What do you think of when you think of God? How would you describe Him? These verses in Isaiah 48 show us how God has revealed Himself to His people and teaches us to think about God rightly.
(A) Glory unbounded: A word to a hypocritical people (Isa 48:1-2)
In the opening verse of Isaiah 48, we read that God’s people are known as the “house of Jacob” and are “called by the name of Israel”. They therefore hail from the line of Israel and Jacob (Isa 48:1a). They also “come from the waters of Judah”. Notice also the personal nature of this call. Thus, God is calling to mind these truths.
Do not miss out the opening words of this chapter — “Hear this” (Isa 48:1). This is a call and command to them. This is the God who speaks with authority and knowledge. He knows them and their past. These are probably the things going through the hearer’s minds as they listen to Isaiah. He speaks and His words have great power and value.
We also read that they call themselves after the holy city and stay themselves on the God of Israel (Isa 48:2). The people also “swear by the name of the LORD and confess the God of Israel” (Isa 48:1b). In Micah 3:11), we read that the prophets and priests who were supposed to speak on behalf of God or stand before God for the people end up doing these things for personal gain. They are corrupt but as they do these things, they lean on the lord. They live a hypocritical, double life that doesn’t reflect the Lord and how He is dwelling with them.
Hence, Isaiah says that their profession is not in truth or right (Isa 48:1b). They are living a life that is different from what God’s people should do.
What does God say about Himself? He says that He is the LORD of hosts (Isa 48:1c). God is bigger than who they think He is. He is not just the God of Israel, but is in control of the whole universe.
This should also make us pause and think about how we think about God and ourselves. What is your life about? Are you pursuing only your worries and reducing God to all that your problems are or what your life revolves around? God is more than what we make Him out to be. Gathering with God’s people will also cost us something — time, energy, efforts. But being outside of our own world and experiencing God with others, will help us to see that He is bigger than what we make Him out to be! After all, He is the LORD of hosts. It will be worth it, as we seek to invest in eternal things as we follow Christ. This is a life worth living and the costs pale in comparison.
Isaiah shows us that God’s glory is unbounded and limitless. This God speaks to a hypocritical people who are living double lives. Allow God to speak to you today through His word. Are we using our relationship with God as a license to do whatever we want? Are you living with intentional sin? Pray that God will reveal it and convict you.
(B) Glory undisputed: Promises past fulfilled, fresh disclosures now revealed (Isa 48:3-8)
In this next set of verses, we read of what God did and what He says He will do. In Isaiah 48:3, we read that God announced “former things” and did them suddenly. All that God said “came to pass”, indicating that God’s words are true and He is trustworthy. This God also knew that they are a stubborn, stiff-necked and obstinate people (Isa 48:4). In Ezekiel 3:7-9, we see that the people do not want to listen to God’s word and God knows that He is talking to such kind of people. Despite knowing this, He still warns them and tells them about what is to come. See also God’s grace here!
What was God’s purpose in declaring and announcing? He did not want to give them an opportunity to credit an idol and rightly attribute it all to Him (Isa 48:5). He wanted to make it clear without a doubt that He was behind it all.
In Isaiah 48:6, we read of how God announced “new things” and “hidden things that you have not known”. God knows that they would not listen and even if they heard, they would deal treacherously with that knowledge and would use it in ways that were not intended (Isa 48:7). They were rebels from before birth.
But just like the former things mentioned earlier, reveals these new things “now, not long ago” so that no one could claim that they knew these things (Isa 48:7).
Thus, we see that God’s past actions and future actions will both point to His glory. He is undisputed in the glory that is due Him!
What, then, are God’s people to do in response to what God has done and will do? God’s people are told to declare what He has done, as they have heard and now seen all of it unfold (Isa 48:6).
Do we share about what God has done with those around us? Perhaps we are more worried about people’s perceptions of us. But remember who God is as Isaiah 48 has shown us. This is a God whose glory is unbounded. What He says, He will do, because He has done this before. And this is a God who does not share His glory with others. Practically, this means we ought to be ready to share about how God has saved you and how His glory has been revealed in your life. This is how we can give others a glimpse of this glory today.
In John 1:1-12, we read of how God has spoken to us through His Son. Christ was sent to a world that was enslaved by sin and people were living life without reference to God. Christ gave up His sinless life for such a sinful people. Thus, all who turn from their sins, and place their faith in this Christ, are saved and can be called the children of God. This is purely grace and not our right (c.f. Isa 48:1).
How will you respond to what God is saying here? Are you a Christian? If not, perhaps consider the God that is revealed in these verses and respond to Him!
But for those of us that are Christians and have been given the right to be called children of God, how do we respond? How are we responding to the words of Christ? Do you read it? Will you cling to it, even in times when you feel disoriented? What will you use to ground you when things get challenging in life? To those of us that have been given the right to be children, seek Him and know that you will find Him in His word. Do not be like the people of Israel who seek God flippantly and are unwilling to hear or change. Ground yourself on His word.
(C) Glory undivided: Rebels preserved for God’s namesake (ISa 48:9-11)
How does God respond to such a people? God is holding back and deferring His anger so that He may not cut them off (Isa 48:9). Thus, He restrains Himself in order to preserve His people. As a result of of God’s discipline, though there is heat and affliction, they will be refined, though not as silver (Isa 48:10). The phrase but not as silver” may confuse us, and Alec Motyer in his commentary has a helpful explanation:
“ A process that could only have ended in Israel’s death has been curtailed; silver is left in the crucible till the dross has gone (Mal. 3:3) but Israel’s silver is all dross (cf. 1:22). To refine Israel as silver/‘in the manner of silver’, would leave nothing. Therefore, the Lord called a halt, saying ‘I have chosen you in the furnace of affliction’.” `
Thus, we see God’s wisdom, mercy and kindness in this verse. God seeks to refine and purify them, and also knows the best way to do so. And Isaiah 48:11 also tells us that God is acting in this way not because they are great, but He is doing it all for His glory. This is a God that is acting in order to be faithful to His people and for His name.
This means we come before God not on the basis of our own actions. We cannot earn our way back to God or secure our standing based on our performance. God makes it clear that God acts because He is concerned about His own glory.
Some of us may read these verses and wonder why it matters that God gets the glory He is due? it is because of who He is and it is only right that He gets what is due to Him. We know intuitively, the frustration and injustice that we face when what is ours is wrongly attributed to someone else. What more God? This is a God that cannot share His glory with another because in doing so, it contradicts his existence as God and becomes idolatry.
In John 17:5, read Jesus’ own prayer to the Father. Jesus, fully God, was sent by the Father. The glory of God which He shares not with man nor idols, He shares with His Son, who did the will of the Father and obeyed Him fully, even to death on the cross. Behold our God! This calls for us to respond personally! Christ is the very Word of God and we are to respond in obedience to His word. We are to turn back in repentance and faith not just once, but daily.
How will you respond to God?