Today we pick back up in our Isaiah series today in Isaiah 44:6. It's kind of a big passage and a big message so I just want to dive right in. Let's start by reading just the first verse, Isaiah 44:6:
(6) Thus has said Yahweh, King of Israel,
and its Redeemer, Yahweh of Armies:
"I [am] the First/Beginning, [Isaiah 41:4; Rev. 1:8, where this language is used of Jesus]
while I [am] The Last,
while except for me, there are no elohim/gods, [Isaiah 43:11; 45:5, 14, 18, 21; 46:9; *Paul]
In most churches around the country, verse 6 teaches straightforward, and obvious, truths about God. Yahweh is the One King, the One Redeemer, the One who controls the armies of heaven ("Yahweh of Hosts," as it's traditionally translated, doesn't grab quite the same way. The word means "armies," either on earth or in heaven). Yahweh also very clearly says that He is the only elohim. Apart from him, there are no gods.
Now, if you've been with us for a while, this should bother you because you know that other parts of the OT very clearly teach something different. Let me read one passage, and one bonus verse, to you:
Psalm 82 (NRSV updated, some translations hide the Hebrew here, others are okay):
1 God has taken his place in the divine council;
in the midst of the gods he holds judgment:
2 “How long will you judge unjustly
and show partiality to the wicked? Selah
3 Give justice to the weak and the orphan;
maintain the right of the lowly and the destitute.
4 Rescue the weak and the needy;
deliver them from the hand of the wicked.”
5 They have neither knowledge nor understanding;
they walk around in darkness;
all the foundations of the earth are shaken.
6 I say, “You are gods,
children of the Most High, all of you;
7 nevertheless, you shall die like mortals
and fall like any prince.”[a]
8 Rise up, O God, judge the earth,
for all the nations belong to you!
In this psalm, we see God's divine council. Yahweh is God Most High. He reigns supreme; He has ultimate authority. In this council, we also see divine, spiritual beings who are called "elohim," "gods," who have been acting wrongly. They've been failing to do the job Yahweh gave them. The psalmist calls them out on that, and tells that they will die like mortal humans because of that.
Now let's read a verse from our Exodus study, Exodus 12:12:
And I will pass through the land of Egypt on this night,
and I will strike every firstborn in the land of Egypt-- from human, and up to domestic animal--,
while against/among all the gods of Egypt I will do punishments/judgments.
In all the plagues that Yahweh brought on Egypt, He wasn't just battling with Pharaoh. He was battling with the gods of Egypt. The elohim. And we can see that most clearly with the magicians. Moses turns a staff into a snake, and so Pharaoh's magicians. I don't think this was a trick. They were tapping into the power available to them, through the gods of Egypt. The gods were working with the magicians to harden Pharaoh's heart/resolve, and to fight God's plan for his people. And so what we see in Exodus, is that the gods of Egypt were like the gods of Psalm 82, fighting against God, resisting his purposes, not doing things the right way. And so God's acts of judgment weren't just against humans. The Hebrew in Exodus 12:12 is open to being understood a couple ways, but probably God was doing acts of judgment not only on earth against Pharaoh, but also against the gods of Egypt in heaven. [The alternative is to understand the preposition "b" as meaning "among the gods of Egypt," in which case God is announcing that He will bring whatever judgment He desires on Egypt as the gods look on helplessly. They will be bystanders.]
These two passages, Psalm 82 and Exodus 12:12, could easily be multiplied, but I feel like I've made my point, at least as a refresher for those of you who've been here a while. In most of the OT, there are many spiritual beings called "elohim," or "gods." These elohim are created beings. They are under the authority and judgment of Yahweh, God Most High. They aren't his equal, in any way. They are God's divine heavenly family, and some of them are good children, and others are bad (and for those who are interested, Michael Heiser's book The Unseen Realm is essential reading; all of this is ultimately drawn from there).
So the question then becomes, what do we make of Isaiah 44:6? Verses that aren't a problem for most people, are a huge problem for us. In verse 6, Yahweh very clearly says that there are no elohim apart from him.
