ISAIAH 48: 17-22
PROMISES FOR THE FAITHFUL
[Jeremiah 50:4-8]
Had Israel responded to God in their past, their present life and circumstances would have been considerably different. Instead of being enslaved and going into exile they would have walked in righteousness and known God’s peace. Yet it wasn’t too late. Israel as a nation would have opportunity to return to the Promised Land, if they would heed God’s Word and return to Him. To this end God’s people are urged to seize the opportunity which would be given them by Cyrus’ decree and leave Babylon, other wise they would know no peace.
Our future depends on our past and present attitude and actions toward God. Yet even if we have thwarted God’s purposes in our past, He is willing to restore us, for God is a God of redemption. He continues to hold out gracious promises to those who turn to Him in a willingness to be obedient to His Word (CIT).
I. WHAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN, 17-19.
II. WHAT COULD BE, 20-21.
III. WHAT A WARNING, 22.
Verse 17 explains why we should listen to God. 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.
The word of God is filled with the most precious promises. Note the character of the speaker who is your LORD. It is not just anyone eliciting your attention and response. It is your Redeemer who will not simply leave you a victim of circumstances or your own bad decisions. He is the One, the only being worthy of the title "the Holy One." The One with whom you have entered into covenant relationship.
This One is a teacher and guide. God in His word and through life teaches us many things. The things God teaches you are profitable, meaning if they are obeyed they bring increase to us, to our life. The profit or return from those who follow His teachings lasts far longer and are more valuable that the silver or gold so many seek.
Why does store owner or his employee stand all day working? For profit. Why does the mechanic bend over the fender of a car? For profit. Why does the farmer spend all day on his tractor in the dust and sun? For profit. God want to teach you what is best for you for your earthly and eternal profit or increase.
Those that profit from God’s teachings will be led in the way they should go. So many today go the way the world goes, or in the way they want to go. Those who profit from God’s teaching go in the way God leads them.
Is your relationship with God dear to you? If you sense some of the greatness of His redeeming love, if you know anything of the power and cleansing of His atoning blood, anything of the sufferings and sorrows of an incarnate God, surely you would open your ears and hear what the Redeemer says, for He speaks to us for our earthly and eternal profit. The only true profit in life comes when we allow God to be the God of our life.
Verse18 relays some of the results of listening to God. "If only you had paid attention to My commandments! Then your well-being would have been like a river, and your righteousness like the waves of the sea.
This is an exclamation of disappointed thwarted love. Since God is who He is in both being and action, one would think that God’s people would listen carefully to His words of instruction and guidance. History bears witness that has far to rarely been the case. The good which God purposed has been missed because of man’s fault, yet God still regards the misguided Israel with sorrow and pity. The kind intention and benefit of His instruction has been sabotaged by the free will of man.
Peace is a state of general well-being. Righteousness refers to the right thinking, speaking, and behaving of those trained by salvation’s blessings. [Peace and righteousness are often linked in Scripture: 9:7; 32:17; 54:13-14; 60:17; Ps. 85:10; Heb. 7:2.] Peace and righteousness are the results of the reign of God.
Abundant and overflowing peace and righteousness are given to those who follow God. The peace or well being referred to indicates abundant personal and national benefits that make life satisfying and meaningful, a fulness of prosperity.
The promised blessing of the Abrahamic covenant were also forfeited as verse19 reveals. "Your descendants would have been like the sand, and your offspring like its grains; Their name would never be cut off or destroyed from My presence."
In an environment of well-being and right behavior, families grow and prosper. In an environment where God’s Word is taught and listened to, children grow and become productive persons. YAHWEH is saying "Had you responded to My Word, to the Word of My prophets, you would not be as you are now. You would live in peace and righteousness and your heirs would have been like the sands of the sea and the stars of the heavens." If they had listen to God it would not only have been better for them it would have been better for their descendants. The same promise is given to us as well.
Like a loving parent, God teaches and directs us. We should listen to Him because peace and righteousness come to us as we obey His Word. Refusing to pay attention to God’s commands invites punishments and threatens that peace and righteousness. Continued rebellion invites God cutting us off from His presence, the greatest blessing life holds for anyone.
II. WHAT COULD BE, 20-21.
After the positive inducement to listen follow God and the warning against rebellion, in verse 20 God again offers deliverance and purpose. Go forth from Babylon! Flee from the Chaldeans! Declare with the sound of joyful shouting, proclaim this, Send it out to the end of the earth; Say, "The Lord has redeemed His servant Jacob."
Despite Israel’s rejection of Yahweh’s promises in the past and her tragic present deteriorating condition, YAHWEH for His name sake (9-11), promises redemption out of bondage through the work of Cyrus. Israel should gratefully and joyously follow God’s promises and leave the confines of Babylon.
