Behold, A King will reign in righteousness, and princes will rule with justice
“the Israelites did secretly against the Lord their God things not right. They built for themselves high places in all their towns, from [lonely] watchtower to [populous] fortified city. They set up for themselves pillars and Asherim [symbols of the goddess Asherah] on every high hill and under every green tree.
There they burned incense on all the high places, as did the nations whom the Lord carried away before them; and they did wicked things provoking the Lord to anger. And they served idols, of which the Lord had said to them, You shall not do this thing.
Yet the Lord warned Israel and Judah through all the prophets and all the seers, saying, Turn from your evil ways and keep My commandments and My statutes, according to all the Law which I commanded your fathers and which I sent to you by My servants the prophets.
Yet they would not hear, but hardened their necks as did their fathers who did not believe (trust in, rely on, and remain steadfast to) the Lord their God. They despised and rejected His statutes and His covenant which He made with their fathers and His warnings to them, and they followed vanity (false gods -falsehood, emptiness, and futility) and [they themselves and their prayers] became false (empty and futile). They went after the heathen round about them, of whom the Lord had charged them that they should not do as they did.
And they forsook all the commandments of the Lord their God and made for themselves molten images, even two calves, and made an Asherah and worshiped all the [starry] hosts of heavens and served Baal.” (2 Kings 17:9-16)
The Israelites were practicing sentimental religion that was handed down from their fathers and influenced by the world around them. They had lost what was most important, their heart towards God.
Jesus says in Matthew 22:37-40, “'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
The Israelites were stiff necked and not truly following the commandments of God in all their religious practices. They had rejected the covenant which was based upon faith in God. Instead, they had created their own god to worship. They had put God in a box and tamed Him down to something they could control, manage, and burn incense to. And they were following their parents religious practices, while all the while living according to the world.
The Israelites did not set out with intentions to worship idols and forsake God. It just happened. As they went about life, they filled themselves with the world around them and their hearts grew cold. There was a growing deterioration of their love for God. They became complacent and were going through the motions.
What was being taught to the children was no longer how to love the Lord with all their hearts, minds, and might as the Lord required (Deuteronomy 6:4-7). Rather, they were passing on their religious traditions. More and more, the people of Israel did what suited them and God become some sentimental reality with no real impact in their lives.
“Don't let my love grow cold, I'm calling out 'light the fire again'” sings in the background.
The picture I have of this for today is when people go to church and go through all the motions that they learned, while never really encountering, knowing and fearing the Lord. The Lord is not something that makes them stand in awestruck wonder and amazement, or tremble at the knees. But their God is a sentimental family tradition handed down. They dress up and go to church on Sunday because they feel like 'good people' for doing so.
They identify themselves as Christians and toss God into their conversations as a sentimental rag doll that they carry around with them. They uphold all the traditions of faith but their hearts are not burning with God's love. Maybe someone who wears a cross around their neck, never swears, and serves at their church. They have a nice well behaved family, contribute to causes, and their family is seen in the community as 'godly people.'
But their heart is not truly transformed and changed by God. They are not moved with His compassion. Rather they care about what they think is the 'right thing to do' or what would look best/ be socially accepted by those around them. They are not coming alive in God but being conformed to the world's view of what a nice 'Catholic, Baptist, Evangelical, Lutheran, or Pentecostal, etc. should look like.
“Were gonna follow You” sings in the background.
Brennan Manning asks, “Is the kingdom that He proclaimed to be nothing more than a community of men and women who go to church on Sunday, take an annual spiritual retreat, read the Bibles every now and then, vigorously oppose abortion, don't watch x-rated movies, never use vulgar language, smile a lot, hold doors open for people, root for the favorite team, and get along with everybody?” [1]
It is because we often live this way that we lack passion for God in our everyday walk. Brennan Manning writes that by “extinguishing the spirit that burns in the gospel, we scarcely feel the glow anymore... Because we approach the gospel with preconceived notions of what it should say rather than what it does say, the Word no longer falls like rain on the parched ground of our souls. It no longer sweeps like a wild storm into the corners of our comfortable piety. It no longer vibrates like sharp lightning in the dark recesses of our nonhistoric orthodoxy. The gospel becomes, in the words of Gertrude Stein,
Yet, we are not left to die in our religious traditions. Brennan Manning notes that Jesus chose to give everything on a cross as a demonstrative sign of His absolutely furious love for men and women. He writes that what he calls, 'baptism by fire,' is “available to anyone who steadfastly seeks to move beyond theoretical abstractions to living experience, intensely real.” [3]
Often, just like the Isrealites, what God has to do is shake us free from our traditions and turn our little apple cart upside down in hopes that we will let go of it and turn to Him. And when we repent and turn to God, He meets us there.
Brennan Manning writes, “The gospel is absurd and the life of Jesus is meaningless unless we believe that He lived, died, and rose against with but one purpose in mind: to make brand -new creations. Not to make people with better morals, but to create a community of prophets and professional lovers, men and women who would surrender to the mystery of the fire of the Spirit that burns within, who would live in ever greater fidelity to the ominipresent Word of God, who would enter into the center of it all, the very heart and mystery of Christ, into the center of the flame that consumes, purifies, and sets everything aglow with peace, joy, boldness, and extravagant, furious love.” [4]
Sometimes we start out with more than religious tradition but then grow complacent. Instead of loving God with our whole heart and standing in amazement of who, He is, we begin to go through the motions of what is expected of us. We go through the motions of religion rather than living in relationship with God.
