The Wicked Have a Terrible and Widespread Impact on
Society.
A glance at the sins above in verses 3-8 shows their horrible effects. So much evil is committed daily within every community that many people’s hearts have become hardened to scenes of immorality, lawlessness, and violence. Consequently, the news media and the public pay attention only to the most savage or unexpected acts of evil or violence. Moreover, unfortunately, as people become increasingly desensitized to the immorality and crime around them, society is slowly being consumed by the cancer of wickedness and sin. Note the impact of sin on society.
The Impact of Sin on
Society
9It is because of all this evil that you are not finding God’s blessings; that is why he does not punish those who injure you. No wonder you are in darkness when you expect light. No wonder you are walking in the gloom. 10No wonder you grope like blind men and stumble along in broad daylight, even at brightest noontime, as though it were the darkest night! No wonder you are like corpses when compared with vigorous young men! 11You roar like hungry bears; you moan with mournful cries like doves. You look for God to keep you, but he does not. He has turned away.[1] (Isaiah 59:9–11)
A. Wicked
People Bring Lawlessness to Society (V. 9a).
Lawless behavior
such as stealing, assaulting, and killing disturbs peace. Lawlessness is the
force behind the sins of oppression, injustice, and unrighteousness. If
rebellious and unmanageable people are given free rein, they soon take over
communities, and chaos and turmoil follow. Soon after that, the stronger, more
domineering individuals begin to control the communities and abuse the
citizens. In Isaiah’s day and throughout the years before the Babylonian
captivity, many people lived wicked lives. Even when a godly ruler took the
throne, most people continued in their lawless ways. As a result, little
justice or righteousness could be found within society. A spirit of injustice
gripped both the people and the courts. Most people mistreated their neighbors,
leaving the minority to do what was right.
V “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven
against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness”
(Ro. 1:18).
V “But glory, honor, and peace, to every man
that worketh good, to the Jew first, and to the Gentile: For there is no
respect of persons with God. For as many as have sinned without law shall also
perish without law: and as many, as have sinned in the law shall be judged by
the law; (For not the hearers of the law are
just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified. For when the
Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law,
these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves: Which show the work of
the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing
or else excusing one another;) In the day when God shall judge the secrets of
men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel. Behold, thou art called a Jew, and
rest in the law, and makest thy boast of God, and knowest his will, and approves the things that are more excellent, being
instructed out of the law” (Ro.
2:10–18).
V “For neither they themselves who are
circumcised keep the law; but desire to have you circumcised, that they may
glory in your flesh” (Ga. 6:13).
V “But he that doeth wrong shall receive for
the wrong which he hath done, and there is no respect of persons” (Col. 3:25).
V “In flaming fire taking vengeance on them
that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who
shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord,
and from the glory of his power; When he shall come to be glorified in his saints
and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was
believed) in that day. Wherefore also we pray always for you, that our God
would count you worthy of this
calling, and fulfill all the good pleasure of his goodness, and the work of faith with power: That the name of
our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and ye in him, according to the
grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Th. 1:8–12).
V “And shall receive the reward of
unrighteousness, as they that count
it a pleasure to riot in the daytime. Spots they
are and blemishes, sporting themselves with their own deceivings while they
feast with you; Having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin;
beguiling unstable souls: a heart they have exercised with covetous practices;
cursed children” (2 Pe. 2:13–14).
V “All unrighteousness is sin” (1 Jn. 5:17).
V “But we know that the law is good if a man uses it lawfully;
Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless
and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for
murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, For
whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for menstealers,
for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is
contrary to sound doctrine” (1
Ti. 1:8–10).
V “The wicked, through the pride of his
countenance, will not seek after God:
God is not in all his thoughts” (Ps. 10:4).
V “The transgression of the wicked saith within
my heart, that there is no fear of
God before his eyes” (Ps. 36:1).
V “An unjust man is an abomination to the just: and he that is upright in the way is
an abomination to the wicked” (Pr.
29:27).
V “Moreover, I saw under the sun the place of judgment, that wickedness was there; and the place of righteousness, that iniquity was there” (Ecc. 3:16).
B. Disappointment,
Despair, and Hopelessness Gripped Society Due to All the Wicked, Lawless
Behavior.
The few moral and
righteous people in the nation looked for a bright light and hope, but they saw
only darkness. Not even a gleam of light appeared on the horizon. With the
greater part of society walking in the darkness of sin, there was little hope
for a just or righteous society. A spirit of gloom hung in the air. Personal
freedom and the right to move about unhampered were both endangered. People had
to be always cautious and suspicious of others to protect themselves. Doubt,
uneasiness, restlessness, and fear gripped the people’s hearts because of the
wickedness and violence sweeping across the land.
