
In the 58th chapter of Isaiah, the prophet speaks God’s heart concerning his people’s spiritual condition.
The prophet points out the nation’s sins.
The Lord never wants to bring judgment on anybody, but if his people will not repent of their sins sometimes he has to. The objective is to get our attention.
Before the Lord does this, he always gives his people a warning. He reveals to them where they have missed it and what they need to do to get it right.
“Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins.”
The rest of the chapter deals with the sins that his people have committed. In order to repent or get right with God, we need to know what to repent of. Sometimes we are so self-righteous that we don’t see our sins. God has to point them out to us.
When things start going wrong in our lives, and our prayers begin to bounce off the ceiling, we then ask God. “What’s going on?”
More often than not, we have become entangled in something God calls sin! With sin in the way, our prayers will not be received. Some people don’t realize this, but our prayers will go unanswered unless we repent of what it is we are doing that is displeasing to God.
‘Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.”
Chapters Isaiah 58,59 point out a whole bunch of things that displease the Lord. Many of which we have been guilty of.
He then uses the spider analogy to give us a clear idea of what our sins do to us. Not only does sin hurt the Lord but our sin hurts us too.
God likens falling into sin like falling into a spider’s web.
Spiders, or the devils are predators. They tempt us to sin. The devil can only tempt us however, in an area of our life not yet surrendered to God.
In Job 8:13-15 the Lord tells us that the serpent (cockatrice) hatches poisonous eggs and the spider weaves a web for those who forget God. For those who live like hypocrites, and for those who put their trust in the ‘spiders web,’ or in the enemy’s deceptive devices.
When we leave God out of our lives or even a part of our lives, the serpent comes along and presents to us his ‘grand’ ideas. He gives us worldly wisdom with independent thoughts that, when hatched, become an ensnarment to us! The next thing we know after a while, our house comes crashing down all around us!
Whose hope shall be cut off, and whose trust shall be a spider’s web. He shall lean upon his house, but it shall not stand: he shall hold it fast, but it shall not endure. Job 8:13-15
We need to understand the serpent’s methods, so we don’t get trapped in a spider’s web. Although the serpent is the instigator of the entrapment, he uses the spider to do the entrapping. After all, the web must be woven by a spider because spiders, by nature, are the weaver of webs!
The spider’s objective is to catch prey. Some spiders may sit in their webs, hoping for some poor guy to come along and fall in, but this is not always the case! Some spiders use strategies to catch their prey. After the spider has weaved its web of lies, it then takes a sticky lasso cord to entangle its prey.
Deception has a way of wrapping us all up in entanglement. We become ensnared in our deception.
Trusting in our own strength is like putting our trust in the spider’s web. It is a deceptive entrapment to trust in our own might, intelligence, and prowess, leaving God out of our decisions.
When we become our own god, the serpent can hatch his poisonous eggs in our big fat ego!
After that, the spider comes along and weaves for us a master plan. We got it all figured out! We know how to solve this problem! We got it covered!
Oh, how many times we fall for that web of deception! Making decisions without consulting the Lord, trying to fix a wrong thing to make it right, building our own empires! There’s that sticky lasso! Getting us all caught up in entanglements concerning the affairs of this life!
Whoever trusts in his own mind is a fool, but he who walks in wisdom will be delivered. Proverbs 28: 26
Some spiders will even mimic their prey in order to avoid being detected. They look so much like a nice Christian or a good person. They have a lot of good advice to give. Then before you know it, you’re trapped in the web of deception! Why didn’t I just pray about that person first?
I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go; I will counsel you with My eye upon you. Psalm 32:8
There are even spiders who will run their prey down! They camouflage so you can’t detect them, then when you see them for who they are they try hunting you down! You can’t get rid of them! Ever have somebody like that in your life? Constant harassment!
Well, if I had sought the Lord on that friendship, I would not be in this kerfuffle!
He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed. Proverbs 13:20
Lastly, some spiders are poisonous. If you get bit by one of those, you are in big trouble! How often do we decide to trust a person or situation without consulting the Lord? Then we end up getting bit where it hurts! For me, more times than I can remember!
Like I told you in a previous blog; sometimes it takes a hammer to fall on my head before I get it. But better late than never.
Now I am learning to listen more closely to the Holy Spirit’s inner promptings. Greenlight, yes! Red light, don’t go there!
Before the prophet Isaiah tells God’s people why they ended up eating rotten serpent eggs in the spider’s web, he shows them their sin. If you look at those or any other sin for that matter, you will find a common theme: ‘refusal to submit to the Lordship of God (Jesus Christ) and doing our own thing.’
That is sin in a nutshell! If we are not submitted to God, we give Satan a place in our lives. Whether it is all of our lives or a part of our lives.
Therefore, submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. James 4:7
The devil sets traps for his prey. While entrapment may be criminally illegal, the devil doesn’t care about legalities. He knows our weaknesses, what we may be susceptible to. That is why he is called the tempter.
Spiders often build webs in our homes! In our garden or somewhere else on our property. That is why we have to be on the alert. Keeping our eye out for those webs!
When one is entrapped, they lose control. Stuck in a situation that makes them feel trapped. Deception is a spider’s 🕸 🕷
Sin is a deadly poison! It is a rotten serpant egg! No matter how good it looks, if we ingest it, we could die! At the very least, become sick!
There is a way out, though. God, in his mercy, provided one for us. It is called repentance. Turning back to God. When we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sin and purify us from all the sin’s unrighteousness!
Jesus Christ is the propitiation for our sin! That means he took our place. Aren’t you glad that he did that? Otherwise, we would be stuck forever in the web of deception, eating rotten serpent eggs!
If you need to get it right with the Lord today, why not seek him? He said in his word that he will never turn you away! No matter how far you’ve gone from him. He loves you and longs for you to turn to him for his forgiveness and healing.
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9
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