“Beautiful, beautiful, I'm lost for more to say” sings in the background.
Brennan Manning notes that “We have all experienced the sadness of a Christian life that is secure, well regulated, but basically impoverished.” He challenges a Christian lifestyle that is radically different. One of “constant prayer, total unselfishness, buoyant, creative goodness, and unbridled involvement in God, His church, and the well-being of His children.” [5] One where we love the Lord with all of our hearts, mind, strength and entire being.
Brennan Manning writes, “Holiness is a terrifying word when spoken by the living God. Living the paschal mystery, dying daily to self, and rising to newness of life in Christ is a fearful thing to contemplate, much less live. Yet there is something smoldering in His invitation -Come, follow Me!” [6]
Complacency happened with one of the seven end time churches. The Lord says to the church in Ephesus in Revelation 2:3-5, “I know you are enduring patiently and are bearing up for My name's sake, and you have not fainted or become exhausted or grown weary. But I have this [one charge to make] against you: that you have left (abandoned) the love that you had at first [you have deserted Me, your first love].
Remember then from what heights you have fallen. Repent (change the inner man to meet God's will) and do the works you did previously [when first you knew the Lord], or else I will visit you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you change your mind and repent.”
Complacency, the Hebrew word sha'anan, Strongs #7600 means to be at ease in a prideful or arrogant sense. [7] One feels secure in their circumstances and with their life so they are arrogantly resting secure in that which cannot provide true security.
Proverbs 1:32 says that “the careless ease of [self-confident] fools shall destroy them.”
It is during difficulties, trials and tribulations that false complacency becomes evident. During these times, people find that sentimentality and religious traditions are superficial and lacks any substance to uphold them in their pain.
Zephaniah in his short book warns people that 'the day of the Lord' will bring judgment on the people who sit in complacency or religious tradition. 'The day of the Lord' is often used to refer to the period of time before the Lord's coming. In that 'day' Zephaniah notes that it will be a day of the Lord's vengeance where idols will be overthrown (1:3).
In 'that day' it will be made clearly evident who is genuinely following the Lord and those who are following religious traditions while worshiping their own God. Zephaniah says that the Lord will stretch out his hand against those “who worship the starry host of heavens upon their housetops and those who [pretend to] worship the Lord and swear by and to Him and yet swear by and to [the heathen god Molech or] Malcam [their idol king], and those who have drawn back from following the Lord and those who have not sought the Lord nor inquired for, inquired of, and required the Lord [as their first necessity].”
“Gotta wake up the world” sings in the background.
The Lord proclaims that 'in that day' He will punish those who have become complacent and are no longer truly following after God. Zephaniah 1:12 says, “And at that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps and punish the men who [like old wine] are thickening and settling on their lees, who say in their hearts, The Lord will not do good, nor will He do evil.”
“In this world we will have trouble, but You have overcome the world” sings.
Too often we think of the end times in terms of God's wrath poured out in judgment. However, the end times are truly about God coming for His beloved. He is jealous for His bride. And the day of His coming to be one with His bride is the day of joy of His heart. It is a time where He sets everything right.
God demonstrated His love for us, that while we were his enemies, God died on the cross for us. (Romans 5:8). “Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him!” (Romans 5:9)
Brennan Manning writes, “All that really matters is this: Have you experienced the furious longing of God or not?” [8]
He goes on to write, “This very question provoked the brilliant Karl Rahner to prophesy: 'In the days ahead, you will either be a mystic (one who has experienced God for real) or nothing at all.'” Then Brennan notes, “In times of persecution, theoretical Christianity will collapse.” [9]
As Isaiah 32 makes evident, in the midst of the shaking during the end times, there will be no room for complacency or false religion. One will have to chose to be a mystic or nothing at all. No longer will people be able to hold onto their religious sentimentality and image while putting their confidence in something outside God.
Isaiah 32:1-4 says, “Behold, A King will reign in righteousness, and princes will rule with justice. And each one of them shall be like a hiding place from the wind and a shelter from the storm, like streams of water in a dry place, like the shade of a great rock in a weary land [to those who turn to them].
Then the eyes of those who see will not be closed or dimmed, and the ears of those who hear will listen. And the mind of the rash will understand knowledge and have good judgment, and the tongue of the stammerers will speak readily and plainly.”
As one commentary notes, Isaiah is primarily speaking of leaders of the kingdom. The 'King' is Jesus and the princes (sar, Strongs H8269) are the religious head's and elders that represent the 'King' to the people. [10,11]
Commentary goes on to note “The four similes for the future King’s protection and provision of His people contrast with Israel’s present incompetent leadership (28:7; 29:9, 10; 30:1, 2; 31:1, 2). Clear eyes and listening ears are figures for the future sensible leadership, in contrast to the present senseless, foolish leadership. The people’s eyes and ears would also be opened (6:9, 10; 29:18, 24; 35:5; 42:7); similarly, they would have a heart that is understanding and a tongue that speaks plainly.” [12]
Another commentary notes that Isaiah “sees a time when the blind shall see, the deaf shall hear, and the ignorant shall understand knowledge (da˓at, moral cognition or personal discernment, not doctrine). Thus, the prophet sees a day when people will not only know the teaching about God (for that was true in the prophet’s own time), but when morality shall be based upon spiritual knowledge. It will also be a time when all immoral societal evaluations shall be reversed. For example, the vile person shall no longer be called liberal (gracious).” [13]
Isaiah 32:5-9 goes on to say, “The fool (unbeliever and the ungodly) will no more be called noble, nor the crafty and greedy [for gain] said to be bountiful and princely. For the fool speaks folly and his mind plans iniquity: practicing profane ungodliness and speaking error concerning the Lord, leaving the cravings of the hungry unsatisfied and causing the drink of the thirsty to fail.
