Isaiah 48
Notes
Transcript
Refining for Israel...
Refining for Israel...
The last couple of weeks we have been talking what has been happening in the captivity of Judah and Benjamin, the Southern kingdom as they are carried into sin.
God spoke in chapter 45 how God would use Cyrus to be his agent to release the Jewish population at the end of their captivity, stressing that God is in charge.
Then moving forward God shared how He was still going to deal with those who still care for the idols in captivity
And last week how he would deal with Babylon for their sin, they will be humiliated.
So lets move forward....
Verses-1-2 Isa 48:1-2
1 Hear this, O house of Jacob,
who are called by the name of Israel,
and who came from the waters of Judah,
who swear by the name of the Lord
and confess the God of Israel,
but not in truth or right.
2 For they call themselves after the holy city,
and stay themselves on the God of Israel;
the Lord of hosts is his name.
So the message is an overwhelming call for the Israelites to hear, those in captivity are to listen to what the Lord their God says to them...
And look at what God says through the prophet, these people who call themselves Israel
Who come from the waters of Judah, literally speaking to the line or lineage of Judah. These are the children of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob....
Those who take their oaths in the name of the Lord, BUT there is a problem. They confess the God is Israel, but not in a good or right way.
The meaning there is that they do all these things, but their words and actions do not match up. They are lacking...
And this next charge, they call themselves a holy city, but truly they do not know what it means to be the Lord’s people.
Maybe they should examine, what does it mean to be the Lord’s people… Who is the Lord himself and what should that revelation say about being his people.
Verse 3 Isa 48:3
3 “The former things I declared of old;
they went out from my mouth, and I announced them;
then suddenly I did them, and they came to pass.
The Lord here reminds his people of the past events. The Lord spoke and they happened, quickly, instantly and it was as He said.
Think about all that God did at creation, as He called Abraham to himself and specifically as he lead them out of the land of Egypt.
And then recently, how he defeated the enemies of Israel, like the Assyrians. How he extended Hezekiah’s life and even sending them into exile because of their sin.
Verse 4 Isa 48:4
4 Because I know that you are obstinate,
and your neck is an iron sinew
and your forehead brass,
Here is the logical base for God’s actions. Think of this, God;s motivation for action was because of His knowledge of they (Israelite nation) were hard, stubborn, obstinate. The old way of saying this was their neck was stiff.. They were a stiff necked people. They were unresponsive to God’s direction and this wasn’t just a one event problem… No look at their sin from Mt. Sinai to the exile, they had not changed, they were as a nation stiff necked.
The forehead of brass is like us saying they are hard headed, again stubborn.
Now lets look at verses 5-6 Isa 48:5-6
5 I declared them to you from of old,
before they came to pass I announced them to you,
lest you should say, ‘My idol did them,
my carved image and my metal image commanded them.’
6 “You have heard; now see all this;
and will you not declare it?
From this time forth I announce to you new things,
hidden things that you have not known.
Knowing these things about his people, God told his people from old or days past. He told these things would happen if they continued in their sin.
But He also said these things so they could not say, how this idol or false god did these things he has declared. God alone is the sovereign one of the universe.
And sadly, in spite of the fact that God told the Israelites about his plans and his ways, the nation still had problems with distinguishing the work of God from these idols they worshipped.
These problems existed from the time of the golden calf in Exodus 32 to then they first came to the land of Canaan, to Solomon’’s kingdom to the separation of the nation to a northern and southern kingdom.
They always struggled with idols....
God says there in verse 6, you have seen and witnessed these things, why can you not admit.
What are they admitting? The idols are false and He alone is God.
You see anything you hold as greater than God, is your God.
God had not totally given up on the peoples ability to hear and listen to him, He is giving them another chance to listen and learn from His wisdom.
Now verses 7-8 Isa 48:7-8
7 They are created now, not long ago;
before today you have never heard of them,
lest you should say, ‘Behold, I knew them.’
8 You have never heard, you have never known,
from of old your ear has not been opened.
For I knew that you would surely deal treacherously,
and that from before birth you were called a rebel.
These new things are new because they were created now, not a long time ago.
When God says they “were created” seems a different way of saying it, but it means God knew these things, He commanded and set them in place but He has kept those things guarded or to himself until now. It is not new.
They were part of his plans for the world. so the information isn’t some new creation. No, this is just a new message to his people.
And now He is revealing this message to them...
They never heard, nor knew about it for their ears were not receptive to anything God said. Since they were hard headed he had not communicated this to them.
He says I knew you would act in rebellion to my words and plans.
Now verses 9 Isa 48:9
9 “For my name’s sake I defer my anger;
for the sake of my praise I restrain it for you,
that I may not cut you off.
Having described their lack of integrity, their stubbornness and the evil rebellion. One might think that God would just go ahead and judge their sin.
But He has demonstrated in past and present, that He is slow to anger. Listen to Exodus 34:6
6 The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness,
God repeatedly did not judge them and give to them what they deserved...
Why did he deal with them so mercifully? God says his actions were for my own name’s sake and for the sake of my praise.
God wants his people to praise him, to give thanks and to call on His name and to make his name known among the nations, to sing and shout about his deeds. God says all things in Isaiah 12.
The reputations of God’s name is connected to the oaths and promises he has made in His name and to the future of His people, who are called by his name
The glory of God will be evident as seen in His deeds and behalf of his people. Think for a moment of how God lead them out of Egypt, the exodus wanderings and to the conquest of the land of Canaan that he promised to Abraham. And this can go farther, think of his covenant to send them and the world a Messiah.. that brings him praise daily from the world.
