I am reminded of another word - "sincere". "Sincere" comes from two Latin words meaning "without wax." Craftsmen of Middle Eastern countries fashioned highly expensive statuettes out of a very fine porcelain. It was of such fragile nature that extreme care had to be taken when firing the figurines to keep them from cracking.
Dishonest dealers would accept the cracked figurines at a much lower price and then fill the cracks with wax before offering them for sale. But honest merchants would display their uncracked porcelain wares with signs that read, sine cera, "without wax."
It is so easy to see what is fraudulent in our leaders and society - and rather more difficult to see those areas in our own lives! Yet deep within us there is a yearning for integrity in our own lives and in our whole community.
Isaiah has delivered warnings about judgment for the nations surrounding Israel and Judah. But that judgment will not only fall on pagan nations that have had no respect for the Lord it will fall on the people who call themselves the Lord's own people.
"Those who go to Egypt for help are doomed! They are relying on Egypt's vast military strength - horses, chariots, and soldiers. But they do not rely on the Lord, the holy God of Israel, or ask him for help. He knows what he is doing! He sends disaster. He carries out his threats to punish evil men and those who protect them... When the Lord acts, the strong nation will crumble, and the weak nation it helped will fall. Both of them will be destroyed... The Lord said, People of Israel, you have sinned against me and opposed me. But now, come back to me..." (31.1-3,6).
But now the prophecy looks forward to different times - to a king with integrity.
"Some day there will be a king who rules with integrity, and national leaders who govern with justice." Not everything, of course, hangs on the leaders. Each person within society must take responsibility for his/her own life and decisions. But leaders of integrity and justice are vital to the health of a nation.
"Each of them will be like a shelter from the wind and a place to hide from storms. They will be like streams flowing in a desert, like the shadow of a giant rock in a barren land."
An artist wanted to depict on canvas the meaning of evangelism and painted a storm at sea. Black clouds filled the sky. Illuminated by a flash of lightning, a little boat could be seen disintegrating under the pounding of the ocean. People were struggling in the swirling waters, their anguished faces crying out for help. The only glimmer of hope appeared in the foreground of the painting, where a large rock protruded out of the water. There, clutching desperately with both hands, was one lone seaman.
It was a moving scene. Looking at the painting, one could see in the tempest a symbol of humankind's hopeless condition. And, true to the Gospel, the only hope of salvation was "the Rock of Ages", a shelter in the time of storm.
But as the artist reflected upon his work, he realised that the painting did not accurately portray his subject. So he discarded the canvas, and painted another. It was very similar to the first: the black clouds, the flashing lightning, the angry waters, the little boat crushed by the pounding waves, and the crew vainly struggling in the water. In the foreground the seaman was clutching the large rock for salvation. But the artist made one change: the survivor was holding on with only one hand, and with the other hand he was reaching down to pull up a drowning friend.
That is the New Testament picture of evangelism - that hand reaching down to rescue the perishing. Until that hand is extended, there is no Gospel - and there is no hope for the world.
And Isaiah's picture of a king with integrity and national leaders with justice includes this genuine care for others. "Their eyes and ears will be open to the needs of the people." And public perceptions will change. No longer will the person living entirely for him/herself be regarded as honourable.
Well may we reflect on our own society. Who do we regard as the important people? What is our yardstick for measuring importance? In the final count, it is a question of whether a person is truly submitted to the Lord and truly cares about other people. But is that the way we regard people?
But for the moment the prophecy returns to the theme of judgment. "You women who live an easy life, free from worries, listen to what I am saying. You may be satisfied now, but this time next year you will be in despair because there will be no grapes for you to gather. You have been living an easy life, free from worries; but now,, tremble with fear!" (vv. 9-11 a)
We cannot be satisfied and complacent. What a society sows, it will also reap. We may well be in a period of relative contentment and peace. But now is the time to take spiritual stock. Don't wait until disaster strikes before seeking God. Now is the time to re-discover our spiritual roots.
But the final purpose of God is restoration. "But once more God will send us his spirit. The waste land will become fertile and fields will produce rich crops. Everywhere in the land righteousness and justice will be done. Because everyone will do what is right, there will be peace and security for ever. God's people will be free from worries, and their homes peaceful and safe" (vv. 15-18).
That, surely, would be the desire of each one of us. What an ideal society! A society built on a faith in God which leads to integrity and justice.
"Some day there will be a king who rules with integrity..."
The Israelites looked their ideal king - their Messiah. But their greatest need was to acknowledge the Lord as their king. The measure of the integrity of any earthly king is relative to their relation to the Lord's rule.
Kings and rulers will come and go. In the final count the promised Kingdom of God has come in the person of Jesus Christ the Son of God. We welcome him, trust him, submit our lives to him. We still live as part of an earthly state, but we belong to a King and a Kingdom that will last forever.
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