There are two ways that this can be explained. The first, and to be transparent with you, this is really popular among OT scholars, is to say that passages like Isaiah 44:6 represent a later, more developed theology. An evolved theology, is what I'm trying to say. In older times, Israelites understood that there were many gods, but that Yahweh was their God. But later on, they began to believe that there was only actually one God at all. [It could also be explained in terms of progressive revelation, more neutrally, but that here would have its own set of problems]
I'm not a huge fan of this argument at all, but it's good to know that this viewpoint is out there. And those of who you read commentaries for fun will find yourself exposed to this eventually, so if you hear it here first, maybe it won't be quite the shock, and it won't shake your faith.
The second way to explain it is that what "God," or "elohim," means in Isaiah 44, is not quite the same thing it means elsewhere in the OT. In most of the OT, "elohim" refers to any spiritual, divine, being. The sons of God in Psalm 82 are "elohim." Samuel, when the necromancer raises him from the dead, is called an "elohim." And Yahweh is an "elohim." The most common way Yahweh is described in the OT, is that He is "our elohim." When we say "The LORD is our God," we are saying "Yahweh is our Elohim."
But in this part of Isaiah, I think, to be God, to be Elohim, means to be the one who rules the world, and who determines the broad path of human history. To be God, means to be God Most High. And that's the point verse 7 now goes on to make.
Let's reread verse 6, and add verse 7:
(6) Thus has said Yahweh, King of Israel,
and its Redeemer, Yahweh of Armies:
"I [am] the First/Beginning, [Isaiah 41:4; Rev. 1:8, where this language is used of Jesus]
while I [am] The Last,
while except for me, there are no elohim/gods, [Isaiah 43:11; 45:5, 14, 18, 21; 46:9; *Paul]
(7) while who is like me?
Let him call out,
and let him declare it,
and let him set forth his argument [for this meaning of the verb, see Psalm 50:21; Job 13:18; 23:4; *Shalom Paul],
from [the time of] my placing of a long-lasting people,
while the coming things, and what will come, let them tell them/us.
Who is like Yahweh, the one who was there at the beginning, the one who will be seated on the throne at the end, the one who centuries ago gave birth to his people Israel, the one who determines what happens next?
There is no god like this, except Yahweh. [If we were to add later verses in Isaiah 46:1, it's Yahweh, not Bel or Nebo, who can do this]. Yahweh is God Most High (El Elyon).
This brings us to verse 8, which offers us an unexpected application:
(8) May you not tremble,
and may you not be afraid.
Have I not already/earlier caused you to hear,
and I have declared to you,
and you are my witnesses?
Is there a god/elohim except me?,
while/and there is no rock;
I don't know [one].
How did we move from this complicated, abstract theological discussion, to an encouragement to not fear?
God's people, stuck in Babylonian exile, are afraid. They can probably give you the Sunday school answers about Yahweh being God Most High, but in real life, things look a lot more complicated than that. From their perspective, the gods of Babylon look incredibly powerful (Isaiah 46:1). They look like they've defeated Yahweh. And at any rate, Yahweh hasn't done much to help them, for a very long time. They've been stuck in exile for decades. Sometimes, I'm sure they cried out to Yahweh. Other times, they cried out to other gods. But no matter who they cry out to, nothing changes.
If we're honest with ourselves, we should be able to sympathize with this. We pray, right? We call out to God, asking him to be our king, and redeemer, and to rescue us from our problems. We call out, and then what?
Then we usually have this uncomfortable period of time, where we have to decide if God listened or not. Did He hear my prayer? Is my help on its way?
Or is He ignoring me, hiding his face from me, staying far from me?
Often times we pray, and then we wrestle with where we stand with God. Will God come through for us, or not?
Can we trust, or should we be afraid?
And if we're afraid, what happens next?