The instruments and methods of the fraudulent and greedy [for gain] are evil; he devises wicked devices to ruin the poor and the lowly with lying words, even when the plea of the needy is just and right. But the noble, openhearted, and liberal man devises noble things; and he stands for what is noble, openhearted, and generous.”
While it is not stated, it is implied from the first verses in Isaiah 32 that he still speaking particularly about religious leaders and elders. No longer will those religious leaders and others who are greedy for gain and manipulative be seen as bountiful and princely when everything is shaking. They will be seen as empty and barren as they really are, leaving the hungry unsatisfied and those thirsty parched.
Commentary notes, “The coming of Christ will reveal men in their true light. The fool and the knave will be exposed as such (and punished accordingly). “ [14]
It is a time when religious tradition and those who have polished the outside of the cup while being filled with unrighteousness will no longer prevail. People will no longer honor those who look good on the outside and have the right things to say. As times are more difficult, people need what is real and has substance.
Commentary goes on to note, “The generous man also will be manifested and blessed.”[15] Often we think of generosity as giving away what we have left over and feels comfortable for us. However, true generosity will be called out from us in the end times. What God asks from us is not what we have left over, but to give Him ourselves in entirety.
Brennan Manning writes, ”it is natural to feel fear and insecurity when confronted with the radical demands of the Christian commitment. But enveloped in the lived truth of God's furious love, insecurity is swallowed up in the solidity of agape, and anguish and fear give way to hope and desire. The Christian becomes aware that God's appeal for unlimited generosity from His people has been preceded from His side by a limitless love, a love so intent upon a response that He has empowered us to respond through the gift of His own Spirit.” [16]
“We love because He first loved us.” (1 John 4:19)
Isaiah 33:9-15 goes on to say, “Rise up, you women who are at ease! Hear my [Isaiah's] voice, you confident and careless daughters! Listen to what I am saying! In little more than a year you will be shaken with anxiety, you careless and complacent women; for the vintage will fail, and the ingathering will not come.
Tremble, you women who are at ease! Shudder with fear, you complacent ones! Strip yourselves bare and gird sackcloth upon your loins [in grief]!
They shall beat upon their breasts for the pleasant fields, for the fruitful vine, for the land of my people growing over with thorns and briers – yes, for all the houses of joy in the joyous city. For the palace shall be forsaken, the populous city shall be deserted; the hill and the watchtower shall become dens [for wild animals] endlessly, a joy for wild donkeys, a pasture for flocks.
Until the Spirit is poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness becomes a fruitful field, and the fruitful field is valued as a forest.”
Those who are complacent will not have enough oil in their lamps to make it through the dark night (tribulation) until He comes. The shaking will leave them in stress and anxiety where they will fall away or turn to God and cry out to him.
Isaiah calls the complacent to awaken out of their slumber and repent that God might come and heal the land, pouring out His spirit from on high and making the wilderness a fruitful field (see 2 Chron. 7:14).
“So we cry out Your Name, El Shaddi, God of grace, Lord Most High, Jesus Christ. We rely on You Adonai, God of grace... “ sings
Commentary notes about these verses in Isaiah that judgment will fall on the complacent and troubles will “continue until the Spirit is poured out at the Second Advent of Christ.” [17] At the time nearing His return, in God's justice, the 'high places' of honor in the world's eyes will be deserted. While the places that had been laid to waste for many generations (barren land) will become fruitful fields.
The gospel will no longer be a stale and predictable [18] set of rules that provide comfort and safety. People will no longer be able to hold to their religious tradition of conforming to expectations. As tribulation and testings increase in the midst of God pouring out His Spirit, life will break forth.
Brennan Manning challenges us to sit with a quote from Henri Nouwen: “When the imitation of Christ does not mean to live a life like Christ, but to live your life as authentically as Christ lived his, then there are many ways and forms in which a man can be a Christian.” [19]
Isaiah 32:16-19 says, “Then justice will dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness (moral and spiritual rectitude in every area and relation) will abide in the fruitful field. And the effect of righteousness will be peace [internal and external], and the result of righteousness will be quietness and confident trust forever.
My people shall dwell in a peaceable habitation, in safe dwellings, and in quiet resting-places. But it [the wrath of the Lord] shall hail, coming down overpoweringly on the forest [the army of the Assyrians], and the capital city shall be utterly humbled and laid prostrate."
The outpouring of God's Spirit in the end times brings God's justice in the form of judgment and restoration. Commentary notes, “Social justice and righteousness will permeate every aspect of life, resulting in peace, quietness, safety, and confidence.” [20]
While everything around is shaking and those living in tradition or complacency are being called to repent, the people of God stand firm in His love. They have a continual supply of oil and genuine peace in the mist of the storm.
