Isaiah 44:6–45:25 – The Only God
Isaiah 46 – The Lord’s Superiority Over Babylon’s Gods
Isaiah 47 – The Fall Of Babylon
Isaiah 48 – The Lord’s Exhortations To His People
Thoughts about serving others
This link includes a list of posts about Serving the Least, the Lost, and the Lonely.
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Let the Word evoke words. May your life encourage lives.
As I read Isaiah 44 the thought occurred to me, perhaps a stumbling block for those who don’t know God, who might be seeking, but can’t believe because of this question: why would God see our sin and choose to forgive? “I have swept away your offenses like a cloud, your sins like the morning mist. Return to me for I have redeemed you” (Isaiah 44:22). The preceding verses detail how someone makes an idol for himself out of wood. He used wood used to light a fire, bake bread and then had this great idea, I’ll make an idol out of the rest. How does that sound like a good idea? Obviously, it’s not a good idea and Isaiah paints the word picture well, but what about the person who is worshipping idols of his own making, whatever that means in today’s culture, and gets it, he decides this is a dumb idea. He becomes a seeker and he reads that there is a God who saves, who sweeps away offenses. It’s too much to believe. If we really see our foolishness exposed, we would truly understand the gap between us and God. Lord help me to understand how unworthy I am to even utter these words while at the same time accepting your grace and forgiveness. On my own, I’m no better than the fool who carves an idol from half the log he burned in the fire. By myself, I’d probably do the same thing. Help me to accept your grace and then one thing more, help me to share this amazing grace with others, through whatever means possible, let me share the good news, shine the light, reveal your glory.
These words speak volumes and are timeless. As Isaiah details how God uses kings and rulers to his benefit in the days of Ezra and Nehemiah, he rules today and calls out to all who would listen. Maybe it’s the reference to gray hairs that gets my attention, but I hear God’s voice in these words: I’m here for you! That is an overwhelming thought. The God of the universe would say such things?
Today’s reading is bookended by the phrase, “I am he, I am the first and I am the last” (44:6 & 48:12), this is God Almighty, the one and only. Each person we meet is an eternal being. Lord help me to treat them with kindness, but let me teach them this truth: You alone are God.