Isaiah 57:5. "[Y]ou who burn with lust among the oaks, under every green tree; who slay your children in the valley, under the cleft of the rocks." God, through Isaiah, is upbraiding His children, who have, among other things, created an idol of their lust - "deserting me, you have uncovered your bed ... you have looked on nakedness." (Isaiah 57:8).

Things did not go well for the Jews when they got this bad. Things are also not going well for us now. Let's look at this verse from Isaiah to see why that might be (we could look at practically every verse from Isaiah or any of the prophets to see why, but this is today's verse, so let's stick with it).

First, are we "burning with lust"? Check. It permeates our entire culture. It is the driving force behind much of our policy. We are teaching our children to be lustful. There is seemingly no escape from sexuality and its promotion as the main driver of human identity and happiness. We, too, have absolutely made an idol of our lust.

Second, are we "slaying our children"? Check. Unfortunately for us, unwanted children are the biological consequence of unbridled lust. Even with contraception, which is wrong in and of itself, more than a few unwanted pregnancies result when an entire society is fueled by lust. So what does society then do? Encourage their mothers to kill them, without remorse, indeed with accolades! Then, sell the bodies for science and profit! It's a "win-win"!

We are lost. I no longer think there is a return without a tremendous fall. But individually, even now, we can and should return to the Lord (Joel 2:12). The more people who do, the easier it will go for us. We can sacrifice for those who will not, we can assuage God's anger a bit, although not fully, I believe, not anymore.