Isaiah 1:1-2:22; II Corinthians 11:16-12:10

Thought from Today’s Old Testament Passage: Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the Lord, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward [Isa. 1:4]. We see God as the Judge of all the earth and of His own people Israel. It seems a strange thing to think of God as a judge, because in the thinking of the world today God has been removed from the throne of judgment. He has been divested of His authority. He has been robbed of His regal prerogatives and shorn of His locks as moral ruler of the universe. He has been driven to the edge of the world and pushed over as excess baggage. Don’t think I am being irreverent when I say that modern teaching has given us a warped conception of God. He is characterized as a toothless old man with long whiskers, sitting on the edge of a fleecy cloud with a rainbow around His shoulders. He is simple, senile, and sentimental. He is overwhelmed with mushy love that slops over on every side, dripping honey and tears. He does not have enough courage or backbone to swat a fly or crush a grape. His proper place is in the corner by the fireplace where He can either crochet or knit. This is the world’s conception of God, but that is not how the Bible describes Him. God is going to judge this universe just as He judged His own people. That ought to be a warning not only to nations but also to individuals. J. Vernon McGee, Thru the Bible Commentary [computer file], electronic ed., Logos Library System (Nashville: Thomas Nelson) 1997, © 1981 by J. Vernon McGee.