The Philosophy of Mutterings

Isaiah 8:16-22
P. G. Mathew | Sunday, August 25, 2002
Copyright © 2002, P. G. Mathew

To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, they have no light of dawn.

Isaiah 8:20

Recently I heard a very prominent man who calls himself a Christian saying, in essence, that all the peoples of the world worship the same God, although in different ways. That is a lie! Such speech is what Isaiah called in this passage the mutterings of man. Being a politician, this man had to say such a thing, of course. Imagine what would happen if he said the only true religion is the Christianity based on the Scriptures, and that only those who worship the true and living God are God’s people!

Isaiah 8:16-22 speaks about the philosophy of mutterings, which is what I call every opinion of man that is not in agreement with the word of God. When man rejects God’s word, he turns to mediums and spiritists to guide him. In Isaiah 2:6 we read, “They are full of superstitions from the East; they practice divination like the Philistines.”

In the history of Israel we find this truth illustrated in the life of King Saul. Saul rejected the word of God; therefore, God rejected him and refused to speak to him. Having been abandoned by the Holy Spirit, Saul came under the influence of an evil spirit which tormented him. When crisis came into his life, he sought the mutterings of a witch who lived in Endor. He resorted to consulting the dead and we are told that both he and his children perished on the mountains of Gilboa. Such will be the story of every person who rejects the word of God.

God’s People Reject His Word

In 734 B. C. King Ahaz of Judah was in deep trouble. God sent the prophet Isaiah to minister to him, but Ahaz, along with the prominent people of Jerusalem, rejected God’s word of salvation. Thinking they knew how to solve their problems, they determined to seek an alliance with Assyria, the superpower of that time.

Isaiah opposed this plan and came to Ahaz, saying, “Don’t do it! Our God will defend us. Trust in him. He sent me to speak to you.” But Ahaz rejected the prophet and his message.

Isn’t that true of us sometimes? When the word of God comes to us, whether through parents, ministers, or others, it finds no place in our hearts. Instead, we say defiantly, “I have made up my mind. I know what to do.”

Ahaz and his people rejected God’s word: “Because this people has rejected the gently flowing waters of Shiloah . . .” (8:6). These were the waters to which Jesus Christ sent a blind man in John 9 and said, “Go there and wash your eyes, and you will be healed.” The gently flowing waters of Shiloah stands for the gospel.

But Ahaz rejected the waters of Shiloah in favor of the mighty waters of the Euphrates, which symbolized the nation of Assyria. Thus in Isaiah 8:7 we read, “Therefore the Lord is about to bring against them the mighty floodwaters of the River-the king of Assyria with all his pomp. It will overflow all its channels, run over all its banks and sweep on into Judah, swirling over it, passing through it and reaching up to the neck,” meaning the neck of all who rejected the waters of the gospel.

Those who rejected God would experience, not the salvation offered by Jerusalem, but destruction by Assyria. God, who is in control of all history; God, who declares the end from the beginning; God, to whom all the nations of the earth are less than nothing; God, who is high and lifted up; God, who is the King seated on his throne; God, whose glory fills the earth, was telling Isaiah that he would surely punish those who rejected his gospel. God was pronouncing doom on his own people.

The Fulfillment of Isaiah’s Prophecy

Doom began to come within three years of Isaiah’s prophecy. In 732 the king of Damascus was destroyed, and Syria came under the sovereignty of Assyria. Then Pekah the king of Samaria was killed and the wealth of both kingdoms was confiscated by the great king of Assyria, Tiglath-Pileser III. But more than that, in due course, Assyria, whom Ahaz and his people had chosen to trust, devastated Judah. This took place because Ahaz had rejected God’s offer of salvation.

All those who trust in their own wisdom, who walk in the light of their own candles, and worship their own human saviors will, in due course, meet with sure destruction.

Counsel for the Godly

What should the true people of God do when the majority rejects God? They are a minority, hated by the unbelieving church as well as by the world. But remember what Jesus said in Luke 16:15 “What is highly valued among men is detestable in God’s sight.”

God’s counsel for his people is found in Isaiah 8:11-22. In verse 11 Isaiah says, “The Lord spoke to me with his strong hand upon me. . . .” God controlled Isaiah mightily by his Spirit. Then God warned him: “Do not follow the way of this people.” God was saying, “I am fully aware that you are tempted to follow the way of the majority of the people of Israel. You are pulled this way and that way. I know you are afraid and ashamed, but you must not be! You are my people. You must live a holy life. You must do what I tell you to do, not what is popular.”