There's three main options open at that point. The first, is to keep crying out to God. You persist in prayer, until you feel like you've broken through, and God has heard. The second, is to find a psalm or something that helps you live in a place of confident expectation (A psalm of confidence, like Psalm 23). The third, in OT thought, is to turn to a different god. And that's what God's people in exile have done. "If Yahweh won't answer, we will find a god who will."
So that's what Yahweh is responding to. He's saying, "Don't be afraid. I told you that my help is on its way. I told you ahead of time that this help is coming through Mystery Dude from the east. You don't need to read the newspapers and be scared about the weakness of Babylon, and how the world seems like it's falling apart. I'm the reason Babylon is weak. I'm the real the world is turning upside down. Don't be scared."
And it's at this point, that God turns the focus to the elephant in the room-- to Israel's idolatry. His people seemingly prefer idols, and other gods, to himself. And so he encourages them to take a hard, honest, look at that. Let's start by reading verses 9-13:
(9) The formers of images-- all of them are emptiness/worthless,
while all their cherished things don't profit,
while their own witnesses, they are. [cf. Isaiah 44:8; 43:9; *Shalom Paul]
They don't see, [Leviticus 5:1; *Shalom Paul]
and they don't know/acknowledge,
with the result that they will be ashamed.
(10) Who has formed a god ["el"],
while an image has cast/poured out?,
which has no value (1 Samuel 12:21)?
(11) LOOK! All his associates will be ashamed,
while the craftsmen-- they [are] of [the category of] human.
May they all assemble!
May they all stand up!
May they all tremble!
May they all be ashamed together!
(12) A craftsman of iron-- [with] a tool--
and he worked with the hot coals [Isaiah 54:16],
while with the hammers he forms it,
and he makes it with the arm of his strength.
What's more, he became hungry,
and there is no strength.
He hasn't drunk water,
and he has become faint. [Isaiah 40:28-29; Isaiah 29:8; *Shalom Paul]
(13) A craftsman of wood has stretched out a line;
he outlines it with the marker/stylus,
and he makes it with the carving tool,
while with the compass he marks out a form,
and he makes it in the pattern of a man -- like the splendor/glory of a human [Psalm 8] -- to dwell in a temple/house.
Idol making is hard work. You're dealing with metals, which are heavy. You've got hot coals. And even though metal workers and welders as a rule are ripped, muscular human beings-- even they get tired and thirsty. Even they, by the end of a shift, are ready for a cool drink and some shade.
In these verses, God points out two things about idol-making that should bother his people. The first, is that the idol, or the god that idol represents, don't lend their strength to the maker. They don't empower the welder to keep going, and finish the job all at once. Idols don't give strength to people. Idols tire people out.
The second point God makes is that the whole idea of idolatry is really weird. How can a human make a god? We humans work with physical, tangible things. We use tools, and raw materials. How can any of that turn into a god? The best we can do, at the end of the day, is make something that looks like us. All we can do, is make an idol in our image. Can that idol rescue us?
Starting in verse 14, Yahweh goes back even earlier in the idol-making process, and focuses on the part of an idol that's made from wood. These verses are pretty straightforward, so I'll just read through verse 20:
(14) Cutting down for him cedars,
and he took a [currently unknown species of] tree, or an oak,
and he let it grow strong among the trees of the forest.
He planted a [currently unknown species of] tree,
and the rain lets it grow,
(15) and then, for a human for burning,
and he took from them,
and he warmed himself.
What's more, he kindles a fire,
that he may bake bread.
What's more, he makes a god [el],
and he bowed down [to it] [in worship usually].
He has made an image,
and he prostrates to it.
(16) Half he burned in the fire.
Upon half of it, meat, he eats.
He roasts a roast,
that he may be full.
What's more, he warms himself,
and he says,
"Ah! I have become warm!
I see the fire!",
(17) while its remnant, to a god [el] he has made as his image.
He prostrates toward it,
and/that he bows down [in worship usually],
and/that he prays to it,
and he says,
"Rescue me!
because my god [el], you [are]!" [Jer. 2:27; Psalm 31:3, 16; 39:9]
(18) They don't know/acknowledge,
and they don't understand.
