ISAIAH 44:1-8
A GOD BLESSED PEOPLE
[Ezek. 36:24-28]
The emphasis again shifts from the ill winds of 43:27-28, where God rebukes His people for trying to manipulate Him and become His god, to the glorious prospects He has for His people’s future. God’s judgment was not His final word. In spite of the conquest and destruction of Jerusalem (and the events of 586 B.C.), Israel would remain God’s servant, His chosen people. He cared for them even when they did not call to Him. He would revive His lifeless people with His life giving Spirit and with a renewal of the promise to Abraham (Gen. 12:2; 13:16) that the nation would bless the world. None need fear that God would no longer keep His ancient covenant promises, for He is faithful to His Word (2 Pet. 3:9). No other supposed god has ever done so.
I. A CARED FOR CREATION, 1-2.
II. A SPIRITUALLY REVIVED PEOPLE, 3-5.
III. THE UNIQUENESS OF GOD, 6-8.
Israel deserved their distressing situation in Babylonian captivity. But God is a God of great grace and forgiveness. Verses 1 & 2 tell us that God does not forget His own. “But now listen, O Jacob, My servant; And Israel, whom I have chosen: (2) Thus says the Lord who made you and formed you from the womb, who will help you, ‘Do not fear, O Jacob My servant; And you Jeshurun whom I have chosen.
Isaiah calls God’s dejected, downcast, hard-headed people to listen to God’s good news. Again the prophet emphasized God’s choosing (41:8-9) and forming (43:1, 7, 21; 44:24) Israel. God had not given up on them in spite of their attempt to manipulate Him nor because of their hard-hearted rebellion against His word. God encourages His people not to be afraid, in spite of their coming circumstances because He had chosen them. He has created and chosen them for a purpose and they can still fulfill it. He is the covenant Lord who is responsible for the nation’s existence.
Note the words the Lord who made you and formed you from the womb, who will help you. YOU’RE NO ACCIDENT! You’re breathing at this very moment because God planned it! There are illegitimate parents, but no illegitimate children. God’s purposes override human error. He never does anything accidentally. Listen: "Long before He laid down earth’s foundations, He had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of His love” (Eph. 1:4 TM). God made you so that He could love you! That’s a truth you can build your life on!
God was thinking of you before He made the world. In fact, you’re why He made it. He designed the exact environment you could thrive in. You’re the focus of His love and the most valuable of all His creation. Listen: "God decided to give us life through the word of truth so we might be the most important of all the things He made" (Jas. 1:18 NCV). Next time you suffer from rejection or an attack of low self-esteem, remind yourself, "I’m the object of God’s love and the most important of all the things He made."
God made you for a reason. Your life has profound meaning! But you only discover that meaning, when you make Jesus the center and the reference point of your life. Listen: "The only accurate way to understand ourselves is by what God is and by what He does for us" (Rom. 12:3 TM). A poet wrote: "You are who you are for a reason. You’re part of an intricate plan. You’re a precious and perfect unique design; you’re God’s special woman or man." So, start acting like it!
God had just called this people sinners (43:27) yet once again reveals His redeeming love for them by using the name Jeshurun. Jeshurun, means “the upright one” and is a poetic name for Israel (Deut. 32:15; 33: 5, 26). It was a term of endearment.
II. A SPIRITUALLY REVIVED PEOPLE, 3-5.
The Lord promises to revive the Children of Israel in verses 3 and 4. ‘For I will pour out water on the thirsty land and streams on the dry ground. I will pour out My Spirit on your offspring, and My blessing on your descendants. (4) And they will spring up among the grass like poplars by streams of water.’
The Lord will revive them physically and spiritually. He will pour water on the . . . land, making it well watered (35:6-7; 41:18; 43:19-20) and He will pour His Holy Spirit (32:15) on their descendants. He will make a new nation out of their offspring. His Spirit moved on nothingness and formed creation (Gen. 1:1). He can certainly give energy and vitality to a spiritually dead and morally corrupt people.
Without the infusion of the Spirit of Life there was no hope for Israel, nor is there for the church today. Divine intervention is our only hope. (See 32:15; Ezek. 36:24-28; Joel 2:12-14, 25-29; 3:1-2).
Redeemed Israel will prosper spiritually. The Redeemed will proliferate and numerically be like well watered poplar trees among grass. They will want to be known as righteous individuals ( v. 5), unashamed of Him and their nation.
Verse 5 foretells of a time all God’s people await (since it has not yet been fulfilled in the history of Israel or the church). “This one will say, ‘I am the Lord’s;’ and that one will call on the name of Jacob. And another will write on his hand, ‘Belonging to the Lord,’ and will name Israel’s name with honor.