I hope we will all pay attention to this warning. The true Christian is the light of the world. He is different from others because he is characterized by holiness. Throughout the Scriptures God tells his people, “Be holy because I am holy.” Anyone can conform to the world. But it is impossible for most people to obey this command of God.

In verse 11 we read, “The Lord spoke to me with his strong hand upon me, warning me not to follow the way of this people.” Even Isaiah needed to be warned.

Do Not Believe as Pagans Do

In verse 12 God said, “Do not call conspiracy everything that these people call conspiracy.” God told Isaiah, “Do not believe everything.” The people of Judah were saying that Isaiah was a rebel because he was not agreeing with the political wisdom of the time that Judah should put her trust in the king of Assyria; rather, he was counseling them to trust in God.

We can understand Isaiah’s fearfulness because now his enemies were not only Assyria but also Ahaz. Who was Isaiah against so many? He was feeling pressured, so God came to him and said, “Don’t believe what they say. Believe what I say. Because you are my prophet, you must declare the gospel.” In the same way, those who are ministers of the gospel must declare God’s word whether men like it or not. I know some people may not like what we say. But we must declare the gospel because the hand of God is upon us.

Fear Not

Then God told Isaiah, “Do not fear what they fear, and do not dread it.” Here again we see the difference between unbelievers and believers. Unbelievers fear all kinds of things, but God is telling Isaiah he must not fear as they do. In Matthew 6:25, 28, and 34 we find this phrase repeated, “Do not worry . . . do not worry . . . do not worry . . .” Jesus says the reason we need not worry is that our heavenly Father knows what we need. Then he tells us, “Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”

What is God saying to his people? “Do not fear. Do not worry.” No matter what our situation, whether we are in pain or agony or suffering or trouble, he is telling us, “Do not fear what other people fear.” When we realize who our mighty God is, we will not fear. as we read in Isaiah 51:12-15:

I, even I, am he who comforts you. Who are you that you fear mortal men, the sons of men, who are but grass, that you forget the Lord your Maker, who stretched out the heavens and laid the foundations of the earth, that you live in constant terror every day because of the wrath of the oppressor, who is bent on destruction? For where is the wrath of the oppressor? The cowering prisoners will soon be set free; they will not die in their dungeon, nor will they lack bread. For I am the Lord your God, who churns up the sea so that its waves roar-the Lord Almighty is his name.

Sanctify the Lord

What is the next thing we should do when clouds of troubles rise on the horizon? In Isaiah 8:13 we read, “The Lord Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy, he is the one you are to fear, he is the one you are to dread. . . .” The apostle Peter quoted this verse: “But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. ‘Do not fear what they fear; do not be frightened.’ But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. . .” (1 Peter 3:14-15).

Do not be terrified by the storm and threatenings of the oppressors. Fix your eyes on the Lord Almighty, who Isaiah saw in his vision-he who is high and lifted up, seated on the throne, the sovereign controller of human destiny, the Lord of history, the one who makes all things happen, Almighty God. Focus your attention on him and revere him, honor him, and worship him.

God Is Our Sanctuary

Next, we must know that God is our sanctuary. “And he will be a sanctuary. . .” (8:14). A sanctuary is the place where God dwells. In Psalm 27:5 we read, “For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle and set me high upon a rock.”

God is our sanctuary. That means he is the place to which we can run and be safe. Remember Joab? Though he ran and took hold of the horns of the altar, eventually he was killed. But when those who trust in God go into the sanctuary, they will be saved. It is like running into the city of refuge where we are safe from the avenger of blood. God is our sanctuary and he will keep us.

God Is the Stumbling Stone

Then God makes a strange statement: “[F]or both houses of Israel he will be a stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall” (8:14). The same Lord Almighty, whom we are to regard as holy, will be a stone of stumbling for some people.

Jesus Christ used this illustration of a stone when he explained that God Almighty is not only the Savior, but also the Judge who teaches the arrogant a lesson. In Matthew 21:43 he said, “Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit.” In verse 44 he said, “He who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed.” Both will happen. Not only will people stumble and fall over the stone, but in due course it will also fall on them and destroy them.

