A Devotional Thought From Isaiah
As for my people,
children are their oppressors,…
Isaiah 3:12
This
phrase caught my attention when reading my devotions recently. The biblical
prophets are often called upon to declare strange and terrible things in store
for the ancient people of God who turned their backs on his commandments and
ways. Historically the prophecies have come true and the brutality predicted
could be described with gory imagination that might not even reach the high
level of cruelty, pain, and destruction that actually happened when enemies were
allowed to invade and conquer the land.
This
phrase used in the context of that ancient destruction drew my thinking to
modern times and the appropriateness of its application to today. Nations in
Africa have for many years, if not decades, seen the terrible oppression and
destruction committed by “child soldiers.” Imagine 10 and 12 year old boys,
even younger, carrying A K 47s or some sort of sub machine gun, and at the command
of their leader leveling those weapons against their own people and killing
with the squeeze of a trigger and no conscience about it at all. In western
countries we hear tales of child criminals used by gangs for robberies and
killings, because presumably the law treats these childish shooters with
lighter penalties than adults. In other countries where violence is a way of life we hear news reports of children wearing homicide/suicide bomb vests and wreaking savagery up their own countrymen.
None of
us growing up would have ever have thought “modern” societies would stoop to
this level of horror. Even theologians who understand the inherent sin nature
of human beings are shocked to think that anyone could sink so low. How could
the Bible predict such unimaginable stuff? It doesn’t make sense, but again and
again, over and over, we see things predicted for the ancient times mirrored in
modern days. Trust the Bible to give you the truth about the world, about life,
about God’s saving message.
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