That this is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of the LORD:
This is a rebellious and deceitful people because they will not hear, listen to, or obey the law of the Lord. In its setting their rebellion is refusing truthful instruction, correction, and warning from seers and prophets, telling them to stop seeing, to withhold what is right, to turn aside and get out of the way, and demanding smooth pleasing falsehoods instead while pushing aside the Holy One of Israel. It was ordered to be written in a table and noted in a book to stand for the time to come for ever and ever, so that the rebellion shown by ancient Israel speaks to today and would increase in after ages. Their contempt for God's word and trust in oppression and perverseness becomes iniquity like a swelling breach in a high wall, whose breaking comes suddenly in an instant with ruin and destruction. The warning falls on God's professed people in the last days who, even with great light, repeat that rebellion by rejecting plain truth and reproof, preferring teachers and messages that soothe conscience into false peace, resisting and seeking to silence the messengers God sends, and walking in human counsel and forbidden ways.
Meaning and Setting
This is a rebellious people, lying or deceitful children, because they will not hear, listen to, or obey the law of the Lord. Their lying is deceit, a refusal to heed divine instruction and to accept obedience as binding.
In its immediate setting their rebellion is rejection of truthful instruction, correction, and warnings from seers and prophets. They say to the seers, see not, and to the prophets, withhold what is right, prophesy not right things. They tell them to turn aside from the path and get out of the way, and demand smooth, pleasing words, reassuring falsehoods and deceits instead. In doing so they push aside the Holy One of Israel and cause Him to cease from before them.
It was ordered to be written in a table and noted in a book to stand for the time to come for ever and ever as a lasting testimony against them forever. Therefore it speaks to today, with the latter-day setting of verses 8-13 showing that the rebellion manifested by ancient Israel would increase in after ages. Their contempt for God's word and trust in oppression and perverseness becomes iniquity like a breach ready to fall swelling out in a high wall. Its breaking comes suddenly at an instant, with sudden ruin and destruction following rejection of the pure testimony. Their refusal to hear is tied to the warning that the day of the Lord is near.
Warning for Last Days
The warning reaches to God's professed people in the last days, who even when given great light and opportunities can repeat Israel's rebellion by resisting righteousness and refusing the admonitions of the Word in favor of their own chosen way. It was ordered to be written in a table and noted in a book to stand for the time to come for ever and ever as a lasting testimony, because the rebellion manifested by ancient Israel would increase in after ages, and in the latter-day setting of verses 8-13 their rejection of the pure testimony and of the prophets' truthful warnings precedes sudden destruction. Those described reject plain truth and God's Word and prefer teachers and messages that soothe them, demanding that seers see not and that prophets withhold what is right and speak smooth, pleasing falsehoods and deceits instead, pushing aside the Holy One of Israel.
They are those who put trust in men and make flesh their arm, who are not under heavenly control, who trust disobedient people and walk in finite erring human counsel. They practice forbidden principles instead of God's shown way, exalt one doing a work God has not assigned, and seek to make of none effect and despise the messages of reproof and warning God sends through His chosen agencies, bracing themselves against His will and way and neither hearing nor obeying His voice. Their refusal is tied to the warning that the day of the Lord is near, and joined with despising God's word and trusting in oppression and perverseness, their iniquity becomes as a breach ready to fall swelling in a high wall whose breaking comes suddenly at an instant.
They use their influence against what God sends, hate reproof, and resist the message and messengers sent to correct conduct, refusing to hear and obey and to accept the need for repentance while there is still time. They seek to silence true messengers so as no more to be annoyed by reproof, demanding words that foster pride, encourage presumption, and soothe conscience into false peace and carnal security. God reads the motives of every heart and hears the prayer of the contrite heart, but those who silence His messengers He permits to go on in the way of their own choosing. He takes from them the privilege of having errors pointed out, so that no prophecy awakens them from carnal security and no warning puts them to shame or leads them to repentance.
The word means men in responsible positions at the heart of the work who claim to be teachers, counsellors, and wise men while not having light and truth in heart and soul and not converted from old hereditary and cultivated character. They take up truth without practicing it, walk contrary to God, misrepresent Him whose name they bear, mingle their own spirit with words and actions, pervert principle, and confederate to do what God has expressly forbidden until justice and mercy and love for God and man is fallen in the streets and equity cannot enter. The word in Isaiah 30:1-15 will be fulfilled to all such teachers who act out its principles, whose eyes are greatly blinded so they do not see, who greatly weaken the Lord's work and dishonor truth of heavenly origin, in contrast to God's remnant people who will be purified, made white, and tried.
It describes church members who have received great light yet will not hear and obey, shown in not obeying the truth but perverting it and holding it in unrighteousness, in sensuality that corrupts the whole man, in Sodomitish impurity and uncleanness, and in self-indulgence in meat eating and other harmful food and drink that clogs the living machinery and corrupts service to God. Those who disregard great light stand worse than those without such advantages, bringing dishonor on God and putting Christ to open shame. Unless they fast and pray, strive earnestly, repent and forsake all uncleanness, and overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony, they will fall with the wicked, for not one particle of impurity will escape the wrath of God at the execution of judgment, with punishment proportionate to the dishonor brought on God, while only those who become saints and not sinners will become members of the royal family and form God's kingdom in the earth made new.
