Land of Treasures
“Their land also is full of silver and gold, neither is there any end of their treasures; their land is also full of horses, neither is there any end of their chariots: Their land also is full of idols; they worship the work of their own hands, that which their own fingers have made:…And the loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be made low: and the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day. And the idols he shall utterly abolish.” Isaiah 2:7-18
When Isaiah prophesied long ago about the wickedness of the children of Israel at the time and how God’s wrath, judgment, and condemnation would come, He might as well have been speaking to us in America and other nations today. And so He is. Are we listening? God does not give us His Word as a history book; He gives us the Bible to live by.
Their land was flooded with the manifestations of materialism. Money. Wealth. Treasures. Pleasure. Transportation. Commercialism. Filled with the wickedness of pride which God despises, they exalted themselves and worshiped what their commercialism produced instead of living to love, glorify, and worship God and being humbly thankful for His provision.
Silver. Gold. Treasures. Horses. Chariots. Idols. They made idols out of their materialism. They took pride in their wealth. They gloated over their successes. They lived for themselves and for what they made. They were caught up in the world around them instead of being caught up in God. Instead of bowing down and humbly loving and adoring the Lord and living according to His ways, they haughtily raised themselves up and worshiped their idols.
Just like our world today, isn’t it? Where are our hearts? Are we not worshiping commercialism instead of God? Are our hearts, minds, time, and relationships not more focused on money, success, the latest television program, the newest movie, parties, shopping, entertainment, gadgets, telephones, technology, vacations, paychecks, promotions, raises, resumes, the latest trends, businesses, popularity, connections, networking, where to get free stuff, etc. than we are focused on the Lord? Does God want us to enjoy His blessings? Yes! But have we gotten His blessings mixed up with commercialism? Have we not made commercialism a god in and of itself?
Rest assured. God WILL deal with each of us who is pride-fully living for the pleasures of this world and gloating over worldly successes instead of living for Him. Exalting ourselves and commercialism above God comes with eternal consequences. For those of us who need to repent and believe in and follow Christ instead of the ways of this world, the time is now. His infinite love, His mercy, and everlasting life await.