file: /pub/resources/text/Our.Daily.Bread: db940708.txt
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OUR DAILY BREAD                                      July 8, 1994
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Read: Isaiah 5:1-25


                     REARRANGING THE PRICE TAGS
 
                   Woe to those who call evil good,
                            and good evil;
                      who put darkness for light,
                         and light for darkness.

                             - Isaiah 5:20


The Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard tells a parable of a man
who broke into a department store one night. Rather than stealing
merchandise, he rearranged the price tags on many items. The next
morning the clerks and customers fount one surprise after another:
diamond necklaces for a dollar and cheap costume jewelry costing
thousands.

In Isaiah's day, Israel had rejected and despised God's instruc-
tions (Is. 5:24). The people grossly underestimated faith in Him and the value of His laws. They cheapened the worth of patiently
waiting on the Lord to work out His purpose (vv. 18-19). They
devalued virtue and inflated evil (v.20). They overpriced their
own wisdom and cleverness (v. 21) and made heroes of heavy drink-
ers (v. 22). Bribery routinely subverted justice (v. 23). God had
created a climate where goodness could flourish (vv. 1-2), but His
people had cultivated weeds and produced moral confusion.

Does this sound up-to-date? Our society is doing just what Israel
did centuries ago. What a challenge to the church! May we who
know Christ as our Savior show our world by how we live the true
value of goodness, righteousness, justice, sobriety, wisdom, and
purity. - DJD

              This strife-torn world, so wracked by sin,
                      So deep in desperate need,
                Must see firsthand the love of Christ
                    From Christians who will lead.


THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
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The best way to fight evil is to live for Christ.

The Bible In One Year: Isaiah 4-6


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