{"id":25657,"date":"2023-03-23T22:00:53","date_gmt":"2023-03-24T05:00:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/isaiah-41_1-20-copy\/"},"modified":"2023-03-14T17:17:56","modified_gmt":"2023-03-15T00:17:56","slug":"isaiah-41_21-42_9","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/isaiah-41_21-42_9\/","title":{"rendered":"Only God Knows the Future"},"content":{"rendered":"

Isaiah 41:21-42:9 \u00a0 Click here for Bible Verses<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Hi GAMErs!<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is Isaiah 41:21-42:9.\u00a0 Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

Isaiah 41:21-29 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n21\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“Present your case,” says the\u00a0LORD. “Set forth your arguments,” says Jacob’s King.
\n22\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“Bring in [your idols] to tell us what is going to happen. Tell us what the former things were, so that we may consider them and know their final outcome. Or declare to us the things to come,
\n23\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0tell us what the future holds, so we may know that you are gods. Do something, whether good or bad, so that we will be dismayed and filled with fear.
\n24\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0But you are less than nothing and your works are utterly worthless; he who chooses you is detestable.
\n25\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“I have stirred up one from the north, and he comes– one from the rising sun who calls on my name. He treads on rulers as if they were mortar, as if he were a potter treading the clay.
\n26\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Who told of this from the beginning, so we could know, or beforehand, so we could say, ‘He was right’? No one told of this, no one foretold it, no one heard any words from you.
\n27\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0I was the first to tell Zion, ‘Look, here they are!’ I gave to Jerusalem a messenger of good tidings.
\n28\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0I look but there is no one– no one among them to give counsel, no one to give answer when I ask them.
\n29\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0See, they are all false! Their deeds amount to nothing; their images are but wind and confusion.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 21-29:\u00a0 Here Isaiah shares another way that the idols of the nations cannot compare to the LORD: the idols of the nations are useless in helping their worshipers discern the future (v21-23).\u00a0 Thus these idols are \u201cdetestable\u201d (v24), false (v29), and reduce those who worship them to \u201cless than nothing\u201d (v24), leaving their worshippers with \u201cno one among them to give counsel\u201d (v28).<\/p>\n

In contrast, Isaiah speaks of how the LORD has enabled him to know what is coming in the future (v25-27) and to be to Jerusalem \u201ca messenger of good tidings\u201d (v27).\u00a0 Specifically, Isaiah speaks of \u201cone from the north\u201d (v25) that God has stirred up.\u00a0 Many scholars believe that this again is a reference to Cyrus King of Persia, who would indeed conquer many nations in the ancient Near East.\u00a0 Cyrus is both \u201cthe one from the east\u201d (see 41:2) as well as \u201cthe one from the north\u201d (v25), in part because his large kingdom would be both to the east and to the north of Babylon and Israel.\u00a0 (But can Cyrus be fairly called \u201cthe one from the rising sun who calls on my name\u201d (v25), even while he will later be called one who \u201cdoes not acknowledge me\u201d (45:4)?\u00a0 We\u2019ll look at this question together when we study Isaiah 45 in a future GAME sharing.)<\/p>\n

What can we learn from this?\u00a0\u00a0It is God who knows the future.\u00a0 You are much better off seeking God than you are seeking idols.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Isaiah 42:1-7 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n1\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him and he will bring justice to the nations.
\n2\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0He will not shout or cry out, or raise his voice in the streets.
\n3\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out. In faithfulness he will bring forth justice;
\n4\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0he will not falter or be discouraged till he establishes justice on earth. In his law the islands will put their hope.”
\n5\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0This is what God the\u00a0LORD\u00a0says– he who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and all that comes out of it, who gives breath to its people, and life to those who walk on it:
\n6\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“I, the\u00a0LORD, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles,
\n7\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 1-7:\u00a0 In these verses the servant God speaks of is the Messiah.\u00a0 He is the One God delights in and puts His Spirit in (v1). He will bring justice to the nations (v1) through gentleness (v2) and faithfulness (v3).\u00a0 The nations (\u201cislands\u201d) will put their hope in Him (v4).\u00a0 In addition to bringing the nations justice (v1), this servant is called by God in righteousness (v6) \u2013 once again we see Isaiah\u2019s favourite pair of words for the Messiah: justice and righteousness.\u00a0 This Messiah will be a covenant for the people (v6) and a light for the Gentiles (v6).\u00a0 He will give sight to the blind, set captives free and bring light to the darkness (v7), much like Isaiah 61 will later describe.<\/p>\n

What can we learn from this?\u00a0\u00a0Isaiah sees a picture of the Messiah and what the Messiah would do seven centuries before Jesus would walk this earth.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Isaiah 42:8-9 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n8\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“I am the\u00a0LORD; that is my name! I will not give my glory to another or my praise to idols.
\n9\u00a0\u00a0<\/sup>See, the former things have taken place, and new things I declare; before they spring into being I announce them to you.”<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 8-9:\u00a0 What can we learn from these verses?<\/p>\n

–\u00a0 The LORD refuses to allow idols to steal His glory (v8).
\n–\u00a0 Isaiah is emphasizing how God reveals through him knowledge about events that will happen in the future (v9).<\/p>\n

God, You are the One who holds the future in Your hand.\u00a0 Thank You for sending Jesus the Messiah to be a covenant for us, to bring justice to the nations and light to the darkness.\u00a0 Thank You that whereas Isaiah saw a faint picture of Jesus, we can know Him personally and intimately.\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 41:21-42:9.\u00a0 Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

Isaiah 41:21-29 (NIV)
\n21\u00a0\u00a0“Present your case,” says the\u00a0LORD. “Set forth your arguments,” says Jacob’s King.
\n22\u00a0\u00a0“Bring in [your idols] to tell us what is going to happen. Tell us what the former things were, so that we may consider them and know their final outcome. Or declare to us the things to come,
\n23\u00a0\u00a0tell us what the future holds, so we may know that you are gods. Do something, whether good or bad, so that we will be dismayed and filled with fear.<\/p>\n

On verses 21-29:\u00a0 Here Isaiah shares another way that the idols of the nations cannot compare to the LORD: the idols of the nations are useless in helping their worshipers discern the future (v21-23).\u00a0 Thus these idols are \u201cdetestable\u201d (v24), false (v29), and reduce those who worship them to \u201cless than nothing\u201d (v24), leaving their worshippers with \u201cno one among them to give counsel\u201d (v28).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":25659,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25657","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\/25657","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=25657"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25657\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25660,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25657\/revisions\/25660"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25659"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25657"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25657"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25657"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}