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. — Isaiah 3:1
The audience of this oracle from Isaiah had grown arrogant. They had come to depend on their own resourcefulness. They fell into the trap of believing that the stability of life and riches around them was the result of their own doing. The believed that their lives were good, stable, and comfortable because God was blessing them. They grew arrogant.
In response to their hardened hearts God promised that he would take away their supply and support. The prophet says,
In that day the Lord will take away the finery of the anklets, the headbands, and the crescents; the pendants, the bracelets, and the scarves; 20 the headdresses, the armlets, the sashes, the perfume boxes, and the amulets; 21 the signet rings and nose rings; the festal robes, the mantles, the cloaks, and the handbags; the mirrors, the linen garments, the turbans, and the veils. — Is 3:18–23.
We cannot fail to recognize that life—sustained, substantial life—comes as a result of walking with the Creator. This human life is fragile and short. Nathaniel Hawthorn said, “Families are always rising and falling in America.” This is not only the story of America but of all human history. Empires are always rising and falling across the history of civilization. The Assyrians. The Babylonians. The Greeks. The Romans. The Persians. The list goes on and will continue to go on.
What will last, however, is the Lord of Heavens armies.
Isaiah says,
All flesh is grass, and all its beauty is like the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flower fades when the breath of the LORD blows on it; surely the people are grass. The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever (Is 40:6–8).
One day the stock market is soaring and technology is advancing to levels unimaginable to the generation before us. The next day the market can’t find the bottom no matter how hard it tries and hospitals have to decide who they have to let die because they cannot treat everyone.
Life is fragile, folks. The things around us cannot and will no sustain us. Just when things seem stable we’re reminded how fragile and vapid everything really is. Put your trust in Him. Make Him your eternal rock. Don’t build your house upon the sand.