What You Think About God

These are the visions that Isaiah son of Amoz saw . . . during the years when Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah were kings of Judah.   Isaiah 1:1

Isaiah had a long ministry, spanning somewhere between four and six decades. But it was a vision from God given in the year King Uzziah died that would shape Isaiah’s whole life and ministry.

King Uzziah ruled in Jerusalem for fifty-two years. During these years, there was a huge increase in construction, a remarkable growth in farming, and a significant strengthening of Judah’s defenses. This generated a feeling of confidence among the people, and as that confidence grew, they became increasingly casual toward God.

The people offered sacrifices and observed the feasts and festivals, yet God called it “parad[ing] through my courts” (Isaiah 1:12). Their religion seemed to have little impact in their lives; God rebuked them for “bringing me your meaningless gifts” (1:13). The Temple that was once filled with God’s glory was now something of a national treasure, a symbol of traditional values. There seems to have been little difference between these people and the pagan nations around them.

Their situation speaks powerfully to the church today. America is also a prospering nation where many people acknowledge God but behave in a way that is hardly different from the surrounding culture. Like the nation of Israel in the time of Isaiah, we have people who participate in worship services and lie to their parents, claim false expense reimbursements from their employers, abort their babies, cheat on their spouses, and throw themselves into materialism. The important thing to grasp is that this is not new. It always happens when people lose their vision of God.

What you think about God is the clearest indicator of where your spiritual future will be. If a man thinks of God only as loving and forgiving, we should not expect him to be too diligent in the pursuit of a moral life. If a woman thinks of God primarily as someone who affirms everyone, then it should not surprise us if she feels affirmed even while she is still in her sins. The great issue in Isaiah’s time, and in ours, is that many people have lost sight of the awesome holiness of God.

For further reading, see 2 Timothy 3