August 3 - Isaiah 56:9-12

August 3 – Isaiah 56:9-12

Come, all you beasts of the field, come and devour, all you beasts of the forest! Israel’s watchmen are blind, they all lack knowledge; they are all mute dogs, they cannot bark; they lie around and dream, they love to sleep. They are dogs with mighty appetites; they never have enough. They are shepherds who lack understanding; they all turn to their own way, each seeks his own gain.  “Come,” each one cries, “let me get wine! Let us drink our fill of beer! And tomorrow will be like today, or even far better.”

When my father was young, he was quite deaf.  He had what was known in the mid 1960s as a miracle surgery and his hearing was returned to him.  Up until that point, he had to rely on mom as his warning system for high winds and bad storms.  She’d wake him in the middle of the night, then the two of them would move through the house, waking us kids and getting us to the basement.

After he got his hearing back, he awoke one night and began the process of moving everyone to the basement until mom stopped him and asked what was going on?  “Can’t you hear the wind?” he asked.  It was the first time he had ever heard even a breeze and it was so loud to him that he assumed a terrible storm was brewing.  He never slept the same after that, always nearly alert to care for the family.  And mom?  She finally got solid sleep, knowing that he would quickly awaken to handle any need.

God’s flock – Israel – was under constant attack, both from other nations and from false prophets.  In this prophecy, we also find the leaders of Israel as drunkards, shepherds who don’t understand their territory, looking to make their own lives better.  All they can think of is their own satisfaction, their own immediate happiness.

With the outlook of a drunk or a drug addict, they hope that the next day will bring more highs and more excitement, not realizing the peril in which they have put their people.

I find it very easy to transfer this metaphor into my own life.  When is it easy to lie around and dream, sleep, overeat, drink until we’re drunk?  It is always much easier to do that than it is to protect our hearts, our integrity, our souls. The great beasts are right there, ready to devour us.  We must be alert.