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I foretold the former things long ago,
    my mouth announced them and I made them known;
    then suddenly I acted, and they came to pass.

A speaker at a church house party kept repeating the same point: ‘Things can change.’ If he said it once, he said it many times over the course of the week-end.

I simply want to point out to all those of us waiting for the Lord, that although the wait may be long, and require much patience, things can change suddenly and rapidly when the time is right – when it is God’s time.

“God never hurries. There are no deadlines against which he must work. Only to know this is to quiet our spirits and relax our nerves.” A.W. Tozer.

God’s timing is perfect, and when it is time for Him to move we may be surprised at the speed at which things do change.

“Listen to this…”

Verse 8a reads like this in ‘The Message’:

“You’ve never been good listeners to me.
    You have a history of ignoring me…”

A great, much-respected Christian leader was in a meeting with a colleague, and he was momentarily distracted and not fully attentive. His colleague noticed this and mentioned it to him. Immediately, without making any excuses, the great man apologised sincerely. He said it is a basic element of Christian courtesy to give your full attention to someone who is speaking to you, and he was truly sorry he had failed to do so.

Israel, as a nation, had not been good at giving undivided attention to their God, and this is one of the themes of chapter 48. (See vv.1,12,16-18). There is a sadness in the air; His people were the losers for this failure to listen. As we are going to see, their unwillingness to listen to God meant that they didn’t experience the peace of God.

“He has given them his law; he has spoken to them through his prophets, but they have not listened, and they are still not listening! How different their history might have been, and how different their present relationship with God might have been, if only they had listened to his word (18-19)! And because this problem is still unresolved, their return to the land will not bring the fullness of blessing they hope for. They will spoil the next chapter in their history, just as they have spoilt all the previous ones.’ (Barry Webb: Isaiah, p.191).

What about us? Can we really point the finger? How well do we listen?

In his outstanding book, ‘Reading the Bible Supernaturally’, John Piper calls for ‘patience and aggressive attentiveness’ to the text of Scripture.

…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.

‘Listen to this, you descendants of Jacob,
    you who are called by the name of Israel
    and come from the line of Judah,
you who take oaths in the name of the Lord
    and invoke the God of Israel –
    but not in truth or righteousness…

‘Jacob’ was crooked, a deceiver – as twisted as a barley sugar stick! The name can mean ‘supplanter’. But he was given the name ”Israel” after his encounter with the angel at ‘Peniel’ (Gen 32:28), and this spoke of better things: a new name and a new nature. In a chapter that highlights a lot of the ”Jacob” character in the history of God’s people, it’s good to be able to hold on to the hope in the name ”Israel”.

That they came ”from the line of Judah” also points to their high destiny (Gen 49:10) even though they lived well below the level of their privileges, taking ”oaths in the name of the Lord”, invoking Him in their prayers, ”but not in truth or righteousness”.

”…  you who use God’s name to back up your promises
    and pray to the God of Israel?
But do you mean it?
    Do you live like it? (The Message).

I am reminded of Jesus saying to the Samaritan woman:

 ”Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshippers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshippers the Father seeks. ²⁴ God is spirit, and his worshippers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.’ ” (Jn.4:23,24).

It is only through the New Covenant, and the gift of the Holy Spirit, that we are able to fulfil God’s intentions for our worship of Him, even though this will inevitably always fall short of perfection this side of eternity.

‘Now then, listen, you lover of pleasure,
    lounging in your security
and saying to yourself,
    “I am, and there is none besides me.
I will never be a widow
    or suffer the loss of children.”
⁹ Both of these will overtake you
    in a moment, on a single day:
    loss of children and widowhood.
They will come upon you in full measure,
    in spite of your many sorceries
    and all your potent spells.
¹⁰ You have trusted in your wickedness
    and have said, “No one sees me.”
Your wisdom and knowledge mislead you
    when you say to yourself,
    “I am, and there is none besides me.”
¹¹ Disaster will come upon you,
    and you will not know how to conjure it away.
A calamity will fall upon you
    that you cannot ward off with a ransom;
a catastrophe you cannot foresee
    will suddenly come upon you.

¹² ‘Keep on, then, with your magic spells
    and with your many sorceries,
    which you have laboured at since childhood.
Perhaps you will succeed,
    perhaps you will cause terror.
¹³ All the counsel you have received has only worn you out!
    Let your astrologers come forward,
those stargazers who make predictions month by month,
    let them save you from what is coming upon you.
¹⁴ Surely they are like stubble;
    the fire will burn them up.
They cannot even save themselves
    from the power of the flame.
These are not coals for warmth;
    this is not a fire to sit by.
¹⁵ That is all they are to you –
    these you have dealt with
    and laboured with since childhood.
All of them go on in their error;
    there is not one that can save you.