Verse 10 Isa 48:10-11
10 Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver;
I have tried you in the furnace of affliction.
11 For my own sake, for my own sake, I do it,
for how should my name be profaned?
My glory I will not give to another.
God says behold I have refined you, not as silver but in the furnace of affliction.
They had a trial by fire of you will, He allowed them to walk in the fire to better purify and draw the people unto himself and to see and know how it made the people better.
God chose them as His people. Their sin wanderings were to drive sin out of their lives and to make them a holy people.
and verse 11 God says he did this for His own sake. This means God is a work to accomplish his will and purposes for His people and the greater world.
God will not allow his name to be profamed by sinful or rebellious people They must be transformed through forgiveness or be judged
How could God allow his people ot give his praise to another? He could not
New Section .... If they would only listen...
verses 12-13 Isa 48:12-13
12 “Listen to me, O Jacob,
and Israel, whom I called!
I am he; I am the first,
and I am the last.
13 My hand laid the foundation of the earth,
and my right hand spread out the heavens;
when I call to them,
they stand forth together.
God begins by calling Jacob to listen to him. His people who He called should listen to Him.
I am he God says, the first and the last…He is different than those dead worthless idols, He alone is the one and only God.
To distinguish himself from all the other, he asserts I am the only God . In fact he says I am the first and the last.
Interesting the “I Am He” is a I am phrase connecting him to the name given to Moses as he sent him to deliver them from those who oppressed and killed them.
Now in verse 13 He also declares He brought everything into existence. He made the heavens and the earth, and all that there is including man.
All of these things, exalt Who God is… and since we know this to be true, Israel should have listened to Him.
There is a really good life model that illustrates that, our parents knew, they had been around the block a little. We should have listened to them more....
right?
Verse 14-15 Isa 48:14-15
14 “Assemble, all of you, and listen!
Who among them has declared these things?
The Lord loves him;
he shall perform his purpose on Babylon,
and his arm shall be against the Chaldeans.
15 I, even I, have spoken and called him;
I have brought him, and he will prosper in his way.
So God is calling for the people to assemble together and listen to what the Lord is saying.
Which of our idols have declared any of these things? Which of the idols are like me…NONE.
And because He loves Israel, he will carry out and do what he has purposed. He will preform HIs purpose on Babylon, remember they will stand judged, and the Medes and Persians will overtake them as God purposes.
God shall cause them to prosper, speaking of the kingdom coming to defeat the Babylonians at the right time, a time which he has purposed.
God is not reluctant to use Cyrus.
Verse 16-17 Isa 48:16-17
16 Draw near to me, hear this:
from the beginning I have not spoken in secret,
from the time it came to be I have been there.”
And now the Lord God has sent me, and his Spirit.
17 Thus says the Lord,
your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:
“I am the Lord your God,
who teaches you to profit,
who leads you in the way you should go.
God calls for them to hear what he is about to say..
When God says draw near to me, he is not only saying come close, in the idea of gathering to specifically listen but it is more of the idea of trusting God’s word.
From the very beginning God has spoken to Isreal about the desires He has for his people. He made His will known to them. He did not keep any secrets from them…He gave them his law, His blessings and cursings and even prophetic words for the future.
The people of Israel knw what God would do and what would happen if they fell into sin.
And with verse 17 Isaiah speaks of God’s next prophetic revelation. I am your redeemer the one who teaches them, and this goes from the Torah to the end of the prophets at this point in time, We would conclude to revelation for us.
Teaching them they were to learn what to do, literally to do the right thing. But instead they rejected the law of God.
Israel has the opportunity to follow God, to make his name known…they rebelled.
Verses 18-19 Isa 48:18-19
18 Oh that you had paid attention to my commandments!
Then your peace would have been like a river,
and your righteousness like the waves of the sea;
19 your offspring would have been like the sand,
and your descendants like its grains;
their name would never be cut off
or destroyed from before me.”
Man, if they had done as they Lord directed them… We can relate, what if we had always done as our parents said???
He says their peace would have been like a river, like the majestic waves of the sea.
But if they had listened to the Lord, verse 19 the Abrahamic promise of multiplying their seed like the sand would have come true. They would have been like the grains of all the fields.
if they had listened, if they had followed, they would not have faced judgment. They would have not been cut off or destroyed from before me
Now the last two verses 20 -22 Isa 48:20-22
20 Go out from Babylon, flee from Chaldea,
declare this with a shout of joy, proclaim it,
send it out to the end of the earth;
say, “The Lord has redeemed his servant Jacob!”
21 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 the water gushed out.
22 “There is no peace,” says the Lord, “for the wicked.”
These last 3 verses offer an end time promise to Israel. God is teaching his people, The people should not reject the joyous hope that God provides for the future.
In light of their past failures, God offers another opportunity for his people to come near and listen, to pay attention to his works.
They must go out from Babylon, and reject that they are the controllers of the universe. and remember it is the Lord that has remembered and saved his people Israel.
They are to flee Babylon as they once fled from Egypt, and they should trust God to provide for them as he did in the wilderness wanderings
He made water flow from the rock, he will provide water for them on that day and save a remnant of his people, those who seek and trust in Him
But there is no peace for the wicked… The wicked cannot be redeemed, they will not sing for joy and they will not enjoy the presence of the Lord...
