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Isaiah daily bible notes

Daily Bible thoughts 757: Thursday 27th November 2014:

Isaiah 52:13-53:12

‘’Who believes what we’ve heard and seen? Who would have thought GOD’s saving power would look like this? The Message.

This is truly one of the most remarkable passages in that most amazing of all Books, The Bible. It is the last of the four ‘Servant Songs’ It’s like Isaiah, writing more than 500 years before Jesus was crucified, stood at the foot of the cross and witnessed it all. Here are a number of key points to consider:

  • Glorification following humiliation (52:13; 53:10-12): Elevation following execution. The ultimate victory of the ‘Suffering Servant’ (see Philippians 2:5-11). Acceptance following rejection (53:3). Although Jesus would not have natural children (53:8b), He would have many children (53:10). I am one of them! Are you? Although His death would appear tragic, it would end in triumph.
  • Worldwide impact (52:15);
  • Unimaginable suffering (52:14; 53:3): We may not fully understand our own sufferings or those of other people we know (or hear about), but we can affirm that Jesus has suffered more than anyone. His was also totally innocent suffering (5). He was the only morally flawless Man in history: ‘’We thought he brought it on himself, that God was punishing him for his own failures. But it was our sins that did that to him, that ripped and tore and crushed him – our sins! He took the punishment, and that made us whole. Through his bruises we get healed.’’ The Message. It was also silent suffering (7); and it was unjust suffering (8a). The corruption surrounding His trial is alluded to here.
  • Christ’s lack of natural physical attractiveness (53:2): ‘’There was nothing attractive about him, nothing to cause us to take a second look. He was looked down on and passed over, a man who suffered, who knew pain firsthand.’’ The Message.
  • His substitutionary death (53:4-6, 8b): Jesus took our place, bearing our punishment. It was all part of God’s plan (10a): ‘’We’re all like sheep who’ve wandered off and gotten lost. We’ve all done our own thing, gone our own way. And GOD has piled all our sins, everything we’ve done wrong, on him, on him.’’ The Message.
  • Other circumstances surrounding His death and burial (53:9) which are borne out in the gospels.

‘’Still, it’s what GOD had in mind all along, to crush him with pain. The plan was that he give himself as an offering for sin so that he’d see life come from it – life, life, and more life. And GOD’s plan will deeply prosper through him.’’ The Message.

‘’Consider the pictures of the Saviour: a beaten servant (52:13-14), a root (53:2), an innocent lamb (53:7), an offering for sin (53:10), a woman in travail giving birth to spiritual ‘’seed’’ (53:10-11), and a victorious general (53:12). Hallelujah, what a Saviour!’’ Warren W. Wiersbe: ‘With the Word’, p.485. Who can plumb the depths of this truly awesome passage? We are on holy ground and must remove our

Prayer: Thank you Jesus that all my sin and its condemnation were piled on you. Because of your loving sacrifice I am free. ‘Mine is the sin, but yours the righteousness; mine is the guilt, but yours the cleansing blood.’

 

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Daily Bible thoughts 756: Wednesday 26th November 2014:

 Isaiah 52:1-12

The proclamation of ‘’good tidings’’ at the core of this passage, is an announcement of freedom for the captives in Babylon. It is important to always remember that Isaiah wrote these words more than a century before the fall of Jerusalem to the Babylonians. During Isaiah’s lifetime, Assyria was Judah’s main enemy. But years in advance, the prophet was enabled to see not only Jerusalem’s fall to Babylon, but also the ultimate fall of the Babylonian empire. So we hear the good news that God is reigning, and the captives will be returning (7-10). Again, there is going to be a second exodus (4). God will lead them home (11, 12). God would not have to pay Babylon in order to retrieve His people; they never stopped belonging to Him (45:13).Although these verses primarily apply to the return from Babylon, they must have a greater relevance to the good news of worldwide salvation to come in the Messiah, Jesus (see Romans 10:15). The deliverance from Babylon was nothing in comparison with this. As so often in the prophetic writings, there are layers of meaning. It is fitting that this prophecy of Jerusalem’s redemption should be followed by the one about the suffering Servant. Through Jesus’ sacrificial death, worldwide deliverance was going to be made possible.