As you read through this passage, you will see that the Babylonians had a religion (astrology) that gave them a sense of power over their own destiny, but without making any moral demands on them. However, there was no salvation in it. See the awful last sentence in v. 15b.

Still today, many people seek warmth at the fireside of occultism (14b). It has a certain fascination; it offers supernatural powers and experiences; but basically it allows you to live your own life. (Some people even try to find ways to make it fit with Christianity! They are tragically mistaken). It needs to be clearly understood that ”this is not a fire to sit by.” It’s not a fire that will warm you up, but one that will eat you up, along with the proponents of such false religion (14a); it is a fire which devours.

It is so important to heed the warning. Elsewhere, the Bible expressly forbids all forms of occult practice. If you’re caught in it, decide to get out. Reach out to Jesus to save you. He can, and He will, but there is no rescue or hope in false religion.

‘Now then, listen, you lover of pleasure,
    lounging in your security
and saying to yourself,
    “I am, and there is none besides me.
I will never be a widow
    or suffer the loss of children.”
⁹ Both of these will overtake you
    in a moment, on a single day:
    loss of children and widowhood.
They will come upon you in full measure,
    in spite of your many sorceries
    and all your potent spells.
¹⁰ You have trusted in your wickedness
    and have said, “No one sees me.”
Your wisdom and knowledge mislead you
    when you say to yourself,
    “I am, and there is none besides me.”
¹¹ Disaster will come upon you,
    and you will not know how to conjure it away.
A calamity will fall upon you
    that you cannot ward off with a ransom;
a catastrophe you cannot foresee
    will suddenly come upon you.

It wasn’t just that the Babylonians thought they were great, they also thought they were God. Barry Webb points out that the twice uttered, ”I am, and there is none besides me” is a direct challenge to the Lord’s identical claim in 45:5. It was inevitable that they were riding for a fall.

Before Babylon rose to power, and long after she disappeared from view, there were many empires and rulers claiming to be divine. But we have to ask, ‘where are they now?’

Of course, in one sense, Babylon hasn’t gone. Barry Webb explains:

‘Like Jerusalem, with which it is contrasted, it is both a concrete historical reality and a symbol…Babylon represents humankind organised in defiance of God – the kingdom of mere mortals, in contrast to the kingdom of God. In this sense ‘Babylon’ is still with us, and still stands under judgment of God. The historical Babylon of the sixth century BC was merely one manifestation of it’ (Isaiah, p. 190).

It is helpful to read Revelation 17,18,19 in connection with Isaiah 46,47. ‘Babylon’ (i.e. this world’s system) is ultimately going to fall, and God will receive the glory, honour and praise due to His Name. May we guard our hearts now, so that we are not seduced by her.

”The defeat of God’s enemies does not come through human means such as military forces. Instead, this defeat has been achieved already by Christ, and we wait for its fullness to be made manifest. We must never put our ultimate hopes in politics, military strength, or human strategies. The defeat of the church’s enemies comes about only by the power of God” Ligioner Ministries.

‘Now then, listen, you lover of pleasure,
    lounging in your security
and saying to yourself,
    “I am, and there is none besides me.
I will never be a widow
    or suffer the loss of children.”
⁹ Both of these will overtake you
    in a moment, on a single day:
    loss of children and widowhood.
They will come upon you in full measure…

“Complacency is the deadly enemy of spiritual progress. The contented soul is the stagnant soul.” Aiden Wilson Tozer.

“We must allow the Word of God to confront us, to disturb our security, to undermine our complacency and to overthrow our patterns of thought and behaviour.” John Stott.

We have already considered the complacency of Babylon, and we should note the spiritual danger of such an attitude.

In Revelation 3:17 Jesus says to a complacent church:

 You say, “I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.” But you do not realise that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. 

‘No doubt the congregation of Laodicea teemed with self-satisfied churchgoers…The pride of Laodicea was infectious. Christians caught the plague. The spirit of complacency crept into the church and tainted it. Church members became smug and self-satisfied, and Jesus Christ needed to be blunt in exposing them.’ John Stott: ‘What Christ thinks of the church’, pp.117,118.

Complacency is self-deluding and leads to disaster if not checked.

