“You felt secure in your wickedness; you said, ‘No one sees me’. Your wisdom and your knowledge led you astray, and you said in your heart, ‘I am, and there is no one besides me.’” (Isaiah 47:10, ESV)

Isaiah 47 is about God’s judgment of Babylon. The people of Judah had disobeyed the LORD, and He was angry with them. So He raised the Babylonians as His instrument of judgment. But they showed no mercy and put heavy burdens on the elderly. They loved their pleasures and felt secure, thinking no one could defeat them. But in a single day they would lose their children and become widows, and all their sorceries and enchantments would not be able to save them.

“He who is often rebuked, and hardens his neck, will suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.” (Proverbs 29:1, NKJV)

God is patient and slow to anger. He was merciful toward King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. But when he was lifted up in pride, God humbled him by taking away his sanity and letting him graze like a wild beast for seven years. There is a day of reckoning and a time for judgment. It comes suddenly to those who have persistently ignored God’s warnings.

The way to avoid such judgment is to first judge ourselves.

“For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world.” (1 Corinthians 11:31–32, NKJV)

Has God been speaking to you about correcting some area in your life? Have you been thinking that you know better or that what you are doing isn’t so bad after all? Then beware, for God’s chastening hand is nearer than you think. But if you will humble yourself and ask God to search your heart…if you will listen to His voice and turn from your sin, then you may turn away His discipline.

“Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says: ‘Today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion…’” (Hebrews 3:7–8, NKJV)