VERSE 1:
Scripture says in Isaiah 44:1 ---
"Yet now hear, O Jacob my servant; and Israel, whom I have
chosen." That verb "hear" is an imperative verb ---
expressing one of God's commands to us! He wants us to HEAR His
Word! I pray this Friday as you read these Bible study pages you
also will be a "hearer" of the Word! (You must be a hearer
before you can be a doer!) To "hear" must be something we can do
(with the aid of the Holy Spirit). Otherwise it would not be so
commanded us! Its first use in all of Scripture is found in
Genesis 3:8 where it is said of Adam and Eve: "And they heard
the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of
the day." That pretty well tells us WHOM we are to hear! Notice
also in our verse today the two names God gives Israel. First He
calls them by the name of one of their forefathers, Jacob. The
name means "supplanter," but in today's terminology that means
"crook," or "one who takes from another!" (That's what we all
were when God found us! We were a bunch of lost "crooks" on our
way to Hell!) But ... LOOK at what Jacob's name becomes by the
time God is through (?) with him: Israel! The (?) means: "Is God
ever really through with us ... until we get to Glory?" "Israel"
means "God is my Ruler, or God is my Prince!" G. Campbell Morgan
used to say that it literally means "Princed (Ruled) by God!"
Jacob (via the Grace of God) has gone from being a "crook" to "a
man controlled by Almighty God!" Grace! Grace! Good Grace! I
trust you see the "progression," the growth in the spiritual
life here. Also note that God calls Jacob His "servant." The
word is Hebrew "ebed" and just means slave! (It comes from a
root stem that means "to work! God is looking for some workers!)
It is thought the word describes those who were "the very
lowest" of all the slaves! Paul loved to call himself a
"servant" (slave) of Jesus Christ! See too that God has "chosen"
His sons and daughters! The verb here is in the active voice (Qal
stem). God Himself did the choosing. It is (in the sense of
time) a "perfect" verb suggesting that the action (God's
choosing) is already completed! He chose us before we chose Him!
(In fact ... He loved us before we loved Him!) 1 John 4:19 says:
"We love him, because he first loved us." The verse has but one
command in it! HEAR what the Lord says! If you read the verses
that follow our verse for today ... you'll see WHY! The Lord has
some GOOD THINGS planned for His children! More on that
tomorrow, Lord willing!
VERSE 2:
I love to discover passages of Scripture that
speak to my heart in a new and fresh way! The Bible is such a
vast book no one person can master it all! Today's verse belongs
in this category. It sits like a diamond in an eight verse
cluster of precious stones! Isaiah 44:2 says:
"Thus saith the LORD that made thee, and
formed thee from the womb, which will help thee; Fear not, O
Jacob, my servant; and thou, Jesurun, whom I have chosen."
The verse is just "loaded" with truths! Who makes the great
promise housed in our verse? God Himself does! The Lord
(Jehovah) "saith." The verb is "amar" (to speak) and is in Qal
perfect form. This statement of God is completed! (All the Word
of God is completed! No new Scripture is being added! The Bible
is done ... and is perfect I might add!) God only has to say
something ONCE anyway! He cannot lie (Titus 1:2)! God did two
things for Israel here. (I believe He has done the same two
things for YOU dear friend.) He "made" (Hebrew = "asah") His
people. The term is a Qal participle. God did the work Himself
... but the action is on-going! Made means "to perform a work."
It may indicate "detailed" labor. God has been doing this since
our very birth! Furthermore God "formed" us as well! The verb
here is "yatszar" (another participle, the action is continuing)
which means "to squeeze into shape, to mode and fashion!" He is
the Potter ... we are the clay! While the preposition "from"
does NOT mean "in" the womb ... it still strongly suggests that
God DOES oversee and even control our pre-natal development.
