July 19 - Isaiah 48:12-22

July 19 – Isaiah 48:12-22

“Listen to me, O Jacob, Israel, whom I have called: I am he; I am the first and I am the last. My own hand laid the foundations of the earth, and my right hand spread out the heavens; when I summon them, they all stand up together.  “Come together, all of you, and listen: Which of the idols has foretold these things? The LORD’s chosen ally will carry out his purpose against Babylon; his arm will be against the Babylonians. I, even I, have spoken; yes, I have called him. I will bring him, and he will succeed in his mission.

“Come near me and listen to this: “From the first announcement I have not spoken in secret; at the time it happens, I am there.” And now the Sovereign LORD has sent me, with his Spirit.

This is what the LORD says— your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: “I am the LORD your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go. If only you had paid attention to my commands, your peace would have been like a river, your righteousness like the waves of the sea. Your descendants would have been like the sand, your children like its numberless grains; their name would never be cut off nor destroyed from before me.”

Leave Babylon, flee from the Babylonians! Announce this with shouts of joy and proclaim it. Send it out to the ends of the earth; say, “The LORD has redeemed his servant Jacob.” They did not thirst when he led them through the deserts; he made water flow for them from the rock; he split the rock and water gushed out.

“There is no peace,” says the LORD, “for the wicked.”

God continues to remind His people that He is the creator, that He laid the foundations of the earth and put the heavens into place.  There is no idol that can compare with Him.

As often as this is repeated throughout the Old Testament, it doesn’t seem that we’ve ever really figured it out.

Today we put so many things ahead of God.  We think that they can answer all of our concerns and worries … these are our idols.  God is set aside, placed into a tiny nook or cranny, waiting for us to get to the point that we might want to give Him a try before moving forward since everything else has failed.

This passage, though, changes the tone a bit.  God is telling His people that even through it all, He keeps an eye on them, caring for them.  The Babylonians will be laid low.  One is coming to win in battle against the Babylonians and He will release the Israelites back to their home.

“I am the Lord your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go.” (Isaiah 48:17)

We understand that these words are true, yet we fight against them with every fiber of our being.  Keep reading, though.

“If only you had paid attention to my commands, your peace would have been like a river, your righteousness like the waves of the sea.” (Isaiah 48:18)

Do not ever believe that God hasn’t given us free will.  He allowed His people to make their choices, even though He pleaded over and over with them to choose Him … to choose life.  They ignored Him and while He punished them and allowed them to be taken into exile, He released them from their punishment, knowing that they would more than likely return to the same ways.

God isn’t about that negative behavior though. Look at the end of this passage.  He wants His people to be joyful.  He doesn’t want them worrying about the bad things that are probably going to be coming in the future.  Their release from Babylon is to be celebrated – right now!

“Announce this with shouts of joy and proclaim it.  Send it out to the ends of the earth; say, ‘The Lord has redeemed his servant Jacob.’” (Isaiah 48:20)

We have been redeemed.  We have been set free from the things that hold us back, from the exile that is a product of our sin.  Announce the redemption with shouts of joy … send it out to the ends of the earth – The Lord has redeemed us!!! 

It’s time to celebrate!