Isaiah 41
COMMENTARY:
: 1 Keep silence before me, O islands, and let the people renew their strength: let them come near; then let them speak: let us come near together to judgment. (2498 “renew” [chalaph] means to come by turns, to change, replace, to reestablish on a new, usually improved, basis or make new or like new, to pass through, to come on or up; hence to revive or flourish as a plant, or to be changed.)
DEVOTION: Here we find that those who are followers of God are standing before HIM to be tried for their thoughts and actions. It is a time to rethink how God deals with men who claim to be HIS followers.
HE wants them to gain new strength, in order to, serve HIM better. HE wants us and Israel to realize that we or they can only continue to move forward IF they gain more strength to face the trials that are coming their way.
Each day we need to realize that we are going to face the enemy who wants us to not serve the LORD. We are fighting the world, the flesh and the devil every day of our life as we try to serve the LORD faithfully.
As we come before the LORD HE wants us to “keep silent” before HIM because we have no defense except it comes from HIM alone. If we try to defend ourselves, we will fail or if we think that we can move forward on our own we will fail.
Once the children of Israel in the Old Testament and the Christians of the New Testament realize that it is only in HIS strength that we can gain new strength to fight our enemy that we can have victory.
Without the LORD we can do nothing but fail! With HIS help we can move forward to a better relationship to HIM and the world and the flesh.
CHALLENGE: We have to ask ourselves if we are daily gaining new strength that comes from HIM through our close relationship with HIM. We need to remember we can’t have victory with our this renewed strength.
: 10 Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. (8551 “uphold” [tamak] means to grasp, make secure, hold, support, lay hold of, or hold fast.)
DEVOTION: This is a great verse as we face the challenges of life. Isaiah writes this for the children of Israel. They were going through a rough time in their history.
They were not obeying the LORD. They were not following the LORD. They were about to be taken into captivity. They are told that the LORD is going to raise up a ruler to deliver them back into their land. Isaiah was encouraging those who were trying to be faithful to the LORD.
This verse is the LORD speaking to Israel through Isaiah. The LORD is encouraging them not to fear. This is repeated at least seven times in the next three chapters. HE is instructing them not to be dismayed.
Why? Because the LORD is their God. HE is going to strengthen them. HE is going to support them. HE is going to cause them to succeed. They are in HIS hands.
We live in a nation that is getting farther and farther from the teachings of the Word of God. This verse is one that should encourage us. We are not to be dismayed at what is happening around us. WHY? We have a God who promises to be there right beside us while we face the challenges of each day.
We have a God who will strengthen us. We have a God who will help us. We have a God who is supporting us through every trial. We are going to go through the trials but we don’t have to face them alone.
HE also promises never to send more than we can take. Some days it seems like we are stretched more than we can take but that is not true. HE keeps HIS promises. Isn’t HE great???? Fear NOT!!!
One question we have to answer if we are living in fear is: Who are trusting in? If we truly trust in the God of the Bible we would have the joy of the LORD in our heart each day. We would be able to give a witness to HIS past victories in our life and tell others that we expect future victories with HIM. Too often we look like we serve a weak God who is unable to settle each issue that comes our way. I struggle with this at times.
We need to get to the point where we turn only to the LORD for direction in our lives. When we struggle be honest with the LORD and tell HIM you are struggling. But we think that HE already knows we are struggling. That is true but HE wants us to show HIM that we are depending on HIM for our answers.
CHALLENGE: Pray the prayer that HE wants to hear. Once we have done our part HE can do HIS. Without faithful prayer it is impossible to please HIM.
:13 For I, the LORD your God, will hold your right hand, saying to you, ‘Fear not, I will help you.’ The New King James Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982). עָזַר [ʿazar /aw·zar/] – to help, succour, support.
DEVOTION: In the midst of a terrible storm a little child lay in bed and cried. Listening to the wind and the pelting rain made the child think the roof would rip off. In the darkness the tree limbs and the forest sounds made the child convinced that the night would never end! Then a gentle voice spoke in the darkness and the caressing hand of the father laid gently on the covers comforting the child. Soon all was well and the child slept through the remainder of the storm. Israel was in the midst of a storm and Isaiah was repeating a promise God had given to Israel.
Israel’s God would strengthen, encourage, and help His people. He would stand with them while He defended them because He was Yahweh their God (cf. Exod. 20:2).
So fundamentally Israel need never be afraid. Her God is the living God; and it is the living God who is even now holding her by her right hand. The faithfulness, or reliability, or rock-like quality of God is thus conveyed to Israel whom God holds.
This truth is repeated in the New Testament to the believers of Jesus Christ. We are to fear not and to be assured that the Lord is holding our hand and providing for us regardless of the gale that is blowing around us.
2 Timothy 1:7 reminds us that; “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and a sound mind.” Romans 8:28 – “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” Be not afraid, the Living God is faithful to those who are His own!
CHALLENGE: Today allow the Lord to help you in the area where you are fearful! He promises and that will come to pass! (Dr. Brian Miller – board member)
: 29 Behold, they are all vanity; their works are nothing: their molten images are wind and confusion. (4639 “works” [ma‘aseh] means acts, labor, deed, product, course of action, or achievements.)
DEVOTION: People depend on different things to keep them going. There are workaholics. There are sports enthusiasts. There are lovers of nature. There are family individuals. There are people who love their cars. There are people who love their collections.
In the world in which Isaiah lived there were people who loved their idols. They encouraged each other with their religious activities. Some made the idols for others to worship. Each part of the idol might have been made by people with certain skills.
In verse 7 we find individuals who were encouraging one another in the craft of making false gods. The carpenter encouraged the goldsmith. There were individuals who were encouraged in their soldering. Someone else was able to put them all together to make sure they didn’t move. They even used nails to make sure they didn’t fall down. These were the types of false gods the people worshiped.
As Isaiah concluded his thoughts concerning these false gods he stated that everything related to false gods was worthless or vanity. The people were religious. They had their god but the gods could do nothing for them. They were praying to a god who could produce no good thing for them. This caused confusion.
The confusion was in their thinking that their false god was helping them in their daily battles. They thought if they bowed down to them they could help them produce more crops in the fields. They thought they could help them have more babies. They thought they could protect them from their enemies. They only had false hope.
Isaiah was conveying the fact that the only hope in our world is through the God who created our world. HE promised to provide and protect HIS people. HE promised a future hope as well as present hope. HE promised counsel that the false gods could never give.
The LORD provided HIS counsel through the authors of the different books of our Bible. If we are faithful in reading and following the advice given in HIS Word we could have the hope all individuals need. We are responsible for our part and God will provide HIS part through the Word and HIS Holy Spirit.
CHALLENGE: Even those who claim to be followers of Christ could be religious without being followers. We are to have no false gods in our world. Even religious gods!!!
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