However, this is not our strongest verse to prove that life
begins at conception (rather than at birth). "Womb" means an
open cavity! ("beten") Thirty times (KJV) it is translated
"belly" and twice "within!" BUT note the little embedded promise
here. God will "help" thee! The verb ("azar") means to support,
to succour, to surround, to protect! (Glory!) THIS verb is a Qal
"imperfect" --- teaching us that this HELP is constant! The
first Bible use of azar is in Genesis 2:18 where God promises
Adam a "help meet!" FEAR NOT uses the standard verb ("yare") in
a Qal imperfect form. Do not allow fear to be a constant part of
your life! Keep on "not fearing!" As usual, God gives the
command before He explains the reason behind it! If He is God
(which He is) ... why do we need a reason to keep His
commandments? He does not always choose to explain! However (so
far just sticking to our verse for today) ... God relieves our
fear partly by reminding us of two "positions" we hold! Let me
explain. First He calls Jacob His "servant!" The noun ("ebed")
just means a lowly slave! A common laborer (from the root verb =
to work)! Now that is demeaning to some today. BUT remember
please that a Master did have to meet some needs in the lives of
his slaves! Food, clothing, shelter, medical care, etc. (And our
Lord is a GOOD MASTER!) Slavery to Jesus has great benefits! Why
should I fear anything? Any problem I have belongs to my Master
in reality! I'll just turn my burdens over to Him! The He calls
Israel His "chosen." We saw that word in verse one. (To accept,
to appoint, to elect!) The action here is "perfect," meaning
completed! God has already decided about you dear Believer! You
are "IN" ... if you're washed in the Blood! (There is nothing
the devil or hell can do about it!) It is a finished act of the
God of Grace! Why should I fear? I am "chosen" of God! Let Paul
speak: "If God be for us, who can be against us?" Romans 8:31
Lastly, notice the "names" God calls His people! First in our
verse the Jews are labeled by their forefather "Jacob." This
name virtually means a "crook!" Lastly they are called "Jesurun."
That name means "righteous one! (A BIG change!) From a crooked
man to a godly man ... by the Grace of God! Now 3 names have
been used for the Jews in these first two verses of Isaiah 44:
Jacob (crook), Israel (ruled by God) and Jesurun (righteous
ones)! What growth! What a God we serve! Lord willing, more
tomorrow morning!
VERSE 3:
An Old Testament passage truly caught my
attention one day earlier this week. In it our Lord is speaking.
Among other wonderful things, He says to Israel:
"For I will pour water upon him that is
thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground: I will pour my spirit
upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring."
(Isaiah 44:3) What a promise this is! I believe that it refers
interpretively to the Millennium when believing Israel (having
repented and turned to the Lord Jesus) will enjoy these
blessings literally and spiritually. (What a day that will be!)
However, today I would like for us old Gentile believers to look
at these promises and at least draw some encouragement from
them. I do not want to mix Gentiles and Jews here in a wrong
way. I seek to "rightly divide the Word" in both preaching and
teaching Scripture. BUT surely there are some tastes of honey
even we can enjoy for this rock of Bible truth! First notice
that God is only going to give these blessings to those who are
"thirsty!" Only God can make us thirsty as we should be. (If He
can do it no other way, prolonged dryness seems to have a good
success rate!) How we ought to pray, "Lord make me thirsty for
the Water of Thy Word and for the flowing Streams of Thy Holy
Spirit!" Look at what God will do for the thirsty ones. He will
"pour" water upon them! It means: To make to flow out! To
overflow! The verb's first Bible use is in Genesis 28:18 where
Jacob "poured" oil upon his rock pillow in worship to God! This
verb, being in this particular Hebrew form, reveals that God
will do this continually for His people! The "water" (normal
noun for water "mayim") I believe is a picture or type of either
the Word of God (Ephesians 5:26) or the Holy Spirit Himself
(Acts 2:17)! The parallel noun "floods" is from a root word
meaning "to gush, to stream or to drop!" When God pours, He
apparently really POURS ! (The verbs are intensifying as we
progress!) "Dry ground" translates only one Hebrew word: "yabbashah."
It is only found 14 times in the whole Old Testament and is
always translated: dry, land, dry land or dry ground. "Pour"
(the second time in this one verse) is the same word in the same
form as before. The second use of our verb in the Bible is still
from the life of Jacob (as was the first use.) And he is still
worshipping God by this time pouring a drink offering upon a
rock altar! See Genesis 35:14! Seems that God's pouring out
blessings upon us ... should prompt us to pour out love and
adoration and thanks to Him in return! Here God specifically
identifies the Agent being poured as His Holy Spirit! (Behold a
greater that Pentecost is here!) This is NOT a prophecy of the
Pentecost of Luke's day (50 days following Jesus' Resurrection).
