Isaiah’s ministry lasted through 4 kings. He is the 6th Old Testament prophet, first to the divided kingdom of Judah. He endured Samaria’s capture and Israel’s exile. He also endured the invasion of Judah by Sennacherib. When Isaiah ministered, it had been 250 years since the death of King David; 900 years after the death of Abraham; 2300 years since the death of Adam; and 700 years before Jesus’ birth. The prophecies God revealed through Isaiah, ranges from pre-garden of Eden until the New Heaven and New Earth. This is a man whom God used. Some have even called him the ‘Prince of Prophets’. In the middle of all of this revelation we find ourselves in Isaiah 44. This chapter is part of a subtext of chapters between 40 and 48. The entire context is about the greatness and transcendence of God. God cannot be compared to… He transcends. We learn that He is better, no matter what the subject is. In this particular chapter, tucked into this particular context, the Hebrew people desperately needed encouragement. There is so much truth being leveled at them by God right now, that they and their Prophet (Isaiah) needed some much needed truth. I think we could use some today as well.
In verses 1-5 God reassures them. “Yet now hear, O Jacob my servant; and Israel, whom I have chosen: Thus saith the Lord that made thee, and formed thee from the womb, which will help thee; Fear not, O Jacob, my servant; and thou, Jesurun, whom I have chosen.” (1-2). “Jesurun” is a beloved nickname for those who are His. They, and we, live with the great privilege of being the child of God. To experience His blessings, and His promises, and His Love, is reserved for those adopted by Him. In verse 3, we see the promise of the Holy Spirit 730 years before He comes— “For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground: I will pour my spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring:” It would be exciting to hear that then, but for us, we live in the existence of this all day, every day. It is a promise for them to be that whole, that close, that intimate with God again. They needed this. They needed to know He hadn’t left them. He continues with— “And they shall spring up as among the grass, as willows by the water courses.” (4). Undeserving Israel is to be delivered in spite of themselves, due only to the love and grace of God’s love covenant. This is important because, in context, they are under the shadow of more punishment to come (43.26-28).
Does this not apply to us today? Do we not need this exact encouragement? This reminder? We have what they longed for, we just don’t appreciate it. Rather, we don’t appreciate Him.
In verses 6-8, God identifies Himself. This is also the key to the entire passage. He identifies Himself as: King; Redeemer; Lord of Hosts; First and Last; Champion in Battle; Eternal One; God. He goes so far as to say— “Beside me there is no God.” (6). An exclusive claim, not up for discussion. He is God alone! He even said in verse 8— “there is no God; I know not any.” I love it, God said— I don’t know any other ones. And yet people live in a world of millions of gods. How ridiculous! It’s futile. In fact, verse 9-12 God continues by explaining the futility. “Who hath formed a god, or molten a graven image that is profitable for nothing?” (10). This is a declarative question… ‘People are doing this…are you one?’ These men who made these idols are, well, men. So they are incapable of making anything better than themselves. Worse yet, they put their trust in them, their emotions in them, their loyalties in them. Please tell me you’re seeing the similarities. Just like today, they serve this thing together, then they will be ashamed together (11). In verse 12 they sacrifice and give their all for it; exactly what happens today, still. Sacrifice for all sorts of things, except God’s things. They push through the pain and personal discomfort; expensing all that energy, money, and pain for something that cannot possibly repay the sacrifice.
It’s just ludicrous. God even goes so far as to speak an illustration through Isaiah in verses 13-17. Jehovah’s use of satire is awesome, in reference to the tree carving idol worker. Satire is: the use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people’s stupidity. Nothing could be more foolish than worshipping a piece of wood, while burning the same wood in a fire to keep warm… idiocy. In the original language, this is continual. Not one time, but a continual action. This is something humanity does again, and again, and again. Hopeless.
The hopelessness of a person serving other gods, is just sad. Verse 20 says— “He feedeth on ashes: a deceived heart hath turned him aside, that he cannot deliver his soul, nor say, Is there not a lie in my right hand?” They are deceived. It’s a lie they are holding in their hands. A lie from the devil and don’t even see it.Like eating ashes that provide no nourishment; idolatry is a deception, from which the user gets nothing in return, but judgement. God is gracious. He should laugh at us for handling these man-made creations of ours, but He makes an invitation instead. His invitation is— “Remember these, O Jacob and Israel; for thou art my servant: I have formed thee; thou art my servant: O Israel, thou shalt not be forgotten of me. I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions, and, as a cloud, thy sins: return unto me; for I have redeemed thee. Sing, O ye heavens; for the Lord hath done it: shout, ye lower parts of the earth: break forth into singing, ye mountains, O forest, and every tree therein: for the Lord hath redeemed Jacob, and glorified himself in Israel.” (21-23). His grace shows through here, doesn’t it? He gives the warning (application) “…remember these”, take note of what you’ve been doing, and with what you’ve been doing it with. He redeemed us, we have no right to be doing that anymore, with those things. It’s a basic invitation… repent and come home. Just, don’t bring that stuff with you. Isn’t that the point of repentence— you leave the old behind; the distraction behind; the god of choice behind?
Think on it this way: one who has no reason to appeal to the offender, yet still does, must really care about the offender. God is indeed merciful and full of grace. So much so, that His appeal continues in 24-27 with some pungent reality— “Thus saith the Lord, thy redeemer, and he that formed thee from the womb, I am the Lord that maketh all things; that stretcheth forth the heavens alone; that spreadeth abroad the earth by myself; That frustrateth the tokens of the liars, and maketh diviners mad; that turneth wise men backward, and maketh their knowledge foolish; That confirmeth the word of his servant, and performeth the counsel of his messengers; that saith to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be inhabited; and to the cities of Judah, Ye shall be built, and I will raise up the decayed places thereof: That saith to the deep, Be dry, and I will dry up thy rivers:” He offers a renewal in the relationship. He also makes it clear that He isn’t playing around. All the other choices you make, beside this one, will lead to frustration and eventual ruin, by His own hand.
Theologian and author J.I. Packer said— “Today’s idols are more in the self than on the shelf.” I feel it myself. Too much of this world has crept into my heart, therefore my life, therefore my church. Lord help us to see it’s furtherest extent, so that we may stop before it’s too late. Like a child who has their favorite play-thing taken away, we will kick, scream, and resent the one who even suggests it be taken away. Do you think this is the situation we are witnessing? Goudzwaard’s three basic Biblical rules regarding Idolatry: 1) Every person is serving god(s) in his life; 2) Every person is transformed into an image of his god; 3) Mankind creates and forms a structure of society in it’s own image. Welcome to reality.
I’m just so thankful that my God, the one and only true God, is sovereign. He is God! He knows the beginning from the ending. “That saith of Cyrus, He is my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure: even saying to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built; and to the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid.” (28). This is about Cyrus, King of Persia. If you compare this with chapter 45 verses 1-6, you’ll see that this prophecy came 150 years before Cyrus lived. God would use the Persian King to gather the remnant of Israel back to the land, using them to rebuild the temple. Thus fulfilling Isaiah’s prophecy. The returning Jews completed the work in 516 BC, 200 years after this prophecy, proving God is absolutely in control!Why in the world then would anyone choose to expel their energy serving anything else?
The danger for us is being deceived enough to not recognize that we too are caught in the trap. What has the Holy Spirit revealed to you? To help you ponder on that question, think on this sentence: That for which I would give anything and accept nothing in exchange, is the most important thing in my life. Whatever that is, it is my god.
Is the same true for God to us? That for which I would give anything and accept nothing in exchange, is the most important thing in my life. Is that not what God did for us on the Cross? His most important thing is me, mine is…?