“Woe to those who are wise in their own opinion, 
and clever in their own sight.”

~Isaiah 5:21~ (HCSB)

Many people love their own opinions.

They love them so much, they feel forced to make sure everyone else loves them to.

That’s not a problem when what they share what is True, Right, Noble, Pure, Clean, Healthy, Healing, and Profitable to the Hearer.
But what if it is not? What if it is the exact opposite of true and right, clean and healthy? What if it leads to Darkness, Bitterness, Disease, Jealousy, Anger, Confusion, Depression, Vanity, Suicide, Violence, Homicide and every kind of human stupidity?

I’d say that would be a case when a just person should confront the one spreading their opinions–and ask about the value of them: What is their end goal? Why are they choosing to spread falsehoods? … rumors, slander, libel, false accusations and character assassinations–which are very commonly leveled against God and his family? And now is the time to confront the person and the crime, in the present, during the time when the crime is in progress.

 

Consider these three Woes.

woe | wō | noun literary: great sorrow or distress: they had a complicated tale of woe.
(woes) things that cause sorrow or distress; troubles: to add to his woes, customers have been spending less.

 

Isaiah 5:20-25 (HCSB)
20 Woe to those who call evil good
and good evil,
who substitute darkness for light
and light for darkness,
who substitute bitter for sweet
and sweet for bitter.

21 Woe to those who are wise in their own opinion
and clever in their own sight.

22 Woe to those who are heroes at drinking wine,
who are fearless at mixing beer,
23 who acquit the guilty for a bribe
and deprive the innocent of justice.

24 Therefore, as a tongue of fire consumes straw
and as dry grass shrivels in the flame,
so their roots will become like something rotten
and their blossoms will blow away like dust,
for they have rejected
the instruction of the LORD of Hosts,
and they have despised
the word of the Holy One of Israel.

25 Therefore the LORD’S anger burns against His people.
He raised His hand against them and struck them;
the mountains quaked,
and their corpses were like garbage in the streets.
In all this, His anger is not removed,
and His hand is still raised to strike.

 

From this above message you can quickly evaluate that YHWH, GOD, is no respecter of persons. He doesn’t play favorites. He is not prejudice. When His own people display rebellion, they are judged and punished even more quickly than outsiders, the people of other gods, in other nations. The end everyone gets judged. So we cannot accept the lies about God that he is prejudiced or biased towards his people or any other people. His predominant nature has mercy. But mercy is on the affective with those who have a contrite heart. Those who have specifically repeatedly and diligently harden their hearts deliberately against the will of God, prove to themselves and to God that they are not redeemable through mercy. That is when judgment takes the stand.

 

May you gain abundant wisdom from this passage of scripture, that will help you in your discernment, and your ability to know right from wrong, and to address lies and falsehoods when they come into your presence.

 

Shalom,

Brother Thomas