Crossing The Boundary Lines Of The Torah
Isaiah 24
Behold, the Lord maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down, and scattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof.
2 And it shall be, as with the people, so with the priest; as with the servant, so with his master; as with the maid, so with her mistress; as with the buyer, so with the seller; as with the lender, so with the borrower; as with the taker of usury, so with the giver of usury to him.
3 The land shall be utterly emptied, and utterly spoiled: for the Lord hath spoken this word.
4 The earth mourneth and fadeth away, the world languisheth and fadeth away, the haughty people of the earth do languish.
5 The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws (Torah), changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant.
17 Fear, and the pit, and the snare, are upon thee, O inhabitant of the earth.
18 And it shall come to pass, that he who fleeth from the noise of the fear shall fall into the pit; and he that cometh up out of the midst of the pit shall be taken in the snare: for the windows from on high are open, and the foundations of the earth do shake.
19 The earth is utterly broken down, the earth is clean dissolved, the earth is moved exceedingly.
20 The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall be removed like a cottage; and the transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it; and it shall fall, and not rise again.
21 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall punish the host of the high ones that are on high, and the kings of the earth upon the earth.
22 And they shall be gathered together, as prisoners are gathered in the pit, and shall be shut up in the prison, and after many days shall they be visited.
23 Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed, when the Lord of hosts shall reign in mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before his ancients gloriously.
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New Living Translation 24:1-27:13 Introductory Notes:
“This section is often referred to as the ‘Little Apocalypse’ because of its similarities to the book of Revelation. In these chapters Isaiah takes readers out of the present into a vision of the future world. The universal imagery of the Little Apocalypse makes it difficult to assign the events described to any precise historical situation.
“That means that these chapters cannot be used to outline a sequence of events or create a historical blueprint for the future. Instead, the imagery is intended to create an impressionistic drama of an unfolding world that is both like and unlike the present.”
Matthew Henry:
“Surely the prophets were sent, not only to foretell particular events, but to form the minds of men to virtue and piety, and for that end their prophecies were written and preserved even for our learning, and therefore ought not to be looked upon as of private interpretation.
“In other words, these chapters hold application and significance for us as we see the very present unfolding of biblical prophesy happening all around us on a daily basis.”
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Historically God brings cataclysmic-like events when His people, and the world they impact, cross the boundary lines of the Torah.
That’s called transgression, as stated in verses 5 and 20.
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Let me say at the forefront:
Before I cast stones, bricks or the kitchen sink at the lost world for the condition we find ourselves in presently, I look to myself first. Why? Because as the shape of the believers so goes everything else. We get a side-ways glimpse into that in verse 2.
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In our context, to transgress is to go beyond, outside of, the set boundaries and limits contained in the Torah. This is done (and always has been done) on a daily, routine basis. But what eventually happens is the world, the creation, begins to sag under the weight of what mankind dumps on it.
The problem isn’t climate change, oil, pollution, gas vehicles, Bible believing Christians, cow farts or … any other popular diversion the world uses to distract us from the true problem.
What is the true problem?
Sinful man transgressing God’s laws, changing His ordinances and breaking the everlasting covenant. (v. 5)
And because of that “the transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it”. (v. 20)
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A very appropriate counter part to what Isaiah says is laid out by Paul in Romans 8:18-23 which states:
18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.
19 For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.
20 For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope,
21 Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.
22 For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.
23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.
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We have been aggressively crossing the boundary lines of Torah since the Fall of Adam and Eve. We will do so until the end. But until the end falls, there seems to be two things holding back the unleashing of God’s wrath.
*”For God so loved the world ….” The truth is, God loves the world. That means (don’t forget) He loved us too when we were a total mess in our transgressions. But that also means He loves, right up to this present hour, those that are in their transgressions.
*The salt and light of His people in this world. However … I don’t think it’s unfair to postulate (and I think you might agree) that our salt and light effectiveness is waning on a major scale.
If that’s not true, explain how America has continually eroded to such a fallen level of degradation in so many areas? — So many churches and YET so much sin! Something just doesn’t add up.
Could it be that the external world condition is a reflection of the internal heart condition of God’s people?
I think it’s something worth considering. I have to admit that when I look at my inner life it’s not always a compatible reflection of my Shabbat-going-to-meeting persona.
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God has provided passages like Isaiah 24 so that we, His people, can stand back and take inventory — not just of the world’s condition but our own as well.
That’s what I’m hoping to achieve in this blog. We have an important End-Time roll to play. And it’s going to call for our A-Game in order to be used by God however He sees fit.
I want to be accounted (at least to some degree) as useful material for God in the coming days. I’m sure you do too.
Let’s commit to an honest desire to stop Crossing The Boundary Lines Of The Torah.
Trow so?
I trow we all so trow.