God is righteous! He is perfectly holy. No sin could ever come near Him. Because He is so holy, He must judge our sin.
Isaiah 42 gives us a wonderful picture of God’s righteousness and our response. God in His holiness punished His people for their many transgressions. He gave them a righteous law, but they sinned and rebelled against it. Therefore, for His righteousness’ sake, He had to punish their iniquity. He gave them into the hand of their enemies.
However, in God’s righteousness, He did not punish His people forever, but instead kept His holy covenant. So He made a two-fold plan. Part one included delivering His people from Babylon. Part two of the plan is for all people of all times–it is God’s righteous plan to conquer sin fully and eternally save the faithful ones whom He predestined. This stage of God’s plan is referred to in verses 1-8. It was accomplished through Jesus Christ! Now God imparts His righteousness to us through the blood of His Son.
What is our response? Verses 10-12 tell us that we should sing to the Lord, thanking and praising Him for His great righteousness and for making a way for our salvation!
Isaiah 41 is a chapter about God’s care for His people and His uniqueness. God is showing the Babylonian exiles that He has all power to save them from captivity, and that they should not fear because He is SO much greater than the idols and leaders of Babylon.
The latter part of this chapter is, basically, a one-sided dialogue between God and idols as He proves His power to His people. Why would they want to worship something that is just a useless block of wood, in contrast to the living and powerful GOD?
God urges the idols to predict the future. They, of course, cannot. Then, He asks them to do something–anything–so that the Israelites can see that they are truly to be revered. But the idols remain perfectly silent. They cannot even move—they are useless blocks of wood! They are certainly not worthy of even a second glance, let alone worship! They cannot deliver anyone!
God is God, and He alone is God. There is no one else who can measure the heavens with His hand and weigh the mountains! There is no one and nothing else that can save us or hear our prayers.
Let us be reminded that an idol is not just an image made of wood or stone. Properly defined, an idol is anything that is more important to us than God. God is preeminent, and He cannot take second place. If we allow anything in our lives to take His place, if we love anything better than Him, that becomes an idol. God will not stand for idolatry. He is the one and only God.
Let us examine our hearts and ensure that God is enthroned in our hearts and lives!
Isaiah 42:8 (NKJV) I am the Lord, that is My name; And My glory I will not give to another, Nor My praise to carved images.
Isaiah 40, addressed to the Israelites returning from Babylonian captivity, is one of the most beautiful chapters in the Bible, one that helps us gain so much knowledge about our God. We have the tendency to diminish God’s greatness in our minds, but that is because He is so powerful that our minds cannot even come close to comprehending it!
God holds the oceans in the palm of His hand. He measures the whole heavens with a span, which is the distance between His thumb and little finger! Have you ever gotten weary of dusting your house? God measures all the dust of the earth in a peck! He even weighs the mighty mountains and hills in scales.
No one has taught our great God. He always has been, and He always will be. He knows the stars and counts them all by name.
And yet with this incomprehensible might, God is our God and He tenderly leads and guides us like a loving shepherd. As the psalmist says in Psalm 8, what is man that He is mindful of us? Yet He not only sees us; He also loves and cares for each one.
Our God is so great–our problems are nothing compared to Him. He never grows tired or weak, and He stands ready to impart His everlasting strength on those who wait on Him.
A few years ago, I did an exercise that helped me realize how amazing our God is. This exercise is based on 1 Corinthians 13:12 says, “For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.” I wrote out all the attributes and names of God I could think of. Then, I drew a circle around them and shaded it to give the impression of a dim mirror. It brought me to tears to realize that everything we know about God is just a dim reflection of what He truly is like. To think that we will spend all of eternity learning more and more about Him!
What could our response possibly be? After studying this chapter, we should long to be recipients of His incomprehensible love and grace rather than His powerful judgment. The only way to do this is by believing in His Son Jesus Christ.
This chapter also should propel us to worship and adore our God! He is worthy of all our praise! Let us sing a new song of worship and exalt Him! Let us bow before Him in reverence and awe.
Knowing that our God is so amazing, let us also have faith that He is all-powerful and can do all things. Our fears can melt away in light of our great Creator. As Asa said in 2 Chronicles 14:11, “…’Lord, it is nothing for You to help, whether with many or with those who have no power; help us, O Lord our God, for we rest on You, and in Your name we go against this multitude. O Lord, You are our God; do not let man prevail against You!'”
Alleluia to our omnipotent God! May we worship and serve Him with everything in us!
