Isaiah 30:9–15

Because this is a rebel generation,

a people who lie,

A people unwilling to listen

to anything God tells them.

They tell their spiritual leaders,

“Don’t bother us with irrelevancies.”

They tell their preachers,

“Don’t waste our time on impracticalities.

Tell us what makes us feel better.

Don’t bore us with obsolete religion.

That stuff means nothing to us.

Quit hounding us with The Holy of Israel.”

^12–14Therefore, The Holy of Israel says this:

“Because you scorn this Message,

Preferring to live by injustice

and shape your lives on lies,

This perverse way of life

will be like a towering, badly built wall

That slowly, slowly tilts and shifts,

and then one day, without warning, collapses—

Smashed to bits like a piece of pottery,

smashed beyond recognition or repair,

Useless, a pile of debris

to be swept up and thrown in the trash.”

God Takes the Time to Do Everything Right

^15–17God, the Master, The Holy of Israel,

has this solemn counsel:

“Your salvation requires you to turn back to me

and stop your silly efforts to save yourselves.

Your strength will come from settling down

in complete dependence on me—

The very thing

you’ve been unwilling to do.