Day 5: Blind guides
This is what the Lord says to me with His strong hand upon me, warning me not to follow the way of this people: “Do not call conspiracy everything this people calls a conspiracy; [i] do not fear what they fear, and do not dread it. The Lord Almighty is the One you are to regard as holy, He is the one you are to fear, He is the one you are to dread” (Isaiah 8:11-13).
Our Father, Ancient of Days, to [You], the only wise God be glory forever through Jesus Christ (Romans 16:27), in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge (Colossians 2:3).
Throughout Your word You point us to Your divine wisdom in place of the wisdom of this world [that] is foolishness in God's sight (1 Corinthians 3:19). You ask us to choose Your wisdom, even when it stands in sharp contrast to the "wisdom" of the majority.
The prophet Isaiah records a strong warning from the Lord against the ungodly wisdom of his community— This is what the Lord says to me with His strong hand upon me, warning me not to follow the way of this people... (Isaiah 8:11).
Our Father, You showed Isaiah that the people were not centered and grounded in the godly wisdom that comes from the reverent fear of the Lord. Their measures and assessments had become so faulty, so far outside God's wisdom, they could not analyze information, gauge circumstances, or determine responses appropriately. They had lost all discernment. And so You warned Isaiah against following their way.
The Lord Jesus also warned against following the way of the ungodly. He told [His disciples] this parable, "Can the blind lead the blind? Will they not both fall into a pit?" (Luke 6:39). He very bluntly referred to religious leaders with no spiritual vision as blind guides, warning that If the blind lead the blind both will fall into a pit (Matthew 15:14).
Father, in our day, we also encounter much of the wisdom of the world. Open our eyes to Your wisdom and truth so that we do not follow blind guides— religious or secular leaders who plunge us into pits. So that we do not follow the way of the people.
The apostle Paul reminds us of the godly wisdom You offer us through the power and presence of Your Holy Spirit: The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments, for, “Who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:15-16).
Fill us with Your Spirit, Lord, and help us walk in courage and wisdom.
[i] Translations of this text include the word conspiracy, or sometimes confederacy. Scholars have discussed different possibilities, using the background and historical context of this passage to determine the precise reason for the confusion, fear, and dread of the people. But regardless of the issues that fueled their fears, the central idea is that they had taken their eyes off God. (See Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers).
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