“… But you never ask for help from the One who did all this. You never considered the One who planned this long ago. At that time, the Lord, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, called you to weep and mourn. He told you to shave your heads in sorrow for your sins and to wear clothes of burlap to show your remorse. But instead, you dance and play; you slaughter cattle and kill sheep. You feast on meat and drink wine. You say, “Let’s feast and drink, for tomorrow we die!” The Lord of Heaven’s Armies has revealed this to me: “Till the day you die, you will never be forgiven for this sin.” That is the judgment of the Lord, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.”
Isaiah 22:11b-14 NLT
We continue our thoughts on Isaiah’s chapter 22 oracle, reading about what he said would happen in Jerusalem. This appears to be a snapshot of events in Jerusalem on the day he wrote the oracle, with the people dancing, playing, feasting, and getting drunk, rather than responding in tears and remorse. They followed the age-old philosophy, “Let’s feast and drink, for tomorrow we die!” Sadly, they responded to God’s warning with reckless pleasure. We pilgrims are aware, I’m sure, that one of the signs of a hardened heart is treating serious spiritual matters lightly. Then as now, cultures often respond to uncertainty by seeking greater entertainment, more possessions or constant distraction. It portrays a flippancy that seems inbuilt within human beings, and we find it still alive and well in our societies today. We may have even behaved similarly ourselves. What about someone who gets to the end of the month and finds they have some money left over in their bank account? Perhaps, instead of putting it away for a “rainy day”, they go and spend it on something useless. A mild example, I know, but it illustrates the mentality present in many people.
Of course, some will follow something Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes 8:15, “So I recommend having fun, because there is nothing better for people in this world than to eat, drink, and enjoy life. That way, they will experience some happiness along with all the hard work God gives them under the sun”. Over the page, he wrote, “So go ahead. Eat your food with joy, and drink your wine with a happy heart, for God approves of this!” (Ecclesiastes 9:7). But to counter a life based on such thoughts, Jesus told the parable of the Rich Fool, which started with the warning, “… Beware! Guard against every kind of greed. Life is not measured by how much you own” (Luke 12:15). I’m sure we all know the parable, but there was a rich farmer who, one year, reaped a bumper crop. He tore down his barns so that he could build new and bigger ones, in which he could store all his wheat and other goods. The account continues with the Rich Fool saying, “And I’ll sit back and say to myself, “My friend, you have enough stored away for years to come. Now take it easy! Eat, drink, and be merry!”” (Luke 12:19). The next two verses conclude the story with Jesus saying, “But God said to him, ‘You fool! You will die this very night. Then who will get everything you worked for?’ Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God”. So, there is nothing implicitly wrong with “eating, drinking and enjoying life” as long as it is in line with God’s will. Some people, of course, have a view of God that he is a killjoy who sternly and puritanically forbids all sorts of pleasure. But nothing can be further from the truth. Jesus Himself enjoyed a meal with His disciples. We read in Luke 5:33, “One day some people said to Jesus, “John the Baptist’s disciples fast and pray regularly, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees. Why are your disciples always eating and drinking?”” And in Luke 7:34, Jesus said, “The Son of Man, on the other hand, feasts and drinks, and you say, ‘He’s a glutton and a drunkard, and a friend of tax collectors and other sinners!’” The key in all that we do is the conclusion drawn by Jesus when He referred to having a “rich relationship with God”.
As we look back in Genesis, we read how God created man and a Garden that He planted with beautiful trees that produced all sorts of delicious fruit. But if that was not pleasure enough for Adam, God then created the birds and animals, and involved the man in their naming. And then came the moment when God created a woman to be his companion. Was that received with grudging acceptance or a “Wow” that reverberated around the Garden? I’ll let you, my readers, be the judge of that! But in the act of creation, God introduced the principle of pleasure. Whether delicious fruit of eating and drinking, it is all part of God’s plan.
Ultimately, we have to ask ourselves how we respond when God provides direction or conviction. Is it with flippant distraction, or will it be with repentance? The Judeans got it wrong, but that is no reason why we should. Our Heavenly Father knows what is best for us, and He delights in rewarding us when we respond to Him with trust and obedience.
Dear Father God. Thank You for all the good things that You have given us. You blessings never cease. Amen.
Being a Pilgrim 