Kenya
is a blessed country. We are blessed
with resources – wildlife, minerals, great weather, and most importantly, the
blessing of strong culture of Christian faith.
We
are blessed with peace – not to have experienced any wars; not to have
experienced any form of “captivity”. Kenya
is blessed.
Israel,
God’s chosen people were blessed, and to date they are. They are a royal priesthood, a chosen
generation called forth to show God’s praise.
But in the midst of all the blessings, and all the promises that God had
made to them, a time came when Israel rebelled.
Time after time they rebelled against God. They disobeyed him, and made their own
idols. God, who is full of mercy pardoned
them, over and over again. Eventually, Israel
had to face the consequences of their rebellious lifestyle. They were taken into captivity in
Babylon.
The
Bible in Isaiah 59, presents to us the voice of God, through prophet Isaiah,
calling on Israel and warning her of her rebellious ways. While
God warns them of their sin, He is also quick to let them know that He is not
weak (His hand is not shortened at all) that
He cannot save them, but their sins have separated them from Him.
“1Listen!
The Lord’s arm is not too
weak to save you, nor is his ear too deaf to hear you call. 2 It’s your sins
that have cut you off from God. Because
of your sins, he has turned away and will not listen anymore. 3 Your hands are
the hands of murderers,
and your fingers are filthy with sin. Your lips are full of lies, and your mouth spews corruption.
and your fingers are filthy with sin. Your lips are full of lies, and your mouth spews corruption.
4 No one cares about being fair and honest. The people’s lawsuits are based on lies. They
conceive evil deeds and then give birth to sin.
5 They hatch
deadly snakes and weave spiders’ webs. Whoever
eats their eggs will die; whoever cracks them will hatch a viper. 6 Their webs
can’t be made into clothing, and nothing they do is productive. All their activity is filled with sin, and
violence is their trademark. 7 Their feet run to do evil, and they rush to commit murder. They think only about sinning. Misery and destruction always follow them. 8 They don’t
know where to find peace or what it means to be just and good. They have mapped out crooked roads, and no
one who follows them knows a moment’s peace.
9 So there is no justice among us, and we know
nothing about right living. We look for
light but find only darkness. We look
for bright skies but walk in gloom. 10 We grope like the blind along a wall, feeling our way like people without eyes. Even at brightest noontime, we stumble as
though it were dark. Among the living, we
are like the dead. 11 We growl like hungry bears; we moan like
mournful doves.
We look for
justice, but it never comes. We look for
rescue, but it is far away from us. 12 For our sins are piled up before God and
testify against us. Yes, we know what
sinners we are. 13 We know we have rebelled and have denied
the Lord. We have turned our backs on our God. We know how unfair and oppressive we have
been,
carefully planning our deceitful lies. 14 Our courts oppose the righteous, and justice is nowhere to be found. Truth stumbles in the streets, and honesty has been outlawed. 15 Yes, truth is gone, and anyone who renounces evil is attacked.
carefully planning our deceitful lies. 14 Our courts oppose the righteous, and justice is nowhere to be found. Truth stumbles in the streets, and honesty has been outlawed. 15 Yes, truth is gone, and anyone who renounces evil is attacked.
The Lord looked and was displeased to
find there was no justice. 16 He was amazed to see that no one intervened to
help the oppressed. So he himself
stepped in to save them with his strong arm, and his justice sustained him. 17 He put on
righteousness as his body armor and placed the helmet of salvation on his head.
He clothed himself with a robe of vengeance and wrapped himself in a cloak of divine passion. 18 He will repay his enemies for their evil deeds. His fury will fall on his foes. He will pay them back even to the ends of the earth. 19 In the west, people will respect the name of the Lord; in the east, they will glorify him. For he will come like a raging flood tide driven by the breath of the Lord.[a]
He clothed himself with a robe of vengeance and wrapped himself in a cloak of divine passion. 18 He will repay his enemies for their evil deeds. His fury will fall on his foes. He will pay them back even to the ends of the earth. 19 In the west, people will respect the name of the Lord; in the east, they will glorify him. For he will come like a raging flood tide driven by the breath of the Lord.[a]
20 “The Redeemer will come to Jerusalem to buy
back those in Israel who have turned from their sins,” says the Lord.
21 “And this is my covenant with them,”
says the Lord. “My Spirit
will not leave them, and neither will these words I have given you. They will
be on your lips and on the lips of your children and your children’s children
forever. I, the Lord, have
spoken!”
