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In the popular Netflix show, Stranger Things, we are introduced to the Upside Down. A dark abode where our present reality is being broken into by a dark reflection of itself. A science experiment gone wrong created a fissure between reality and this dark place that allowed darkness to leak into the present.
As I was reading Isaiah 3:1-15, the thought that came to me was that when people reject God he will allow the Upside Down to become our reality. The outer darkness we have entertained will become our new reality. Chaos will become the new norm as social systems collapse upon themselves, freed of the safeguards of a thriving trust in God.
What is YHWH doing with Judah in these verses? Is he simply allowing the consequences of their abandonment to befall them?
As I reflect on these verses, I see how God might be allowing the US to deal with their own Upside Down. The Judge has entered the courtroom. He has taken his place at the bench. The statement of judgment is that since we are so persistent in our pride in rejecting God’s grace and instruction, he will let us live with the chaos.
Here is the danger we need to be aware of: As we look at what we would criticize as the disobedience of others that has brought on this cultural chaos, we ignore, overlook, excuse and even bless our own darkness. Meanwhile, as we refuse to confront the breach and come to repentance the Upside Down continues to leak into our everyday.