He feeds on ashes; a deceived heart has turned him aside. And he cannot deliver himself, nor say, "Is there not a lie in my right hand?" Isaiah 44:20
When I've been deceived, I am feeding on ashes. My "deceived heart" believes that these ashes are tasty and satisfying. The lie is that there is power in an idol (read the context of the verse). An idol is the product of my effort and imagination.
When I am eating ashes, I need help to see it. I tell myself that my hard work and creative thinking will solve problems. It's easier for others to see when I'm choking on my efforts than it is for me. I imagine myself to be diligent. Others (especially my wife) can see when I'm fooling myself.
That's why I want to constantly maintain a posture of humility and vulnerability with people who know me and love me. Sounds good, right? It is good, but it's very difficult and painful at times... because it tends to be that the things I'm working hardest on and care the most about can most easily become "ashy." Being open to hearing about that is tough.
That's why I want to constantly maintain a posture of humility and vulnerability with people who know me and love me. Sounds good, right? It is good, but it's very difficult and painful at times... because it tends to be that the things I'm working hardest on and care the most about can most easily become "ashy." Being open to hearing about that is tough.
2 comments:
Well let me give this a shot since you raised a good topic. How self decieved does the bible say natural man is? This passage gives us a glimps. If you go back up to verse 18 it says " They do not know nor understand; For he has shut their eyes so they cannot see, And their hearts so that thay cannot understand." Who shut their eyes, and hearts? God. Why? So they will not understand. Understand what? Look what verse 20 says "he feeds on ashes, a decieved heart has turned him aside". What this man is doing is worthless, and his heart has been decieved. But wait a moment I thought God shut his eyes and heart, right? Yes, but a shut heart is a decieved heart.Isaiah goes on to say "And he can not deliver his soul,Nor say; is there not a lie in my right hand." This man has been blinded, his heart shut by God, as a result he can not see that what he is doing is worthless, nor can he deliver his soul. Why not? because his heart is shut and he can not inline it another direction, therby repent.
This is the condition of the unregenerate man. He is blind and his heart is shut. Only God can open a shut a heart, this text tells us plainly that the man is totally unable.
I hardly think this verse applies to you Pastor. But I know you are prohably taking issue with me right about now. I made a big claim, namely that God prevented this man from repenting. When in fact I made no such claim. As you can see I merely established context and found that in that context the author said that God shut their eyes and hearts. You will find God does this often in scripture. See Isaiah 6:10, Matthew 13:10-16, Who can forget Pharaoh in Exodus 4:21, or coming at if from a slightly different angle, but still that same topic Romans 9:1-24 or 1Peter 2:8.
It seems that we might have a bit of a different understanding of some of the verses you are referencing.
The way I read it, God only hardens people's hearts who have already hardened themselves (i.e. for Pharaoh see Ex. 8:15, 8:32, 9:34, 1 Sam. 6:6). He basically says, "OK, have it your way. You want to be hard? Let me help you out a bit. I'm the one who invented stones. I've tried to give you a heart of flesh, but if you're not interested, I'll give you what you want." Their increased hardness helps make things more black and white for those who are observing. He would never make somebody hard who would otherwise repent, but He will allow somebody to get even harder than they would've on their own to make it clear to everybody what is really happening.
I want to be sure that I keep my heart soft. Perhaps I've misread this verse as you say, but I still feel encouraged to stay open to accountability and correction. The verse in this post seemed to highlight to me how I can be blind to my own points of vulnerability. So I want to invite others' help in seeing the places I am stuck.
Thank for your input.
Post a Comment