God’s punishment of His people, namely their exile in Babylon, provided a reason for the ungodly nations to ‘’mock’’ Him. They were saying, ‘’God can’t save His own people.’’ But God was going to take steps to reverse that opinion and glorify His Name before all peoples (4-6). ‘’…incessantly, my reputation blackened. Now it’s time that my people know who I am, what I’m made of…’’ The Message. In (7-10) Isaiah envisages messengers running across the ‘’mountains’’ towards Jerusalem, to bring the good news of the returning exiles. This return will silence the mockers (5).

In (11, 12) there is a final call to the captives to ‘’depart’’ from Babylon and its ungodliness. They should not defile themselves by touching any ‘’unclean’’ thing or engaging in any unclean act. This exhortation was particularly relevant to the priests and Levites in their company, who were charged with carrying back the sacred temple articles to Jerusalem (Ezra 1:7-11). In the New Testament era, we still need to heed this call to holiness (2 Corinthians 6:17). God has made it possible for us to ‘’Come out’’ from ‘Babylon’ and its pervasive influence. We don’t have to be controlled and dominated by it (Revelation 18:4).

By the way, Ezra, who led back the first group of exiles, must have taken this promise to heart (12; see Ezra 8:22, 23).

‘’In verse 2, Isaiah calls on the Daughter of Zion – Jerusalem and its people – to rise up. God has freed them; therefore, let them act like free people. This is a message for Christians today: we have been freed through Christ, yet too many of us live as if we were still in bondage to weakness, fear and sin. We need to ‘’rise up’’ and claim our freedom to live as free men and women (John 8:31-32, 36; Romans 8:2; Galatians 5:1).’’ Tom Hale: ‘The Applied Old Testament Commentary’, p.1053

Prayer: Lord God, please give us beautiful feet, to carry your good news everywhere. Thank you for the greater freedom Jesus brings. Help us to fully live in it, and declare it to everyone we can.

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Daily Bible thoughts 752: Thursday 20th November 2014:

 Isaiah 51:1-16

‘’Take time to remember your spiritual roots; you will be encouraged in your faith.’’ Warren W. Wiersbe: ‘With the Word’, p.483.

The opening words of this chapter mirror Matthew 6:33: ‘’Listen to me, all you who are serious about right living and committed to seeking God.’’ The Message. We can only be encouraged when we think about the miracle God did with these two ordinary people, Abraham and Sarah. May He make more of you than you ever thought you could be! May He multiply your numbers and give miraculous church growth! In the feeding of the five thousand, Jesus took 5 and 2 and multiplied them. Here He took 1 and did His multiplication work. If your life seems small in your eyes; if your church seems tiny, you can take heart as you read (2). ‘’Think of it! One solitary man when I called him, but once I blessed him, he multiplied.’’ The Message. As we have seen before in Isaiah, these promises in (1-3) relate to the near future (deliverance from Babylon) and to the distant future (the Messianic age).

In the Bible ‘’righteousness’’ and ‘’salvation’’ are closely linked. We know from the New Testament that being saved and being made righteous are synonymous. God’s righteousness and salvation were initially manifested when He overthrew Babylon. He saved His people, acting in righteousness (i.e. doing justly). He set everything right. But these verses look ultimately to the Messianic age and the world-wide spread of the gospel. God’s ‘’righteousness’’ and ‘’salvation’’ will last forever (6b, 8b), unlike the present universe, which is temporary (Psalm 102: 25, 26; Mark 13:31; Hebrews 1:10, 11). You might also like to consider 1 John 2:17.

In (7, 8) God tells His faithful people not to ‘’fear the reproach of men or be terrified by their insults.’’ (‘’Pay no attention to insults, and when mocked don’t let it get you down.’’ The Message.) Why? Because their enemies will be destroyed, but God’s ‘’righteousness’’ and ‘’salvation’’ will endure. ‘’…my salvation will last forever, my setting-things-right will never be obsolete.’’ (6b) The Message. Here are words always relevant to the church, for saved people, who seek to live right, are still the objects of derision. And the more vocal and visible we are in our witness, the more we’re going to be laughed at.

What God promises, we can ‘stand on’, and pray into fulfilment. That’s what Isaiah does in (9-11; compare verse 9 with 51:17 and 52:1). He recalls some of God’s great deeds in the past: the cutting to pieces of ‘’Rahab’’ (Egypt), and the drying up of the ‘’sea’’ (the Red Sea). Again we see the ‘second Exodus’ theme. ‘’Wake up, wake up, flex your muscles, GOD! Wake up as in the old days, in the long ago.’ The Message.