The time will come when the God’s people will step up and own up to their responsibilities as the people of God. If we truly belong to God we should be unashamed of it and delight to let others know about our relationship with Him, as we’ll see in verse 8. As the people of God proclaim their allegiance, others step forward to give their life and allegiance to God. Because of the work of God’s Spirit Israel will be honored and all sorts of people will seek to belong to their LORD.
III. THE UNIQUENESS OF GOD, 6-8.
Isaiah repeats his central message again in verse 6. “Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the Lord of Hosts. ‘I AM the First and I AM the Last, and there is no God besides Me.
Several titles stress God’s sovereignty: Israel’s King (43:15), Redeemer (43:14; 41:14), the Lord of Hosts, and the First and the Last (the eternal One; 48:12; Rev. 1:17; 2:8; 22:13). The Lord argued for His uniqueness (apart from Me there is no God; Isa. 43:11; 44:6; 46:9) by challenging anyone to step forward to tell the future (44:7; 41:22-23).
The message that this royal Redeemer wants to proclaim and impart is that there is no one who can even be compared to Him. It is not merely that He is the greatest of the gods, but that in comparison to Him, there is no other real god. Whatever the gods may be, they are not in the same category as the Lord. The First and the Last is a forceful challenge especially with the I AM in the emphatic position. Israel’s God encompasses all of existence from start to finish, and no other being can compete with Him. Alexander suggests that the force of beside, literally, apart from me, is that without Him the gods cannot even exist. That this language (first and last) is applied to Christ not once but four times in Revelation (1:17; 2:8; 21:6; 22:13) is some indication of the force of the early church’s conviction that Jesus Christ was YAHWEH incarnate. [Oswalt, ]
In verse 7 God issues an open challenge to any and all. ‘And who is like Me? Let him proclaim and declare it. Yes, let him recount it to Me in order, From the time that I established the ancient nation. And let them declare to them the things that are coming and the events that are going to take place.
God has proved that He is the only God (40:12-31; 42:8,17). The fundamental proof of God’s uniqueness is His ability to predict what seems impossible and then bring it to pass (41:21-24,26-27; 43:8-13; 45:21; 46:9-11; 48:3). Anyone who claims to be like God must present proof to Him that he has accurately foretold future events.
No one else had dared to reveal his plans to a nation as Yahweh had. No god could foretell what will come. God alone has created a people long ago and both through them and to them declared the course of things to come. Can any other god do the same for them? Or for anyone else?
Again comes the injunction not to fear (see v. 2) in verse 8. ‘Do not tremble and do not be afraid; Have I not long since announced it to you and declared it? And you are My witnesses. Is there any God besides Me, Or is there any other Rock? I know of none.’”
History is in God’s hand, as the Israelites’ own history should tell them. Their faith will not be shown to have been misguided. God will not abandon them. Babylon will not devour them. The ancient promises will not fall to the ground.
Because God had revealed His plan (from long ago), His people should not be afraid (1:10, 14; 43:5; 44:2; 54:4). They could trust Yahweh to keep His Word even in the lowest point of their history, the Babylonian exile. They were witnesses to the history of prophecy, the history of God proving His claim to be the only God, the only Rock, the only One worthy of trust. They themselves were witnesses (43:10, 12) to His uniqueness, strength, and stability. He is the Rock of Ages (17:10; 26:4; 30:29)!
THE ROCK AND THE NEW AGE
When a California police department told its men to attend a course in NEW AGE thinking, one Christian officer refused. His protest led to a change in the policy.
Do you know enough about New Age teaching to recognize and reject this spiritual counterfeit? It is refined Hindu philosophy. Here are a few of its basic tenets:
. There is no distinction between God and the created world.
. God is nothing more than an impersonal energy force behind everything. It is an interrelated universal consciousness.
. We are all God, and therefore we need no God in heaven.
. There is no absolute truth. All beliefs are valid.
Other clues to watch out for are terms such as "centering exercises," "the force," "holistic education," "stress therapy," and “spirit channeling." Unsuspecting Christians are sometimes duped into thinking that these ideas and practices will help them spiritually.
The Lord answered the question "Is there a God besides Me?" by saying, "Indeed there is no other Rock". We must resist any philosophy that rejects the oneness, uniqueness, and personableness of God.
If you ever get caught between the Rock and the New Age - trust the Rock of your salvation. God is the One who gives new life - and that’s better than the New Age any day. God can take the place of anything, but nothing can take the place of God.
CONCLUSION / INVITATION
Just as God had predicted devastation to a heedless people who trusted in pomp and might instead of God, He was predicting an unheard of return from that devastation for all those who would allow Him to do so. As they neared the brink of God’s great new act in salvation history, would they believe what He promised, and be ready to march with Him across the wilderness?
150 years after Isaiah’s death the people would be able to testify, “Yes, God told us all of it, the good and the bad before it happened. He alone has proven Himself God. God can be depended upon, therefore He is God. Because there is none other who can be so depended upon, the are no other real gods.
