THE MOUSE AND THE CAVEAT
Why would God show Isaiah a mouse, along with some other objectionable items in the 8th Century BC?
And not just ‘a mouse’ but ‘the mouse?’
Isaiah saw the coming of the Christ [Is. 9:6-7]
He saw the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ [Is. 53]
He saw the glory that would be seen on God’s people [Is. 60:2]
And then right at the end of the book, he sees a mouse [Isaiah 66:17]
Not rats, not vermin, not mice, as some translators would have us believe.
No Isaiah saw ‘The Mouse.’
[I wouldn’t want to be in the shoes of those translators who have altered what Isaiah said, BTW, on ‘that day’]
So, what did the prophet see?
He saw ostensibly righteous people ‘sanctify and purify’ themselves.
He saw them go into ‘gardens’. Something has their full attention- the original Hebrew says they go after ‘something‘ in their midst, but Isaiah doesn’t say what that ‘something’ is—it’s a blank in the Hebrew.
There is no Hebrew word for what he saw. It reads ‘they go after ——— in the midst’ But if you read on, with the eyes of the Spirit, it’s obvious what he saw.
What is everybody looking at intently today? You got it. A screen. So, picture if you will, holy people, a monitor [screen] and....here’s the rest of the lineup.....
Swine’s flesh and the abomination.
And then there’s THE MOUSE.
Not mice, not a mouse, not rats, not vermin....
No! Isaiah saw holy people, a screen, people ‘consuming’ abominable stuff, and the ubiquitous mouse that facilitates that consumption! Aha! The ever present mouse, that can open the window upon both good and evil.
Can you see where I’m going with this? But the sad thing is- herein lies the CAVEAT.
The people who consume evil stuff with a click of the mouse,
instead of enjoying all that the Coming One had wrought on their behalf—-
they are all going to be consumed together!
[Did you know there was a huge rise in the consumption of p*o*r*n in NZ during lockdown? The NZ Herald even used the word ‘consumption’.]
So Isaiah tells us all these wonderful things, and then on the last page there’s a warning, a proviso, that those who use the monitor and the mouse to consume unholy things, instead of consuming, they will themselves be consumed!
So let that Caveat-Cat chase that Miserable Mouse right out of the House of the Lord for ever!
Let’s clean house!
The Lord wants to show up and show off, but He can’t. [It’s a bit too dirty for Him.] He is not a fan of the hidden things.
Ananias and Sapphira hid stuff. [Ouch!] Sorry, but I have to say it.
But we have been translated out of the Kingdom of Darkness and into the Kingdom of Light! Let us walk as Children of the Light. Going forward, let’s be found in His Glorious Light!
Prayer: I thank You Father that You and Isaiah were smart enough to warn your people all those thousands of years ago, long before computers were ever thought of, that You knew there’d be an issue in our time that we would face, and that we would have to make a decision about The Mouse and how we would use that in our consumption of online material. You have said—-‘Behold the kindness and the severity of God.’ [Romans 11:22]
We see You love us enough to warn us when we have stepped over the line in regards to being Your Holy People. Help those who need to walk out of darkness and into the light, in this regard, dear Lord.
Help them to be eating out of the Tree of Life and not out of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.
For Your Name’s Sake
Amen.