IIT UBF - University Bible Fellowship at IIT

Daily Bread

Judgment on Corrupt Leaders

Date: Mar. 29, 2022

Passage

Isaiah 3:1-15 (ESV)

  For behold, the Lord GOD of hosts
    is taking away from Jerusalem and from Judah
  support and supply,
    all support of bread,
    and all support of water;
  the mighty man and the soldier,
    the judge and the prophet,
    the diviner and the elder,
  the captain of fifty
    and the man of rank,
  the counselor and the skillful magician
    and the expert in charms.
  And I will make boys their princes,
    and infants shall rule over them.
  And the people will oppress one another,
    every one his fellow
    and every one his neighbor;
  the youth will be insolent to the elder,
    and the despised to the honorable.
  For a man will take hold of his brother
    in the house of his father, saying:
  “You have a cloak;
    you shall be our leader,
  and this heap of ruins
    shall be under your rule”;
  in that day he will speak out, saying:
  “I will not be a healer;
    in my house there is neither bread nor cloak;
  you shall not make me
    leader of the people.”
  For Jerusalem has stumbled,
    and Judah has fallen,
  because their speech and their deeds are against the LORD,
    defying his glorious presence.
  For the look on their faces bears witness against them;
    they proclaim their sin like Sodom;
    they do not hide it.
  Woe to them!
    For they have brought evil on themselves.
10   Tell the righteous that it shall be well with them,
    for they shall eat the fruit of their deeds.
11   Woe to the wicked! It shall be ill with him,
    for what his hands have dealt out shall be done to him.
12   My people—infants are their oppressors,
    and women rule over them.
  O my people, your guides mislead you
    and they have swallowed up the course of your paths.
13   The LORD has taken his place to contend;
    he stands to judge peoples.
14   The LORD will enter into judgment
    with the elders and princes of his people:
  “It is you who have devoured the vineyard,
    the spoil of the poor is in your houses.
15   What do you mean by crushing my people,
    by grinding the face of the poor?”
      declares the Lord GOD of hosts.

Daily Bread

Key Verse: 3:14

  The LORD will enter into judgment
    with the elders and princes of his people:
  “It is you who have devoured the vineyard,
    the spoil of the poor is in your houses.

This passage may be prophesying the captivity of God’s people—a time of judgment for Judah and Jerusalem. They would lack resources and support. Most of all, they would lack real leadership. Nobody would want to step up to help and care for others. Similarly, when we only see what we lack, we despair. But God calls each of us to lead, to step up to offer even what little we can to serve those in need.

The LORD will judge the people for their wickedness. He will judge the elders and leaders who have ruined God’s vineyard by oppressing God’s people. Such leadership only cares about their own power and prosperity at the expense of others.

True leadership resembles Christ’s servant leadership, which reached out to the least of people, “the least of these” (Matt 25:40). Although he lacked political support and riches, Jesus brought healing, hope, and salvation to the marginalized and oppressed and to all who came to him.

Prayer: Prayer: Lord, give us the courage to step up, not out of duty or honor, but out of faith that you can bless our hands, our money, and our talents, even if it seems small in our own eyes.

One Word: One Word: Step up to serve others in need

Daily Bread

King of Kings and Lord of Lords

Revelation 19:11-21

Key Verse: 19:16

On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.

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