Jesus Christ demands our total obedience. He is pictured here as the Lord Almighty. He doesn’t need our pity; but he requires total submission. As we read in Psalm 2:12, we must “kiss the Son, lest he be angry and you be destroyed in your way.”

Bind up the Testimony, Seal up the Law

Believers are also told, “Bind up the testimony and seal up the law among my disciples. I will wait for the Lord, who is hiding his face from the house of Jacob. I will put my trust in him” (Isaiah 8:16-17).

The word of God is with his disciples to be obeyed by the remnant represented by Isaiah and his disciples. The truth is, because of the disobedience of his own people, God hides his face from them. So Isaiah says, “Bind up the testimony, seal up the law among my disciples. I will wait for the Lord, who is hiding his face from the house of Jacob.” The house of Jacob is a symbol of the church. Because God is angry at the unbelieving church, he will hide himself. This is judgment. It is the opposite of the Aaronic blessing: “The Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace” (Numbers 6:25-26).

God Will Sustain His People

Isaiah knew that trouble was going to come to Judah. This trouble was coming in God’s plan because God’s people had rejected him. Isaiah knew destruction was coming through the king of Assyria and his army. What, then, should Isaiah and the disciples do? “I will wait for the Lord,” Isaiah declared. “I will put my trust in him.”

When troubles threaten us, we must wait for the Lord with great patience. Yes, we will have to suffer, but we should wait for the Lord. In Isaiah 40:31 we read, “Those whose hope is in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”

God will sustain us in the present when troubles are coming. God withdrawing his face means trouble, but God making his face shine on us means blessing. But we must not worry. In Psalm 1:3 we read that the righteous man will be “like a tree planted by the streams of water, which yields its fruit in its season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.” When we trust in God, he will sustain us. Jesus told us, “I am the vine; you are the branches” (John 15:5). “From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another” (John 1:16).

Reject the Philosophy of Mutterings

In Isaiah 8:19 we read, “When men tell you to consult mediums and spirits, who whisper and mutter, should not a people inquire of their God? Why consult the dead on behalf of the living?” Unbelieving “Christians” are going to come to us and tell us “to consult mediums and spiritists who whisper and mutter. . . .” Many people in the visible church hate the Bible. Such people will come to true Christians and say, “Forget about these old-fashioned, stupid ideas you have. Be modernists. Be intelligent, brilliant people. Listen to the mutterings of man and believe them instead of the words of your God.” In 1 John 2:19 and Revelation 2 we read about Gnostic teachers who did this in the church of Ephesus. When they came to the church, they claimed they were apostles. The Ephesian church tested them and concluded that they were not apostles at all.

People are going to come to sell their wares in the church. We see such people on television and listen to them on the radio. Many people buy their books. In fact, they love these people and their teachings because it is the mutterings of man. It is amazing how people get excited when they read the mutterings of man. But when the gospel is preached, such people say, “Oh, it is not exciting. I like the mutterings of man better.”

In 1 John we are told such people are antichrists. They will ask us, “Do you still believe in the Bible? We certainly do not! After all, we have come of age. We are scientific people. We are modernists. We have found a natural way of salvation. We are liberal Christians. We are the new Gnostics. Join us and be popular and powerful. The God of the Bible is not going to help you. Where is the promise of his coming? He did not create the heavens and the earth. He is not sovereign. He controls nothing. We must take matters into our own hands. Instead of believing in the one, true, infinite God, we believe in mediums, spiritists, astrology, fortune tellers, false prophets, and magic. We do not consult God. PGM We consult demons and practice necromancy. We can manipulate the future by consulting the dead for the living.”

Isaiah was being extremely sarcastic when he asked, “How can you consult the dead for the living?” Later on he challenged the people again, saying in essence: “How can you cut a tree down, use half of it to cook, make an idol of the other half, and bow down and worship it? How stupid can you be!”

Modernists do not consult the Bible. Like the ancients who went to Delphi to get some mutterings and wisdom from below, these people go to modern Delphis to hear the mutterings of man. They listen eagerly to university professors, commentators, actors and actresses, Nobel Laureates, psychologists, philosophers, and immoral politicians who want to speak about ethics.

But modernists are not opposed to all religions; they are only opposed to the Christianity that is based on the Bible. They hate only the true God. Why do they like the mutterings of man? Because modernism permits them to sin all day long.

