{"id":25653,"date":"2023-03-22T22:00:54","date_gmt":"2023-03-23T05:00:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/isaiah-40_15-31-copy\/"},"modified":"2023-03-14T17:12:36","modified_gmt":"2023-03-15T00:12:36","slug":"isaiah-41_1-20","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/isaiah-41_1-20\/","title":{"rendered":"The One Who Holds Your Hand"},"content":{"rendered":"

Isaiah 41:1-20\u00a0 \u00a0Click here for Bible Verses<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Hi GAMErs!<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is Isaiah 41:1-20.\u00a0 Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

Isaiah 41:1-4 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n1\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“Be silent before me, you islands! Let the nations renew their strength! Let them come forward and speak; let us meet together at the place of judgment.
\n2\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“Who has stirred up one from the east, calling him in righteousness to his service? He hands nations over to him and subdues kings before him. He turns them to dust with his sword, to windblown chaff with his bow.
\n3\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0He pursues them and moves on unscathed, by a path his feet have not traveled before.
\n4\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Who has done this and carried it through, calling forth the generations from the beginning? I, the\u00a0LORD–with the first of them and with the last–I am he.”<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 1-4:\u00a0 Many scholars believe that this \u201cone from the east\u201d is a reference to Cyrus, King of Persia, whose kingdom would be located east of Judah and east of Babylon.\u00a0 Cyrus would rise up to become the most formidable force in the ancient Near East conquering many other nations.\u00a0 In 539 B.C. would conquer Babylon and allow the Jewish exiles in Babylon to return to their homeland of Judah.<\/p>\n

Isaiah 41:5-16 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n5\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0The islands have seen it and fear; the ends of the earth tremble. They approach and come forward;
\n6\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0each helps the other and says to his brother, “Be strong!”
\n7\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0The craftsman encourages the goldsmith, and he who smooths with the hammer spurs on him who strikes the anvil. He says of the welding, “It is good.” He nails down the idol so it will not topple.
\n8\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“But you, O Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, you descendants of Abraham my friend,
\n9\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0I took you from the ends of the earth, from its farthest corners I called you. I said, ‘You are my servant’; I have chosen you and have not rejected you.
\n10\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
\n11\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“All who rage against you will surely be ashamed and disgraced; those who oppose you will be as nothing and perish.
\n12\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Though you search for your enemies, you will not find them. Those who wage war against you will be as nothing at all.
\n13\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0For I am the\u00a0LORD, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.
\n14\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Do not be afraid, O worm Jacob, O little Israel, for I myself will help you,” declares the\u00a0LORD, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.
\n15\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“See, I will make you into a threshing sledge, new and sharp, with many teeth. You will thresh the mountains and crush them, and reduce the hills to chaff.
\n16\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0You will winnow them, the wind will pick them up, and a gale will blow them away. But you will rejoice in the\u00a0LORD\u00a0and glory in the Holy One of Israel.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 5-16:\u00a0 Whereas other nations would place their trust in idols to help them against the threat of Cyrus and Persia one day (v5-7), the LORD affirms His commitment to His people.\u00a0 He reminds them that He has chosen them (v8-9).\u00a0 He tells them not to fear because He is with them (v10).\u00a0 He reassures them that those who oppose them will not prevail (v11-12).\u00a0 For the LORD personally takes hold of their right hand and will help them so that they have no reason to fear (v13-14).\u00a0 God will take His people and transform them into something \u201cnew and sharp\u201d (v15) like a threshing sledge, such that no mountain they face will be too difficult for them (v15-16).<\/p>\n

Likewise, as those who have trusted in Jesus Christ, we can claim the timeless truths from these verses for ourselves.\u00a0\u00a0From the beginning God chose us, assures us of His presence, tells us not to fear, holds us by our right hand and transforms us into something new and sharp<\/strong>\u00a0such that we need not fear our enemy Satan and no mountain need get the best of us.\u00a0\u00a0Since they apply to every follower of Jesus as well, I encourage you to memorize verses 10-13.<\/strong>\u00a0 You won\u2019t regret it.<\/p>\n

Isaiah 41:17-20 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n17\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“The poor and needy search for water, but there is none; their tongues are parched with thirst. But I the\u00a0LORD\u00a0will answer them; I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.
\n18\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0I will make rivers flow on barren heights, and springs within the valleys. I will turn the desert into pools of water, and the parched ground into springs.
\n19\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0I will put in the desert the cedar and the acacia, the myrtle and the olive. I will set pines in the wasteland, the fir and the cypress together,
\n20\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0so that people may see and know, may consider and understand, that the hand of the\u00a0LORD\u00a0has done this, that the Holy One of Israel has created it.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 17-20:\u00a0 One of the big themes that pervades Isaiah is the idea that God makes streams in the desert and makes water available in parched places.\u00a0 Just as God did that for the Israelites in Moses\u2019 day as they walked in the wilderness (Exodus 17), God promises to do something similar for the Jewish exiles in Babylon.\u00a0 Indeed God would do that when He would allow Babylon, a once unbeatable kingdom, to be defeated and allow the Jewish exiles to return to their homeland unexpectedly.<\/p>\n

Making a way when there seems to be no way \u2013 that is God\u2019s specialty, and He does it so that people would realize that the LORD is God.<\/strong>
\n
LORD God, thank You that You are with me, that You take hold of my right hand and say, \u201cDo not fear; I will fear.\u00a0 I will help you\u201d.\u00a0 Thank You that because I have You I don\u2019t need to be afraid.\u00a0 Thank You that You are the God who makes a way when there seems to be no way.\u00a0 In Jesus\u2019 name, AMEN!<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hi GAMErs!<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is Isaiah 41:1-20.\u00a0 Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

Isaiah 41:1-4 (NIV)
\n1\u00a0\u00a0“Be silent before me, you islands! Let the nations renew their strength! Let them come forward and speak; let us meet together at the place of judgment.
\n2\u00a0\u00a0“Who has stirred up one from the east, calling him in righteousness to his service? He hands nations over to him and subdues kings before him. He turns them to dust with his sword, to windblown chaff with his bow.
\n3\u00a0\u00a0He pursues them and moves on unscathed, by a path his feet have not traveled before.
\n4\u00a0\u00a0Who has done this and carried it through, calling forth the generations from the beginning? I, the\u00a0LORD–with the first of them and with the last–I am he.”<\/p>\n

On verses 1-4:\u00a0 Many scholars believe that this \u201cone from the east\u201d is a reference to Cyrus, King of Persia, whose kingdom would be located east of Judah and east of Babylon.\u00a0 Cyrus would rise up to become the most formidable force in the ancient Near East conquering many other nations.\u00a0 In 539 B.C. would conquer Babylon and allow the Jewish exiles in Babylon to return to their homeland of Judah.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":25655,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25653","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gametime-sharing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25653","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25653"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25653\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25656,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25653\/revisions\/25656"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25655"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25653"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25653"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25653"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}