Surely, they have been smeared over from seeing-- their eyes--,
from having insight-- their heart/mind, [Isaiah 6:9-10]
(19) and he doesn't cause to bring back to his heart/mind,
and there isn't knowledge,
and there isn't understanding, saying,
"Half of it I have burned in the fire,
while, what's more, I have baked upon its coals, bread.
I roast meat,
that I may eat,
while the rest of it, into a abomination I will make.
To a block of wood I will prostrate.
(20) [He is] one feeding on ashes.
A deceived heart has bent him,
and he/it can't rescue his life/self/soul,
and he doesn't say,
"Is this not a deception in my right hand?"
Are we all tracking? God says, "You cut down a tree, and half of it, 50%, you use to cook. Half of it, 50%, you use as fuel for a fire. And the scraps that are left, that you don't have use for, you turn into an idol.
Does this make any sense? Is there any logic to this, at all? How can a scrap rescue you? How can you not stop, and look at that idol in your right hand, and realize you're holding a deception? Idols, are a trap.
In verses 21-22, God offers us an application (making my job easy):
(21) Call to mind these things, Jacob and Israel,
because my servant, you [are]. ["my servant" is focused]
I have formed you.
A servant belonging to me, you [are]. ["a servant...to me" is focused]
O Israel, you will not be forgotten by me.
(22) I have blotted out like the cloud your rebellions,
and like the mist, your sins.
Return to me,
because I have redeemed you.
There are a lot of things in life that can make us uncertain of where we stand with God. Does God truly view us as his servants? Do we really belong to God? Will God forget us? Will God forgive us? Will God take us back, when we've rebelled?
Those uncertainties are some of the leading causes of idolatry. Just like smoking leads to cancer, so uncertainty leads to idolatry.
And so God responds to his people's every fear, and worry, with encouragement. There's no need to be afraid. God has forgiven you. You belong to him. His help is coming. Don't be uncertain.
Now, what does He want from you?
God is doing all of this for a people who are still actively rebelling, and still actively bowing down to idols. They are holding a deception in their right hand. They're doing this, probably, out of fear. But it's time to set fear, and idols, aside, and return to God. [Isaiah 44:22 is a hugely important verse, and should be underlined].
God promises his people, that He will come through for you, in ways that an idol can't.
Our passage then ends with this little song of praise (taking the "thus says Yahweh" in verse 24 as marking the beginning of a new section). Verse 23:
(23) Sing for joy, O heavens,
because He has done [it]-- Yahweh.
Make a loud noise, O depths of the earth.
Break forth, O mountains.
Rejoicing/singing, O forest and every tree in it,
because Yahweh has redeemed [44:6] Jacob, [43:3; 43:4]
while through Israel He will glorify himself.
The prophet closes by encouraging all of creation to join in praise of Yahweh. Yahweh has redeemed his people, and He will use his people to bring glory to himself.
Let just offer you this to wrap things up this morning:
There are times in life when you won't know for sure where you stand with God, and of whether or not God will help you. There are times when you'll cry out to God, and be really uncertain about what happens next. [If it wasn't so long, I'd add that we don't always have the boldness/confidence that comes from abiding close with Jesus, and following his commandments, above all to love one another. John 15:7; 1 John 3:18-22. And sometimes, the situation is so big and scary that those promises don't seem adequate.]
When you find yourself in that situation, remember that Yahweh is God Most High. Have confidence that God hasn't forgotten you, that you belong to Him, that He will forgive you. And if you've wandered, and rebelled, leave your idols, and return to your God. Yahweh is a good God, who gives good gifts, and He is a far better choice than any idol.
Translation:
(6) Thus has said Yahweh, King of Israel,
and its Redeemer, Yahweh of Armies:
"I [am] the First/Beginning, [Isaiah 41:4; Rev. 1:8, where this language is used of Jesus]
while I [am] The Last,
while except for me, there are no elohim/gods, [Isaiah 43:11; 45:5, 14, 18, 21; 46:9; *Paul]
(7) while who is like me?
