Blind,
Ignorant, and Lazy?
The Word of God is so full of surprises. Here is a
fairly devastatingly accurate one for today’s church, our leadership, and the
watchmen and prophets !! And that includes me !!
Isaiah 56:9-12 (NIV1984) “Come,
all you beasts of the field, come and devour, all you beasts of the
forest! [Israel’s] watchmen are blind, they all lack
knowledge; they are all mute dogs, they cannot bark; they lie around and dream, they love to
sleep They are dogs with mighty appetites; they never
have enough. They are shepherds who lack understanding; they all turn to their
own way, each seeks his own gain. “Come,” each one cries,
“let me get wine! Let us drink our fill of beer! And tomorrow will be like
today, or even far better.”
That
woke you up didn’t it? Blind watchmen – mute and lazy people – ignorant shepherds?
Each turning his own way seeking gain and ‘the good life’? Wow – how devastating
is that? Now I don’t want to make this a
gloom and doom post, but it does strike me that when the Lord brings a passage
such as this to our attention, then there must be a reason.
Those
watchmen among us, are we being blasé about that which we see going on around
us? Are we getting so accustomed to the signs in the heavens that we simply
ignore what we are seeing? Are we so tired of issuing “storm warnings” or “earthquake
alerts” and folk not reacting that we have given up warning and alerting? Is Jesus tarrying too long for us that we have
lost patience waiting for Him and have decided subliminally that it’s not going
to happen after all?
Have
we indeed become a mute and lazy people – saying nothing when we should be
shouting from the rooftops? Do we laze around, content in smug
self-congratulation at all our efforts, when we should still be working hard to
bring the good news of the Gospel to every man, woman, and child on the planet?
Are
our leaders becoming ignorant shepherds? Do our shepherds choose to ignore much
of the teachings of the New Testament and stay ignorant of the march of time
and the signs available for all to see? Do they ignore, or worse, flatly refuse
to acknowledge the presence of Holy Spirit? Do they insist on preaching things
that are nowhere to be found in God’s Word?
Is
each of us turning his own way seeking gain and ‘the good life’? Do we deliberately
ignore God’s teaching and Holy Spirit’s leading to follow our own path? Are we
seeking the wealth of the world before we seek the wealth of God’s Kingdom?
Hard
questions to ask ourselves, maybe, but why on earth would such a passage as
this be included in scripture? Why would the Lord bring it back into sight at
this time, in this place, and for whom? I believe I am called to be a watchman
and I don’t think I have shirked any of the responsibilities of that role.
However, God may be telling me that I am completely derelict in my duties in
that area. I hope not but I have to review my activities in the light of this
scripture and repent where necessary.
God
NEVER brings passages of scripture to us for no reason. So it is with this
passage. What is He saying to you through this scripture? What is He saying to
any or all of us here? I am pretty certain we are deep into the end times and
that I must maintain my watch. How about the shepherds and flock – what are you
all doing to ensure maximum exposure and coverage for God during this time?
Just
askin’ – that’s all. But our answers had better be right answers. I don’t want
to face anyone having to answer for my lackadaisical inactivity during such a
time as this.
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