Isaiah 2:5 Come, descendants of Jacob,
    let us walk in the light of the Lord.

Verses 2-4 are a dearly loved prophecy of God’s kingdom, culminating in this invitation to live in obedience to and fellowship with God, but then this is followed by a description of the state of Israel at the time Isaiah was writing that is far from the idyllic description of the kingdom of God. I really hadn’t remembered this juxtaposition. The description in verses 6-8 sounds remarkably like modern society, if you make shifts for changes in technology. This is the tension for anyone with spiritual discernment. We know and look forward to the wonderful things God has promised us, but current reality just doesn’t match up. We might not call them idols, but everyone around us seems to be “bowed down to the work of their hands,” (verse 8) indeed, in their hands, as in, their phones. When we read the Old Testament we tend to relegate it to ancient history, but human nature hasn’t changed; only the technological window dressing has changed. The invitation to “Come, let us walk in the light of the Lord” is as urgently needed today as it was in Isaiah’s day.

I too am quite prone to get ensnared by technology, to “bow down” to manmade things. Phones and computers and such can be very useful tools, but the question is always the priorities of my heart. I am grateful to have multiple computers with which I can access different Bible translations and record what the Lord says to me through them, but I must not let the tool take precedence. I haven’t hand-written devotions in so long I’m not sure I could, but God certainly hasn’t changed! I delight to record and share the insights God gives me, but I must not let the recording and sharing loom bigger in my mind and heart than the One who speaks to me. After all, I won’t have or need computers in heaven, but will be in constant communication with my Lord!

Father, thank You for this reminder. I’ve always been a geek, delighting in machinery of all sorts. Help me delight first and foremost in You, Your Son and Your Spirit, so that my priorities in everything else may likewise be as they should be, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!