College Life in Isaiah

I reached Isaiah 5 in my OT reading and couldn’t help but smile and think, “There truly is nothing new under the sun” when it comes to people’s attitudes and lifestyles.  In particular, I would guess that if a person paraphrased Isaiah 5:19-22 you would assume that it was talking about attitudes on your typical American college campus.  Take a look:

“Woe to those…who say, ‘Let Him make speed, let Him hasten His work, that we may see it; and let the purpose of the Holy One of Israel draw near and come to pass, that we may know it!’

Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!

Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight!

Woe to those who are heroes in drinking wine and valiant men in mixing strong drink.”

In so many words Isaiah seems to say:  “Look around and feel sorry for a culture that says, ‘I won’t believe in Jesus until He physically shows up in front of my eyes or declares Himself miraculously (and even then I probably still won’t believe)’.  For a people who turn the morality and truth of the Bible upside down and declare immoral to be moral and moral to be immoral.  For a people who declare that they are smarter than God.  For those party animals and fans of party animals.”

That said, I don’t think that we should get too much into a head shaking and finger pointing mood.  Rather, we should recognize the Lord’s “Woe’s” and have a heart to see them come to the knowledge of Jesus as their Savior so that they will no longer be under the wrath of the Lord.