It is a prophecy of a coming day in Israel's bright future
during the millennium. That's why the term "thy seed" is used.
It's for future generations! Is it not thrilling to think that
God is able to bless not only us ... but our children and
grandchildren and great grandchildren in ages to come! (Someone
should frame this promise into a prayer today!) The word
"blessing: is in Hebrew ("barachah") a derivative from "barak"
meaning to kneel and bless! God has come down to where we are
and blessed us in the Lord Jesus Christ! (Truly in this sense
all we believers have been abundantly blessed through Abraham's
seed!) "Offspring" (future posterity) is fashioned from a root
that means to issue (or go out) from a person. (The children of
one's family) This is as good as an Old Testament promise can
get if one remembers that all these blessings ("showers of
blessings") are through the gracious Lord Jesus Christ and His
victory on Calvary! Friend, this Lord's Day may you receive in
measure what God promises here in full to Israel. May your dry
soul be flooded with the rich water of the Word of God. May your
preacher enjoy great power today as he proclaims the truth. And
may the ever flowing Holy Spirit inundate your innermost being
with His abundant-life producing strength as well!
VERSE 4:
The "Bible Nuggets" Page is prepared for you
this first Monday in March. You may study it anytime. (Just
"click" on "Bible Nuggets" above in our "Heading") Also the
"Sermons" Page has been updated to reflect the next verse in our
journey through Psalm 3. (It only has 8 verses.) But I am
equally excited about writing this "Home Page" article today!
Isaiah 44:4 is our verse this morning. Here it is:
"And they shall spring up as among the
grass, as willows by the water courses." Yesterday
morning we saw verse 3 where God poured the water of His Spirit
(and perhaps also the water of His Word) upon dry and thirsty
souls! Today we see the result of such a blessing from the Lord.
What do the Spirit and the Word do for a Believer? They produce
spiritual growth! They "revive!" The specific term here is to
"spring up!" The Hebrew ("tzsmach") verb means "to sprout forth!
To bud! To grow! Or even to bear (fruit)! That sure sounds like
REVIVAL to me! The word "grass" is interesting. It literally is
the word the Jews used for a "courtyard." (Probably the
courtyards were green with luxuriant, well-kept grass!) Whatever
may be involved here ... this grass is royal grass, isn't it?
Praise the Lord! (We ARE children of the King! We are bound for
a city with mansions!) I recently saw a book on the Beatitudes
of Matthew 5 which was entitled: "Live Like a King!" We should!
Notice that the text does NOT say that we are like the grass.
But that we shall spring up among the grass! We here may be more
like lilies or other gorgeous flowers! (Jesus did compare us to
the lilies of the field in Matthew 6:28!) Then God's people are
compared to "willows" by the water courses! We don't have a lot
of word information to work with here. The noun is used only 5
times in the Bible, each time being translated "willows." Every
time the tree is mentioned in Scripture ... it is by a water
source (brooks or rivers)! It could be a spiritual picture of a
believer who thrives when near the Word of God and the dear Holy
Spirit! "Courses" of water are just streams (rivers). The word
is derived from a verb that means "to flow." Here's PLENTY of
water for spiritual refreshment and growth. Now I fully realize
that we today have been "spiritualizing" this text. It is
primarily and essentially a picture of further blessing
(literally) for Israel. I am just glad that the grace of God was
also extended to an old Gentile like me ... who believed it and
was saved! Willows in Scripture often seem to indicate "sorrow
or grief." (We today even have a tree called the "weeping
willow!") Listen to Psalm 137:1 and 2 --- "By the rivers of
Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered
Zion. We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst
thereof." Isn't it good to know that even in times of lowliness
and sorrow ... the "waters" of the Spirit and God's dear Word
can reach us and help us! Also the bark of willow trees is
believed to have certain medicinal properties. In fact, aspirin
comes from such bark! Christians are to have a soothing healing
effect (in a spiritual sense) on their brothers and sisters in
Christ! (It wouldn't hurt us to remove a little pain everywhere
we go also!) I am sometimes amazed at the little "word pictures"
found in just one verse of Scripture! Fellow Bible students, may
YOU today "spring up as among the grass and as willows by the
water courses." If you do ... it will be because God has chosen
to "pour" upon you the water of His Word and His Spirit!
