In the rest of this chapter, the Lord speaks through Isaiah about the choices His people make...and the results of the choices they make...
The Lord continues...
"When you lift up your hands to Me in act of prayer, it is hard for Me to look and to watch at what you are attempting to do...why?...because your hands are covered in blood. The blood which cover your very hands that you lift up in a ritual, is the blood of innocent victims you have hurt...maimed. and tried to destroy.
Here is what I want you to do: First, go and wash yourselves clean... wash all the blood off of you from the wickedness of your ways. Confess your sin, change your mind on all these matters of daily life you now practice, and turn to Me.
Learn the right way to live... by My way...by My Commandments...follow My direction! Begin to practice how you can help those who are bent beneath their load, learn to defend the cause of the orphans, assist those who are homeless, stand up for those who are defenseless, come to the aid of the widow, and say "no" to evil practices you have engrafted into your very lives.
Come to Me, sit and let's put a plan together...a plan that will change you and help change the lives of those around you. Your sins are dark and bold as the color scarlet when it is in the brightness of the sun,...but I can make you white...like the fresh fallen snow!
Your sins are deep and bruised like crimson...but I can make you clean and soft like wool about to be spun!
Yet I would also make you aware: If you refuse to listen to Me, ignore Me, and walk away from Me...you will die!...like a wild dog roaming in the streets. You will be hunted down and cut...to your very death by the sword. Trust Me...it will happen...I put My own Name on it!
Jerusalem, My faithful bride, has changed her clothing...and now enjoys being in prostitution! My Jerusalem...is now a whore!
At one time, she was known for her kindness, her gentle touch to others when they came to her for help..for justice and mercy. Now, those very same hands will cut the throats of anyone who dares come near her.
Once, she was regarded as beautiful as silver, now, her beauty is less than the dross that is skimmed off, when silver is purified.
Once, she was compared to the finest of the rich wines, now, she is diluted and tasteless...nothing but "rotgut" to any who would take a sip from her.
As far as her choice of leaders:...they are nothing more than "low-life" rebels..and their companions?...thieves and crooks.
Their idea of justice is taking bribes and demanding pay-offs. Consider the cry of the orphans, or the plight of the widows?...they are not even given a thought.
Therefore, the Lord of Heaven's Army would say this to you: It is time I must "vent"..and let out some of the penned-up emotion I have carried within Me. And, it is you who I will "vent upon...you...who have given no mercy...you who have shared no kindness...you who have left the innocent to die...payback has arrived! Justice demands it! The Blood of the Innocent cries out!
You have never seen My Hand...clenched tight in a fist...until now! My fist is coming at...You! You will be in terror and fright as it comes toward you, and you will faint and melt before I am able to even give a first blow. I will skim off the ground what is left of you...all the evil impurities you once held in high esteem, and throw it all in a barrel marked "Toxic"..where it belongs.
Then, I will restore My once faithful bride with good advisers, good judges who will rule with true justice, honesty, and integrity. Counsellors will be nearby you to give sound advice, and you will once again be known as the "Refuge of the Unfortunate"...and you will return to Me...my faithful bride once again!
Zion will have her day of restoration...I put My Name on that as well, and you will repent of your evil and dark ways, and be resurrected...by Me!
Anyone left who still remain rebels, or are part of the "Proud to be Sinners" crowd..will be gone...never to be heard from again. And those who insist on going their "merry way", following their own paths...won't get very far. They will soon run into someone who calls himself: "The End"...and all those who have deserted Me...will be no more.
As you renew your very hearts in embracing My Ways, and living a lifestyle that honors Me, all the shrines in the hills you erected to your no-name gods...the ones you called upon in the "sacred gardens", will no longer be a part of your daily lives.
You will be embarrassed and ashamed to hear of any "god and goddess" tales, or to hear of any talk concerning the no-name gods you had greatly admired.
Anyone who follows the "fables of the hills"...drawing strength from such myths, and claiming to be "strong and sturdy" as an oak tree from the time spent in the "sacred gardens" have only fooled themselves.
They may appear to have the strength of an Oak...only to find no leaves on its branches, and its limbs already dead....brown and brittle! A closer look reveals its bark is dead and brown, and soon this "mighty oak" falls...nothing more than broken twigs and wood that is dry and seasoned...to be burned! The evil and godless stories that have been told in the hills will be the very fuel to light these dead oaks, and then the "sacred garden" is nothing more than a scorched piece of land..left desolate and deserted. Everything will go up in smoke...and no one can stop this thirst quenching fire!"
