Thought from today’s Bible reading from Isaiah 31-34.
“‘You who are far away, hear what I have done; and you who are near, acknowledge My might.’ Sinners in Zion are terrified; trembling has seized the godless. ‘Who among us can live with the consuming fire? Who among us can live with continual burning?’
“He who walks righteously and speaks with sincerity, he who rejects unjust gain and shakes his hands so that they hold no bribe; he who stops his ears from hearing about bloodshed and shuts his eyes from looking upon evil; he will dwell on the heights, his refuge will be the impregnable rock; his bread will be given him, his water will be sure” (Isaiah 33:13-16).
Knowing that God is willing and able to render punishment to whom it is due, the question that naturally follows is this: Who can be spared from punishment? This passage shows us some of the characteristics one must have in order to avoid God’s wrath.
- Walk righteously – We must live according to God’s standard and do those things which He has instructed us to do.
- Speak with sincerity – To speak “with sincerity” means to speak in a straightforward manner. This implies an honesty and integrity that must characterize our speech.
- Reject unjust gain – As we are to speak honestly, we must make our living honestly, too. We must not be willing to compromise our principles for some temporary gain.
- Avoid hearing about and seeing evil – Living in this world, it is impossible to avoid seeing and hearing about evil entirely. But we should keep from having a morbid fascination with such things and instead focus on things that are good and right.
Though God is willing to punish those who are unfaithful, He is willing to greatly bless those who follow Him. If we faithfully serve Him, our “refuge will be the impregnable rock.” There is no other place that can offer the same level of safety and security as the Lord can provide.
Tomorrow’s reading: Isaiah 35-36
[I’m using the Chronological reading plan on the Bible Gateway website if you’d like to follow along, too.]
Daily Notes & Observations contains all 365 articles from this series and is available in paperback from Gospel Armory.