VERSE 5:
What an interesting verse we have today! It’s
found in Isaiah 44:5 Let me share it with you here:
"One shall say, I am the LORD'S; and
another shall call himself by the name of Jacob; and another
shall subscribe with his hand unto the LORD, and surname himself
by the name of Israel." I see in this beautiful verse
several truths this cloudy Tuesday in March. This whole
paragraph in Isaiah 44 is one of blessing and abundance. Our
verse hints at Israel’s response to God’s richly bestowed grace.
The verb "say" ("amar" in Hebrew) is in the active voice and the
"tense" employed suggests this old sinner saved by grace just
keeps on "saying" and then "says" some more! (He can’t quit
talking about the fact that he now belongs to God!) "Amar"
simply means to "utter" or to "speak." What is this ex-sinner
yelling so loudly? "I ... the LORD’S!" He just can’t get over
it: "I ... the LORD’S" I am reminded of these words: "Let the
redeemed of the LORD say so, whom he hath redeemed from the hand
of the enemy." Psalm 107:2 Yet another person calls himself ("Qara"
= to cry out loud) by the name of Jacob! That’s definitely the
OLD NAME of the people of God. Their name at the first ... when
(spiritually speaking) they were lost! Jacob actually means "supplanter,"
a thief, a crook! It points to what one USED to be! This
Believer now rejoices in what God has done for him ... bringing
him from what he WAS to what he IS in the Lord His God! (This is
much like saying: "I’m an old hell-bound sinner ... but have
been saved by Grace!") Folks, look WHERE He has brought us from!
Yet a third follower of the Lord "subscribes" himself unto the
Lord! What does that mean? The verb suggests: to write, to
inscribe, to engrave or to record! This man writes with his hand
the Name of the Lord ... and does so gladly! This is obviously
some VISIBLE indicator that he is the Lord God’s! (With Israel
of old this could indicate such things as observing the
sacrificial offerings, eating according to the Mosaic
regulations, dressing according to God’s standards, going to
Jerusalem three times a year to the great feasts and a whole lot
more. To us today such outward "subscribing" might involve:
Believer’s baptism, separated living, faithful church
attendance, and more!) This "subscribing" however could be
something else. I have read that in those days a slave was often
"branded" on his hand (or forehead, etc.) by the name of his
master! Here is perhaps an example of being voluntarily
"branded" for Jesus! These old ex-sinners are glad to carry His
Name on their very bodies! (Paul did. Galatians 6:17 --- "From
henceforth let no man trouble me: for I bear in my body the
marks of the Lord Jesus.") Every New Testament Christian should
be "marked" by the dear Holy Spirit of God also! One more thing
here ... the little noun "hand" is the Hebrew word "yad." The
Hebrew term (or at least one of them) for "praise" is "yadah."
There is an etymological link between "hand" and "praise" in the
Hebrew language! Perhaps one way to subscribe the Lord with your
hand is to lift it in praise and adoration to His dear Name!
