Isaiah 1:7-9 English Standard Version

⁷ Your country lies desolate; your cities are burned with fire; in your very presence foreigners devour your land; it is desolate, as overthrown by foreigners. ⁸ And the daughter of Zion is left like a booth in a vineyard, like a lodge in a cucumber field, like a besieged city. ⁹ If the Lord of hosts had not left us a few survivors, we should have been like Sodom, and become like Gomorrah.

The first thing to consider is the terminology related to desolation. The term booth expresses the condition of those God loves seen by referencing the daughters of Zion. A both represents an isolated condition and the efforts of man to separate themselves from the dangers surrounding themselves. The vineyard expressing the fruits of their labors.

Verse 9 clearing indicates that is the Lord Himself that saved a remnant of His people and not through any frantic and desperate move on man’s part to protect himself. Out lesson here should be one of humility to understand that if we are to survive the onslaught of circumstances brought on by our nation turning their backs on God, it will be God that saves us and not we ourselves.

If we have done some study of historical significance we might draw some conclusions about the coming conditions which we want to avoid. So often we take a world view fix. Elect better leaders, make better laws, build coalitions, and get involved in change. These efforts are done without listening to God, understanding His plans for us, and using determination rather than faith.

On the spiritual side we might see a call to revival. We might seek to evangelize and send out missionaries. Those are both Godly efforts if done according to God’s will. Church leaders might in some cases determine what needs to be done without following God’s recipe for success.

Evangelism begins in the heart of each of us.