Brennan Manning writes, “Contemplation of the furious longing of God is elevated to a dramatic level in those rare and unforgettable moments when our faith, hope, and love are raised to an unprecedented level by the Holy Spirit's active intervention, much like being in that boat as the storm hits.” [21]
He notes, “When the night is bad and my nerves are shattered and the waves break over the sides, Infinity speaks. God Almighty shares through His Son the depth of his feelings for me, His love flashes into my soul, and I am overtaken by mystery. These are moments of kairos -the decisive inbreak of God's fury into my persona life's story. It is then I face a momentous decision....I can escape below into skepticism and intellectualism, hanging on for dear life. Or, with radical amazement, I can stay on deck and boldly stand in surrendered faith to the truth of my belovedness, caught up in the reckless raging fury that they call the love of God. And learn to pray.” [22]
Isaiah 32 ends with a promise that all that is sown in this season, will reap abundantly. Isaiah 32:20 proclaims, “Happy and fortunate are you who cast your seed upon all waters [when the river overflows it banks; for the seed will sink into the mud and when the waters subside, the plant will spring up; you will find it after many days and reap an abundant harvest], you who safely send forth the ox and the donkey [to range freely]” (vs. 20).
This verse sounds very similar to Ecclesiastes 11:1, “cast your bread on the surface of the waters, for you will find it after many days.”
Clarke's Commentary on the Bible writes about Ecclesiastes 11:1, “Cast thy bread upon the waters - An allusion to the sowing of rice; which was sown upon muddy ground, or ground covered with water, and trodden in by the feet of cattle: it thus took root, and grew, and was found after many days in a plentiful harvest. Give alms to the poor, and it will be as seed sown in good ground. God will cause thee afterwards to receive it with abundant increase.” [23]
Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible notes about this verse in Isaiah 32, “Blessed are ye that sow beside all waters,.... In places well watered and moistened, and so fit to receive the seed sown, which grows up, and brings forth much fruit, and amply rewards the pains of the sower, who on that account is happy. These words are directed to the ministers of the Gospel in the latter day; the word is compared to seed, and the preachers of it to sowers of seed, who have a commission to preach the Gospel to every creature; and in the latter day, in the spiritual reign of Christ, to which the whole paragraph refers, they will sow the seed of the word "by many waters"; or among great multitudes of people, signified hereby, and with great success, great numbers both of Jews and Gentiles will be converted:
that send forth thither the feet of the ox and the ass; which were used in ploughing and tilling the earth, and in making it fit to sow the seed in it, and to eat off the heads of grain when it is grown thick and full, which some think is here meant; and the one might also be used to gather it in when ripe, and the other to tread and thresh it, as the Targum and Jarchi interpret it; there being a law given the Jews, that these two should not work together, Deuteronomy 22:10 and from hence it may be concluded, that these words refer to a time when this law should be abolished; and the Jews themselves apply it to the times of the Messiah; and it undoubtedly points to Gospel times, and even to those times when the Jews shall be converted, and great numbers among the Gentiles also, who shall join together in spreading the Gospel, and in promoting the interest of Christ.” [24]
At the time of this end time outpouring of the Spirit, a great multitude will turn to Christ - both Jew and Gentile! Brennan Manning writes, “Go now, beloved brothers ans sisters, aflame with what you know to do: Love! Do not keep silent. Do not keep quiet, until righteousness goes forth like brightness and salvation is a torch burning. Until all nations see your righteousness, and all kings your glory. You will be called, 'The evidence of God's love in the world.' Invite all the God's feast of furious love.” [25]
Father, when I read the words of Brennan Manning, I realize how religious and complacent my love often grows. Forgive me! Too often I go through the motions and try to get it all right, conforming to mine and others expectations while not truly living out the gospel -plunged into mystery.
Lord, as my clock read 3:33 yesterday afternoon when I looked up, I feel like we are moving into an hour where the complacent will be awakened and religious traditions will no longer be sufficient. I long to see the fullness of Your Spirit poured out and those who are destitute experience true life. Let your justice come forth.
Let Your light burn brightly in our hearts. Fill us with the certainty of your furious longing for intimacy with us. That we would not live lives impoverished with religion and complacency, but in abandon to the the wonder and mystery of Your love. Let our lives be fully alive in You! And let our lives burn brightly as the evidence of your love in the world.
1-6, 8, 9, 16, 18, 19, 21, 22, 25. Manning, Brennan. the furious longing of God. David C. Cook, Colorado Springs, CO. 2009.
9, 11. Strong, James: The Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible : Showing Every Word of the Text of the Common English Version of the Canonical Books, and Every Occurrence of Each Word in Regular Order. electronic ed. Ontario : Woodside Bible Fellowship., 1996.
10. Strong, James: The New Strong's Dictionary of Hebrew and Greek Words. Nashville : Thomas Nelson, 1997, c1996, S. H8269
12. Radmacher, Earl D. ; Allen, Ronald Barclay ; House, H. Wayne: Nelson's New Illustrated Bible Commentary. Nashville : T. Nelson Publishers, 1999, S. Is 32:1-4
13, 15, 17, 20. MacDonald, William ; Farstad, Arthur: Believer's Bible Commentary : Old and New Testaments. Nashville : Thomas Nelson, 1997, c1995, S. Is 32:1
14. KJV Bible Commentary. Nashville : Thomas Nelson, 1997, c1994, S. 1347
23. Clarke's Commentary on the Bible. Ecclesiastes 11:1. Located at: http://biblecommenter.com/ecclesiastes/11-1.htm. Last Accessed: 11/21/11.
24. Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible. Isaiah 32:20. Located at: http://gill.biblecommenter.com/isaiah/32.htm. Last Accessed 11/21/11.