V “But if thine eye is evil, thy whole body
shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness,
how great is that darkness!” (Mt. 6:23).
V “Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the
blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch” (Mt. 15:14).
V “And this is the condemnation, that light has
come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light because their
deeds were evil” (Jn. 3:19).
V “The night is far spent; the day is at hand:
let us, therefore, cast off the works of darkness and let us put on the armor
of light” (Ro. 13:12).
V “That at that time ye were without Christ,
being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants
of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: But now in Christ
Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ” (Ep. 2:12–13).
V “If we say that we have fellowship with him,
and walk in darkness, we lie and do not the truth” (1 Jn. 1:6).
V “And in those days shall men seek death and
shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them” (Re. 9:6).
V “And Moses spake so unto the children of
Israel: but they hearkened not unto Moses for anguish of spirit, and for cruel
bondage” (Ex. 6:9).
V “My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle
and are spent without hope” (Jb.
7:6).
V “And where is now my hope? as for my hope, who shall see it?” (Jb. 17:15).
V “They know not, neither will they understand;
they walk on in darkness: all the foundations of the earth are out of course” (Ps. 82:5).
V “The way of the wicked is as darkness: they know not at what they stumble” (Pr. 4:19).
V “But Zion said, The Lord hath forsaken me,
and my Lord hath forgotten me” (Is.
49:14).
V “Wherefore their way shall be unto them as
slippery ways in the darkness: they
shall be driven on and fall therein: for I will bring evil upon them, even the year of their visitation, saith
the Lord” (Je. 23:12).
V “Then he said unto me, Son of man, these
bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, our bones are dried, and
our hope is lost we are cut off for our parts” (Eze. 37:11).
V “I am the man that hath seen affliction by the rod of his wrath” (La. 3:1).
C. Spiritual
Blindness Is One of The Major Results of Sin in Society (V. 10).
When people forget
God and become corrupt, they are like blind men trying to find their way in the
dark. They stumble and grope about trying to hang on to something to keep from
falling and injuring themselves. But being blind, they cannot even know if they
are going in the right direction, much less protect themselves from harm. The
spiritually blind can only hope to stumble along and stay on the road. Even so,
they are uncertain of what is ahead. In fact, their future is no more certain
than that of the dead. This is because they are spiritually blind, without God in this world, which means they are
without hope. To be without God is to be left to plow through life alone in the
dark. To be without God is to be without a moral compass, guidance, direction,
encouragement, and hope.
V “But if thine eye is evil, thy whole body
shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness,
how great is that darkness!” (Mt. 6:23).
V “Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the
blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch” (Mt. 15:14).
V “But their minds were blinded: for until this
day remaineth the same vail untaken away in the reading of the Old Testament,
which vail is done away in Christ.
But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the vail is upon their heart. Nevertheless,
when it shall turn to the Lord, the vail shall be taken away” (2 Co. 3:14–16).
V “In whom the God of this world hath blinded
the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ,
who is the image of God, should shine unto them. For we preach not ourselves,
but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus’ sake” (2 Co. 4:4–5).
V “This I say, therefore, and testify in the
Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of
their mind, Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of
God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their
heart: Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness,
to work all uncleanness with greediness” (Ep. 4:17–19).
V “But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes” (1 Jn. 2:11).
D. Sin
Always Causes Suffering in Society Leading to Hostility or Mourning (V. 11a).
When mistreated, many people retaliate in anger, seeking revenge. Isaiah said that a number of people were growling like bears in response to the injustices done to them. Others moaned in their suffering, sounding like sorrowful doves. Wickedness is the source of immeasurable anguish and misery. Whether the infidelity of a husband, the assault and battery of a thief, the abuse of a child, or a false accusation—wicked behavior always harms someone, and in most cases, many people.
E. Sinful
Behavior Dooms People, Both Individually and As a Society (V. 11b).
People may look for
justice and deliverance, but their search will be futile if they continue in
sin. The testimony of Isaiah was that his generation looked for justice but
found none. They looked for deliverance, but it was far, far away. Why? Because
of the wickedness of the people. They treated others unjustly, so they suffered
injustice. They refused to help the needy, so God refused to help them in their
hour of need. What they had sowed, they reaped. So, it is with every person in
society. The life we sow is the life we will reap. If we sow wickedness, we
will reap wickedness. If we sow rejection of God, we will reap God’s rejection.
If we choose to live apart from God, we will be separated from Him eternally.
Wickedness dooms both people and society.
