Three Values of Life (Isaiah 2:17-22)

Three Values of Life (Isaiah 2:17-22)

 

17 그 날에 자고한 자는 굴복되며 교만한 자는 낮아지고 여호와께서 홀로 높임을 받으실 것이요  

17 The loftiness of man shall be bowed down, And the haughtiness of men shall be brought low; The Lord alone will be exalted in that day,

18 우상들은 온전히 없어질 것이며

18 But the idols He shall utterly abolish.

 

19 사람들이 암혈과 토굴로 들어가서 여호와께서 땅을 진동시키려고 일어나실 때에 그의 위엄과 그 광대하심의 영광을 피할 것이라 

19 They shall go into the holes of the rocks, And into the caves of the earth, From the terror of the Lord And the glory of His majesty, When He arises to shake the earth mightily.

 

20. 사람이 자기를 위하여 경배하려고 만들었던 은 우상과 금 우상을 그 날에 두더지와 박쥐에게 던지고

20 In that day a man will cast away his idols of silver And his idols of gold, Which they made, each for himself to worship, To the moles and bats,

21. 암혈과 험악한 바위 틈에 들어가서 여호와께서 땅을 진동시키려고 일어나실 때에 그의 위엄과 그 광대하심의 영광을 피하리라

21 To go into the clefts of the rocks, And into the crags of the rugged rocks, From the terror of the Lord And the glory of His majesty, When He arises to shake the earth mightily.

 

22. 너희는 인생을 의지하지 말라 그의 호흡은 코에 있나니 셈할 가치가 어디 있느냐

22 Sever yourselves from such a man, Whose breath is in his nostrils; For of what account is he?

 

Intro)

 

 

1. In Germany there was a famous emperor name Kaiser. He is famous with his moustache. You probably heard or seen once like in the picture. Emperor Kaiser was faithful Christian. one day he was curios how much he would worth, so he asked his retainers.

 

Many retainers couldn’t call the price of emperor, but there was one retainer come front to tell how much his emperor worth. He said “Emperor Kaiser, you worth 29 silver.” Kaiser asked with unpleasant tone “huh? Not even gold 29 , but silver?”

 

Retainer replied “Emperor Kaiser please don’t get upset, and listen to me. Jesus was sold at 30 silver, so you shouldn’t be worth more than him. Should you?” After his retainer’s comment emperor Kaiser became humble.

 

2. Albert Schweitzer spent and sacrificed his life in Africa. He was Doctor of Philosophy, Doctor of Theology, Doctor of Medicine, and Doctor Music. His philosophy was about life. He believed in life that God gave us is valuable, so he went to African where people can’t learn about God, he told them “Although you people are poor, and weak your life is valuable just much as mine is, because our  lives are given from God.”

 So, Albert Schweitzer spread gospel to them and played music for them, and cured their illness for 56 years. The ethic of Reverence for Life is found particularly strange because it establishes no dividing-line between higher and lower, between more valuable and less valuable life. For this omission it has its reasons.

To undertake to lay down universally valid distinctions of value between different kinds of life will end in judging them by the greater of lesser distance at which they seem to stand from us human beings - as we ourselves judge. But that is a purely subjective criterion. Who among us knows what significance any other kind of life has in itself, and as part of the universe?

Following on such a distinction there comes next the view that there can be life which is worthless, injury to which or destruction of which does not matter. Then in the category of worthless life we come to include, according to circumstances, different kinds of insects, or primitive peoples.

To the man who is truly ethical all life is sacred, including that which from the human point of view seems lower in the scale. He makes distinctions only as each case comes before him, and under pressure of necessity, as, for example, when it falls to him to decide which of two lives he must sacrifice in order to preserve the other.

But all through this series of decisions he is conscious of acting on subjective grounds and arbitrarily, and knows that he bears the responsibility for the life which is sacrificed.

I rejoice over the new remedies for sleeping-sickness, which enable me to preserve life, whereas I had previously to watch a painful disease. But every time I have under the microscope the germs which cause the disease, I cannot but reflect that I have to sacrifice this life in order to save other life.

Albert learned about life through religion and act as he enlightened.

3. Someone asked worker in construction site “What are you doing?” Worker replied “I’m working to live my life.” This person asked same question to others.

 

And he got different answers such as “I’m carrying my burden.” And “I’m working for my family and God.” The last person is doing the same job as everybody else is, but he has understanding of meaning of life from God.