Lastly, someone "surnames" himself. This ("kanah" or "canah")
means to give a "title" to someone! This Jew names himself by
the very Lord who brought him ("bought" him or "redeemed" him)
out of Egypt! This is taking the Lord’s Name with you everywhere
you go for sure! Listen to this New Testament verse: "And it
came to pass, that a whole year they assembled themselves with
the church, and taught much people. And the disciples were
called Christians first in Antioch." Acts 11:26 (Twice in the
Book of Job this word is translated "flattering titles!") I
guess bearing God’s very name IS a flattering title! Just in
case someone thinks this rejoicing son of Israel here has taken
too much upon himself, listen to Isaiah 45:4 where God says ---
"For Jacob my servant's sake, and Israel mine elect, I have even
called thee by thy name: I have surnamed thee, though thou hast
not known me." (Wow!) This passage today sounds almost "Pauline"
in its scope and style! What an honor is ours to take the name
of Jesus with us everywhere we go! Let’s be careful to treat it
with honor and dignity! By the way, after the Spirit was so very
"poured out" back in verse 3 of our passage (just as the Spirit
was poured out at Pentecost) ... perhaps the verse today records
the in-gathering of multitudes of lost souls to the Lord God (as
also occurred back at Pentecost). Some of the old Puritans
believed that this verse "hinted" at the salvation of multitudes
of (not Jews, but ...) Gentiles, who then took upon themselves
the precious Name of the Lord! I'm so glad God loves old
Gentiles too!
VERSE 6:
I never cease to be amazed at the beautiful
truths of Scripture. There are times when the Old Testament
Prophets are just eloquent in their descriptions of the Lord God
Almighty! We have such a case today. "Thus
saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of
hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is
no God." Isaiah 44:6 First of all notice the wording of
the description of God in this verse! He is both the Lord the
King AND the Redeemer Lord of Hosts! That is a compound subject!
Yet the pronouns (subjects to the independent clauses which
follow) are singular! This is a clear presentation of the
Doctrine of the Godhead! In fact, of the complete Trinity! "The
Lord the King of Israel" is God the Father. The Redeemer the
Lord of Hosts is God the Son! And the silent Member here is the
Holy Ghost of God Who is the Author (The Writer) of Scripture!
(The Holy Spirit often chooses to be silent and work behind the
scenes!) This is GOD talking! Thus "saith" the Lord! The verb "saith"
is "amar" in Hebrew. It’s first use in the Bible: Genesis 1:3
--- "And God said, Let there be light: and there was light."
With God words have POWER! (Dear friends, our words have power
too! Solomon declares: "Death and life are in the power of the
tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof."
Proverbs 18:21) The same God Who spoke the worlds into existence
also spoke this verse into Scripture. We had best believe what’s
being said here. In fact, we had better believe ALL the Word of
God says! Notice that the LORD (Jehovah, the One Whose Name is
"I am!") here is also the King! The word ("melech") means one
who reigns! (From the verb = to reign) But look! The devil wants
to reign also! Notice some of the other "names" in the Old
Testament that come from this noun "melech." Moloch, who is a
false god, an idol, derives his name from the word for King! See
Amos 5:26. "Malcham," another false god also comes from the
Hebrew word for King! See Zephaniah 1:5. (The devil even names
some of his cohorts "king!") God is here associated with Israel
("yisrael"). The term combines two Hebrew words which mean God
("el") and rules ("sarah")! Kings do rule! AND is a conjunction!
It is a part of speech that links two entities! Here God is
mentioned along with His REDEEMER! The Hebrew grammar textbook
says that these are "parallel" ideas! God the Father and God the
Son are "parallel!" Now this is not theology yet ... just
grammar! God the Father and God the Son are co-equal! (Now, it’s
theology!) JESUS IS GOD! The noun "Redeemer" ("gaal") means to
purchase by payment! Or some lexicons say: To play the part of a
Kinsman! Here we have the definite "shadows" of Blood Redemption
being presented in an Old Testament setting! Jesus is our
Kinsman too! He left Heaven and took upon Himself human flesh
like you and me! This necessitated the Virgin Birth! He had to
be both God and man! He bought me out of my poverty and sin and
degradation and loneliness! (Read the Book of Ruth and study the
type of Christ, Boaz!) Get this definition of Redeemer: "To be
the next of kin and as such to buy back a relative’s property,
marry his widow, etc." The Redeemer is also the Lord of HOSTS!
