Isaiah 5:24-26 KJV
24 Therefore as the fire devoureth the stubble, and the flame consumeth the chaff, so their root shall be as rottenness, and their blossom shall go up as dust: because they have cast away the law of the LORD of hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.
25 Therefore is the anger of the LORD kindled against his people, and he hath stretched forth his hand against them, and hath smitten them: and the hills did tremble, and their carcases were torn in the midst of the streets. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.
26 And he will lift up an ensign to the nations from far, and will hiss unto them from the end of the earth: and, behold, they shall come with speed swiftly:

God does not leave his people without hope. As we approach Christmas we going to be talking about hope. We going to be talking about promise in Isaiah and in some of the other prophet surrounding the Messiah, but today this ensign is not about Jesus, but about the time of destruction to come. After God's wrath would be poured out on his people in regards to the exile. Though out history of scripture even with disobedience there was hope. within that hope was assurance to those of faith that another day was coming of a hope of a return to Israel. Yet the ensign of destruction also came with warning of destruction that could of been changed with repentance of a nation. Yet the ensign was the people coming to destroy Israel and Judea. This ensign in this passage shows no hope. A time of darkness in the future of Israel. Yet what we fail to see is God is delivering this message to children of disobedience that were his people. He would cut them off as one would prune a tree. There sin was costing them an early grave and to be exile into a godless nation, absents from the Lord.

To never talk about destruction of God we can not see the hope that would come to the remnant of those that followed him even into exile with faith. Our sin can take us further then we want to go, but acknowledgment of God's warning to what is occuring in our life is also a part of God's plan of destruction to restoration. By pruning us back God is then able to restore his people, and can they flourish in a land of the heathens despite the purpose they are sent there. There return would only be a sign of God's people leaving an area of darkness and abandoning to those left behind own destructive nature that would come with the passing of time. Yet the Remnant would return with God's blessings from distant rulers and leaders to build not only the temples of God but to build the wall around Jerusalem. God's people would know his blessings were yeah and amen in their exile. They would know the production of faith that lead to restoration, but they also would know that ensign of destruction meant God was pruning his people. Even his people in faith would know the destruction of evil around them as he gently prunes and clips the dead branches from His vine.

Watch the world around you, there is death of the heathen and the saint side by side. Yet the saint(believer) knows their eternity, the destruction of the heathen knows their demise is the wrath of God in their life. If you ever watch these two groups of people only as a spectator not mattering whose side you on, the war seems horrifying. More drug dealers and prostitutes die on a regular bases, yet even on the good side of town women not so selective land up in the same mess as the one's on the wrong side of town in regards to death and destruction. Why because the ways of destruction cross over into the good side of town and now there no more good side of town but all the same is clearly seen. Sin of the good side is just as evil as the bad side of town.

I will tell the truth I live in a fairly clean town as far as safety, but no place is safe. As news traveled up interstates of a man that kidnapped his daughter state troopers began to circle the location only for the man to die. Though kidnapping takes place closer to home then this, or even worse, it only a reminder how people bring their ways of destruction across country to cause harm in another terrority they know not. Some of these foreign rulers send ideas of evil in without our own understanding, until one enter their domain and study their religious and other demoralizing practices. Safety can only be based on one thing how good a person choose to be in the resisting of temptation. Israel had fallen into the customs of the lands they brought into Israel on how to live. They no longer followed God's word. God's word will not come into our heart until we are ready to receive it and sometimes we have to hear the other side of the tracks to know that what on this side of the tracks is no better. Yet those seeking the better side fail to see God's law but only good behavior of a people in regards how they treat someone. Not the value of the law.

God's word not enforce as Solomon wives slaughter their infants to false goddess. The sin of lust in Solomon life that the law of God had not taken root in his heart not to take foreign wives.The depraivery beginning when the first king Saul, who refused God's word and did his own thing and later mockingly repented and he lost the Spirit of God in his life. David knowing he goodness of God still sin but found grace in God's sight for God still corrected David. Kings after David either lived up to the godly standards of God or did evil, it seemed after that some kings just failed. We talk of kings because of their public life and their stardom. Yet it applies to all people. We choose to let sin in, to allow temptation in and that will be what kind of society you will have even in your own neighborhood. We all sin and all fall short of the glory of God. No neighborhood is safe from destruction. When is happening to people even we care about, it hurts more then one can ever know. We want the image of a good family. We want the image of the perfect world. We want the image of good people not being evil. We want to think that our own bubble is perfect. It is not. With that I want to say you let one sin in, other sin will follow if you do not stop it before it becomes destructive nature in one's household, outside in the streets and into public life. One gossip in the home leads to the gossip in the street. One word of anger leads to destruction to anger in public world, if left unguarded for a second. The lust of the eye on tv will lead to the lust of the eye in public world if not the other way around. People are driven to corruption. Our humanity is full of corruption, that even if we lived without the corruption we still will see corruption of the world around us.

If we decide that God's word is no longer important to us we are absent from God's word. Corruption going to enter in. Do I mean you have to thump the Bible on one's head tell it seems memorized to a point it lost it meaning to one's heart, definitely not. If we going to live by God's word we need to know what is in it and to treasure it in our hearts so we know who God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit is and what God expects from us as individuals. He wants to keep us from sin and destruction, he wants his word in our heart. When we ask Jesus into our hearts we not just asking for salvation of our soul, but it often begins there, it asking Jesus to change our heart and our mind to be people pleasing to our heavenly Father.

We do not want the sign of destruction in our neighborhood or our own backyard but there signs of why new neighborhoods are built, because the old becomes neighborhood of decay in society. Yet what the change from one neighborhood does not bring is people of necessarily uncorruption but people with bigger hidden sins at one's backdoor. Big business crime owner in a better neighborhood, because of newer housing. Sometimes a less expensive neighorhood is safer because of people are choosing to make their world better around them. Choosing God and his Son makes things better all around, only if you choose to follow. People see your kindness they want to be kind too. They see a clean house they want a clean house too. Strange there fiction, something looks fun but sinful people follow like lemmings right over the cliff. God was showing his people the difference in following God's laws and ways to following the ways of the world in this time of exile.

God would bring his people back give them the word and they would fall to there knees, and Christ another ensign would come to be their Savior but they were to blinded by legalism of the law to see the love and hope of Christ. God set them up for a fall. Unless we take God's word to heart, take our faith in Christ into obedience to him, we become as corrupt as we allow our hearts to take us. We wrestle against those sins in our life, because we know it is sin that often feels good, looks good, taste good, and appears to be good and it is not. If brings destruction of God's power to correct us, how far would we have to go to be destroyed. Living on the streets, living in subsized housing for the poor, or in jail cell.

I talk sin of love ones but then i have to ask what sin of mine effect one of my loved ones. See lets put ourselves all in the pot of sin, and lets cleanse that put with the blood of Christ and not with oh dump it and climb back in to see the problems in the world all over again in one pot. Let's ask God to cleanse our hearts' first to purge sin from our own life, our families life and the life of those around us, so our ensign is the blessed Messiah and not one of destruction.

Dear Heavenly Father, purge our hearts and prepare us to be people of hope through your word and faith in you and your Son. Purge us from the temptation of sin in our life that we be people worthy to have your word in our life. In Jesus precious name, Amen.

Continual Scripture Study: 2 Timothy 2:19-26 KJV
19 Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.
20 But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour.
21 If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master's use, and prepared unto every good work.
22 Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.
23 But foolish and unlearned questions avoid, knowing that they do gender strifes.
24 And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient,
25 In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth;
26 And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.