Isaiah 64: Put Down the Gas Can

When you were a kid, or perhaps if you are one right now, did you ever create a mess for yourself to the point you were desperate for your parents to show up even though you knew you'd be in big trouble? I did.

Way back in the ancient days of the mid-seventies, a few of my brothers and I went camping with my Dad and a friend of his on land my father owned in central New York state. He had purchased that land as a farmer's field in the late fifties and with the help of my mother and his parents, set about planting fifty acres of trees to create his own forest. The property was very dear to him.

On one particular morning it was my turn to wash the breakfast dishes and straighten the camp along with an older brother, while the rest of the group went up to the pond to go fishing. We were going about our business when my brother decided to show me what would happen if he poured gasoline on the campfire. As soon as he grabbed the gas can I sensed we were about to have a problem so I took off running. I watched over my shoulder as he started to pour the gas and was terrified to see the flame ride up the stream and engulf the can. We were in a dense forest mind you, and now we had a fireball on our hands.

I ran as fast as I could up to the pond, screaming for help all the way, when my Dad's friend heard and came racing down the trail. He ran to the campsite and put out the fire with my father and the rest of my brothers in tow. The fire didn't spread beyond the grass around the campfire, so all's well that ends well I suppose.

That memory is so old I remember very few detailed images of what transpired. Yet the one thing I remember vividly was being desperate for my father's help as I ran up the trail - even though I knew when the fire was finally out my brother and I were going to be in big trouble. We had created a mess by our own choosing, now only an adult with some experience and wisdom was going to be able to save us from total devastation. As it turns out my punishment was very light because I was more an innocent bystander; my brother's punishment was very severe. He was six years older and the one who came up with the brilliant "magic Indian fire water" idea in the first place.

I tell you all this because it's a perfect illustration of Isaiah chapter 64.

Israel had created a giant mess through hundreds of years of idolatry and rebellion. They had reached the "flash point" if you will; a point of devastation that required the saving hand of God if the nation were to survive. Those who are familiar with Old Testament history know that God came down on Israel and punished her severely. At the same time, he preserved a remnant of the people in order to continue what he had promised to Abraham.

Today I look at the American culture around me and all I can see is a young kid holding a gas can over the fire. We have created our own mess through willful rebellion against God and are risking the future of our nation just for the pleasure of "seeing something cool." Like I did some 35 years ago, I find myself at times desperately wanting God to pay us a visit and save us from devastation, even though I know we'll be in big trouble. But that is the cost of survival.

Sometimes a nation must be dealt with severely because of her rejection of Godly truth and principle. I believe America is quickly approaching that place, if we are not there already. When that flash point is reached, and the flame engulfs the gas can of our immorality, the only thing that will keep the forest from being completely engulfed is the intervention of God himself.

So I want him to do something. I want him to intervene and save us.

When both parts of the split Israeli kingdom were judged some 2,600 years ago, just about every living Jew suffered to one extend or another. Granted, those who were faithful to God and had put away their idols got off with a much lighter punishment, but they still suffered nonetheless. They were allowed to live and stay in the land, while those still in rebellion were either killed or taken away captive, but remaining in a land destroyed by the invading armies was no picnic. And remaining the subjects of those foreign nations was not all that great either. Still, it's better than the alternative of complete annihilation.

If God brought the hammer down on us today, let's just say through a successful invasion of our soil by Mexico, he could use the invading power to wreak havoc on our cities and kill or capture large numbers of our citizens. Those of us who love and fear the LORD would most likely be spared the worst of the consequences, but not all, as we still have the guilt of our own sins to deal with. Faced with the choice of a foreign invasion versus the kind of complete destruction Sodom and Gomorrah faced, I'd choose the invasion.

Are we at risk of foreign invasion? Yes and no. I don't believe anyone in the western hemisphere has the strength or resources to mount a successful invasion, and the one or two eastern countries capable of it don't see enough benefit to take the risk. But I still do believe we are ripe for an invasion by "foreigners" living within our borders. I see our current government structure in Washington as un-American, in that what they believe in and are in the process of implementing is contrary to everything this country was built on. Their's is an invasion which they began preparing for in the late 1800s; they are now on the verge of a full-fledged takeover.

Christian brothers and sisters I implore you, put away the selfish idols of your own life and return to the Lord Jesus Christ - not just in lip-service, but in the daily routine of your life. It may be that the Lord will spare us the coming invasion if enough Christians get their acts together. If not, at the very least you will be spared the worst of the punishments because you have returned to your God. Is the temporary pleasure of "magic Indian fire water" really worth risking the future of our nation on?

Now is the time to put the gas can down...while we still can.

Don't wait until the forest in engulfed in flames.

Sources:
Text of the KJV 1611 Bible