Friday, September 08, 2006

How to Avoid War

That is impossible! Or so it would seem. We live is an imperfect world because of all the imperfections brought on by mankind. As I perused the script in the book of Isaiah a story told by the Lord to the author caught my attention and blew my former thoughts away regarding the causes of captivity,war,strife and therefore devastation with the uprooting of millions of people at one time.
In the fifth chapter of his book Isaiah relates a parable concerning his people that God was making it clear to them about their upcoming war. As the story unfolds we read of the causes and effects of what the Lord God Almighty calls unfairness, oppression, greed, sin and iniquity. A complete lack of justice and rightness bring on the horrors of battle which is enabled by the hand of His Majesty on High leading to the dispersion of the innocent and the guilty. Let's read this amazing account of Isaiah's word from His Lordship and consider the work of God's hands and the operation of His mighty plans to stop the filth of man's actions.
Isaiah 5 (Amplified Bible)Amplified Bible (AMP) Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation
Isaiah 51  LET ME [as God's representative] sing of and for my greatly Beloved [God, the Son] a tender song of my Beloved concerning His vineyard [His chosen people]. My greatly Beloved had a vineyard on a very fruitful hill. [S. of Sol. 6:3; Matt. 21:33-40.] 2And He dug and trenched the ground and gathered out the stones from it and planted it with the choicest vine and built a tower in the midst of it and hewed out a wine press in it. And He looked for it to bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes. 3And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge, I pray you, between Me and My vineyard [My people, says the Lord]. 4What more could have been done for My vineyard that I have not done in it? When I looked for it to bring forth grapes, why did it yield wild grapes? 5And now I will tell you what I will do to My vineyard: I will take away its hedge, and it shall be eaten and burned up; and I will break down its wall, and it shall be trodden down [by enemies]. 6And I will lay it waste; it shall not be pruned or cultivated, but there shall come up briers and thorns. I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it. 7For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah His pleasant planting [the plant of His delight]. And He looked for justice, but behold, [He saw] oppression and bloodshed; [He looked] for righteousness (for uprightness and right standing with God), but behold, [He heard] a cry [of oppression and distress]! 8Woe to those who join house to house [and by violently expelling the poorer occupants enclose large acreage] and join field to field until there is no place for others and you are made to dwell alone in the midst of the land! 9In my [Isaiah's] ears the Lord of hosts said, Of a truth many houses shall be desolate, even great and beautiful ones shall be without inhabitant. 10For ten acres of vineyard shall yield only about eight gallons, and ten bushels of seed will produce but one bushel. 11Woe unto those who rise early in the morning, that they may pursue strong drink, who tarry late into the night till wine inflames them! 12They have lyre and harp, tambourine and flute and wine at their feasts, but they do not regard the deeds of the Lord, neither do they consider the operation of His hands [in mercy and in judgment]. 13Therefore My people go into captivity [to their enemies] without knowing it and because they have no knowledge [of God]. And their honourable men [their glory] are famished, and their common people are parched with thirst. 14Therefore Sheol (the unseen state, the realm of the dead) has enlarged its appetite and opened its mouth without measure; and [Jerusalem's] nobility and her multitude and her pomp and tumult and [the drunken reveler] who exults in her descend into it. 15And the common man is bowed down, and the great man is brought low, and the eyes of the haughty are humbled. 16But the Lord of hosts is exalted in justice, and God, the Holy One, shows Himself holy in righteousness and through righteous judgments. 17Then shall the lambs feed [among the ruins] as in their own pasture, and [among] the desolate places of the [exiled] rich shall sojourners and aliens eat. 18Woe to those who draw [calamity] with cords of iniquity and falsehood, who bring punishment to themselves with a cart rope of wickedness, 19Who say, Let [the Holy One] make haste and speed His [prophesied] vengeance, that we may see it; and let the purpose of the Holy One of Israel draw near and come, that we may know it! 20Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! 21Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and prudent and shrewd in their own sight! 22Woe to those who are mighty heroes at drinking wine and men of strength in mixing alcoholic drinks!-- 23Who justify and acquit the guilty for a bribe, but take away the rights of the innocent and righteous from them! 24Therefore, as the tongue of fire devours the stubble, and as the dry grass sinks down in the flame, so their root shall be like rottenness and their blossom shall go up like fine dust--because they have rejected and cast away the law and the teaching of the Lord of hosts and have not believed but have treated scornfully and have despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.25Therefore is the anger of the Lord kindled against His people, and He has stretched forth His hand against them and has smitten them. And the mountains trembled, and their dead bodies were like dung and sweepings in the midst of the streets. For all this, His anger is not turned away, but His hand is still stretched out [in judgment]. 26And He will lift up a signal to call together a hostile people from afar [to execute His judgment on Judea], and will hiss for them from the end of the earth [as bees are hissed from their hives], and behold, they shall come with speed, swiftly! 27None is weary or stumbles among them, none slumbers or sleeps; nor is the girdle of their loins loosed or the latchet (thong) of their shoes broken; 28Their arrows are sharp, and all their bows bent; their horses' hoofs seem like flint, and their wheels like a whirlwind. 29Their roaring is like that of a lioness, they roar like young lions; they growl and seize their prey and carry it safely away, and there is none to deliver it. 30And in that day they [the army from afar] shall roar against [the Jews] like the roaring of the sea. And if one looks to the land, behold, there is darkness and distress; and the light [itself] will be darkened by the clouds of it.
In verse 7 the Lord is looking for fairness and rightness. What does He find but oppression and a cry for help. In verse 12 there is no regard for the Lord's work nor considering the operation of His hands. God points out in verse 20 that they call evil good and good evil.Darkness is light and light is darkness to them. In verse 21 He says they think they are wise and prudent or shrewd. This only brings woe from the great creator. We see the injustice in verse 23 even in our day.Because in verse 24. Rejection of God and his holy word, His laws that teach us to love and care for one another as well as despising, hating, throwing out our only means of survival, Our Father in Heaven.
Verses 25 to 30 speak of the Lord's anger,smiting, war, captivity, darkness and sorrow. He will use other peoples to declare His war and carry out His fairness that exalts Him above all others and His righteousness wherein is His holiness.
Is it any wonder that the earth is suffering because of greed, injustice, sin and iniquity that raises it's ugly head in unison to stir up the anger of a Just and holy God? War does clean up on all these areas of wrong doing. Our Father and God knows how to put a stop to the world's greed and vanity. He can sweep out any and all of it while remaining exalted and praised and sanctified.
How to avoid war is to surrender to the will and plan of the greatest Person in the universe. Peace, joy and love bring freedom to our souls.HALLELUJAH !
Dona Hatherley creates roads to wellness in all areas of life by pointing out ways and means as well as the expectations you can have from God's viewpoint. Strong on suggestions and adamant about Who is really in charge.http://www.newfreshcreatedjustforyou.blogspot.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dona_Hatherley

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