This is a rebellious and deceitful people because they will not hear, listen to, or obey the law of the Lord. In its setting their rebellion is refusing truthful instruction, correction, and warning from seers and prophets, telling them to stop seeing, to withhold what is right, to turn aside and get out of the way, and demanding smooth pleasing falsehoods instead while pushing aside the Holy One of Israel. It was ordered to be written in a table and noted in a book to stand for the time to come for ever and ever, so that the rebellion shown by ancient Israel speaks to today and would increase in after ages. Their contempt for God's word and trust in oppression and perverseness becomes iniquity like a swelling breach in a high wall, whose breaking comes suddenly in an instant with ruin and destruction. The warning falls on God's professed people in the last days who, even with great light, repeat that rebellion by rejecting plain truth and reproof, preferring teachers and messages that soothe conscience into false peace, resisting and seeking to silence the messengers God sends, and walking in human counsel and forbidden ways.
Meaning and Setting
This is a rebellious people, lying or deceitful children, because they will not hear, listen to, or obey the law of the Lord. Their lying is deceit, a refusal to heed divine instruction and to accept obedience as binding.
In its immediate setting their rebellion is rejection of truthful instruction, correction, and warnings from seers and prophets. They say to the seers, see not, and to the prophets, withhold what is right, prophesy not right things. They tell them to turn aside from the path and get out of the way, and demand smooth, pleasing words, reassuring falsehoods and deceits instead. In doing so they push aside the Holy One of Israel and cause Him to cease from before them.
It was ordered to be written in a table and noted in a book to stand for the time to come for ever and ever as a lasting testimony against them forever. Therefore it speaks to today, with the latter-day setting of verses 8-13 showing that the rebellion manifested by ancient Israel would increase in after ages. Their contempt for God's word and trust in oppression and perverseness becomes iniquity like a breach ready to fall swelling out in a high wall. Its breaking comes suddenly at an instant, with sudden ruin and destruction following rejection of the pure testimony. Their refusal to hear is tied to the warning that the day of the Lord is near.
Warning for Last Days
The warning reaches to God's professed people in the last days, who even when given great light and opportunities can repeat Israel's rebellion by resisting righteousness and refusing the admonitions of the Word in favor of their own chosen way. It was ordered to be written in a table and noted in a book to stand for the time to come for ever and ever as a lasting testimony, because the rebellion manifested by ancient Israel would increase in after ages, and in the latter-day setting of verses 8-13 their rejection of the pure testimony and of the prophets' truthful warnings precedes sudden destruction. Those described reject plain truth and God's Word and prefer teachers and messages that soothe them, demanding that seers see not and that prophets withhold what is right and speak smooth, pleasing falsehoods and deceits instead, pushing aside the Holy One of Israel.
They are those who put trust in men and make flesh their arm, who are not under heavenly control, who trust disobedient people and walk in finite erring human counsel. They practice forbidden principles instead of God's shown way, exalt one doing a work God has not assigned, and seek to make of none effect and despise the messages of reproof and warning God sends through His chosen agencies, bracing themselves against His will and way and neither hearing nor obeying His voice. Their refusal is tied to the warning that the day of the Lord is near, and joined with despising God's word and trusting in oppression and perverseness, their iniquity becomes as a breach ready to fall swelling in a high wall whose breaking comes suddenly at an instant.
They use their influence against what God sends, hate reproof, and resist the message and messengers sent to correct conduct, refusing to hear and obey and to accept the need for repentance while there is still time. They seek to silence true messengers so as no more to be annoyed by reproof, demanding words that foster pride, encourage presumption, and soothe conscience into false peace and carnal security. God reads the motives of every heart and hears the prayer of the contrite heart, but those who silence His messengers He permits to go on in the way of their own choosing. He takes from them the privilege of having errors pointed out, so that no prophecy awakens them from carnal security and no warning puts them to shame or leads them to repentance.
The word means men in responsible positions at the heart of the work who claim to be teachers, counsellors, and wise men while not having light and truth in heart and soul and not converted from old hereditary and cultivated character. They take up truth without practicing it, walk contrary to God, misrepresent Him whose name they bear, mingle their own spirit with words and actions, pervert principle, and confederate to do what God has expressly forbidden until justice and mercy and love for God and man is fallen in the streets and equity cannot enter. The word in Isaiah 30:1-15 will be fulfilled to all such teachers who act out its principles, whose eyes are greatly blinded so they do not see, who greatly weaken the Lord's work and dishonor truth of heavenly origin, in contrast to God's remnant people who will be purified, made white, and tried.
It describes church members who have received great light yet will not hear and obey, shown in not obeying the truth but perverting it and holding it in unrighteousness, in sensuality that corrupts the whole man, in Sodomitish impurity and uncleanness, and in self-indulgence in meat eating and other harmful food and drink that clogs the living machinery and corrupts service to God. Those who disregard great light stand worse than those without such advantages, bringing dishonor on God and putting Christ to open shame. Unless they fast and pray, strive earnestly, repent and forsake all uncleanness, and overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony, they will fall with the wicked, for not one particle of impurity will escape the wrath of God at the execution of judgment, with punishment proportionate to the dishonor brought on God, while only those who become saints and not sinners will become members of the royal family and form God's kingdom in the earth made new.