Jehovah of Hosts! The word "hosts" ("tzsaba") means "a mass of
persons organized for war!" In the King James Version this word
is translated "army" 29 times! Jesus on the Cross said: "Thinkest
thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently
give me more than twelve legions of angels?" (Matthew 26:53)
This statement alone gives us some idea of the "hosts" of Heaven
at His command! BUT let’s look at what God (The Father, the Son,
and the Holy Spirit) says. "I am the first." Here God uses the
personal Pronoun to describe Himself! I wonder how many time
that happens in Scripture. (I don't know a search tool that can
fathom that question!) The little "am" is italicized in our King
James Bibles. These translators were so precise! They are
telling us that the Hebrew (Masoretic Text) reads: "I THE
FIRST!" The word ("rishon") means first in place, time or rank!
(WOW!) It means The Beginning! It comes from the noun "rosh"
which means HEAD, the CAPTAIN, the CHIEF! But then quickly God
adds: "And I am the Last!" (I THE LAST!) Last ("acharon") means
behind, following, subsequent! Once in the King James it is
translated "rereward." That means the battle troops behind your
people who guard you from sneak attack! (1 Samuel 29:2) Twice
our word is translated "end!" I wonder if Jesus had this verse
in mind when He said in Revelation 21:6 and 22:13 "I am Alpha
and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last."
Lastly, Jehovah says: "And beside Me there is no God!" Beside
means "apart from, except, without!" "No" means to "not exist."
(To be nothing!) And, very appropriately in this context (for
sure), the Name for God here is NOT Jehovah, NOT Adonai, NOT El
Elyon ... BUT ELOHIM! The Name of God that indicates His great
Strength and is PLURAL! He is a plurality in One! It speaks of
the Trinity! One God ... manifesting Himself in Three Persons!
What a verse. If God allows, I MUST peach it some day soon!
VERSE 7:
We have this week been in one glorious
passage! Isaiah is indeed the "Statesman" Prophet. I can see why
he was "at home" in the royal courts and palaces of the Kings of
Judah. Today we arrive at the next-to-last verse in this
paragraph. It says: "And who, as I, shall
call, and shall declare it, and set it in order for me, since I
appointed the ancient people? and the things that are coming,
and shall come, let them shew unto them." Isaiah 44:7 The
Lord is still speaking here. We are going to be shown a view of
His great sovereignty! Don’t be afraid of that word, either. It
means that there is NO ONE above our God in Heaven. He is the
Supreme Ruler of the universe (all creation). It seems that the
verse is declaring to us two of the things God controls! They
are "the people" and "the things" of this world! That opening
verb "call" is (Hebrew = qara") a word meaning to encounter a
person! Literally it has the idea of accosting a person! God can
just "apprehend" someone anytime He chooses! (He "got" me one
day! The old-timers used to say that when they got saved ... God
"arrested" their souls! It is a Biblical idea!) We are being
told that God can "accost" a nation or a war or a political
campaign or an earthquake, etc. (anything that fits into the
category of people or things) anytime He pleases! But He not
only "calls" ... He "declares too! That verb ("nagad") means to
to "front" something (to boldly stand out opposite it)! Also: to
announce (always by word of mouth to someone present), to
expose, to predict, or even to explain! Twice in the King James
it is translated "expound." To "set in order" (Hebrew = "arak")
means to "set in a row." Or to arrange. Here God is being
pictured as setting in order the ages of history (and prophecy)
and the peoples (plural because of many nationalities) who have
lived (and will live)! Wow! This gives new meaning to the word
"dispensations!" God freely admits that He "appointed" the
ancient people. To appoint (Hebrew = "sum") is a synonym of our
last verb and means "to put, to place, to ordain, to
constitute." The first use of this verb is in Genesis 2:8 where
God planted a Garden (Eden) and PUT man in it! Our verse says
God has PUT people where He wants them ever since! The little
adjective "ancient" comes from the same semantic field as does
the word "for ever." It means to the vanishing point. As far as
one can see and then some more! "People" (Hebrew = "am") just
means "a congregated unit!" But quickly notice that God also
controls "things that are coming!" ("athah") The meaning: to
arrive! By implication: to assent! Anything that comes ... God
at least gives "assent" to its arrival! (He can STOP anything He
chooses!) One lexicon says it means to come (with hostile
purpose)! There ARE some difficult days ahead for this old world
according to the Bible! (And for America too!) Then are
mentioned things that "shall come." This is a different verb
altogether! It is in Hebrew "bo" and means to enter (or to go)!
