Chapter 5: Warnings to those who live in comfort

5:5 ‘..I will take away its hedge, and it will be destroyed.’

#JourneyIsaiah

                                         Photo: ibtimes.co.uk

A picture of desperate African migrants trying to cross the frontier fence between Morocco and the small Spanish enclave of Melilla grabbed the attention of many in October 2014. The golfers don’t seem to notice what is happening? This single picture told a thousand stories:

• Despair
• Inequality
• Exclusion
• Social injustice
• Climate change

There is a complex link and web of connectivity between what is happening in Africa, climate change and inward migration to Europe. In the more prosperous North we continue to live, produce and consume as if there is no tomorrow. Yet, long-term shifts are taking place in demography, climate and political relationships. The warnings in Isaiah 2,800 years ago are as valid today as they were when the people of Israel were at risk of losing their independence.

A humane and just response to the global problems of our world will require long-term changes in policy, international cooperation and engagement. Each and every one of us has a part to play. The signs are there. Even the Earth groans as it continues to be trashed:

‘Surely the great houses will become desolate, the fine mansions left without occupants. A ten-acre vineyard will produce only a bath of wine; a homer of seed will yield only an ephah of grain’ (Isaiah 5:9-10)

For previous posts in #JourneyIsaiah -

Journeying with Isaiah

Chapter 1:  A Wake up call

Chapter 2:  Whom to trust

Chapter 3:  The situation is hopeless (almost)

Chapter 4: A quiet spot