Jeremiah also called on Israel to flee Babylon. "Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and deliver every man his soul: be not cut off in her iniquity" (Jer. 51:6). [Also see Jer. 50:4-5, 8].
They were not to simply leave Babylon, they were to be God’s witnesses, till their witness reached the ends of the earth (11:12; 42:10). They were to joyfully shout and proclaim what God had done for them. They were to bear witness that God had redeemed them out of captivity from their oppressors. They were to proclaim that God is active in history and life. Even if your history has place you under the power of your rebellion, God is able and willing to deliver you from your captivity.
Cyrus’ edict (2 Chron. 36:22-23; Ezra 1:1-4) allowed the Jews to return home. Only 42,000 men and their dependents got out of Babylon. The remnant returned to Jerusalem with weeping and great supplication. There, they repaired the altar, instituted the daily sacrifices, and laid the foundation for the temple.
In Revelation 18:2-5 John cries out, "Babylon the great is fallen.... Come out of her, My people, so that you will not participate in her sins, and receive of her plagues."
This Babylon represents a decadent, wicked society, in collusion with a, rebellious apostate church! For us, Babylon represents a life of spiritual indifference, sloth and worldly compromise - a religion empty of God and His holiness (2 Thess 2:3-12; 1 Tim. 4:1-5; 2 Tim. 3:1-7; Eph. 5:2-7; 2 Pet. 12-22l; Jude 18-19)!
God is raising up a growing remnant of holy, set apart Christians whose hearts have been stirred. This sovereign work of God is His preparing those who obey His Word to bring His gospel to the ends of the earth! These believers no longer put up with the worldliness and compromise of today’s church. They heard the Holy Spirit calling them to a life of holiness to God and separation from the world!
They have come out of Babylon, out of the deadness and corruption of apostasy. They no longer bow to the idols of this age. They are a holy people, truly separated - a people hungry to go deeper and be freer in the Lord. They are hunger for the Word and God’s leadership in their daily life. They are becoming interested in joyfully proclaiming the God to His fallen world. Are you one of them?
[Can you imagine the joy of the captives leaving Babylonian captivity years later? They should be shouting for joy, "free at last, free at last!" What is holding you captive? Find freedom! The Lord has redeem us from the power and penalty of sin. You too should be shouting for joy for what the Lord has done for you.]
A word of encouragement in verse 21 now accompanies the marching order command. And they did not thirst when He led them through the deserts. He made the water flow out of the rock for them; He split the rock, and the water gushed forth.
They were to remember the past exile and God providential care of His people. The people of Israel were to leave with all confidence because they will find the same provisions and security which Israel had know in the wilderness of Sinai during the exodus from Egypt. In the wilderness God had supplied their every need (Ex. 17:6; Num. 20:11).
Jesus was the rock that follow them and flowed for Israel in the desert (1 Cor. 10:4; Ps. 78:16, 20, 35; 114:8). He would again flow for them as they returned to the promised land. "The rivers that were going to break forth in the wilderness (43:19-29) would be those that flow out of the human hearts set free from their sin by the Spirit of God (32:15-20; 35:6-8; 44:3; 55:1 58:11; Jn. 7:37-39)." [Oswalt, Isaiah 40-66; 284].
Would Israel quit arguing long enough to believe God’s prophetic word and act on it? God gives them added incentive by way of a warning.
III. WHAT A WARNING, 22.
Verse 22 states that the wicked, those that refuse to follow God’s Word, will not know any of the blessings promised to the redeemed. "There is no peace for the wicked," says the Lord.
The people are urged to seize the opportunity which would be given them by Cyrus’ decree and leave Babylon. If they rebelled and refuse they would know no peace. Likewise if we refuse to heed God’s personal instructions we will not know the relational peace He offers to those who walk with Him.
Those among them that were wicked and refuse to be reformed had no peace. They found no peace with God or with their own consciences and no real good occurred in or through their life, whatever they may pretend.
Many people want hope, comfort, and security but they refuse to take the first step of turning away from sin and seeking to obey God’s Word. They have not repented and turned to God in obedience. You can’t have God’s peace without surrendering to God and becoming rightly related to Him.
God offers those who obey Him wholeness, provision and a fulling life. Do you have such a life? You can. It is God’s promise to those who profit from His teaching and let Him lead their life.
CONCLUSION / RESPONSE
Our worst days are never so bad that we are beyond the reach of God’s grace and our best days never so good that we are beyond the need of God’s grace. God does not continuously leave His rebellious people without the opportunity to participate in the blessings of salvation. The promises of God are not for the rebellious nor the wicked but for those who those who embrace and enjoy His word. So God calls the rebellious out of apostasy and invites them to Himself that they might find profit in His instruction which will lead them on a refreshing journey to the Promised Land. Those sojourning with Him joyfully proclaim that He is the One who redeemed their life from sin, self, and Satan.