I believe God has His mighty Hand on things going and coming!
(Movement in space from one place to another!) This verb DOES
NOT necessarily imply bad things ... but all things! I believe
that the grammatical implication of these two verbs for "coming"
is this: The first verb relates to things coming more
immediately ... and second verb relates to things coming
ultimately! Remember, every word is inspired! God has His mighty
Hands on things coming tomorrow ... and a thousand years from
tomorrow too! By this final word "shew" (which is the same
Hebrew verb "nagad" as was translated "delare" earlier) God says
to any imitators ... "YOU show the future if you can! But you
will fail!" Today appearing on the world scene are certain men
who call themselves "futurists." Even magazines that claim to
foretell certain world-wide trends are now being published. None
will be completely accurate! (Plus the "quacks" who read palms
and tea leaves and consult spirits ... demons!) Only God is
omniscient! Only God knows the ending from the beginning! I
don’t know what these truths are doing to you, dear friend ...
but they are giving me a greater sense of peace and
encouragement! My God is BIGGER than I have ever thought!
VERSE 8:
Today we notice the last verse of our
paragraph in Isaiah (44:1-8). Read it with me.
"Fear ye not, neither be afraid: have not
I told thee from that time, and have declared it? ye are even my
witnesses. Is there a God beside me? yea, there is no God; I
know not any." Isaiah 44:8 Obviously God is speaking. And
we see here an outstanding trait of His Character. God is a
Jealous God! (And rightly so!) He says in Isaiah 42:8 --- "I am
the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to
another, neither my praise to graven images." The paragraph
following our Isaiah verse mocks the false gods (idols) of the
world! We begin with two words for fear. "Fear not" translates
the Hebrew word "pachad", to tremble, to dread, to shake! It is
a Qal imperfect verb, suggesting that the action is incomplete.
"Fear not" now ... and keep on "fearing not" in the future!
Strong’s says our verb means: to be startled! "Be afraid" is a
different verb altogether. "Rahah" means "to fear." It is one of
the few verbs for which one can find little help with its
history (etymology)! Perhaps it is a synonym for "pachad" which
was just used earlier. It has some linkage with the Hebrew verb
that means "to throw or to shoot!" It MAY mean do not worry
about those who would attack you (throw and shoot at you) even
in your innocence. If so, the dangers implied here are
intensifying as time progresses! Such situations naturally
produce fear. Only God can remove it! "Told" is the verb "shama"
(which means to hear ... but in this particular verb stem) means
to "cause to hear." (That's the Hiphil stem.) Parallel with the
previous verb "told" is another verb: "declared." This one means
to make known, to announce, to report or even to expound! God is
an Expositor of His Own Uniqueness. There is none like Him! Next
God acknowledges the presence of "witnesses" to His words! The
noun used ("ed") implies a legal witness such as one would find
in a courtroom. God alone is God ... and His people know it! And
the particular form for God’s Name here is unusual. God is the
Hebrew word "eloah." (Usually we have Elohim.) The name stems
from a Hebrew root ("el") that means strength! God is the strong
One! (The God of ALL strength and power!) "Beside" means "apart
from" or "except." And the second use of the proper noun "God"
is derived from the Hebrew word "tzsur," which really means
rock! Of course, God is our Rock! (First use, Exodus 17:6 where
God told Moses to smite the ROCK and water would flow forth for
the thirsty people to drink!) Our Lord is a Rock higher than we
are! Psalm 61:2 No other true God exists. God plainly says:
There is no other God. I "know" not any! That verb "know" is the
Hebrew "yada" and means to know in a variety of ways. It can
mean to know closely and experientially! I believe God knows
everything! If there were another god ... our Lord would
certainly know it! (But ... I’ve got it fresh and straight from
God Himself, there is no other!) This is as clear a statement
about the existence and power of God as one will ever see in
Scripture. Next begins one stinging rebuke of false gods and
idols! None of them can compare to our Lord God Almighty! I’m
staying with the Real One! Praise His Name!
(When all eight of these verses are placed
together, they make one great text about God's true plan for
Revival! May the Lord grant such to His people!)
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
