The Lord has lots more to predict for them about things to come. "From now on I will tell you of new things, of hidden things unknown to you." (Isaiah 48:6b) The Lord has been predicting the fall of the nation and also the restoration of the nation. But there are even bigger events to come in time, for the advent of the Messiah has not yet occurred. The Apostle Paul, preaching after the advent of the Messiah and after His death and resurrection and ascension, referred to the gospel message as, "The mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed." (Colossians 1:26) It's not that the Lord hid the fact that the Messiah was coming; we can clearly see from the Scriptures that He was expected, but the people didn't know when or how. They didn't yet understand how God's plan of redemption, through the ultimate and perfect and eternal sacrifice, would unfold.
The book of Isaiah contains a Messianic prophecy that was clearly fulfilled by Jesus' death on the cross and His resurrection. We will be arriving at that chapter soon. But many did not accept that Jesus fulfilled this prophecy. Many will not accept other prophecies made between the book of Isaiah and the books of the gospel account. Many won't take those to heart either. They won't take it to heart that the Lord is the one who told them of these things to come, instead preferring to go their own way and cling to idols. That is not a situation unique to the people of the Bible era, for many in our own era are still refusing to accept the Lord and give their hearts to Him, despite all the evidence for His existence and despite their need for a Redeemer.
When all the Lord's predicted events unfold over the centuries, no idolater can claim to have been told about them by a pagan priest or astrologer or false God. Only the Lord told them these things through His prophets, like the prophet Isaiah. "They are created now, not long ago; you have not heard of them before today. So you cannot say, 'Yes, I knew of them.'" (Isaiah 48:7) They can't point to any writings containing these prophecies except the writings of God's true prophets.
"You have neither heard nor understood; from of old your ears have not been open. Well do I know how treacherous you are; you were called a rebel from birth." (Isaiah 48:8) He calls them "a rebel from birth" because even when He first brought them out of Egypt and started them on their journey to the promised land, they murmured against Him. They even accused Him of bringing them into the wilderness to kill them. While He was giving Moses the Ten Commandments on the mountain, they were making a graven image and bowing to it and engaging in all sorts of unseemly revelry. So "from birth"---their birth as a separate people, their birth as a nation---they have not all been faithful to Him. The same thing could be said of every one of us and of every human being, that we have a rebellious character from birth, that we have a tendency to want to go our own way, that we allow our carnal nature to tempt us to sin. But thanks be to God, everyone who accepts the Lord Jesus Christ is a new creature! (2 Corinthians 5:17) We have redemption through Him, a new birth through Him.
In Old Testament times, before the advent of Christ, redemption was by faith that the Redeemer would come. The people had to observe the proper sacrifices and they had to repent from a sincere heart, but many went through the motions without a sincere heart. Some didn't go through the motions at all, worshiping idols instead. But the Lord has been patient with them in spite of the unfaithfulness. "For My own name's sake I delay My wrath; for the sake of My praise I hold it back from you, so as not to destroy you completely." (Isaiah 48:9) The Lord promised that Israel would always be a nation, that the Redeemer would come from that nation, and that He would reign from David's throne forever. If the Lord destroyed them as a people, He could not keep His word, and the Lord never breaks a promise. In addition, it can never be said that the Lord didn't provide plenty of opportunities to repent. None of them can stand before Him in the judgment and claim they'd never heard of Him, had never had opportunities to understand His character and to place their trust in Him.
He is not going to destroy them as a people but He is going to purify them through trials. After they have been conquered and carried off to a foreign land and after He keeps His word to allow a return to the land, we don't find them bowing to idols anymore. "See, I have refined you, though not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction. For My own sake, for My own sake, I do this. How can I let Myself be defamed? I will not yield My glory to another." (Isaiah 48:10-11)
The Lord says He is doing this for His own sake and the way I'm understanding this is that He is doing it not because man is righteous and worthy of salvation, but because He is righteous and good and loving. He hasn't saved any of us because we were exceptionally good; He has done it because He is good and because He loves us too much not to offer us a means of salvation. Also, if the Lord had destroyed them contrary to His word, all the other nations would have defamed His name. How then could anyone be saved? If He is not a God who keeps His promises, how could anyone trust Him? The Lord must keep His name holy or else no one could find redemption. He always has and always will display His trustworthiness so that all can see that He alone is God.
No comments:
Post a Comment