master’s crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider.
4: Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the LORD, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward.
5: Why should ye be stricken any more? ye will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint.
6: From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment.
7: Your country is desolate, your cities are burned with fire: your land, strangers devour it in your presence, and it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers.
8: And the daughter of Zion is left as a cottage in a vineyard, as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers, as a besieged city.
9: Except the LORD of hosts had left unto us a very small remnant, we should have been as Sodom, and we should have been like unto Gomorrah.
1 Isaiah prophesied under (4) kings, Uzziah when he died (Isa.6:1), Jotham; the son of Uzziah reign 16 years and he died, Ahaz who reigned 16 years and he died and Hezekiah who reigned 29 years and he died. Isaiah is at this time prophesying under the second king Jotham when he wrote these words. I would not have been written except Jotham did not enter the house of the Lord for worship. He wanted to do the right thing in bring the people to God. He however did not worship the Lord God. We cannot just talk the talk; we need to walk the walk. Then there is Hezekiah who was a king that walked right before the Lord. In all the four kings Isaiah preached a total of 61 years. He could only do this by not taking God for granted.
2 Isaiah at the command of God calls the heavens and the earth to attend to hear and give ear to the accusations that God has against the children of Israel. They are His because He is the One that brought them out of bondage, that took care of them, preserved them from all that would hurt harm and devour them. He who has been by their side through thick and through thin. He who through His love , care and compassion birthed a nation that was no nation and He therefor has the right to refer to them an His own. This is the accusation : I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me. This is not unlike what we have in our society today. We bare children, care for them with loving care, give them food to nourish their bodies and provide for them the best that the Lord will allow and what rewards do we expect? We expect our children to grow up strong and to become successful in their own right and many times this happens; however on the other hand it is totally the opposite. Our little ones learn to rebel. Yes the start to rebel as soon as they are able to make the smallest decisions. As an infant when they are hungry they eat what we give them to eat. As they grow to 7 or 8 months old they start to take the food and spit it out, to turn their precious little heads away as we try to feed them. They further rebel when they become toddlers. We instruct them to not climb on tables and when we are not looking they attempt to climb on the tables. We tell them to play in the yard and before we know it they are playing in the neighbors yard or in the street. And through out the teenage years we find that there are curfews broken, chores done when it is convient for them and not when it should be done, and later in life the teaching that have been put into them through the word of God get pushed aside for the life that the world has to offer. All of this is nothing but rebellion and God takes notice of it. God is therfore competent and just and fair when He says that His children have rebelled. The people have taken God for granted.
3 This rebellion has left a many parents asking the question : where did we go wrong? God is asking the same question in verse three “The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master’s crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider”. The animals that God has given man dominion over know who their owners is. They will come when he calls and dwell in the place that is prepared for them and yet the people of God act as if they do not know God or even consider that there is a God. They have said in their hearts “2Pt:3:4: And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.” God won’t do anything in my lifetime. I have got all the time in the world. I want to let you know my brothers and sisters that time is running out “Rv:10:6: And sware by him that liveth for ever and ever, who created heaven, and the things that therein are, and the earth, and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the things which are therein, that there should be time no longer:” Many are the people of God that do not even consider that there is a God. They take God for granted.
4 : Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the LORD, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward.
God mentions 7 things through His prophet that His people were doing: sin, heavy wickedness, doing evil and growing more and more evil, corrupters taking that which is good and turning it bad, leaving God for the world system, doing things with knowledge it is against the laws of God and causing God to become angry, going backward instead of forward.
5 Why should ye be stricken any more? ye will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. The answer to this question is found in the answer that “ many say whatever happens happens”. The devil “Jn:12:40: He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them.” They see what is happening to them and yet continue as if there is nothing wrong with them. It is sad to see those who have forsaken the Lord to a point that they are near death and continue to live as if there is on God. They revolt more and more, because the whole head is sick and the heart faint or weak.
6: From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment. Not just the head but the whole body, with open sores that have not been healed.
7: Your country is desolate, your cities are burned with fire: your land, strangers devour it in your presence, and it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers. That which we have been give by God we allow strangers to take it away in our presence.
8: And the daughter of Zion is left as a cottage in a vineyard, as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers, as a besieged city. In the end we are left as a little shack in a cucumber field, a miserable condition.
9 Except the LORD of hosts had left unto us a very small remnant, we should have been as Sodom, and we should have been like unto Gomorrah. The Lord God is merciful to leave a small remnant,
a remnant that are leaning and depending upon Him,
a remnant that want and desire to serve Him,
a remnant that have made the Lord God their choice,
a remnant that love the Lord with their whole heart , soul mind and strength
a remnant that have made up their mind to live for almighty God
a remnant that know the Jesus is the way to Almighty God
a remnant that won’t take God for granted
