And weigh silver on the scales;
They hire a bgoldsmith, and he makes it a god;
They prostrate themselves, yes, they worship.
And set it in its place, and it stands;
From its place it shall not move.
Though bone cries out to it, yet it cannot answer
Nor save him out of his trouble.
For I am God, and bthere is no other;
I am God, and there is none like Me,
And from ancient times things that are not yet done,
Saying, b‘My counsel shall stand,
And I will do all My pleasure,’
The man bwho executes My counsel, from a far country.
Indeed cI have spoken it;
I will also bring it to pass.
I have purposed it;
I will also do it.
My salvation bshall not linger.
And I will place csalvation in Zion,
For Israel My glory.
| << Isaiah 46:7 | Isaiah 46:9 >> |
What Does Isaiah 46:8 Mean?
Isaiah 46:8-10
These three verses contain a general principle in which God challenges us to consider, to compare, all of the material idols, which are so easily seen, to Him. There is, really, no comparison.
Joshua says at the end of his life:
Behold, this day I am going the way of all the earth. And you know in all your hearts and in all your souls that not one thing has failed of all the good things which the Lord your God spoke concerning you. All have come to pass for you; and not one word of them has failed. (Joshua 23:14)
"Remember" is an important word within true, spiritual religion. Remembering brings back to mind what has happened in the past as evidence of what God can and will do. These verses in Isaiah say we must remember that God's counsel stands; when He says something, it is so. It happens. God gives plenty of evidence to demonstrate that He can be trusted. Seeing God and having faith is the result of recalling that God has demonstrated both Himself and His purpose in "the former things."
Isaiah 46:9 says, "Remember the former things." This is what David did. This is what Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego did. We too have to remember. However, our focus, our spiritual insight, is greatly built and reinforced through obedience to His counsel in the present and by seeing from one's own experience that His will and purpose truly do stand. Once that occurs, we can see God!
John W. Ritenbaugh
Do You See God? (Part Two)
| << Isaiah 46:7 | Isaiah 46:9 >> |
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