God answers prayer! He speaks again in (12-16) in response to Isaiah’s prayer in (9-11). The people of God in Isaiah’s day, lived in ‘’terror’’ of the ‘’oppressor’’ (13) – first, Assyria, then Babylon. God tells His people to stop worrying about their human enemies, and consider Him. ‘’Why should I ever anxious be, when such a God is mine?’’ ‘’What are you afraid of – or who? Some man or woman who’ll soon be dead? Some poor wretch destined for dust? You’ve forgotten me, GOD, who made you, who unfurled the skies, who founded the earth. And here you are, quaking like an aspen before the tantrums of a tyrant who thinks he can kick down the world. But what will come of the tantrums? The victims will be released before you know it. They’re not going to die. They’re not even going to go hungry.’’ The Message.

Prayer: I choose to fix my eyes on you Lord, not my fears.

 

 

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Daily Bible thoughts 751: Wednesday 19th November 2014:

 Isaiah 50

This chapter draws a contrast between ‘’Israel’s Sin and the Servant’s Obedience’’, as the heading in the NIV puts it. Where Israel failed, Jesus succeeded.

Israel failed (1-3): It is true to human nature that people regularly make trouble for themselves and then want to blame God. The Israelites in exile may well have felt that God had ‘divorced’ them, or ‘sold’ them into slavery. But the Lord denies this. He hasn’t cast His people off; they cast Him off. ‘’It’s your sins that put you here, your wrongs that got you shipped out.’’ The Message. Of course God was able to save them from all this mess. They didn’t have to go through it. His power is immeasurable (2b, 3). Think about His ‘track record’. What He has done before He can do again. They had their days of opportunity. God came to them again and again in His prophets. Isaiah was one of them. ‘’So why didn’t anyone come when I knocked? Why didn’t anyone answer when I called?’’ The Message. (You might like to compare verse 2a with Revelation 3:20)

Jesus succeeded (4-9): Here is the servant of the Lord, listening to God and obeying Him. He suffers terribly, but willingly (6) for doing so, and in the end He is vindicated. In a few verses we have a potted biography of the Lord Jesus Christ, who came in fulfilment of this prophecy. Unlike the nation of Israel (Isaiah 42:18-20), this ideal Servant of the Lord responds in obedience and faith (4, 5). He does so in spite of being beaten and mocked (Mark 14:65; 15:15, 19). He endures ‘’such opposition from sinful men’’ (Hebrews 12:3). But He is not ultimately ‘’disgraced’’ (7); the Lord ‘’vindicates’’ Him (8). ‘’ We are not told here how the servant is to be vindicated, but we know from the New Testament that the servant – Jesus – was vindicated by being resurrected from the dead (Acts 2:23-24; 3:15). If the Lord vindicates His servant, who then will bring charges against him? (verse 8). No one. Neither can anyone bring charges against the sinless Jesus – nor, for that matter, against His followers, who have been justified through faith in Him (John 8:46; Romans 8:31-34). Those who seek to condemn the servant (and his followers) will be destroyed like a garment eaten by moths (verse 9).’’ Tom Hale: ‘The Applied Old Testament Commentary, p.1051. Verses 4, 5 show something of the inner life of the Messiah, and His intimate walk with the Father. They also speak to leaders in the church today (and to us all) about the possibility of having such a close relationship with God that needy people benefit from the overflow of our lives. ‘’The Master, GOD, has given me a well-taught tongue, So I know how to encourage tired people. He wakes me up in the morning, Wakes me up, opens my ears to listen as one ready to take orders. The Master, GOD, opened my ears, and I didn’t go back to sleep, didn’t pull the covers back over my head.’’ The Message. ‘’We must be disciples before we can be apostles, and be taught before we teach. We shall never do our best work for God until we accustom ourselves to receive and take his messages; and there is no such time as the early morning for the lowly posture of sitting at the Master’s feet to hear his word.’’ F.B. Meyer: ‘Great verses through the Bible’, p.288. Not everyone would agree with Meyer about the early morning, but those who are ‘larks’ will know what he means. Whatever time of day works best for you, it is good to give quality time to waiting on God. This weary world needs those who have ‘awakened’ ears and ‘’instructed’’ tongues.