The False Brilliance of Mutterers

How brilliant are the mutterers? In Daniel 2 we read about Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon having a dream that greatly troubled him. It put a big hole in this powerful man’s balloon of self-sufficiency. So Nebuchadnezzar called for all the philosophers, astrologers, and magicians.

These were the counterparts of our modern scientists, philosophers, actors, actresses, Nobel Laureates, and all. They were absolute frauds. “When they came in and stood before the king, he said to them, ‘I have had a dream that troubles me and I want to know what it means.”

In verse 4 we read, “Then the astrologers answered the king in Aramaic, ‘O king, live forever! Tell your servants the dream and we will interpret it.'” But King Nebuchadnezzar was no fool. He knew all these people were frauds, but he wanted to test them. In verse 5 we read, “The king replied to the astrologers, ‘This is what I have firmly decided: If you do not tell me what my dream was and interpret it, I will have you cut into pieces and your houses turned into piles of rubble.'”

What was the response of all these liars and frauds? In verse 11 we read, “What the king asks is too difficult.” They had to tell the truth because Nebuchadnezzar was going to cut their heads off. Then they said, “No one can reveal it to the king except the gods, and they do not live among men.”

But Daniel had a different answer: “No wise man, enchanter, magician or diviner can explain to the king the mystery he has asked about, but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries” (vv. 27-28). Then Daniel told Nebuchadnezzar the dream and interpretation, and in verse 45 he concluded, “The great God has shown the king what will take place in the future. The dream is true and the interpretation is trustworthy.” Our God is God of the future, the God of the past, and the God who calls the end from the beginning, the Sovereign Lord. All others are frauds and their philosophies are but the mutterings of men.

In verse 47 we read, “The king said to Daniel, ‘Surely your God is the God of gods and the Lord of kings and the revealer of mysteries, for you were able to reveal this mystery.'” We are speaking about the word of God.

The Principle of Sola Scriptura

In Isaiah 8:19 Isaiah said, “When men tell you to consult mediums and spiritists, who whisper and mutter, should not a people inquire of their God? Why consult the dead on behalf of the living?” In verse 20 he tells us what we should trust in: “To the law and the to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, they have no light of dawn.”

Here in Isaiah 8:20 we find the principle of sola Scriptura, the great doctrine in which Protestants glory. Sola Scriptura means that Scripture alone is the only authority for faith and life.

This principle can be twisted especially by evangelicals to promote autonomy. In his Institutes of the Christian Religion, John Calvin stated that the church is the mother in which the word of God is interpreted and proclaimed. But people twist this principle by saying, “Well, I don’t need the church to be a Christian. I don’t need anybody else. It is just me and the Bible.” They use this idea to promote their own independence. To such people, the principle of sola Scriptura becomes a principle of curse. When we say that the Scripture alone is authority, we don’t mean that people should not belong to a church where they can be instructed. We mean that for faith and life, Scripture alone is authority.

Roman Catholics oppose this principle because they are interested in traditions as well as the living voice of the church. They do not appreciate the sola aspect of this statement. They do believe in the authority of Scripture, but they do not believe that the Scripture alone is the authority. They have different authorities, of which only one is Scripture. But Isaiah 8:20 says every opinion of man must be judged according to the Scripture.

The Church and Sola Scriptura

In Isaiah 8:19 we read, “When men tell you . . .” As we said before, Isaiah was referring to the men of Israel and Judah. The people of the nation of Israel were historically chosen to receive God’s revelation and were to function as light in the world. But, as we read in Romans 9:6, not all who are Israel are Israel. In fact, the vast majority of Israelites were not true Israelites. They were historically chosen, but not eternally chosen.

It is the same in the church today. Through baptism, whether infant or believer’s, people come into the church. Then they sit under the word of God and participate in church life. But a good number of such people are only historically chosen; the word of God does not change their lives because the natural man cannot receive things that are spiritual. Only through the Holy Spirit can the word of God enter a person so that he can understand it and live in accordance with it.

Verse 19, then, is referring to men of the church, but these people hate the word of God. Because they are not born of God, they have no interest in sola Scriptura; rather, they are fascinated by the opinions of men. They are modernists, neo-Gnostics.

In verse 16 Isaiah had been told, “Bind up the testimony, seal up the law among my disciples.” The word disciples means learners, in this case, those who learn the word of God. These people alone treasured the word of God.

