PODCAST
All Flash, No Substance
June 24th, 2017
Isaiah 58:1-11
The crust was golden brown and it smelled scrumptious. Steam rose from the chicken pot pie. Thick gravy oozed around the edges. It looked for all the world like a delicious dinner. Yet, once my fork was plunged into the flaky crust and the pie opened, there were only a few pieces of carrot, a couple of peas and a few scattered shreds of chicken floating in the gravy.
What a disappointment to find that what looked so good on the outside turned out to have very little substance!
In Isaiah 58 the prophet records the disheartening condition of the Hebrews who put on a good show, appearing for all the world to be doing and saying the right things, yet God saw their true condition: they had hardened hearts that mistreated others. They were exploiting the weak, quarreled, and fought. God said, “Is this what you call a fast, a day acceptable to the Lord?” (Isaiah 58:5b) Happily, promise and hope are declared in the next two verses as God says that mercy and justice are what He desires.
Author: Curtiss A. Hartley