The Lord continues...
"When you lift up your hands to Me in act of prayer, it is hard for Me to look and to watch at what you are attempting to do...why?...because your hands are covered in blood. The blood which cover your very hands that you lift up in a ritual, is the blood of innocent victims you have hurt...maimed. and tried to destroy.
Here is what I want you to do: First, go and wash yourselves clean... wash all the blood off of you from the wickedness of your ways. Confess your sin, change your mind on all these matters of daily life you now practice, and turn to Me.
Learn the right way to live... by My way...by My Commandments...follow My direction! Begin to practice how you can help those who are bent beneath their load, learn to defend the cause of the orphans, assist those who are homeless, stand up for those who are defenseless, come to the aid of the widow, and say "no" to evil practices you have engrafted into your very lives.
Come to Me, sit and let's put a plan together...a plan that will change you and help change the lives of those around you. Your sins are dark and bold as the color scarlet when it is in the brightness of the sun,...but I can make you white...like the fresh fallen snow!
Your sins are deep and bruised like crimson...but I can make you clean and soft like wool about to be spun!
Yet I would also make you aware: If you refuse to listen to Me, ignore Me, and walk away from Me...you will die!...like a wild dog roaming in the streets. You will be hunted down and cut...to your very death by the sword. Trust Me...it will happen...I put My own Name on it!
Jerusalem, My faithful bride, has changed her clothing...and now enjoys being in prostitution! My Jerusalem...is now a whore!
At one time, she was known for her kindness, her gentle touch to others when they came to her for help..for justice and mercy. Now, those very same hands will cut the throats of anyone who dares come near her.
Once, she was regarded as beautiful as silver, now, her beauty is less than the dross that is skimmed off, when silver is purified.
Once, she was compared to the finest of the rich wines, now, she is diluted and tasteless...nothing but "rotgut" to any who would take a sip from her.
As far as her choice of leaders:...they are nothing more than "low-life" rebels..and their companions?...thieves and crooks.
Their idea of justice is taking bribes and demanding pay-offs. Consider the cry of the orphans, or the plight of the widows?...they are not even given a thought.
Therefore, the Lord of Heaven's Army would say this to you: It is time I must "vent"..and let out some of the penned-up emotion I have carried within Me. And, it is you who I will "vent upon...you...who have given no mercy...you who have shared no kindness...you who have left the innocent to die...payback has arrived! Justice demands it! The Blood of the Innocent cries out!
You have never seen My Hand...clenched tight in a fist...until now! My fist is coming at...You! You will be in terror and fright as it comes toward you, and you will faint and melt before I am able to even give a first blow. I will skim off the ground what is left of you...all the evil impurities you once held in high esteem, and throw it all in a barrel marked "Toxic"..where it belongs.
Then, I will restore My once faithful bride with good advisers, good judges who will rule with true justice, honesty, and integrity. Counsellors will be nearby you to give sound advice, and you will once again be known as the "Refuge of the Unfortunate"...and you will return to Me...my faithful bride once again!
Zion will have her day of restoration...I put My Name on that as well, and you will repent of your evil and dark ways, and be resurrected...by Me!
Anyone left who still remain rebels, or are part of the "Proud to be Sinners" crowd..will be gone...never to be heard from again. And those who insist on going their "merry way", following their own paths...won't get very far. They will soon run into someone who calls himself: "The End"...and all those who have deserted Me...will be no more.
As you renew your very hearts in embracing My Ways, and living a lifestyle that honors Me, all the shrines in the hills you erected to your no-name gods...the ones you called upon in the "sacred gardens", will no longer be a part of your daily lives.
You will be embarrassed and ashamed to hear of any "god and goddess" tales, or to hear of any talk concerning the no-name gods you had greatly admired.
Anyone who follows the "fables of the hills"...drawing strength from such myths, and claiming to be "strong and sturdy" as an oak tree from the time spent in the "sacred gardens" have only fooled themselves.
They may appear to have the strength of an Oak...only to find no leaves on its branches, and its limbs already dead....brown and brittle! A closer look reveals its bark is dead and brown, and soon this "mighty oak" falls...nothing more than broken twigs and wood that is dry and seasoned...to be burned! The evil and godless stories that have been told in the hills will be the very fuel to light these dead oaks, and then the "sacred garden" is nothing more than a scorched piece of land..left desolate and deserted. Everything will go up in smoke...and no one can stop this thirst quenching fire!"
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