Isaiah Chapter 10 Verses 1-4
God hates sin. He abhors it all, yet there is some sin that he loathes and despises more than other sin. You see He loves people and desires for everyone to come to Him. (2 Peter 3:9).
He has a special place in His heart for some people. Widows and orphans are mentioned repeatedly in the Bible. He gives His children a special call to care for them. James 1:27 reads,
“Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.”
Isaiah 1:17 reads,
“Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow.”
And Psalm 146:9 reads,
“The LORD watches over the foreigner and sustains the fatherless and the widow, but he frustrates the ways of the wicked.”
He includes other vulnerable people in in His special love and protection as well; the foreigner, the sick, the prisoner, children, the poor, and the hungry and thirsty.
We as Christ Followers are given commands to specifically care for and love these people. In Isaiah chapter 10, God speaks out against those who have power and use it to hurt them. While God hates all sin, and all sin is punishable by the same offense of eternal separation from God, and all sin requires the blood of Jesus as propitiation, God’s wrath is ignited by mistreatment of the susceptible and defenseless.
Verses 1-4 read,
“Woe to those who decree iniquitous decrees,
and the writers who keep writing oppression,
2 to turn aside the needy from justice
and to rob the poor of my people of their right,
that widows may be their spoil,
and that they may make the fatherless their prey!
3 What will you do on the day of punishment,
in the ruin that will come from afar?
To whom will you flee for help,
and where will you leave your wealth?
4 Nothing remains but to crouch among the prisoners
or fall among the slain.
For all this his anger has not turned away,
and his hand is stretched out still.”
God calls the laws that keep the poor, widows and orphans oppressed iniquitous. Iniquitous means wicked, evil, and immoral. But it is more than just writing laws, it is to turn the needy aside, to allow oppression to continue. So you may not be a congressman and you are not writing laws but that doesn’t mean you have no responsibility. Are you loving the widows, orphans, and poor? To care for their needs is manifestation or fruit of the Spirit within you. Those are the works that prove your faith and show the love of Christ. Those are the deeds that say to the world you are different, you are a Disciple of the Lord Jesus.
Matthew 25:34-40 reads,
“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38 And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39 And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 40 And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.”
When you have the chance, do you help the struggling single mother? Do you feed the hungry man in rags on your way to your appointment? Do you visit the prisoner or the sick? One person can’t do it all, but one person can do something. The poor will always be here, but that doesn’t give us license to ignore them and certainly doesn’t give us a right to hurt them. It gives us an opportunity to serve God directly, to do something for Him because His love is so great and because we want to love Him with all our hearts, strength, soul, and mind.
God hates sin. He abhors it all, yet there is some sin that he loathes and despises more than other sin. You see He loves people and desires for everyone to come to Him. (2 Peter 3:9).
He has a special place in His heart for some people. Widows and orphans are mentioned repeatedly in the Bible. He gives His children a special call to care for them. James 1:27 reads,
“Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.”
Isaiah 1:17 reads,
“Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow.”
And Psalm 146:9 reads,
“The LORD watches over the foreigner and sustains the fatherless and the widow, but he frustrates the ways of the wicked.”
He includes other vulnerable people in in His special love and protection as well; the foreigner, the sick, the prisoner, children, the poor, and the hungry and thirsty.
We as Christ Followers are given commands to specifically care for and love these people. In Isaiah chapter 10, God speaks out against those who have power and use it to hurt them. While God hates all sin, and all sin is punishable by the same offense of eternal separation from God, and all sin requires the blood of Jesus as propitiation, God’s wrath is ignited by mistreatment of the susceptible and defenseless.
Verses 1-4 read,
“Woe to those who decree iniquitous decrees,
and the writers who keep writing oppression,
2 to turn aside the needy from justice
and to rob the poor of my people of their right,
that widows may be their spoil,
and that they may make the fatherless their prey!
3 What will you do on the day of punishment,
in the ruin that will come from afar?
To whom will you flee for help,
and where will you leave your wealth?
4 Nothing remains but to crouch among the prisoners
or fall among the slain.
For all this his anger has not turned away,
and his hand is stretched out still.”
God calls the laws that keep the poor, widows and orphans oppressed iniquitous. Iniquitous means wicked, evil, and immoral. But it is more than just writing laws, it is to turn the needy aside, to allow oppression to continue. So you may not be a congressman and you are not writing laws but that doesn’t mean you have no responsibility. Are you loving the widows, orphans, and poor? To care for their needs is manifestation or fruit of the Spirit within you. Those are the works that prove your faith and show the love of Christ. Those are the deeds that say to the world you are different, you are a Disciple of the Lord Jesus.
Matthew 25:34-40 reads,
“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38 And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39 And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 40 And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.”
When you have the chance, do you help the struggling single mother? Do you feed the hungry man in rags on your way to your appointment? Do you visit the prisoner or the sick? One person can’t do it all, but one person can do something. The poor will always be here, but that doesn’t give us license to ignore them and certainly doesn’t give us a right to hurt them. It gives us an opportunity to serve God directly, to do something for Him because His love is so great and because we want to love Him with all our hearts, strength, soul, and mind.
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