Those who fear God will obey His Son, Jesus (10). To trust in the Lord is to walk in His light. But if you walk in your own ‘’light’’ you are heading for ‘’torment’’ (11). Totally different destinies hang upon the acceptance or rejection of the Messaiah.

Prayer: Lord give me ears to hear you, and a tongue that speaks your Word.

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Daily Bible thoughts 750: Tuesday 18th November 2014:

 Isaiah 49:22-26

Many years ago I had the privilege of being involved in a service of blessing for a godly couple on their wedding day. The bride’s sister had been invited to sing a solo, which she duly did. But before the song she said a few words. As I recall, she expressed an opinion that there had been a certain amount of disappointment surrounding the occasion. Things had not gone quite as planned. Then she sang the lovely hymn: ‘’He is not a disappointment, Jesus is far more to me, than in all my wildest daydreams I had fancied Him to be.’’

‘He is not a disappointment ‘(23b). ‘’No one who hopes in me ever regrets it.’’ The Message.

Quite explicitly, verses 22 and 23 refer to the coming of Gentiles into the Messiah’s Kingdom. There will be Gentile kings and queens among their number, and, according to this remarkable prophecy, they will ‘’bow down’’ before the people of God, as well as before the Messiah Himself (7). In particular, Isaiah is referring to the part Gentiles (and Gentile rulers) will play in bringing the Jewish exiles home. But it is probably correct to see more in it than that. It also contains the thought of Gentiles coming to the King in His Kingdom. That marriage blessing service, back in the 80’s, was full of Gentiles who could share the joyful view that ‘He is not a disappointment.’

In (24) Isaiah asks the rhetorical question, ‘Will this actually be possible?’ Can captives be rescued from fierce warriors? He is thinking about how the exiles will be rescued from the Babylonians. Maybe he is giving voice to a question the people of Israel might themselves ask when they hear about this rescue. The Lord assures Isaiah that the exiles will indeed be rescued, and he will continue to contend with the enemies of His people, just as He has done in the past. In fact, they will be so overcome by hunger and thirst that they will eat each other’s flesh and drink each other’s blood (26; see and compare Lamentations 4:10). They would reap what they had sown; they would experience what they had caused the Jews to experience.

‘’Can plunder be retrieved from a giant, prisoners of war gotten back from a tyrant?…I’m the one who’s on your side, defending your cause, rescuing your children. And your enemies, crazed and desperate, will turn on themselves, killing each other in a frenzy of self-destruction. Then everyone will know that I, GOD, have saved you – I, the Mighty One of Jacob.’’ The Message.

In all that He does, God is working for His own glory in all the earth. May He be glorified in us today.

Prayer: Lord God, we think of our persecuted brothers and sisters thisday. We pray that they will know that you are for them, and that you will contend with those who contend with them.

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Daily Bible thoughts 749: Monday 17th November 2014:

 Isaiah 49:8-21

I remember when Alex Haley’s book, ‘Roots’, was turned into a television series, and it was a phenomenal success. Haley was interviewed by Michael Parkinson, who asked him, ‘’What is the secret of your success?’’ He replied, ‘’ I don’t really know, but I remember something my grandmother used to say: ‘You never know when the Lord’s going to come, but He’s always on time!’‘’ We may have to pray for a long period before we see God’s Word come to pass, but if we are patient things will change; breakthrough will come. When the time is right; ‘’the time’’ of God’s ‘’favour’’ (8a; see 2 Corinthians 6:2), chains will be broken and ‘’captives’’ (9) will be freed. The theme of a second exodus appears again in (8-13). God will lead His people home through the desert, lovingly caring for their needs. This turn around in the fortunes of God’s people is reason for universal rejoicing (13). ‘’There’ll be foodstands along all the roads, picnics on all the hills – Nobody hungry, nobody thirsty, shade from the sun, shelter from the wind, For the Compassionate One guides them, takes them to the best springs, I’ll make all my mountains into roads…Heavens, raise the roof! Earth, wake the dead! Mountains, send up cheers! GOD has comforted his people. He has tenderly nursed his beaten-up, beaten-down people.’’ The Message. These verses, however, must also look beyond the return from Babylonian exile. In them, the ‘Servant of the Lord’ is again addressed (8b; see 42:5-7). Verse 12 surely speaks of a broader ingathering of the Jews than the one that occurred after the exile. Jesus, the good Shepherd, is going to come and rescue all His weary people (Matthew 11:29, 30). When you think that (10) is alluded to in Revelation 7:17, you have to recognise that this passage is also about Gentiles coming in and coming home.

