As we view the world around us we see a value system that differs from the teachings of God’s word. Isaiah described the nation of Israel as a vineyard that was designed to produce good grapes. God’s people were to be a light to the nations; however, Israel departed from the way of righteousness and instead of producing good grapes it produced only worthless ones. Therefore, God took away their protection:

So now let Me tell you what I am going to do to My vineyard: I will remove its hedge and it will be consumed; I will break down its wall and it will become trampled ground. (Isaiah 5:5)

Isaiah delivered a series of woes to the nation of Israel that chronicled the reasons for their lack of fruitfulness. The word woe was often used as an announcement of doom by a prophet. The fourth woe was especially insidious because it inverted the meaning of truth and reality. This truth was directed toward the moral relativists of the day who perverted God’s moral standards:

Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! (Isaiah 5:20)

Light and darkness are often used to represent good and evil. When we ignore God’s standards of righteousness, this is a precursor to times of apostasy and precedes divine judgment. The moral slide often follows a predictable pattern: sin is tolerated, toleration gives way to acceptance, and acceptance demands that we must approve of the evil and this leads to the moral corruption of our society. The morality of the world ignores God’s word and embraces wickedness to give it a veneer of acceptability. That which is tolerated today would have been unthinkable years ago as the Overton Window of moral acceptability causes us to become inurred to the moral corruption around us.

God has set forth His moral law for our well-being and welfare. The ten commandments were given not to restrict mankind’s freedom, but rather to keep us from the consequences of sin. When we violate God’s laws and go our own way, then we are calling evil good and good evil. This was the predicament of the Israelites during the time of the Judges:

In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes. (Judges 21:25)

The knowledge of God’s word provides us with a moral compass and the ability to discern good from evil. This is the reason why we must seek to know God and to do His will. Today the church is called to be salt and light to the world around us. The world desperately needs to know the truth and walk in the light rather than darkness. It’s our responsibility as the people of God to reflect the love and life of Jesus to our world.