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More Isaiah commentaries
Isaiah 45:1-13
Vindication of the Lord
Isaiah 45:14-25
The Lord Alone Can Save
Isaiah 46:1-13
Sovereign Control of God
Isaiah 47:1-15
The Humiliation of Babylon
Isaiah 48:1-11
The Lord Corrects His People
Isaiah 48:12-22
It is Best to Obey The Lord
Isaiah 49:1-13
Bringing Light to The Gentiles
Isaiah 49:14-26
God Will Remember Zion
Isaiah 50:1-11
God’s Servant Must Suffer
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It is Best to Obey The Lord
Isaiah 48:12–22
» View this passage in NIV (Bible Gateway)
A Christian doctor carried out an interesting survey recently involving his patients. As they waited in the waiting-room, they were asked to fill out a little survey on themselves. One of the questions asked was “What is your number one wish?” On analyzing the ans … More
In spite of their failures, God reminds Israel that He alone is the Lord and has called them and chosen them to be His people (v. 12). Further, God states His omniscient power over the creation in such a way that when He calls nature to obedience, both heaven and earth stand up together (v. 13) and obey Him instantly. The fact is the Lord loved Israel so much that He would bring judgment on Babylon and the Chaldeans. God chose Cyrus, a heathen king, to free his people from their captivity in Babylon (vv. 14-15). The Lord has never kept a secret about this fact He has said (v. 16)
Isaiah emphasizes the total blessing of prosperity from God upon those who have surrendered to His lordship and authority. However, this blessing does not come by accident, but by total obedience to His commandments (vv 17-18). Though His people may come under temporary judgment they still have access to the God of peace. By contrast, there is no peace unto the wicked. To those who turn their back on God there is only worry and sorrow. True peace comes only from God.
The Lord had constantly been teaching and guiding Israel through the law. But they had not paid attention to his commands. Had they obeyed the Lord in the first place, they would have experienced peace and not war (vv. 18-19) and none of their children would have been killed. God urged His people to leave Babylon quickly (v. 20). After the Egyptian exodus God provided water from the rock in the deserts (v. 21). It implies He will do the same for them in this exodus from Babylon. In contrast with joy (v. 20) for those who obey the Lord there is no peace for the wicked (v. 22).
Application
In Isaiah’s day the people had grown accustomed to the security of their bondage. It is easy for me to also become complacent with my comfort and affluence. I don’t want God to have to put me into the furnace to remind me that I am here to be a servant and not a spectator.
Isaiah 48:12-22 (English Standard Version)
"Listen to me, O Jacob, and Israel, whom I called! I am he; I am the first, and I am the last. 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. "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. I, even I, have spoken and called him; I have brought him, and he will prosper in his way. 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. 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. 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; 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." 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!" 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. "There is no peace," says the LORD, "for the wicked."
View this passage in NIV (Bible Gateway) »
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