Isaiah 48:12-22

  •  God is creator and controller of the universe (12, 13). It’s like everything in the universe stands to attention at God’s command. They all salute Him and obey His bidding.
  •  God knows the end from the beginning (14 -16). Here we arrive again at this repeated theme in the later chapters of Isaiah, about God knowing and predicting the future: ‘’None of the gods could predict that the man I have chosen would attack Babylon; he will do what I want him to do. I am the one who spoke and called him; I led him out and gave him success…From the beginning I have spoken openly, and have always made my words come true.’’(14-16) The Good News Bible.
  •  God knows what is best for your life (17). ‘’I am GOD, your God, who teaches you how to live right and well. I show you what to do, where to go.’’ The Message. God’s will is not your worst nightmare. The devil will try to sell it to you in those terms, but in fact it is always His ‘’good, pleasing and perfect will.’’ (Romans 12:2b).
  •  God’s Word requires obedience on our part (18, 19; compare 18, 22): ‘’…the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace.’’ Holiness is actually in our best interests. Enjoyment of God’s full blessings is contingent on obedience. ‘’If you had listened all along to what I told you, your life would have flowed full like a river, blessings rolling in like waves from the sea.’’ The Message.
  •  God will bring His people home (20, 21). The ‘second exodus’ theme appears yet again. As the Lord once led His people through the desert, He will do so again. If God has set us free from slavery, this is something to be joyfully ‘announced’ and ‘proclaimed’. In the Bible, ‘’Babylon’’ was a nation and a city, but it also represents this present world system (Revelation 18; 2 Corinthians 6:14-18). It is so easy to settle down in ‘Babylon’ and make a life there. But the call of the Bible to God’s people is to come out. We need to heed this call constantly. We can ensure that we are not ‘of the world’ even as we live ‘in’ it. ‘’This is the first time God (or Isaiah) mentions the name Babylon in connection with Cyrus’ mission. The Israelites must have been doubly confused when they heard this message because Babylon was not even a great power when Isaiah wrote these words. And yet someone named Cyrus (who hadn’t been born yet) was going to destroy Babylon and free the Jews from exile – an exile which itself was a hundred years in the future!’’ Tom Hale: ‘The Applied Old Testament Commentary, p.1048.
  •  God speaks (12, 14, 16, 17; see 1). Are we listening today?

The chapter closes with the challenging thought that there is ‘’no peace’’ for those who rebel against God. The ‘Good News Bible’ translates this word as ‘’safety’’. The word ‘’peace’’ includes health, security, prosperity, and, above everything, fellowship with God and everlasting salvation. ‘’To forfeit such peace is truly a high price to pay for the momentary ‘’benefits’’ of rebelling against God!’’ Tom Hale: ‘The Applied Old Testament Commentary, p.1049.

Prayer: I don’t want to live as a citizen of ‘Babylon.’ Help me to live as a citizen of heaven in ‘Babylon’