Let him call out,
and let him declare it,
and let him set forth his case [for this meaning of the verb, see Psalm 50:21; Job 13:18; 23:4; *Shalom Paul],
from [the time of] my placing of a long-lasting people,
while the coming things, and what will come, let them tell them/us.
(8) May you not tremble,
and may you not be afraid.
Have I not already/earlier caused you to hear,
and I have declared to you,
and you are my witnesses?
Is there a god/elohim except me?,
while/and there is no rock;
I don't know [one].
(9) The formers of images-- all of them are emptiness/worthless,
while all their cherished things don't profit,
while their own witnesses, they are. [cf. Isaiah 44:8; 43:9; *Shalom Paul]
They don't see, [Leviticus 5:1; *Shalom Paul]
and they don't know/acknowledge,
with the result that they will be ashamed.
(10) Who has formed a god ["el"],
while an image has cast/poured out?,
which has no value (1 Samuel 12:21)?
(11) LOOK! All his associates will be ashamed,
while the craftsmen-- they [are] of [the category of] human.
May they all assemble!
May they all stand up!
May they all tremble!
May they all be ashamed together!
(12) A craftsman of iron-- [with] a tool--
and he worked with the hot coals [Isaiah 54:16],
while with the hammers he forms it,
and he makes it with the arm of his strength.
What's more, he became hungry,
and there is no strength.
He hasn't drunk water,
and he has become faint. [Isaiah 40:28-29; Isaiah 29:8; *Shalom Paul]
(13) A craftsman of wood has stretched out a line;
he outlines it with the marker/stylus,
and he makes it with the carving tool,
while with the compass he marks out a form,
and he makes it in the pattern of a man -- like the splendor/glory of a human -- to dwell in a temple/house.
(14) Cutting down for him cedars,
and he took a [currently unknown species of] tree, or an oak,
and he let it grow strong among the trees of the forest.
He planted a [currently unknown species of] tree,
and the rain lets it grow,
(15) and then, for a human for burning,
and he took from them,
and he warmed himself.
What's more, he kindles a fire,
that he may bake bread.
What's more, he makes a god [el],
and he bowed down [to it] [in worship usually].
He has made an image,
and he prostrates to it.
(16) Half he burned in the fire.
Upon half of it, meat, he eats.
He roasts a roast,
that he may be full.
What's more, he warms himself,
and he says,
"Ah! I have become warm!
I see the fire!",
(17) while its remnant, to a god [el] he has made as his image.
He prostrates toward it,
and/that he bows down [in worship usually],
and/that he prays to it,
and he says,
"Rescue me!
because my god [el], you [are]!" [Jer. 2:27; Psalm 31:3, 16; 39:9]
(18) They don't know/acknowledge,
and they don't understand.
Surely, they have been smeared over from seeing-- their eyes--,
from having insight-- their heart/mind, [Isaiah 6:9-10]
(19) and he doesn't cause to bring back to his heart/mind,
and there isn't knowledge,
and there isn't understanding, saying,
"Half of it I have burned in the fire,
while, what's more, I have baked upon its coals, bread.
I roast meat,
that I may eat,
while the rest of it, into a abomination I will make.
To a block of wood I will prostrate.
(20) [He is] one feeding on ashes.
A deceived heart has bent him,
and he/it can't rescue his life/self/soul,
and he doesn't say,
"Is this not a deception in my right hand?"
(21) Call to mind these things, Jacob and Israel,
because my servant, you [are].
I have formed you.
A servant belonging to me, you [are].
O Israel, you will not be forgotten by me.
(22) I have blotted out like the cloud your rebellions,
and like the mist, your sins.
Return to me,
because I have redeemed you.
(23) Sing for joy, O heavens,
because He has done [it]-- Yahweh.
Make a loud noise, O depths of the earth.
Break forth, O mountains.
Rejoicing/singing, O forest and every tree in it,
because Yahweh has redeemed Jacob,
while through Israel He will glorify himself.
