Isaiah 1:1-6

¹ A vision from Isaiah son of Amoz, which he saw with reference to Judah and Jerusalem during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah. ² Listen, sky, and discern, land, for Yahveh has spoken: “I reared children and I brought them up, but they rebelled against me. ³An ox knows its owner and a donkey the trough of its master. Israel does not know; my people do not understand. ⁴ Wow, sinful nation, a people weighed down with iniquity, offspring of evildoers, children who deal corruptly. They have forsaken Yahveh; they have despised the holy one of Israel. They are estranged and perverted. ⁵ Why do you want to be beaten again? You continue rebelling. All of your head is sick, and all of your heart is weak. ⁶ From the sole of the foot and up to your head there is nothing healthy; your bruise and sore and bleeding wound has not been cleansed, and they have not been bound up and not treated with healing oil.

spiritual dementia

Isaiah pictures Judah as having suffered a horrible debilitating disease. He describes the disease as a kind of spiritual dementia, because not only does it cause much physical suffering, it has also caused Judah to forget who she is, where she came from, who she belongs to. Consequentially, she is not aware of the relationship she has with Yahveh, a relationship which would offer her relief, treatment and recovery. The disease goes untreated, and is just getting worse.

Such is the case with the world today as well. We know there is something wrong, but we have forgotten that there is a Great Physician who is ready to treat us. We go from bad to worse, refusing to acknowledge that God is ready to undo the damage.

LORD, here we are, checking in to your hospital. Forgive us for forgetting that you are the answer to our debilitating disease.