There they burned incense on all the high places, as did the nations whom the Lord carried away before them; and they did wicked things provoking the Lord to anger. And they served idols, of which the Lord had said to them, You shall not do this thing.
Yet the Lord warned Israel and Judah through all the prophets and all the seers, saying, Turn from your evil ways and keep My commandments and My statutes, according to all the Law which I commanded your fathers and which I sent to you by My servants the prophets.
Yet they would not hear, but hardened their necks as did their fathers who did not believe (trust in, rely on, and remain steadfast to) the Lord their God. They despised and rejected His statutes and His covenant which He made with their fathers and His warnings to them, and they followed vanity (false gods -falsehood, emptiness, and futility) and [they themselves and their prayers] became false (empty and futile). They went after the heathen round about them, of whom the Lord had charged them that they should not do as they did.
And they forsook all the commandments of the Lord their God and made for themselves molten images, even two calves, and made an Asherah and worshiped all the [starry] hosts of heavens and served Baal.” (2 Kings 17:9-16)
The Israelites were practicing sentimental religion that was handed down from their fathers and influenced by the world around them. They had lost what was most important, their heart towards God.
Jesus says in Matthew 22:37-40, “'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
The Israelites were stiff necked and not truly following the commandments of God in all their religious practices. They had rejected the covenant which was based upon faith in God. Instead, they had created their own god to worship. They had put God in a box and tamed Him down to something they could control, manage, and burn incense to. And they were following their parents religious practices, while all the while living according to the world.
The Israelites did not set out with intentions to worship idols and forsake God. It just happened. As they went about life, they filled themselves with the world around them and their hearts grew cold. There was a growing deterioration of their love for God. They became complacent and were going through the motions.
What was being taught to the children was no longer how to love the Lord with all their hearts, minds, and might as the Lord required (Deuteronomy 6:4-7). Rather, they were passing on their religious traditions. More and more, the people of Israel did what suited them and God become some sentimental reality with no real impact in their lives.
“Don't let my love grow cold, I'm calling out 'light the fire again'” sings in the background.
The picture I have of this for today is when people go to church and go through all the motions that they learned, while never really encountering, knowing and fearing the Lord. The Lord is not something that makes them stand in awestruck wonder and amazement, or tremble at the knees. But their God is a sentimental family tradition handed down. They dress up and go to church on Sunday because they feel like 'good people' for doing so.
They identify themselves as Christians and toss God into their conversations as a sentimental rag doll that they carry around with them. They uphold all the traditions of faith but their hearts are not burning with God's love. Maybe someone who wears a cross around their neck, never swears, and serves at their church. They have a nice well behaved family, contribute to causes, and their family is seen in the community as 'godly people.'
But their heart is not truly transformed and changed by God. They are not moved with His compassion. Rather they care about what they think is the 'right thing to do' or what would look best/ be socially accepted by those around them. They are not coming alive in God but being conformed to the world's view of what a nice 'Catholic, Baptist, Evangelical, Lutheran, or Pentecostal, etc. should look like.
“Were gonna follow You” sings in the background.
Brennan Manning asks, “Is the kingdom that He proclaimed to be nothing more than a community of men and women who go to church on Sunday, take an annual spiritual retreat, read the Bibles every now and then, vigorously oppose abortion, don't watch x-rated movies, never use vulgar language, smile a lot, hold doors open for people, root for the favorite team, and get along with everybody?” [1]
It is because we often live this way that we lack passion for God in our everyday walk. Brennan Manning writes that by “extinguishing the spirit that burns in the gospel, we scarcely feel the glow anymore... Because we approach the gospel with preconceived notions of what it should say rather than what it does say, the Word no longer falls like rain on the parched ground of our souls. It no longer sweeps like a wild storm into the corners of our comfortable piety. It no longer vibrates like sharp lightning in the dark recesses of our nonhistoric orthodoxy. The gospel becomes, in the words of Gertrude Stein,
…. a pattering of pious platitudes spoken by a Jewish carpenter in the distant past.”[2]Often, like the church of Sardis (one of the end time churches in Revelation) we are so busy living out of our spiritual activities that don't realize that we are spiritually dead and need to repent. We somehow get our Christianity turned around and start believing it is all about what we do for God.
Yet, we are not left to die in our religious traditions. Brennan Manning notes that Jesus chose to give everything on a cross as a demonstrative sign of His absolutely furious love for men and women. He writes that what he calls, 'baptism by fire,' is “available to anyone who steadfastly seeks to move beyond theoretical abstractions to living experience, intensely real.” [3]
Often, just like the Isrealites, what God has to do is shake us free from our traditions and turn our little apple cart upside down in hopes that we will let go of it and turn to Him. And when we repent and turn to God, He meets us there.
Brennan Manning writes, “The gospel is absurd and the life of Jesus is meaningless unless we believe that He lived, died, and rose against with but one purpose in mind: to make brand -new creations. Not to make people with better morals, but to create a community of prophets and professional lovers, men and women who would surrender to the mystery of the fire of the Spirit that burns within, who would live in ever greater fidelity to the ominipresent Word of God, who would enter into the center of it all, the very heart and mystery of Christ, into the center of the flame that consumes, purifies, and sets everything aglow with peace, joy, boldness, and extravagant, furious love.” [4]
Sometimes we start out with more than religious tradition but then grow complacent. Instead of loving God with our whole heart and standing in amazement of who, He is, we begin to go through the motions of what is expected of us. We go through the motions of religion rather than living in relationship with God.
