Every Man's Bible - Proverbs - Flipbook - Page 14
Isaiah 56 | page 960
+ + + Men, Women, & God
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Spiritual
Adultery
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Isaiah 57:7-8
ONE OF THE BIBLE’S recurring themes is that
God looks at the hearts of men and women
just as much as he looks at their actions. And
we see time and time again in Scripture that
God finds plenty to look at in our hearts. People
harbor hidden wishes of rebellion against God.
Sure, they know that God is God and that they
should obey him. But at the same time, they
feel deep inside that life might really be better
if God were out of the picture and they could
live as they please.
The prophet Isaiah made an insightful observation about the heart in this passage.
Condemning the people of Israel for their worship of other gods, he compared their idolatry
to prostitution. “You have committed adultery
on every high mountain,” he wrote, speaking the
words God gave him. “There you have worshiped
idols and have been unfaithful to me. . . . You
have left me and climbed into bed with these
detestable gods.”
Long after Isaiah’s time, Jesus spoke about
the heart as the place where sinful actions are
born and grow: “Anyone who even looks at a
woman with lust has already committed adultery
with her in his heart” (Matthew 5:28).
Idolatry is like spiritual lust, and both lust and
idolatry are attitudes that begin in the heart.
Over time, the heart begins to act out these forbidden desires. When that happens, adultery is
the result. Adultery can be sexual or spiritual. In
either case, the problem begins long before the
actual act is ever carried out.
If you want to guard your life and keep your
actions pure, begin by guarding your heart. Even
though it may not seem evident today, the unexamined desires that lurk in your heart will be
the cause of many actions you take tomorrow.
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And don’t let the eunuchs say,
‘I’m a dried-up tree with no children
and no future.’
For this is what the LORD says:
I will bless those eunuchs
who keep my Sabbath days holy
and who choose to do what pleases me
and commit their lives to me.
I will give them—within the walls of my
house—
a memorial and a name
far greater than sons and daughters
could give.
For the name I give them is an everlasting
one.
It will never disappear!
“I will also bless the foreigners who
commit themselves to the LORD,
who serve him and love his name,
who worship him and do not desecrate
the Sabbath day of rest,
and who hold fast to my covenant.
I will bring them to my holy mountain
of Jerusalem
and will fill them with joy in my house
of prayer.
I will accept their burnt offerings and
sacrifices,
because my Temple will be called a
house of prayer for all nations.
For the Sovereign LORD,
who brings back the outcasts of
Israel, says:
I will bring others, too,
besides my people Israel.”
Sinful Leaders Condemned
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Come, wild animals of the field!
Come, wild animals of the forest!
Come and devour my people!
For the leaders of my people—
the LORD’s watchmen, his shepherds—
are blind and ignorant.
They are like silent watchdogs
that give no warning when danger
comes.
They love to lie around, sleeping and
dreaming.
Like greedy dogs, they are never
satisfied.
They are ignorant shepherds,
all following their own path
and intent on personal gain.
“Come,” they say, “let’s get some wine
and have a party.
Let’s all get drunk.
Then tomorrow we’ll do it again
and have an even bigger party!”