The law and the testimony is with God’s disciples, who love it, keep it, treasure it, learn it, proclaim it, and memorize it. Don’t listen to mediums and spiritists and modernists and psychologists! God has given us a book, which we must study and learn principles from.

Testing Everything by Scripture

To the law and to the testimony! In reference to modernists who arise in the church, Isaiah says, “If they do not speak according to this word, they have no light of dawn.” Paul warned the Ephesian elders about such people in Acts 20:30, saying, “Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them.” That is why we must know the law and the testimony. We must know the word of God so that when people preach the mutterings of man, we will be able to know that such people are lying. While such people are propagating falsehood, whether on the radio or television or in books, if we are God’s people, we will be alert and resist their pitches. Their only goal is to make money. They try to fool people by saying whatever they want to hear.

Isaiah said, “If they do not speak according to the law and to the testimony, they have no light of dawn in them.” These people are steeped in darkness. They are blind. They are like a type of fish living in Mammoth Caves, Kentucky, that has no eyes-only holes. They are those of whom Isaiah said have eyes that do not see, ears that do not hear, and hearts that do not understand.

We must always test everything against the Scripture. For example, are our thoughts and opinions according to Scripture? The Scripture speaks about marriage, children, family, government, politics, science-about everything. If a thought or idea does not align with the Scripture, it is falsehood, it is lie, it is the word of Satan, it is the wisdom from below. Satan, who is behind it all , is a liar and the father of all lies. So Isaiah says, “If they do not speak according to this word, they have no light of dawn.”

According to the Westminster Confession of Faith, chapter 1, article 1:

Although the light of nature, and the works of creation and providence do so far manifest the goodness, wisdom, and power of God, as to leave men unexcusable; yet are they not sufficient to give that knowledge of God, and of his will, which is necessary unto salvation. Therefore it pleased the Lord at sundry times, and in divers manners, to reveal himself, and to declare that his will unto his church; and afterwards, for the better preserving and propagating of the truth, and for the more sure establishment and comfort of the church against the corruption of the flesh, and the malice of Satan and of the world, to commit the same wholly unto writing: which maketh the Holy Scripture to be most necessary; those former ways of God’s revealing his will unto his people being now ceased.

We fully agree with this statement. The authoritative, infallible revelation is the Holy Scriptures.

In article 4 we find the basis for the apologetics of Cornelius Van Til: God has spoken through his word:

The authority of the Holy Scripture, for which it ought to be believed and obeyed, dependeth not upon the testimony of any man, or church; but wholly upon God (who is truth itself) the author thereof: and therefore it is to be received, because it is the Word of God.

In article 6 we read,

The whole counsel of God concerning all things necessary for his own glory, man’s salvation, faith and life, is either expressly set down in Scripture, or by good and necessary consequence may be deduced from Scripture: unto which nothing at any time is to be added, whether by new revelations of the Spirit or traditions of men. Nevertheless, we acknowledge the inward illumination of the Spirit of God to be necessary for the saving understanding of such things as are revealed in the Word.

Finally, in article 10 we read,

The supreme judge by which all controversies of religion are to be determined, and all decrees of councils, opinions of ancient writers, doctrines of men, and private spirits, are to be examined, and in whose sentence we are to rest, can be no other but the Holy Spirit speaking in the Scriptures.

The Way of Rest and Peace

In Jeremiah 6:16 we read, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths.” Should we ask for the modern paths? No, God says, “Ask for the ancient paths.” This phrase refers to the Holy Scriptures. In other words, God is telling his people to get back to the Bible. He continues, “Ask where the the good way is. . . .” Again, only the Bible will show us the good way because it points to a person, Jesus Christ, who said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” Through Jeremiah God says, “Ask where the good way is, and walk in it.” Then God gives a promise: “and you will find rest for your souls.”

Are you restless, confused, and lost? I urge you to go back to the Bible. That is the good way. When you do so, you will find rest for your soul.” In Matthew 11:28-29 Jesus tells us, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”

But how easily we reject God’s word in favor of the mutterings of men! In Jeremiah 2:11 God asked, “Has a nation ever changed its gods? . . . But my people have exchanged their Glory for worthless idols.” Then God explains what his people did: “‘My people have committed two sins: ‘They have forsaken me, the spring of living water. . .'” (v. 13). In John 4 Jesus said he would give living water to the Samaritan woman. So the first sin was forsaking God himself, the spring of living water that would have quenched their thirst.