In the days of waiting for God to fulfil His Word, we can feel that He has forgotten and abandoned us (14). That’s how Israel felt during the exile years. In the tenderest language, the Lord assures them that this is not the case, whatever they may feel (15, 16). Jerusalem’s ‘’sons’’ (18a) are going to return home. They will be like beautiful jewellery worn by the bride, Jerusalem (18b; see also Revelation 21:2). Her best days are still to come.

The depopulated city of Jerusalem is going to be repopulated. It will be so significantly built up in numbers that there is evidently something miraculous going on. This transcends what happened after the exile. It must look on to the future extension of God’s Kingdom and growth of the church. It’s a picture of what occurs in revival, when there can be a sudden and dramatic growth surge in the church. ‘’And your ruined land? Your devastated, decimated land? Filled with more people than you know what to do with!…The children born in your exile will be saying, It’s getting too crowded here. I need more room.’ And you’ll say to yourself, ‘Where on earth did these children come from? I lost everything, had nothing, was exiled and penniless. So who reared these children? How did these children get here?’’’ The Message. May God graciously do it here!

Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank you that you are building your church, and the gates of Hell will never prevail against it.

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Daily Bible thoughts 745: Tuesday 11th November 2014:

 Isaiah 49:1-7

A friend, who has been an energetic servant of Christ, had a heart attack last year, and he had to drop down a gear or two. The pace of his life had to slow. I’m pleased to say that he is now much better, and active again. But he told me (and shared this with others) that for a time he felt he was like the ‘’polished arrow…concealed…in his quiver.’’ (2b).

In 48:16 you read these words: ‘’And now the Sovereign LORD has sent me, with his Spirit.’’ Who is speaking? Some commentators believe it is Isaiah, interjecting a comment about himself and his ministry. But many others think it is the ‘Servant of the Lord’, who we meet in today’s passage. (If that is the case, we have a glimpse of the Triune God in that verse in chapter 48; the One only to be fully revealed in the coming of Jesus.) At first the ‘’servant’’ appears to be Israel (3). However, quite quickly, we see this figure as an individual emerging from within the nation. The servant is an embodiment of a perfect Israel, an idealized Israel. He will succeed in His mission where Israel as a nation failed. Here is someone who will have a ministry to Israel (5, 6a), and also to the world (6b). (Verse 6 has been called the Old Testament version of the great commission. Paul quoted it on one occasion, applying it to himself and Barnabas (Acts 13:46, 47). All believers share in the ‘Servant’s’ world embracing mandate.) Jesus is going to have a worldwide impact (7), but this will follow rejection by His own people (see also John 1:11). It is almost impossible to not see the Lord Jesus Christ in these verses. ‘’He says, ‘’But that’s not a big enough job for my servant – just to recover the tribes of Jacob, merely to round up the strays of Israel. I’m setting you up as a light for the nations so that my salvation becomes global!’’ ‘’The Message. For Jesus, there were many hidden years. There are days, weeks, months we know nothing about. But at the right time, God the Father ‘fired’ Him into the world (2) and what an impact He has had, and will continue to have until that day when every knee bows before Him, and every tongue confesses that He is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Philippians 2:11). I like how The Message expresses the first half of verse two: ‘’He gave me speech that would cut and penetrate.’’ The Words of Christ have so profoundly impacted human history. When preachers are filled with the same Spirit who came upon Jesus, their words can have a similar impact (Acts 2:37; see also Ephesians 6:17; Hebrews 4:12; Revelation 1:16).

Note that God’s glory is supremely manifest in His Son (Hebrews 1:3; John 17:4).

‘’In verse 4, we see the servant frustrated and discouraged; his mission seems to have failed. Yet he places himself in the Lord’s hands; the Lord will surely vindicate him and reward him. All of this came true in the life of Jesus (1 Timothy 3:16; Hebrews 12:3). And it continues to come true in the lives of Jesus’ followers today. Let Christian workers not be surprised when they meet with frustration and failure; their Master did likewise (John 15:18, 20). But like their Master, they will ultimately receive their reward.’’ Tom Hale: ‘The Applied Old Testament Commentary’, p.1049.