“Beautiful, beautiful, I'm lost for more to say” sings in the background.
Brennan Manning notes that “We have all experienced the sadness of a Christian life that is secure, well regulated, but basically impoverished.” He challenges a Christian lifestyle that is radically different. One of “constant prayer, total unselfishness, buoyant, creative goodness, and unbridled involvement in God, His church, and the well-being of His children.” [5] One where we love the Lord with all of our hearts, mind, strength and entire being.
Brennan Manning writes, “Holiness is a terrifying word when spoken by the living God. Living the paschal mystery, dying daily to self, and rising to newness of life in Christ is a fearful thing to contemplate, much less live. Yet there is something smoldering in His invitation -Come, follow Me!” [6]
Complacency happened with one of the seven end time churches. The Lord says to the church in Ephesus in Revelation 2:3-5, “I know you are enduring patiently and are bearing up for My name's sake, and you have not fainted or become exhausted or grown weary. But I have this [one charge to make] against you: that you have left (abandoned) the love that you had at first [you have deserted Me, your first love].
Remember then from what heights you have fallen. Repent (change the inner man to meet God's will) and do the works you did previously [when first you knew the Lord], or else I will visit you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you change your mind and repent.”
Complacency, the Hebrew word sha'anan, Strongs #7600 means to be at ease in a prideful or arrogant sense. [7] One feels secure in their circumstances and with their life so they are arrogantly resting secure in that which cannot provide true security.
Proverbs 1:32 says that “the careless ease of [self-confident] fools shall destroy them.”
It is during difficulties, trials and tribulations that false complacency becomes evident. During these times, people find that sentimentality and religious traditions are superficial and lacks any substance to uphold them in their pain.
Zephaniah in his short book warns people that 'the day of the Lord' will bring judgment on the people who sit in complacency or religious tradition. 'The day of the Lord' is often used to refer to the period of time before the Lord's coming. In that 'day' Zephaniah notes that it will be a day of the Lord's vengeance where idols will be overthrown (1:3).
In 'that day' it will be made clearly evident who is genuinely following the Lord and those who are following religious traditions while worshiping their own God. Zephaniah says that the Lord will stretch out his hand against those “who worship the starry host of heavens upon their housetops and those who [pretend to] worship the Lord and swear by and to Him and yet swear by and to [the heathen god Molech or] Malcam [their idol king], and those who have drawn back from following the Lord and those who have not sought the Lord nor inquired for, inquired of, and required the Lord [as their first necessity].”
“Gotta wake up the world” sings in the background.
The Lord proclaims that 'in that day' He will punish those who have become complacent and are no longer truly following after God. Zephaniah 1:12 says, “And at that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps and punish the men who [like old wine] are thickening and settling on their lees, who say in their hearts, The Lord will not do good, nor will He do evil.”
“In this world we will have trouble, but You have overcome the world” sings.
Too often we think of the end times in terms of God's wrath poured out in judgment. However, the end times are truly about God coming for His beloved. He is jealous for His bride. And the day of His coming to be one with His bride is the day of joy of His heart. It is a time where He sets everything right.
God demonstrated His love for us, that while we were his enemies, God died on the cross for us. (Romans 5:8). “Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him!” (Romans 5:9)
Brennan Manning writes, “All that really matters is this: Have you experienced the furious longing of God or not?” [8]
He goes on to write, “This very question provoked the brilliant Karl Rahner to prophesy: 'In the days ahead, you will either be a mystic (one who has experienced God for real) or nothing at all.'” Then Brennan notes, “In times of persecution, theoretical Christianity will collapse.” [9]
As Isaiah 32 makes evident, in the midst of the shaking during the end times, there will be no room for complacency or false religion. One will have to chose to be a mystic or nothing at all. No longer will people be able to hold onto their religious sentimentality and image while putting their confidence in something outside God.
Isaiah 32:1-4 says, “Behold, A King will reign in righteousness, and princes will rule with justice. And each one of them shall be like a hiding place from the wind and a shelter from the storm, like streams of water in a dry place, like the shade of a great rock in a weary land [to those who turn to them].
Then the eyes of those who see will not be closed or dimmed, and the ears of those who hear will listen. And the mind of the rash will understand knowledge and have good judgment, and the tongue of the stammerers will speak readily and plainly.”
As one commentary notes, Isaiah is primarily speaking of leaders of the kingdom. The 'King' is Jesus and the princes (sar, Strongs H8269) are the religious head's and elders that represent the 'King' to the people. [10,11]
Commentary goes on to note “The four similes for the future King’s protection and provision of His people contrast with Israel’s present incompetent leadership (28:7; 29:9, 10; 30:1, 2; 31:1, 2). Clear eyes and listening ears are figures for the future sensible leadership, in contrast to the present senseless, foolish leadership. The people’s eyes and ears would also be opened (6:9, 10; 29:18, 24; 35:5; 42:7); similarly, they would have a heart that is understanding and a tongue that speaks plainly.” [12]
Another commentary notes that Isaiah “sees a time when the blind shall see, the deaf shall hear, and the ignorant shall understand knowledge (da˓at, moral cognition or personal discernment, not doctrine). Thus, the prophet sees a day when people will not only know the teaching about God (for that was true in the prophet’s own time), but when morality shall be based upon spiritual knowledge. It will also be a time when all immoral societal evaluations shall be reversed. For example, the vile person shall no longer be called liberal (gracious).” [13]
Isaiah 32:5-9 goes on to say, “The fool (unbeliever and the ungodly) will no more be called noble, nor the crafty and greedy [for gain] said to be bountiful and princely. For the fool speaks folly and his mind plans iniquity: practicing profane ungodliness and speaking error concerning the Lord, leaving the cravings of the hungry unsatisfied and causing the drink of the thirsty to fail.
