Isaiah chapter 48
Remember the prophecies about their captivity in Babylon. Remember God’s sovereignty. Flee Babylon.
REMEMBER THE PROPHECIES ABOUT THEIR CAPTIVITY IN BABYLON
VERSE 1. “Hear this, house of Jacob, you who are called by the name of Israel, and have come out of the waters of Judah. You swear by the LORD’s name, and make mention of the God of Israel, but not in truth, nor in righteousness—
not in truth. Many people do not act in good faith. They misuse people’s trust in them for personal gain.
This is true even among church leaders. Their followers implicitly trust them. Their followers do not necessarily scrutinize their words or actions.
Instead, their followers act like sheep and follow blindly.
VERSE 2. for they call themselves citizens of the holy city, and rely on the God of Israel; the LORD of Hosts is his name.
VERSE 3. I have declared the former things from of old. Yes, they went out of my mouth, and I revealed them. I did them suddenly, and they happened.
VERSE 4. Because I knew that you are obstinate, and your neck is an iron sinew, and your brow bronze;
VERSE 5. therefore I have declared it to you from of old; before it came to pass I showed it to you; lest you should say, ‘My idol has done them. My engraved image and my molten image has commanded them.’
I have declared it to you from of old. The LORD God reveals to some people what will happen in the future. This is a great gift to them.
VERSE 6. You have heard it. Now see all this. And you, won’t you declare it? “I have shown you new things from this time, even hidden things, which you have not known.
NIV translation. You 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.”
The Bible offers the possibility of a future filled with hope. Read more »
hidden things unknown to you. Sometimes the future God has for us is so wonderful that he can’t really let us see it in advance.
Otherwise, we might reject it as too unlikely. We would diminish our own capacity for faith, and thereby scuttle the wonderful thing God was going to do for us.
VERSE 7. They are created now, and not from of old. Before today, you didn’t hear them, lest you should say, ‘Behold, I knew them.’
VERSE 8. Yes, you didn’t hear. Yes, you didn’t know. Yes, from of old your ear was not opened, for I knew that you dealt very treacherously, and were called a transgressor from the womb.
VERSE 9. For my name’s sake, I will defer my anger, and for my praise, I hold it back for you so that I don’t cut you off.
VERSE 10. Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver. I have chosen you in the furnace of affliction.
NLT translation. I have refined you, but not as silver is refined. Rather, I have refined you in the furnace of suffering.
I have refined you in the furnace of suffering. For the person who has suffered, this is a wonderful verse.
All their suffering was not pointless. Life has a meaning. The LORD God was not punishing them.
VERSE 11. For my own sake, for my own sake, I will do it; for how would my name be profaned? I will not give my glory to another.
NLT translation. I will rescue you for my sake–yes, for my own sake! I will not let my reputation be tarnished, and I will not share my glory with idols!
I will rescue you. Those are marvelous words!
REMEMBER GOD’S SOVEREIGNTY
VERSE 12. “Listen to me, O Jacob, and Israel my called: I am he. I am the first. I am also the last.
I am the first. I am also the last. Jesus Christ calls himself the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last, the Alpha and the Omega. Here are the verses about this »
VERSE 13. Yes, my hand has laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand has spread out the heavens. when I call to them, they stand up together.
VERSE 14. “Assemble yourselves, all of you, and hear! Who among them has declared these things? He whom the LORD loves will do what he likes to Babylon, and his arm will be against the Kasdim.
VERSE 15. I, even I, have spoken. Yes, I have called him. I have brought him and he shall make his way prosperous.
VERSE 16. “Come near to me and hear this: “From the beginning I have not spoken in secret; from the time that it happened, I was there.” Now the Lord GOD has sent me with his Spirit.
VERSE 17. The LORD, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel says: “I am the LORD your God, who teaches you to profit, who leads you by the way that you should go.
The Bible offers the possibility of a future filled with hope. Read more »
VERSE 18. Oh that you had listened to my commandments! Then your peace would have been like a river and your righteousness like the waves of the sea.
VERSE 19. Your offspring also would have been as the sand and the descendants of your body like its grains. His name would not be cut off nor destroyed from before me.”
FLEE BABYLON
VERSE 20. Leave Babylon! Flee from the Kasdim! With a voice of singing announce this, tell it even to the end of the earth: say, “The LORD has redeemed his servant Jacob!”
NIV translation. Leave 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 LORD has redeemed his servant Jacob.”
flee from the Babylonians! Martin Luther saw the Catholic church as the modern-day Babylon.
It oppressed people. He called people to leave it.
shouts of joy. Fleeing from one’s oppressor is day of joy!
Yet to the oppressed person, it probably feels like a day of sadness.
To overcome that false sense of sadness, they must deliberately act joyful. The LORD God commands them to shout with joy!
VERSE 21. They didn’t thirst when he led them through the deserts. He caused the waters to flow out of the rock for them. He also split the rock and the waters gushed out.
VERSE 22. “There is no peace”, says the LORD, “for the wicked.”
This verse is often paraphrased:
- No rest for the righteous.
- No rest for the wicked
ISAIAH
CHAPTERS: 01, 02, 03, 04, 05, 06, 07, 08, 09, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66
RESOURCES: Summary, Outline, Memorize, True Fasting
Unless otherwise noted, all Bible quotations on this page are from the World English Bible and the World Messianic Edition. These translations have no copyright restrictions. They are in the Public Domain.