During the chaos of a big city riot, a television news video showed a man pointing at looters who were racing in and out of the stores. The man cried in anguish, "This is stealing! Don't these people have any morals? Don't they believe in God?"

The prophet Isaiah made a similar point. The Israelites had done the unthinkable--they had fallen into the immoralities of their pagan neighbors. In addition, they had made a treaty with Assyria rather than relying on the Lord to protect them against their enemies (2 Ki. 16:1-9).

Isaiah said they were worried about the wrong things. Instead of fearing their enemies, they should have been thinking about the Lord (Isa. 8:12-13). The Lord promised that He would be a sanctuary for those who put their trust in Him. But to those who rejected His offer, He would be "a stone of stumbling" and a hunter's snare (v.14).

We who profess faith in Christ need to make sure God is the one we fear. Whenever we join others in their sins or behave as if we are afraid of offending them, those who observe us will ask, "Don't they believe in God?"

Our challenge is to fear the Lord above everyone else, and to show it by what we do and say.  — Herbert Vander Lugt