My people do not understand

Dogs are very different in their personalities. Like people, there are smart ones and dumb ones. Owners all have various expectations for their pet. One thing I've always desired from mine is that they know my voice and respond to it. I want my dog to be friendly with those who I say are alright, and stay aloof from those who are not. I don't want a dog that is so friendly he will go to anyone without thinking. I don't want someone to be able to come along and say, "Here, boy!" and lead my dog off its property.

God is the same way. He wants His creations to be friendly with those He says are alright, and aloof from those who are not. He doesn't want a people who are seduced by just any voice that calls.

Isaiah 1:3 says, "An ox knows its owner,And a donkey its master's manger,But Israel does not know, My people do not understand.”

How stupid can you be? The Lord labels the ox and donkey smarter than His people ... because they know where they belong and to whom they belong.

Oh, did I forget to mention that these aren't pagans God addresses, but His own people. These are the so-called "religious" people. These are the ones who were claiming to worship God, yet acting like they worshiped Satan. These were the people who were supposed to belong to heaven, but lived clearly like they belonged to this world.

"Alas, sinful nation, People weighed down with iniquity, Offspring of evildoers, Sons who act corruptly! They have abandoned the LORD, They have despised the Holy One of Israel, They have turned away from Him" (Isaiah 1:4).

The Lord's people abandoned Him. Religious people despised their God. Children turned away from their Father. The Holy One of Israel wanted Israel to know her Master, and be holy like Him. He wanted them to stay with the "confines" of their relationship and covenant. They chose not to do so.

I have heard preachers who have applied v. 4 to America. "Oh, what a sinful nation we've become! America has abandoned her God!" While I freely admit that America is a sinful nation, let's keep the verse within its context. This is about God's people. Therefore, if we are going to apply this verse to anyone today ... it has to be the church.

1 Peter 2:9 says we are "a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession." Yet where are the holy people who belong to this holy nation? Where are the people who know their Owner and refuse to listen to anyone offering a "different gospel" (Galatians 1:6)? Where are those who cannot be "carried about by every wind of doctrine" (Ephesians 4:14)?

Christ made His intentions clear. He has the future in mind. He's looking forward to His wedding day. He wants to "present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless" (Ephesians 5:27).

"But [the church] does not know, My people do not understand."

Why not? Because preachers are preaching about this world, rather than about heaven. Because leaders are leading people to a building or to a particular group of people, rather than to the Lord. "They are blind guides of the blind. And if a blind man guides a blind man, both will fall into a pit” (Matthew 15:14).

"Alas, sinful nation, People weighed down with iniquity, Offspring of evildoers, Sons who act corruptly! They have abandoned the LORD, They have despised the Holy One of Israel, They have turned away from Him."
The modern church must turn back to her Master. They must "lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles" (Hebrews 12:1). Congregations of today must become what they were designed to be ... "the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing."

"An ox knows its owner,And a donkey its master's manger ..." What about you?