Listen to Your Father

"Now go, write it before them on a tablet, and note it on a scroll, that it may be for time to come, forever and ever: ⁹ that this is a rebellious people, lying children, children who will not hear the law of the LORD; ¹⁰ who say to the seers, "Do not see," and to the prophets, "Do not prophesy to us right things; speak to us smooth things, prophesy deceits. ¹¹ Get out of the way, turn aside from the path, cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from before us."

Isaiah 30:8-11

The nature of man since Adam has not changed.  Rebellion and wickedness comes standard in all the hearts of men.  God has given human beings a conscience, the ability to reason, and the freedom of choice.  Despite his great capacity for knowledge, when it comes to the truth man often does not have the stomach for it.  The almighty, living God has issued an invitation for all to enjoy a glorious life of fellowship with Him, but most would rather make a god after their own image they can conveniently manage than relinquish control of their lives to God alone.

In the book Transformational Discipleship I am reading for our discipleship course at Calvary Chapel Sydney, the authors make a good point our relationship with God is intended to be a full-surrender, not a treaty.  Should God exist, most men would be content to make a treaty with Him if they also could maintain their individual sovereignty.  But this arrangement is not a possible option.  We either live for God or ourselves.  The children of Israel provide a good example of the tension which exists in the lives of all born-again Christians.  As God's adopted children through the Gospel, our hearts can still be lured away from the simplicity of faith and obedience to God.  Like the people of Israel and Judah of old, we can shun true messages of scripture because they reveal our faults.

In the passage above, God wrote an eternal memo about the children of Israel.  He discerned their rebellion, lies, and refusal to heed His law.  They were not interested in hearing the truth which came from God because it was the promise of judgment for their refusal to repent.  They wanted to hear "smooth things," deceit their flesh deemed easy to swallow and digest.  The Holy One of Israel spoke the truth, but it was too narrow a view for God's wayward children.  This passage reveals words of prophecy from God will seem a bit rough for our taste - especially when we are in sin.  God's message may be things very difficult to say and make a person very unpopular, as Isaiah and Jeremiah learned firsthand.  God's faithful witnesses must value the approval of God over the approval ratings of the recipients of the message.  Woe to the man who prophecies deceit, who leaves the way, turns aside from the path of righteousness, and chooses to mute the Holy God of Israel.

As Joshua chose which God he and his house would serve, all Christians must choose if we will boldly speak God's truth with hearts compelled by love.  We who have tasted and seen the LORD is God and have received the truth of the Bible should not smooth out the words God intended to be rough on sinners.  A messenger should not edit his king's message in an attempt to make it palatable.  It is a satanic deception to think changing the message will aid its effectiveness.  Diluting the medicine renders it useless to promote healing, and God has freely provided the cure for all our ailments by His grace.  Since we are the children of the true God and follow Jesus who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, let us speak the truth and refuse to trade it for anything.  Proverbs 23:22-24 exhorts us, "Listen to your father who begot you, and do not despise your mother when she is old. ²³ Buy the truth, and do not sell it, also wisdom and instruction and understanding. ²⁴ The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice, and he who begets a wise child will delight in him."