V “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent
unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen
gathereth her chickens under her
wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate” (Mt. 23:37–38).
V “And they made a calf in those days, and
offered sacrifice unto the idol, and rejoiced in the works of their own hands.
Then God turned and gave them up to worship the host of heaven; as it is
written in the book of the prophets, O ye house of Israel, have ye offered to me
slain beasts and sacrifices by the space of forty years in the
wilderness?” (Ac. 7:41–42).
V “For the invisible things of him from the
creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are
made, even his eternal power and
Godhead; so that they are without excuse: Because that, when they knew God,
they glorified him not as God,
neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish
heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools and
changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like corruptible
man and to birds, four-footed beasts, and creeping things. Wherefore God also
gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonor
their own bodies between themselves: Who changed the truth of God into a lie
and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed forever.
Amen” (Ro. 1:20–25).
V “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for
whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap” (Ga. 6:7).
V “And be not ye like your fathers, and like
your brethren, which trespassed against the Lord God of their fathers, who therefore gave them up to
desolation, as ye see” (2 Chr.
30:7).
V “So, I gave them up unto their own hearts’
lust: and they walked in their own
counsels” (Ps. 81:12).
V “Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me: For that, they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the Lord: They would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof. Therefore, shall they eat of the fruit of their own way and be filled with their own devices. For the turning away of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them” (Pr. 1:28–32).[2]
THE GOAL OF
GUILT.
A course of
conduct or a principle of action is rightly judged by the issue to which it
tends. All is well that ends well,
and all is ill that ends ill. If we look far enough and deep enough in our
estimate of consequences, we shall always find that the goal of guilt is
wretchedness and ruin. It ends in—
I.
A SENSE OF WRONG.
The nation feels
that “judgment and justice” are lacking and the enemy is triumphant; the
individual feels that he is injured, that his rights are withheld from him, and
he goes on his way dispirited and complaining.
II.
DEEP DISAPPOINTMENT.
“We wait for the light
and behold obscurity,” etc. Men who do seek not their refuge and their portion
in God and in his service are always subject to a profound dissatisfaction.
Life does not yield the good they crave. They look for success, and behold
failure; for joy, and behold weariness, for sweet communion but heartache, and
behold isolation and loneliness; for laughter, and behold disgust.
III.
AGGRAVATED BLINDNESS.
“We grope … like
the blind … we stumble at noonday,” etc. It is one of the saddest consequences
of sin that the power of spiritual
perception continually lessens;
the “eyesight” of the soul becomes weaker and weaker. Great truths are less
clearly apprehended. Confusion takes the place of distinctness, until at length
good is mistaken for evil, and evil for good: “the light that is in us becomes
darkness;” the very organ of spiritual understanding misleads us. And the
aggravating circumstance is that this failure of the soul’s sight takes place
“at noonday,” when others are walking and rejoicing in the light of the Lord.
IV.
DEATHFULNESS.
“In desolate places [or perhaps rather, ‘in luxuriant fields,’] we are as the dead.” The thought of Christ and of his apostles is that to live in selfishness, in ungodly pleasure, is death in life. To exist apart from God; to be severed from him in thought and feeling, in speech and action; to be utterly regardless of his will and then defiantly antagonistic to his cause; —this is death indeed, and it is consummated in the death which is eternal. —C.[3]
Prayer: The Impact of
Sin on Society
Father God, we
have sown to our fleshly lust and have reaped the consequence of our sin. We
are receiving the wages for that which we have worked tirelessly. We cannot
blame anyone else but ourselves for that which we are now reaping. Our failure
in every area of our lives directly results from our failure to live righteously
before you. We have not followed you and your teaching; therefore, what else
can we expect but live lives of self-deception? Our leaders are representatives
of our choosing. We have removed your Word from our homes, schools, and governing
places and suffer the penalty of our desires. All we can ask of you, Lord, is
to be merciful to us as your judgment falls on us for that which we are so
deserving. We are blind and deaf to your call to repentance; therefore, again,
Lord, please be merciful to us as your hand of judgment falls.
We beg for your mercy Lord; in Jesus’ name, we pray, Amen.
The Spiritually Blind Can Only Hope to Stumble Along and Stay on The Road.
Even So, They Are Uncertain of What Is Ahead.
Their Future Is No More Certain Than That of The Dead.
[1] Taylor, Kenneth Nathaniel. 1997. The Living Bible,
Paraphrased. Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House.
[2] Leadership Ministries Worldwide. 2005. Isaiah: Chapters
36–66. Vol. II. The Preacher’s Outline & Sermon Bible.
Chattanooga, TN: Leadership Ministries Worldwide.
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