The LORD will strike Egypt, and then he will bring healing. For the Egyptians will turn to the LORD, and he will listen to their pleas and heal them. [Isaiah 19.22]
In today's One Year Chronological Bible reading, Isaiah is giving prophecies to different regions. In his message to Egypt, we find the passage above. Isaiah 19.22 reveals much about God's character that should not be overlooked (see What Is God Like? from 2021).
Isaiah's prophecy over Jerusalem, starting in Isaiah 22, reveals their actions when they too are struck by the LORD for their sin. Their response is much different than Egypt's:
Oh, what a day of crushing defeat! What a day of confusion and terror brought by the Lord, the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, upon the Valley of Vision! The walls of Jerusalem have been broken, and cries of death echo from the mountainsides. Elamites are the archers, with their chariots and charioteers. The men of Kir hold up the shields. Chariots fill your beautiful valleys, and charioteers storm your gates. Judah’s defenses have been stripped away. You run to the armory for your weapons. You inspect the breaks in the walls of Jerusalem. You store up water in the lower pool. You survey the houses and tear some down for stone to strengthen the walls. Between the city walls, you build a reservoir for water from the old pool. But you never ask for help from the One who did all this. You never considered the One who planned this long ago. [Isaiah 22.5-11]
In their suffering, Egypt turned to the LORD. In contrast, Jerusalem, when struck by God, set out to resourcefully remedy their situation for themselves:
You run to the armory for your weapons. You inspect the breaks in the walls of Jerusalem. You store up water in the lower pool. You survey the houses and tear some down for stone to strengthen the walls. Between the city walls, you build a reservoir for water from the old pool. [Isaiah 22.8b-11a]
I was speaking to a family member just yesterday - a professing "Christian" - who actually said, "God helps those who help themselves..."
It should be understood from all that the Bible teaches about God, that the unbiblical cliché quoted above by my family member reveals the exact same attitude Jerusalem had - a sin that would never be forgiven:
At that time the Lord, the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, called you to weep and mourn. He told you to shave your heads in sorrow for your sins and to wear clothes of burlap to show your remorse. But instead, you dance and play; you slaughter cattle and kill sheep. You feast on meat and drink wine. You say, “Let’s feast and drink, for tomorrow we die!” The LORD of Heaven’s Armies has revealed this to me: “Till the day you die, you will never be forgiven for this sin.” That is the judgment of the Lord, the LORD of Heaven’s Armies. [Isaiah 22.12-14]
Why would this sin never be forgiven? Because it is the sin of idolatry which means a person is not trusting in God ALONE. Only when a person trusts God ALONE (turning away from every other god/provider - i.e. repentance) is God's bountiful resource of heaven opened to them. Repentance means to turn away from idolatry and its sin and turn to God.
When Jesus began His earthly ministry, as should be expected if what Isaiah said is true, He made the following demand:
From then on Jesus began to preach, “Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.” [Matthew 4.17]
To be very clear, and, in stark contrast to the "DEI" mentality that prevails today (even found in leading churches), Jesus' offer of salvation is of no consequence to an unrepentant human being.
Based on the teaching of the entire Bible, the unpardonable sin, blasphemy against the Holy Spirit (Luke 12.10), is to ignore the conviction of the Holy Spirit, the Advocate, Who, Jesus said does the following:
But in fact, it is best for you that I go away, because if I don’t, the Advocate won’t come. If I do go away, then I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will convict the world of its sin, and of God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment. The world’s sin is that it refuses to believe in me. [John 16.7-9]
The world that "refuses to believe in me" believes instead in itself - its idols. And, that is precisely what Isaiah warned Jerusalem of doing - trusting in themselves, their remedies, their own ways - to take care of themselves instead of calling out to God ALONE.
The unpardonable sin is unrepentance. Unrepentance is refusing to turn away from trusting idols (at the conviction of the Holy Spirit) to trust God ALONE. Now, it is perfectly clear why Jesus demanded absolute fearless faith and undivided loyalty to Himself:
If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. [Matthew 16.24 (also, Mark 8.34 & Luke 9.23)]
What is said here up to this point may (because it should) invoke a hopeless feeling that wonders, "How can anyone be saved then?" Let's just further compound that hopeless feeling with Jesus' own words:
“You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it. [Matthew 7.13-14]
Trusting in anything instead of, or in addition to, Jesus Christ renders one "hopeless."
Question: If idols are as big a deal as this author suggests, why is Jesus not on record of ever having even used the word "idol"?
Answer: Because, as God in the flesh, Jesus would naturally only point to Himself as the "hope" of the world: “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me. [John 14.6]
When we finally understand the scope of "giving up our own way, taking up our cross, and following Jesus," we will experience the conviction of the Holy Spirit... There is only one proper response to this conviction: to turn (repent) from our own ways (everything we trust instead of God ALONE) with absolutely no concern for our own life (taking up our cross), to follow Jesus.
We can KNOW we have effectively given up our own ways when the ways of Jesus replace them:
“I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father. [John 14.12]
Religion will not teach this. Denomination will not teach this. The world certainly will not teach this. In fact, most of us are probably "choking" at this point. But, what we are choking on is our own pride - our refusal to give up our own ways - our idols - so that we might follow God - specifically, Jesus - ALONE with no regard whatsoever for our own well-being (taking up our cross) because we have decidedly given that responsibility to God:
“So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. “So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today. [Matthew 6.31-34]
The grace of God is not for idolaters because the grace of God does not "cover" the unpardonable sin against the Holy Spirit - the conviction to give up our own ways, take up our cross, and follow Jesus.
God, help us to believe today, not according to our definition of "believe," but according to Your definition of, and conviction to, "believe": to give up our own way, take up our cross, and follow Jesus. So be it.
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