‘’The paradox of an Israel sent to Israel is part of the powerful thrust of the OT towards the NT, since not even the ‘remnant’ of true Israelites…can fulfil the boundless expectations of vs 1-13. We are driven to seek a more perfect embodiment of God’s light, salvation (6) and covenant (8) in Christ at the head of his church, ‘the Israel of God’ (Acts 13:47; Gal.6:16). Also the theme of conquest through service, broached in 42:1-4, has begun to sound the note of suffering and rejection (4, 7), which will increase in sharpness and significance in the third and fourth ‘Songs’.’’ Derek Kidner: ‘New Bible Commentary, p.660.       

 Prayer: Thank you God for the wonder of Jesus. Thank you for the light He shines into my life.

 

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Daily Bible thoughts 744: Monday 10th November 2014:

 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’

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Daily Bible thoughts 743: Friday 7th November 2014:

 Isaiah 48:1-11

In this chapter the attention switches back from Babylon to Israel and Judah. It is possible to have ‘’a form of godliness’’ but deny ‘’its power’’ (2 Timothy 3:5). That’s how it was with God’s people at times: ‘’…you who…pray to the God of Israel…But do you mean it? You claim to be citizens of the Holy City; you act as though you lean on the God of Israel…’’ The Message. However, it was all empty routine and ritual. They did not want to know the ‘’truth’’ or live right (1). As Derek Kidner observes, they ‘’…emerge…as hardened hypocrites(1, 4, 8).’’ New Bible Commentary, p.660

God had made many promises to them that had already come to pass (3-6a). The reference is probably to things like their deliverance at the exodus, the conquest of Canaan, and the consequent settling in the Promised Land and flourishing as a nation. God told them many things in advance so that they would not be able to give the credit to idols for these blessings: ‘’ For a long time now, I’ve let you in on the way I work: I told you what I was going to do beforehand, then I did it and it was done, and that’s that…So I got a running g start and began telling you what was going on before it even happened. That is why you can’t say, ‘My god-idol did this.’ My favourite god-carving commanded this.’ You have all this evidence confirmed by your own eyes and ears. Shouldn’t you be talking about it?’’ The Message. Although no-one can prove the existence of God, there is much evidence that points to the Bible being true. Fulfilled prophecy is one of the greatest pieces of evidence that the Bible is God’s Book, and that He really lives. But the human heart can be stubbornly resistant to the obvious (4; see Romans 1:18ff.) I heard a story about a lawyer who lived in New York. One day a pastor was in conversation with him, and he asked him if he had ever considered the evidence for Christ’s resurrection. The legal man said that he hadn’t. Well, would he like to? ‘Yes’ replied the lawyer. The minister took him painstakingly through the compelling evidence. But the story goes that the attorney eventually said, ‘’The resurrection of Christ is established beyond all doubt as a fact. But I find I am no nearer the faith, for my problem is not with my head but my heart.’ If the story is true, that is a penetratingly honest assessment. It certainly is true to life.

God had new things in store for Israel which He was about to reveal (6, 7). These things probably included the deliverance from exile, the restoration in their own land, and, ultimately, the establishment of the Messianic kingdom. God would do these things even though His people had rebelled against Him (8). They deserved to be ‘’cut off’’ but He would ‘’delay’’ His wrath (9). Though they had been false, God would continue to be true and uphold the honour of His Name. Instead of destroying His people, God would refine and test them in the ‘’furnace’’ of Babylonian exile (10; compare Deuteronomy 4:20). In this way God would preserve a remnant of His people and keep His Name from being defamed (11). God’s supreme passion is for the glory and honour of His own Name. Let that desire for His fame in all the earth fire and fuel your life!

‘’God finds his supreme motive in Himself…God’s motive is his character, his name and nature, the maintenance of his honour in the face of the universe…He did not begin to save us because we were worthy or lovely, but because He would; and therefore He will not give up because we prove ourselves weak and worthless and difficult to save.’’ F.B.Meyer: ‘Great verses through the Bible’, p.287.

Prayer: Lord I don’t want to fight you on any issue. I know I can’t win!

 

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