Isaiah 22:12-19: a reflection

12In that day, the Lord, GOD of Armies, called to weeping, to mourning, to baldness, and to dressing in sackcloth; 13and behold, there is joy and gladness, killing cattle and killing sheep, eating meat and drinking wine: “Let’s eat and drink, for tomorrow we will die.” 14The LORD of Armies revealed himself in my ears, “Surely this iniquity will not be forgiven you until you die,” says the Lord, GOD of Armies. 15The Lord, GOD of Armies says, “Go, get yourself to this treasurer, even to Shebna, who is over the house, and say, 16‘What are you doing here? Who has you here, that you have dug out a tomb here?’ Cutting himself out a tomb on high, chiseling a habitation for himself in the rock!” 17Behold, the LORD will overcome you and hurl you away violently. Yes, he will grasp you firmly. 18He will surely wind you around and around, and throw you like a ball into a large country. There you will die, and there the chariots of your glory will be, you disgrace of your lord’s house. 19I will thrust you from your office. You will be pulled down from your station.

In a time when God called his people to weeping, mourning, and repentance, they did the opposite. Instead of turning to God in sorrow over their sin, they gave themselves to reckless indulgence: joy and gladness, killing cattle and sheep, eating meat and drinking wine, saying, Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die. God called them to repent; they answered with a shrug and a feast, choosing to drown out the call with pleasure.

Notice the response God's call met: not repentance, but reckless indulgence. God called them to face their sin, to weep and turn back to him; and they responded with a live-for-the-moment abandon, let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die. Rather than heed the call to repentance, they drowned it out with pleasure, refusing to face God or their sin, distracting themselves with indulgence from the reckoning God was calling them to.

That is a temptation we can share. When God calls us to face our sin, to turn back to him, we can respond, like these people, by drowning out the call with pleasure and distraction, throwing ourselves into indulgence rather than facing what God is calling us to see. Let us eat and drink is easier than let us repent. But to distract ourselves from God's call with indulgence is a grave folly; it does not make the call go away, only postpones the reckoning. When God calls you to turn from sin, to face something in your life, do not drown out the call with pleasure and distraction. Heed it. Do not answer the call to repentance with let us eat and drink; answer it with the turning God is calling you to, rather than distracting yourself from him with indulgence.

Lord, when you called your people to weeping and repentance, they answered instead with reckless indulgence, saying, let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die, drowning out your call with pleasure rather than facing their sin. Show me that same temptation in myself. When you call me to face my sin, to turn back to you, I can respond, like these people, by drowning out the call with pleasure and distraction, throwing myself into indulgence rather than facing what you are calling me to see. Let us eat and drink is easier than let us repent. But to distract myself from your call with indulgence is a grave folly; it does not make the call go away, only postpones the reckoning. When you call me to turn from sin, to face something in my life, keep me from drowning out the call with pleasure and distraction. Help me heed it. Do not let me answer the call to repentance with let us eat and drink; help me answer it with the turning you are calling me to, rather than distracting myself from you with indulgence. Help me heed your call, Lord.