Breaking into Shivers - Isaiah 1:28

Both rebels and sinners will be destroyed,

and those who abandon the  Lord will be destroyed. 

(HCSB translation)

 I have written several times already that the Lord is not vindictive. How do I pair this verse with the sentiment previously expressed?  Am I just writing cognitive dissonance and ignoring the true nature of God at my own peril?

Although God does judge those who reject Him, this verse is not (mainly) about non-believers as such. This verse is dealing with people who should know better and yet choose to reject their birthright as the people of God. These are people who have the temple in their midst, have the Law of Moses, and the testimony of the prophets.  Rebels here are people who have rejected explicitly the Law. Sinners are those who engage in what they know to be sin openly in the community. Finally, "those who abandon the Lord" is a summary statement about all those who fall into either camp.

God does not just want our actions, He also wants faithful hearts to lead those actions of faithfulness. We have seen this earlier in the repeated ideas of faithfulness and righteousness as they are tied together. The consequence for rejecting the type of life God plans for His people is destruction. This destruction is not the wanton, random act of a petulant, spiteful God, but rather the natural consequence of a life lived in separation from Him. Without God, the people's identity will become just like any other group which tries to find its own meaning without their creator. 

Though this section, both poetic and memorable, is written expressly for the people of God, it also applies to all people.  When we try to find meaning apart from God it will ultimately be without a foundation.  The great existentialist project is dead. Meaning created is not meaning, it is just another expression alongside any other expression which is both equally valid and solipsistic. 

The reason rejection of God ends in destruction is because God is the only transcendent source of goodness, beauty, and reason.  When we think of hell, it is not because God desires to send people there, it is because people choose their own selfish desires over the beauty and design God has offered. There is no reality in which God could make people who could freely choose Him and yet also guarantee they would choose Him. This kind of a contraction is against the very nature of God. 

The problem at this point usually comes from people thinking about the nature of God insofar as it is similar to our own nature. But if God is completely transcendent in His eternal nature, we can only know God's nature by analogy.  The parts we share in common with God such as creativity, community, and thoughtfulness are necessarily immanent and self-contained. Even these qualities are merely useful as they bring as to the realization of the infinite Creator who has no beginning or ending. Our logic is helpful only far enough to realize its limits in this respect. To go further, we would have to capacities which are unique to God, but we know that we cannot even imagine the fullness of God for to do so would to breach who God is ontologically.   

All this to say, the prophet is pointing out a reality in his exclamation and declaration. When we inwardly or outwardly sin, we break relationship with our Creator and push Him away. There is only one way for this to end if it continues. God will not force us to love Him. If we choose separation from all that is good, God will allow to experience this separation.

Final thoughts:

1.     How can poetry be used to express truth?

2.     Do I use my communication to bring people closer to truth and beauty or father from it?

3.     In Proverbs 28:13, we are reminded that concealed sin brings destruction and failure while mercy comes to those confess and renounce sin. Have I confessed sin in my inward or outward life? Have I also renounced and instead embraced God?

4.     Do I care enough about those who do not know Christ to share with them the beauty of the Gospel?