Isaiah 1:17 Through the prophet Isaiah, God chastises Israel “Because of your detestable disobedience, your country lies desolate…“. God hid His eyes from Israel, refused to hear their prayers and rejected their ‘empty’ offerings. The people had gone the way of the flesh, doing evil in the sight of the Lord, showing contempt toward Him. Iniquity, blood stained hands and disobedience marked Israel for God’s judgment. But God…He tells them to ‘clean up their act’, to cease to do evil. Is it all that surprising that we don’t have to learn wickedness? But we do have to learn to be righteous, we’re to receive training in righteousness. We’ve been given the Law which draws the boundaries between being righteousness and doing wickedness. His Word,traces creation from spirit led to the dominance of the flesh. Then ‘school’ begins, with a small, but ‘set apart for holiness’ nation. The Law of Righteousness is taught, we can no longer say ‘I didn’t know’. God tells us to ‘cease to do evil’…it’s a choice, an intentional desire to be obedient, not to the Law, for it merely defines goodness, it’s an intentional obedience to God, a desperate need to be in right standing with Him. Learning to do right, seeking to do justice, relieving the oppressed, correcting the oppressor, defending the fatherless and pleading for the widow is a lifelong pursuit… it’s not a one time thing where you check things off a list, it’s a way of life. It’s following in His footsteps, it’s learning to walk in the Spirit. It’s choosing to be Humble and Selfless, it’s putting on His character and adopting it as our own. The flesh doesn’t give up control easily, it’ll fight us all the way, even as we realize our victory in Christ, temptation doesn’t stop, or even go away. Lord, we pray You find us as students craving Your Righteousness. Some lessons are harder to learn and we’re grateful that You don’t give up on us, You continue teaching them. Protect us…Keep us safe, we trust in Your patience…Your grace