 

4. God created our lives much more valuable than anything, but the life that is so valuable dies worthlessly and countlessly. Why God gave us salvation? It’s because he want us to receive salvation. Reason why is because to God we are valuable.

 

Body)

A) There are 3 kinds of values in life.

There are different kinds of values in life, but it divides as big three kinds.

 

1. First value is life that is priceless life.

Of course there are many things that can’t be priced such as love, effort, hope, will, justice, truth, and art, but life is beyond the list. Environment that is keeping the life is also very important such as air, water, and sunlight etc., but among these value life is first.

 

2. Second, value of potential to look at.

There are values placed in somewhere between middle. Sometimes there are people who are not good at things, but also not bad at things the average. These kinds of people often prefer to maintain the average in their wellbeing such as income, fitness, health, and personality.

 

It’s same as faith, if you dig too deep people often think there will be too much of sacrifices, so there are large number of Christian who are in middle. However, even these people have potential to change and bring the better to this world.

 

3. Third, unacceptably considered as worthless.

There are no people put values in rotten or corrupted things such as, food, person, government, and group. We do not need to value this, because there is none.

 

B) There is life that there is no value to envy: A person who doesn’t have God in mind.

 

In today’s scripture, verse 12 says, “¹² For the day of the Lord of hosts Shall come upon everything proud and lofty, Upon everything lifted up— And it shall be brought low.” People here are saying there is no God, and believing in themselves with serving idolatry. Bible is sending warning message to these kinds of people.

 

Jeremiah  2:19 – “‘¹⁹ Your own wickedness will correct you, And your backslidings will rebuke you. Know therefore and see that it is an evil and bitter thing That you have forsaken the Lord your God, And the fear of Me is not in you,’ Says the Lord God of hosts.’”

 

Psalm 10:4- “⁴ The wicked in his proud countenance does not seek God; God is in none of his thoughts.” And 14:1 “The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, They have done abominable works, There is none who does good.”

 

When there is no God in their mind, but self or idol might look like they are kind, and loving on the surface, but beneath themselves there are ignorance, and arrogance. So, God said there are no values to these people.

 

2. God also says there are no values in civilization that developed by experience and knowledge of only human. This is why God collapsed tower of Babel, castles, idols, and temples of idolatry.

 

In today’s text, verse 20 says “²⁰ In that day a man will cast away his idols of silver And his idols of gold, Which they made, each for himself to worship, To the moles and bats.”

 

In the final judgment day idolatries made by human will have no value, and tossed away like garbage. In this world there are many materials or group created by human from desire to receive worshiped. Even in our lives sometimes there are beliefs that can come first than God, although we achieve success it is not worth it from of God.

 

C) What is the life that God would envy of its value?

 

1. Life that consider God as first of all. Building the worldview around God and putting value in God as first would be considered as valuable life to God, because this will make God pleasant, and will lead to build God’s world.

 

Isaiah 43:21 says, “²¹ This people I have formed for Myself; They shall declare My praise.” We, God’s people, belong to God, because God made us for him, therefore it is right for us to make our God happy. Setting our God as first in our mind will make God happy.

 

Today we have to be aware about idolatries we make to satisfy ourselves, because our God is jealousy and we do not want to experience his wrath.

 

Today’s text 19 says in final judgment day “19 They shall go into the holes of the rocks, And into the caves of the earth, From the terror of the Lord And the glory of His majesty, When He arises to shake the earth mightily.”

 

This means in this day people will be so fearful they will hide inside of cave.

 

In the Book of Revelation 9:6 says ‘⁶ In those days men will seek death and will not find it; they will desire to die, and death will flee from them.’ When there is God’s judgment and curse, the burden and pain will be unbearable, and can’t die although we wish to die to end. In bible call this as a second death, which is burning in hell.

 

Let’s take a look at Revelation 20:11-15

11.	And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.

 

12.	And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.

 

13.	And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.

 

14.	And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.

 

15.	And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

Yes! There is second death!

 

Conclusion)

We should not depend on our own assets,  people alike wayfarer, and honor that can’t be bring it to God with proud. We should depend on God who is control of our lives of beginning and the end.

 

God is the Alpha and Omega. He knows all of our situations so we have to depend on him and make him happy, so God would gladly help our obstacles in our lives and value our lives with blessings.