by Tom Wacaster
When Israel turned away
from God, the only direction morally, nationally, and socially, was a downward
spiral into ungodly behavior and spiritual suicide. Isaiah was one of
those fiery prophets who was sent to Judah to attempt repentance and reform on
the part of the people. For the most part his efforts were futile, and
eventually the nation was carried into Babylonian captivity where they would
lick their wounds for seventy years. One of the most
touching, yet tragic chapters in Isaiah is the 59th. It
contains a vivid portrayal of how far Judah had apostatized. Their “hands
are defiled with blood; and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken
lies, your tongue has muttered perverseness” (verse 3). “Their feet
run to evil, and they make haste to shed innocent blood; their thoughts are
thoughts of iniquity; wasting and destruction are in their paths” (verse
7). “The way of peace they know not; and there is no judgment in their
goings; they have made them crooked paths: whosoever goeth therein shall not
know peace” (verse 8). “For our transgressions are multiplied before
thee” (verse 12). Quite a catalogue of sin, is it not?
Perhaps the saddest in all the chapter is found in verse 14: “And judgment is
turned away backward, and justice standeth afar off: for truth is fallen in the
street, and equity cannot enter.” What Isaiah said
regarding Judah is descriptive of every single nation that has forgotten God,
our own America not being exempt in the least! No doubt
Isaiah was describing a cause and effect that had come to
epitomize the horrible state of affairs that existed in Judah at the time of
his writing.
My exposure to
television is quite limited seeing I “pulled the plug” on my cable service
almost 18 months ago. This does not mean that I have become isolated or
in some way insulated from the “happenings” in Washington, as well as “Main
Street USA.” The rapid decline of the moral and political situation
in our country is almost dizzying! One can scarcely get a grip on some
outrageous act of injustice or ungodliness before he is slapped in the face
with something else that causes him to wring his hands in absolute
bewilderment. Were we to lay a portrait of Judah side by side
with a portrait of our nation, yea the world, we would conclude that the same
artist had painted both pictures. That artist is the devil, and his
canvass is the hearts and souls of men. Before looking at the cause,
consider for a moment the effect of Satan’s destructive dirty work!
“Judgment is turned away
backward.”
Can any doubt that the powers that be have turned things “away
backward”? Both words beg consideration. The
politicians in Washington, the professors in institutions of higher learning,
and the purveyors of filth in Hollywood have turned away from God.
Their ears refuse to listen to God’s word, their goal in life in adamant
rebellion to the divine will. Consequently everything is backward!
Good is called evil, and evil good! Homosexuality is perceived as
being honorable while those who oppose such behavior are branded as homophobic.
What was a vice fifty years ago is now considered a virtue in
many circles. Gambling, alcoholic indulgence, dancing, are considered acceptable
and those who oppose on the grounds of Biblical principles are the antagonists
and troublemakers.
“Justice standeth afar off.” Youth were once admonished, “Crime does not pay.” Today, crime not only pays (and pays well in many cases), the criminal is often protected by liberal and ungodly judges who overturn convictions on a mere “technicality” of the law. The innocent are wronged, and the guilty go unpunished. As in the days of Judah, justice so often stands far off today.
“Equity cannot
enter.” The
Hebrew word ‘nek-o-khaw’ means “straight forwardness, that is,
integrity” (Strong). There is, without doubt, a lack of integrity
in our present world. Bars and locks protect our houses and automobiles;
thieves scour the neighborhoods and internet for unsuspecting victims from whom
they can steal. Business dealing are only as strong as the legal
document that exists to keep both parties honest, and in many cases the
“loopholes” included by unscrupulous lawyers negates the intended power of the
contract itself. It has not been that long ago when neighbors were
neighbors, and houses were often left unlocked when families went off to the
market or to church services.
Why the sad state of
affairs? Why is it that we are witnessing the very collapse of Western
civilization as we know it? Isaiah gives the answer: “Truth is fallen
in the street.” It is not that truth had been defeated, for the truth
of the matter is, truth will always remain truth. Samuel Johnson is
credited with having said, "Let it be remembered, that the nature of
things is not alterable by our perception - or lack therein. We cannot remake
or unmake truth; it is our business only to find it and then respond
accordingly. No proposition can become less certain by being neglected. It is to
no purpose to wish, to suppose, that to be false, which is in itself true, and
therefore to acquiesce in our own wishes and suppositions; when the matter is
of eternal consequence, to doubt obstinately without grounds of doubt, and to
determine without examination, is the last degree of folly and
absurdity." When Isaiah said “truth is fallen in the streets”
it was heaven’s way of saying that men have trodden upon truth by disregarding,
denying and disputing its factuality! The point was made by one author
thus (author unknown):
Truth never dies.
The ages come and go.
The mountains wear away,
the stars retire.
Destruction lays earth's
mighty cities low;
And empires, states, and
dynasties expire;
But caught and handed
onward by the wise,
Truth never dies.
Though unreceived and
scoffed at through the years;
Though made the butt of
ridicule and jest;
Though held aloft for
mockery and jeers,
Insulted by the
insolence of lies,
Truth never dies.
It answers not. It
does not take offense,
But with a mighty
silence bides its time;
As some great cliff that
braves the elements
And lifts through all
the storms its head sublime,
And never dies.
As rests the Sphinx amid
Egyptian sands;
As looms on high the
snowy peak and crest;
As firm and patient as
Gibraltar stands,
So truth, unwearied,
waits the era blessed
When men shall turn to
it with great surprise.
Truth never dies.
As stalwart solders of
the cross of Christ, let us determine we shall never let truth fall in the
streets. If we will march courageously forward, the truth will prevail,
and with God’s great mercy our nation will be spared. All else spells
only disaster.