About a
month ago, I read God’s word presented above and my heart trembled with
fear. My inmost being was shaken as the
Lord showed me the extent to which our beloved country, Kenya, has entrenched
into rebellion against God. Looking at
God’s word above, I heard God speaking to Kenya today:
Your
hands are the hands of murderers,
and your fingers are filthy with sin. Your lips are full of lies, and your mouth spews corruption.
and your fingers are filthy with sin. Your lips are full of lies, and your mouth spews corruption.
4 No
one cares about being fair and honest.
The people’s lawsuits are based on lies. They conceive evil deeds and
then give birth to sin. 5 They
hatch deadly snakes and weave spiders’ webs.
Whoever eats their eggs will die; whoever cracks them will hatch a
viper. 6 Their
webs can’t be made into clothing, and nothing they do is productive. All their activity is filled with sin, and
violence is their trademark. 7 Their
feet run to do evil, and they rush to commit murder.
(Isaiah
59:3-7)
Like in the case of Israel during Isaiah’s
day, God has highly favoured Kenya – surrounded by nations that have experienced
war time and again, Kenya, is a peace-builder, a reconciliatory army.
But have we as a nation been blinded by God’s
love? Have we taken his nature of being
slow to anger and trampled it on the ground?
Have we toppled God’s authority and replaced it with a self-centredness
attitude that ignores his sovereignty in our country and our individual
lives? What has blinded Kenya to God?
From the North to the South, and from the
East to the West; from the media – radio, television, print and electronic, the
internet; and from families to offices – all the airwaves are filled with
reports of people scheming and committing evil in all manner and form. Innocent blood shed has become the order of
the day. Murder, road accidents, rape,
theft, abortion and suicide among other evils raise their voices across the
country.
Reports of husbands killing wives, and wives
killing husbands, couples estranged in love triangles outside of their marital
homes, teenagers committing suicide and fathers denying their children form
part of the webs woven by the filthy-filled fingers.
Kenya! Oh! Kenya my country, my motherland,
arise! Wake up from the deadly sleep of sin!
“For
your sins are piled up before God and testify against you. Yes, you know what sinners you are. You
know you have rebelled and have denied the Lord. You have turned you back on your God. You know how unfair and oppressive you have
been, carefully
planning your deceitful lies.”
(Isaiah
59:12-13)
Kenya! Oh! Kenya! What, or who has blinded
you that you can’t see the blessing of the Lord upon you? Lift up your eyes and see what a beautiful
people you are – a people created and formed in the image of God; a people
called by the Name of the Lord! A people
chosen to proclaim forth the praises of God!
Kenya, unveil yourself and see God’s blessing
upon you – behold the peace of God upon you; behold the infrastructural and technological
milestones over the years; behold the academic and economical heights that God
has lifted you to; Kenya, lift up your eyes, and behold the blessing of God
upon you.
Kenya, Oh! Kenya! Why are you fighting me, God? I am the Truth – Why are you fighting the
Truth, yet only the Truth will set you free?
“Truth
stumbles in the streets, and honesty has been outlawed. Yes,
truth is gone, and anyone who renounces evil is attacked.”
(Isaiah
59:14-15a)
I, the Lord even the Lord your God; have looked at you and I am displeased. I am displeased to find that there is no justice among you. I am a God of justice.
The Lord looked and was displeased to find there was no justice.
(Isaiah 59:15b)
So, I myself raise a voice to you,
Kenya! I want to save you with my strong
arm, and my justice. I want to save you
from the captivity you have brought yourself into. The captivity of sin – the captivity of evil
– of murder, immorality, injustice, corruption, lies – I want to save you! I want to save you, Kenya!
My hand is not shortened, that it cannot
save you; nor is my ear heavy, that I cannot hear. But your iniquities have separated you from me, your God;
and your sins have hidden my face
from you, so that I will not hear.
(Isaiah 59:1-2)
I have given you Jesus as your Redeemer, to buy you back from your captivity; He exchanged his glory for your sin, He exchanged His life for yours. Will you turn back from your sins and come to me?
Come now, let
us reason together; consider your ways.
No matter how deep the stain of your sins, I can remove it. I can make you as white as wool. If you will only obey me and let me help you,
and deliver you from your captivity!
I will make a
covenant with you; my Spirit will not leave you. My words that I have spoken to you will not
leave you. They will be on your lips and
on the lips of your children and your children’s children forever. I, the Lord have spoken! Will you hearken to me?
My Spirit will deliver the poor,
and comfort the broken hearted; my spirit will free the captives; my Spirit
will bring favour to those mourning.
Will you hearken to my voice?
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