I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Isaiah 32-35.

    I was struck at the beginning of this by a couple of things. Isaiah says that the time is coming when everyone with eyes will be able to see the truth and those with ears will be able to hear it. At first I thought, “Well, he didn’t day they would see or hear. Only that they would be able to do so.” However, he immediately followed that by saying that even the hotheaded would be full of sense and understanding. The thing which really struck me was when he said that in that day ungodly fools will not be considered heroes and scoundrels will not be respected. When I read this last bit it occurred to me that maybe this was as much a condemnation of current society as it was a prediction of some future time.
    A righteous King HAS come and those who wish are able to see and hear the truth. But there are still those in our society who respect scoundrels and hold up ungodly fools as heroes. Isaiah reminds us why we should not respect scoundrels or hold ungodly fools as heroes. Scoundrels lie to convict the poor, even when the poor are innocent. Isaiah is telling us something important there. When caught lying, scoundrels will try to convince us that they did so in the cause of justice, but Isaiah reminds us that those who will lie to convict the guilty will have no qualms about lying to convict the innocent. Once you start lying to accomplish your goals, your goals no longer include discovering and revealing the truth. As for ungodly fools, they make evil plans.

    Later, Isaiah prophesies of a time of economic turmoil. A time when the godless will cry out that no one can keep a business going or even make a living. Isaiah tells us that those who are honest and fair will not find this time troubling. Only those who attempt to profit from fraud and deceit will suffer. The key here is that those latter will be so few that there will indeed be a great economic calamity. This prophecy gives us a guideline to avoid economic turmoil and to survive it when it comes. Those who try to game the system to get rich, who seek to manipulate others to their own advantage, and the disadvantage of those others, hasten the day of economic turmoil. When that day comes, those who took part in the deceit will suffer the most. Those who dealt honestly and fairly will pass through it practically unharmed.