The instruments and methods of the fraudulent and greedy [for gain] are evil; he devises wicked devices to ruin the poor and the lowly with lying words, even when the plea of the needy is just and right. But the noble, openhearted, and liberal man devises noble things; and he stands for what is noble, openhearted, and generous.”
While it is not stated, it is implied from the first verses in Isaiah 32 that he still speaking particularly about religious leaders and elders. No longer will those religious leaders and others who are greedy for gain and manipulative be seen as bountiful and princely when everything is shaking. They will be seen as empty and barren as they really are, leaving the hungry unsatisfied and those thirsty parched.
Commentary notes, “The coming of Christ will reveal men in their true light. The fool and the knave will be exposed as such (and punished accordingly). “ [14]
It is a time when religious tradition and those who have polished the outside of the cup while being filled with unrighteousness will no longer prevail. People will no longer honor those who look good on the outside and have the right things to say. As times are more difficult, people need what is real and has substance.
Commentary goes on to note, “The generous man also will be manifested and blessed.”[15] Often we think of generosity as giving away what we have left over and feels comfortable for us. However, true generosity will be called out from us in the end times. What God asks from us is not what we have left over, but to give Him ourselves in entirety.
Brennan Manning writes, ”it is natural to feel fear and insecurity when confronted with the radical demands of the Christian commitment. But enveloped in the lived truth of God's furious love, insecurity is swallowed up in the solidity of agape, and anguish and fear give way to hope and desire. The Christian becomes aware that God's appeal for unlimited generosity from His people has been preceded from His side by a limitless love, a love so intent upon a response that He has empowered us to respond through the gift of His own Spirit.” [16]
“We love because He first loved us.” (1 John 4:19)
Isaiah 33:9-15 goes on to say, “Rise up, you women who are at ease! Hear my [Isaiah's] voice, you confident and careless daughters! Listen to what I am saying! In little more than a year you will be shaken with anxiety, you careless and complacent women; for the vintage will fail, and the ingathering will not come.
Tremble, you women who are at ease! Shudder with fear, you complacent ones! Strip yourselves bare and gird sackcloth upon your loins [in grief]!
They shall beat upon their breasts for the pleasant fields, for the fruitful vine, for the land of my people growing over with thorns and briers – yes, for all the houses of joy in the joyous city. For the palace shall be forsaken, the populous city shall be deserted; the hill and the watchtower shall become dens [for wild animals] endlessly, a joy for wild donkeys, a pasture for flocks.
Until the Spirit is poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness becomes a fruitful field, and the fruitful field is valued as a forest.”
Those who are complacent will not have enough oil in their lamps to make it through the dark night (tribulation) until He comes. The shaking will leave them in stress and anxiety where they will fall away or turn to God and cry out to him.
Isaiah calls the complacent to awaken out of their slumber and repent that God might come and heal the land, pouring out His spirit from on high and making the wilderness a fruitful field (see 2 Chron. 7:14).
“So we cry out Your Name, El Shaddi, God of grace, Lord Most High, Jesus Christ. We rely on You Adonai, God of grace... “ sings
Commentary notes about these verses in Isaiah that judgment will fall on the complacent and troubles will “continue until the Spirit is poured out at the Second Advent of Christ.” [17] At the time nearing His return, in God's justice, the 'high places' of honor in the world's eyes will be deserted. While the places that had been laid to waste for many generations (barren land) will become fruitful fields.
The gospel will no longer be a stale and predictable [18] set of rules that provide comfort and safety. People will no longer be able to hold to their religious tradition of conforming to expectations. As tribulation and testings increase in the midst of God pouring out His Spirit, life will break forth.
Brennan Manning challenges us to sit with a quote from Henri Nouwen: “When the imitation of Christ does not mean to live a life like Christ, but to live your life as authentically as Christ lived his, then there are many ways and forms in which a man can be a Christian.” [19]
Isaiah 32:16-19 says, “Then justice will dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness (moral and spiritual rectitude in every area and relation) will abide in the fruitful field. And the effect of righteousness will be peace [internal and external], and the result of righteousness will be quietness and confident trust forever.
My people shall dwell in a peaceable habitation, in safe dwellings, and in quiet resting-places. But it [the wrath of the Lord] shall hail, coming down overpoweringly on the forest [the army of the Assyrians], and the capital city shall be utterly humbled and laid prostrate."
The outpouring of God's Spirit in the end times brings God's justice in the form of judgment and restoration. Commentary notes, “Social justice and righteousness will permeate every aspect of life, resulting in peace, quietness, safety, and confidence.” [20]
While everything around is shaking and those living in tradition or complacency are being called to repent, the people of God stand firm in His love. They have a continual supply of oil and genuine peace in the mist of the storm.