Second, they “dug their own cisterns.” This stands for the philosophy of mutterings. This is called leaning onto our own understanding. But God mocks his people here. What was the problem with the cisterns the people made for themselves? They were “broken cisterns that cannot hold water.”

What fools are those who are brought up in a church, hearing the word of God, yet turn their backs on the spring of living water and go to dig their own cisterns! Such cisterns will always be broken, because there is no other way to quench our thirst but through the word of God. In John 7:37 we read, “On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood up and said in a loud voice, ‘If a man is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.'”

Applying Sola Scriptura to Our Lives

In 2 Corinthians 10:5 we find another classic verse in which the principle of sola Scriptura is taught. Paul says, “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” We must take all opinions, all ideas, and all thoughts that Satan puts into our head and make them obedient to Christ. That is what Jesus himself did when he was tempted to make bread out of stone. That is making every thought subject to Christ and the word of God. Jesus was telling Satan, “As a man of the word of God, I am governed by it. What you are saying is against the word of God; therefore, I will not do what you are saying.” This is how the sola Scriptura principle should work in our lives.

In Galatians 1:8 Paul writes, “But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned!” Here the apostle puts a curse on those who come and tell us to consult mediums and spiritists. Then Paul repeats his statement in verse 9: “As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned.” In other words, Scripture is our touchstone.

Why People Reject the Scriptures

In Isaiah 30:9-11 we find a reason why those who claim to be Christians rebel against God and his word. Isaiah begins, “These are rebellious people, deceitful children, children unwilling to listen to the Lord’s instruction.” That means these are not disciples, because a true disciple is one who listens, hears, receives and carries out the Lord’s instruction. Isaiah continues, “They say to the seers, ‘See no more visions.'”

“They say to the seers, ‘See no more visions,’ and to the prophets, ‘Give us no more visions of what is right!'” They say, “Give us lies. Give us what is wrong.” These people are twisted. For them, good is evil and evil is good; right is wrong and wrong has become right. Yes, they may be in the church and are historically chosen, but we must question whether such people are eternally chosen.

They say, “Tell us pleasant things. Don’t ever preach sin. Don’t ever say that we must repent. Don’t ever say that God says this is the way we should live. Don’t ever tell us how our marriages should work or what we should do with our children or that we should support our family. Always tell us pleasant things.”

Not only do these people want to hear pleasant things but they also instruct the prophets, “Prophesy illusions.” They are like Ahab, who listened to the lies of his four hundred prophets.

Finally, they give the prophet some instructions: “Leave this way, get off this path, and stop confronting us with the Holy One of Israel!”

Pastoral ministry is a difficult task because it involves confronting people. It is dangerous, and most preachers will not do it. In fact, most churches have become places where pleasant things and illusions are spoken rather than the word of God. The same is true of many families. Father, have you stopped confronting your children? Mother, have you stopped confronting the children? Confront them with truth.

The Word of God or the Philosophy of Mutterings?

As Isaiah said, if people do not speak according to God’s word, they have no light of dawn. In fact, such godless words lead people only to greater darkness. Only the entrance of God’s word can give us light. The philosophies of mutterers can only damn their hearers.

John Wesley said the following concerning the word of God:

I am a creature of a day, passing through life as an arrow through the air. I am a spirit come from God and returning to God; just hovering over the great gulf, till a few moments hence I am no more seen-I drop into an unchangeable eternity! I want to know one thing, the way to heaven-how to land safe on that happy shore. God himself has condescended to teach the way: for this very end he came from heaven. He hath written it down in a book. O give me that book! At any price give me the Book of God! I have it. Here is knowledge enough for me. Let me be homo unius libri. Here then I am, far from the busy ways of men. I sit down alone: only God is here. In his presence I open, I read his Book; for this end, to find the way to heaven.

John Wesley, Preface to Sermons on Several Occasions, 1746, from THE WORKS OF JOHN WESLEY, 1, 104-6

I pray we will not listen to those who tell us to consult those who mutter. Mutterers may be learned men, but they are wise fools. I pray that we will fear God and believe his word rather than the philosophy of mutterers. May we, with Isaiah, declare, “To the law and to the testimony!” I pray that we will all read the word of God, understand it, memorize it, meditate on it, and live by it. Then we will know true blessing. Amen.