Isaiah goes on to describe the condition of Judah and Jerusalem in the days of their rebellion against God. The next thing he says is that they are “a seed of evildoers,” and “children that are corrupters.”
Many years before the book of Isaiah was written, the Psalmist declared, “2) I will open my mouth in a parable: I will utter dark sayings of old: 3) Which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us. 4) We will not hide them from their children, shewing to the generation to come the praises of the LORD, and his strength, and his wonderful works that he hath done. 5) For he established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to their children: 6) That the generation to come might know them, even the children which should be born; who should arise and declare them to their children: 7) That they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments: 8) And might not be as their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation; a generation that set not their heart aright, and whose spirit was not stedfast with God.” (Psalm 78:2-8)
What happened? Did the children forget? Did they fail to follow the example of this Psalmist and not teach their children? It did not take many generations for the people to forget God, to rebel against Him and to push Him out of their minds. By the time Isaiah stepped on the scene, the place was full of evil and corruption.
Evildoers
What did Isaiah mean when he said the people of Judah and Jerusalem were a seed of evildoers. An evildoer is one that does mischief, one bent on doing harm and hurt to others, desiring to punish others. An evildoer is bad physically, socially and morally. The Psalmist described the ancestors of these people as “a stubborn and rebellious generation; a generation that set not their heart aright, and whose spirit was not stedfast with God.” (See Psalm 72:8) He had hoped that by teaching the younger generation “the praises of the LORD, and his strength, and his wonderful works that he hath done” that they would not become like their fathers. Sadly, future generations became even worse than their fathers. Jeremiah described the people thus, “They are all grievous revolters, walking with slanders: they are brass and iron; they are all corrupters.” (Jeremiah 6:28)
Do we see any of these things in America? America was once a nation to which people came to find refuge from persecution for their faith. Do we see any revolt here? To “revolt” means “To turn away; to abandon or reject something… Hence, to be faithless… to rise against a government; to rebel… to be discontent, to be grossly offended, to do violence, an uprising against legitimate authority, rebellion.”
Do we see people walking with slanders, that is, carrying tales about others with the purpose of hurting them or tearing them down? Sadly, that is prevalent in our nation, even among Christians, who seem to be doing it to bring down those who are evil. To be a talebearer is wrong, even if the aim is to bring about a good result. Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary says that slander is a trap, a false tale or malicious report uttered with the intention to injure the reputation of another. It is wrong to do this to a good person, or even to an evil person.
Do we see people who are brass and iron, people who are so hard, they cannot be moved or changed? They are so set in their minds that they cannot be convinced of anything, even if evidence is clearly before them.
Corrupters
What did Isaiah mean when he said that Judah and Jerusalem were “children that are corrupters”? Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary says that “corrupt” means “Changed from a state of uprightness, correctness, truth, etc., to a worse state; vitiated; depraved; debased; perverted.” Vitiate means to injure the substance of, impair, contaminate, or spoil. This includes the mind and the will. Corrupt also means “abounding in errors, not genuine.” It can include being drawn aside from rectitude and duty, such as what happens when one corrupts a judge with a bribe. It means to “corrupt language, to waste, spoil, consume, or to lose purity or goodness.”
What about our own nation? Do we see corruption here? Does it not abound?
What can be done about a nation such as this? Is there a remedy? There is, if we apply it before it is too late. The remedy that worked in the Psalmist’s day is the same one we can use today, “We will not hide them from their children, shewing to the generation to come the praises of the LORD, and his strength, and his wonderful works that he hath done.” (Psalm 78:4) The remedy is to return unto the Lord and to remember Him and acknowledge Him and make His praise, His word, His ways, and His works known in every corner and teach them to our children so that they are not forgotten in the next generation. It does not work to blame it on the government, on an organization, on a political party, on the decline of society. The remedy starts with us, but we need to apply it on time. Time is running out. How can we apply it today?