{"id":25686,"date":"2023-03-31T22:00:34","date_gmt":"2023-04-01T05:00:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/isaiah-47-copy\/"},"modified":"2023-03-14T20:08:20","modified_gmt":"2023-03-15T03:08:20","slug":"isaiah-48","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/isaiah-48\/","title":{"rendered":"God Always Has Your Best Interest in Mind"},"content":{"rendered":"

Isaiah 48 \u00a0 Click here for Bible Verses<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Hi GAMErs!<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is Isaiah 48.\u00a0 Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

Isaiah 48:1-7 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n1\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“Listen to this, O house of Jacob, you who are called by the name of Israel and come from the line of Judah, you who take oaths in the name of the\u00a0LORD\u00a0and invoke the God of Israel– but not in truth or righteousness–
\n2\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0you who call yourselves citizens of the holy city and rely on the God of Israel– the\u00a0LORD\u00a0Almighty is his name:
\n3\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0I foretold the former things long ago, my mouth announced them and I made them known; then suddenly I acted, and they came to pass.
\n4\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0For I knew how stubborn you were; the sinews of your neck were iron, your forehead was bronze.
\n5<\/sup>\u00a0Therefore I told you these things long ago; before they happened I announced them to you so that you could not say, My images brought them about; my wooden image and metal god ordained them.\u2019<\/em>
\n6\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0You have heard these things; look at them all. Will you not admit them? “From now on I will tell you of new things, of hidden things unknown to you.
\n7\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0They are created now, and not long ago; you have not heard of them before today. So you cannot say, ‘Yes, I knew of them.’<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 1-7:\u00a0 So as to hopefully bypass the hardness of His own people\u2019s hearts, God decided to tell the Jewish exiles way in advance (i.e. 150 years in advance) through Isaiah that they would be released from captivity in Babylon.\u00a0 That way they could not credit their release from captivity to an idol (v5) or claim that they knew this themselves (v7).<\/p>\n

Isaiah 48:8-9 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n8\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0You have neither heard nor understood; from of old your ear has not been open. Well do I know how treacherous you are; you were called a rebel from birth.
\n9\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0For 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 cut you off.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 8-9:\u00a0 Though we are rebels from birth, God is patient in His wrath, holding it back so that sinners like us would not be cut off and would still have a chance.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Isaiah 48:10-11 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n10\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0See, I have refined you, though not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.
\n11\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0For 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.<\/em><\/p>\n

There are two truths we can learn from these two verses:
\n–\u00a0 God uses the furnace of affliction to test us, whether that affliction was something He desired us to experience or simply allowed.
\n–\u00a0 God will not always allow idols to receive the praise that only He deserves.\u00a0 There comes a time when God will come to the defence of His own glory and name.<\/p>\n

Isaiah 48:12-13 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n12\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“Listen to me, O Jacob, Israel, whom I have called: I am he; I am the first and I am the last.
\n13\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0My own hand laid the foundations of the earth, and my right hand spread out the heavens; when I summon them, they all stand up together.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 12-13:\u00a0 God is everlasting.\u00a0 He is creator.<\/p>\n

Isaiah 48:14-16 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n14\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“Come together, all of you, and listen: Which of [the idols] has foretold these things? The\u00a0LORD’s chosen ally will carry out his purpose against Babylon; his arm will be against the Babylonians.
\n15\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0I, even I, have spoken; yes, I have called him. I will bring him, and he will succeed in his mission.
\n16\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“Come near me and listen to this: “From the first announcement I have not spoken in secret; at the time it happens, I am there.” And now the Sovereign\u00a0LORD\u00a0has sent me, with his Spirit.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 14-16:\u00a0 The \u201cchosen ally\u201d that the LORD speaks of is Cyrus, who will carry out God\u2019s purpose against Babylon (v14).\u00a0 Once again Isaiah prophesies that God will bring Babylon down.\u00a0 No idol foretold.\u00a0 Rather God foretold it through Isaiah.<\/p>\n

