…you who call yourselves citizens of the holy city
    and claim to rely on the God of Israel –
    the Lord Almighty is his name…

(You claim to be citizens of the Holy City;
    you act as though you lean on the God of Israel,
    named God-of-the-Angel-Armies. The Message).

I seem to remember a man being in the running for the U.S President, some years ago now, and for a time he stirred up quite a bit of excitement. He was charming, charismatic and very good looking. But the question was asked, ‘Where’s the beef? It was a question about substance, and I think this blazing rocket fell to the earth quite quickly. It seems too many people decided the ‘beef’ was lacking.

‘Where’s the beef?’ That question could have been asked of Israel at the time Isaiah wrote these words, and it is still relevant today. We may ”call” ourselves church members, and ”claim” to ”rely” on God, but do we really?

Paul, in Titus, writes about those who ”…claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him” (1:16).

We may well ask, ”Where’s the beef?”

Or, to change the food type, ”Where’s the fruit”?

”…by their fruit you will recognise them” Matt.7:20.