PRAYER: Holy Spirit I ask you to search my heart. See if there should be any wicked way in me. Point it out; reveal it. Help me to turn away from it. Rid me of all complacency

‘Go down, sit in the dust,
    Virgin Daughter Babylon;
sit on the ground without a throne,
    queen city of the Babylonians.
No more will you be called
    tender or delicate.
² Take millstones and grind flour;
    take off your veil.
Lift up your skirts, bare your legs,
    and wade through the streams.
³ Your nakedness will be exposed
    and your shame uncovered.
I will take vengeance;
    I will spare no one.’

⁴ Our Redeemer – the Lord Almighty is his name –
    is the Holy One of Israel.

⁵ ‘Sit in silence, go into darkness,
    queen city of the Babylonians;
no more will you be called
    queen of kingdoms.
⁶ I was angry with my people
    and desecrated my inheritance;
I gave them into your hand,
    and you showed them no mercy.
Even on the aged
    you laid a very heavy yoke.
⁷ You said, “I am for ever –
    the eternal queen!”
But you did not consider these things
    or reflect on what might happen.

The world’s greatest powers and super-powers (Babylon was one such in the ancient world) have a limited shelf-life. No political leaders rule the world, even if they think they do. God is on the throne. Babylon thought of herself as a ”queen” but she was to become like a skivvy. This comes out clearly in ‘The Message’:

^1-3 “Get off your high horse and sit in the dirt,
    virgin daughter of Babylon.
No more throne for you—sit on the ground,
    daughter of the Chaldeans.
Nobody will be calling you ‘charming’
    and ‘alluring’ anymore. Get used to it.
Get a job, any old job:
    Clean gutters, scrub toilets.
Pawn your gowns and scarves,
    put on your working pants—the party’s over.
Your nude body will be on public display,
    exposed to vulgar taunts.
It’s vengeance time, and I’m taking vengeance.
    No one gets let off the hook.”

 Our Redeemer speaks,
    named God-of-the-Angel-Armies, The Holy of Israel:
“Shut up and get out of the way,
    daughter of Chaldeans.
You’ll no longer be called
    ‘First Lady of the Kingdoms.’
I was fed up with my people,
    thoroughly disgusted with my progeny.
I turned them over to you,
    but you had no compassion.
You put old men and women
    to cruel, hard labour.
You said, ‘I’m the First Lady.
    I’ll always be the pampered darling.’
You took nothing seriously, took nothing to heart,
    never gave tomorrow a thought.

Although God used the Babylonians to punish His own sinful people, they were harsh, callous and cruel in their treatment of them. ”The Holy One of Israel” saw what they did and held them accountable.

But in their sin they were deluded and complacent. They thought they were untouchable. However they were like the foolish man who built his house on sand (Mt.7:26,27) and the rich farmer who thought he had it made (Luke 12;20). As Barry Webb puts it, the sense of ‘impregnability’ was a ‘complete illusion’.

‘The portrait of Babylon in chapter 47 is a classic study in worldly power and arrogance…She has an utterly false sense of security, which leads her into self-indulgence and complete indifference to the needs of the weak and vulnerable in her midst…She considers herself so self-sufficient that all notions of accountability are excluded’ (Isaiah: p.189).

‘She is the complete symbol of worldly success. But the message of this chapter is that she stands under the judgment of God, and is about to suffer a complete change of fortune’ (Isaiah: p.190).

“Listen to me, you stubborn people
    who are so far from doing right.
¹³ For I am ready to set things right,
    not in the distant future, but right now!
I am ready to save Jerusalem
    and show my glory to Israel (NLT).

Isaiah 55:6 says,

”Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near.”

There is a timing in the movements of God’s Spirit; there are moments of opportunity. Don’t miss them.

In 2 Cor.6:1,2 Paul writes:

As God’s fellow workers we urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain. ² For he says,

‘In the time of my favour I heard you,
    and in the day of salvation I helped you.’

I tell you, now is the time of God’s favour, now is the day of salvation.”

Here, Paul is quoting from Isaiah 49:8.

In preaching on Isaiah 46, many years ago, David Pawson made the point that there is a time when God comes to us, and we should not miss the opportunity.

Tom Hale writes: ‘Now the time has come when men and women can receive salvation through faith in Christ. Let no one delay. Do not even wait until tomorrow. Tomorrow may be too late. A heart that is open and tender today may become closed and hard tomorrow. A man who is alive today may be dead tomorrow. Therefore, now is the day of salvation’ (p. 675).