Isaiah 48:17 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n17\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0This is what the\u00a0LORD\u00a0says– your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: “I am the\u00a0LORD\u00a0your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verse 17:\u00a0 This is a verse worth memorizing.\u00a0 Like Psalm 32:8-10, it reminds us that\u00a0God teaches us what is best for us and directs us in the way we should go.\u00a0 God always has our best interest in mind.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Isaiah 48:18-19 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n18\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0If only you had paid attention to my commands, your peace would have been like a river, your righteousness like the waves of the sea.
\n19\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Your descendants would have been like the sand, your children like its numberless grains; their name would never be cut off nor destroyed from before me.”<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 18-19:\u00a0 The result of obeying God is peace, righteousness, blessing, and security.\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>God\u2019s commands are therefore not a moral straightjacket but a launchpad to blessing in our lives.\u00a0 In contrast, \u201cthere is no peace for the wicked\u201d as verse 22 says.<\/p>\n

Isaiah 48:20 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n20\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Leave Babylon, flee from the Babylonians! Announce this with shouts of joy and proclaim it. Send it out to the ends of the earth; say, “The\u00a0LORD\u00a0has redeemed his servant Jacob.”<\/em><\/p>\n

On verse 20:\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>Isaiah looks ahead to the day when the Jewish exiles will be able to leave their captivity in Babylon with shouts of joy.\u00a0 When it happens, Isaiah says, it won\u2019t be an accident but rather this is the LORD redeemed His servant Jacob (v20).<\/p>\n

Isaiah 48:21-22 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n21\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0They did not thirst when he led them through the deserts; he made water flow for them from the rock; he split the rock and water gushed out.
\n22\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“There is no peace,” says the\u00a0LORD, “for the wicked.”<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 21-22:\u00a0 Even when you walk through a desert season, God will provide for you when you trust and follow Him (v21).\u00a0 In contrast, when we don\u2019t trust God, there is no peace (v22).<\/p>\n

Father, thank You that always have our best interest in mind, that You always lead us in the best way.\u00a0 Thank You that peace flows like a river when we pay attention to Your commands.\u00a0 In Jesus\u2019 name, AMEN!\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hi GAMErs!<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is Isaiah 48.\u00a0 Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

Isaiah 48:1-7 (NIV)
\n1\u00a0\u00a0“Listen to this, O house of Jacob, you who are called by the name of Israel and come from the line of Judah, you who take oaths in the name of the\u00a0LORD\u00a0and invoke the God of Israel– but not in truth or righteousness–
\n2\u00a0\u00a0you who call yourselves citizens of the holy city and rely on the God of Israel– the\u00a0LORD\u00a0Almighty is his name:
\n3\u00a0\u00a0I foretold the former things long ago, my mouth announced them and I made them known; then suddenly I acted, and they came to pass.
\n4\u00a0\u00a0For I knew how stubborn you were; the sinews of your neck were iron, your forehead was bronze.
\n5\u00a0Therefore I told you these things long ago; before they happened I announced them to you so that you could not say, My images brought them about; my wooden image and metal god ordained them.\u2019
\n6\u00a0\u00a0You have heard these things; look at them all. Will you not admit them? “From now on I will tell you of new things, of hidden things unknown to you.
\n7\u00a0\u00a0They are created now, and not long ago; you have not heard of them before today. So you cannot say, ‘Yes, I knew of them.’
\n\u00a0
\nOn verses 1-7:\u00a0 So as to hopefully bypass the hardness of His own people\u2019s hearts, God decided to tell the Jewish exiles way in advance (i.e. 150 years in advance) through Isaiah that they would be released from captivity in Babylon.\u00a0 That way they could not credit their release from captivity to an idol (v5) or claim that they knew this themselves (v7).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":25688,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25686","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\/25686","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=25686"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25686\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25689,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25686\/revisions\/25689"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25688"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25686"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25686"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25686"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}