Brennan Manning writes, “Contemplation of the furious longing of God is elevated to a dramatic level in those rare and unforgettable moments when our faith, hope, and love are raised to an unprecedented level by the Holy Spirit's active intervention, much like being in that boat as the storm hits.” [21]
He notes, “When the night is bad and my nerves are shattered and the waves break over the sides, Infinity speaks. God Almighty shares through His Son the depth of his feelings for me, His love flashes into my soul, and I am overtaken by mystery. These are moments of kairos -the decisive inbreak of God's fury into my persona life's story. It is then I face a momentous decision....I can escape below into skepticism and intellectualism, hanging on for dear life. Or, with radical amazement, I can stay on deck and boldly stand in surrendered faith to the truth of my belovedness, caught up in the reckless raging fury that they call the love of God. And learn to pray.” [22]
Isaiah 32 ends with a promise that all that is sown in this season, will reap abundantly. Isaiah 32:20 proclaims, “Happy and fortunate are you who cast your seed upon all waters [when the river overflows it banks; for the seed will sink into the mud and when the waters subside, the plant will spring up; you will find it after many days and reap an abundant harvest], you who safely send forth the ox and the donkey [to range freely]” (vs. 20).
This verse sounds very similar to Ecclesiastes 11:1, “cast your bread on the surface of the waters, for you will find it after many days.”
Clarke's Commentary on the Bible writes about Ecclesiastes 11:1, “Cast thy bread upon the waters - An allusion to the sowing of rice; which was sown upon muddy ground, or ground covered with water, and trodden in by the feet of cattle: it thus took root, and grew, and was found after many days in a plentiful harvest. Give alms to the poor, and it will be as seed sown in good ground. God will cause thee afterwards to receive it with abundant increase.” [23]
Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible notes about this verse in Isaiah 32, “Blessed are ye that sow beside all waters,.... In places well watered and moistened, and so fit to receive the seed sown, which grows up, and brings forth much fruit, and amply rewards the pains of the sower, who on that account is happy. These words are directed to the ministers of the Gospel in the latter day; the word is compared to seed, and the preachers of it to sowers of seed, who have a commission to preach the Gospel to every creature; and in the latter day, in the spiritual reign of Christ, to which the whole paragraph refers, they will sow the seed of the word "by many waters"; or among great multitudes of people, signified hereby, and with great success, great numbers both of Jews and Gentiles will be converted:
that send forth thither the feet of the ox and the ass; which were used in ploughing and tilling the earth, and in making it fit to sow the seed in it, and to eat off the heads of grain when it is grown thick and full, which some think is here meant; and the one might also be used to gather it in when ripe, and the other to tread and thresh it, as the Targum and Jarchi interpret it; there being a law given the Jews, that these two should not work together, Deuteronomy 22:10 and from hence it may be concluded, that these words refer to a time when this law should be abolished; and the Jews themselves apply it to the times of the Messiah; and it undoubtedly points to Gospel times, and even to those times when the Jews shall be converted, and great numbers among the Gentiles also, who shall join together in spreading the Gospel, and in promoting the interest of Christ.” [24]
At the time of this end time outpouring of the Spirit, a great multitude will turn to Christ - both Jew and Gentile! Brennan Manning writes, “Go now, beloved brothers ans sisters, aflame with what you know to do: Love! Do not keep silent. Do not keep quiet, until righteousness goes forth like brightness and salvation is a torch burning. Until all nations see your righteousness, and all kings your glory. You will be called, 'The evidence of God's love in the world.' Invite all the God's feast of furious love.” [25]
Father, when I read the words of Brennan Manning, I realize how religious and complacent my love often grows. Forgive me! Too often I go through the motions and try to get it all right, conforming to mine and others expectations while not truly living out the gospel -plunged into mystery.
Lord, as my clock read 3:33 yesterday afternoon when I looked up, I feel like we are moving into an hour where the complacent will be awakened and religious traditions will no longer be sufficient. I long to see the fullness of Your Spirit poured out and those who are destitute experience true life. Let your justice come forth.
Let Your light burn brightly in our hearts. Fill us with the certainty of your furious longing for intimacy with us. That we would not live lives impoverished with religion and complacency, but in abandon to the the wonder and mystery of Your love. Let our lives be fully alive in You! And let our lives burn brightly as the evidence of your love in the world.
1-6, 8, 9, 16, 18, 19, 21, 22, 25. Manning, Brennan. the furious longing of God. David C. Cook, Colorado Springs, CO. 2009.
9, 11. Strong, James: The Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible : Showing Every Word of the Text of the Common English Version of the Canonical Books, and Every Occurrence of Each Word in Regular Order. electronic ed. Ontario : Woodside Bible Fellowship., 1996.
10. Strong, James: The New Strong's Dictionary of Hebrew and Greek Words. Nashville : Thomas Nelson, 1997, c1996, S. H8269
12. Radmacher, Earl D. ; Allen, Ronald Barclay ; House, H. Wayne: Nelson's New Illustrated Bible Commentary. Nashville : T. Nelson Publishers, 1999, S. Is 32:1-4
13, 15, 17, 20. MacDonald, William ; Farstad, Arthur: Believer's Bible Commentary : Old and New Testaments. Nashville : Thomas Nelson, 1997, c1995, S. Is 32:1
14. KJV Bible Commentary. Nashville : Thomas Nelson, 1997, c1994, S. 1347
23. Clarke's Commentary on the Bible. Ecclesiastes 11:1. Located at: http://biblecommenter.com/ecclesiastes/11-1.htm. Last Accessed: 11/21/11.
24. Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible. Isaiah 32:20. Located at: http://gill.biblecommenter.com/isaiah/32.htm. Last Accessed 11/21/11.
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