Gods story in your renewal

“I feel like God is distant.” I have heard that statement many times. I have often had that feeling as well. Someone added this twist: “If you feel distant from God, guess who moved!” In today’s passage, we are reminded of the reason why Judah felt distant from God.

Do you ever blow off sin in your life? There are times when I say something I regret or do something I shouldn’t, and treat it as no big deal. Repeated sin has a callous effect. It makes our hearts hardened to our common sin patterns. However, God takes a different view.

Isaiah begins this passage with the Hebrew word simu, which means “Listen up!” God has important things to say. Israel called themselves by the name Israel, and they were proud to be from Jerusalem. They even practiced the religious rituals, but the title was in name only, and their rituals fell flat. The NET Bible says that they confessed God but “not in truth and not in righteousness.” They were like Ferdinand Waldo Demara. They pretended to be who they were not. This is an important reminder: Our actions do not make us believers, yet they are evidence that we follow Jesus.

In today’s passage, Isaiah 46-47, God expresses his superiority over Babylon. Remember, this is written to those enduring slavery in Babylon, and Babylon seemed invincible. However, this is good news. Let’s see what we can learn from these chapters.

In Isaiah 44:6-8, God is emphatic that he alone is the sovereign, living God. He further emphasizes this truth by his titles. He is the “Lord, the King of Israel” (Isa. 44:6a). He is the “Redeemer” and the “Lord of hosts” (Isa. 44:6b). He is the “first” and the “last” (44:6c). There is no one like him and no one even compares to him (Isa. 44:7, 8b). That is why those who follow him will “fear not, nor be afraid” (Isa. 44:8a).

When God tells us not to be afraid, he provides the promises that dispel fear. God wants us to flee from fear and run to him. When we run to him, we’ll find everything we need. In today’s passage, God presents three reasons for living without fear and promises a gracious deliverance. Let’s see how these truths apply to Israel and to us today. 

If someone asked you to find verses in the Bible that spoke about Jesus, what book would you turn to? Let me go out on a limb and say that most of us would search for a passage in the New Testament, likely in one of the gospels. That would be a great choice. However, we need to remind ourselves frequently that Jesus is present throughout all of Scripture. The Bible is Christocentric. Whether we are in the Old Testament or the New Testament, they both point to Jesus the Christ (Heb: Messiah).

In Isaiah 41, the prophet Isaiah spoke to a group of people whose “pole of fear” was the unknown. His immediate audience had the Assyrians threatening to attack them. His target audience was a people held in captivity, over one hundred and fifty years in the future. They were yearning for God’s deliverance and fearful of an uncertain future.

In Isaiah 40:12-19, a series of rhetorical questions forces us to grapple face-to-face with the Person of God. In response to the fact that all nations (including their rulers, resources, and power) are like a drop in the bucket in God’s eyes, Isaiah asks:

“To whom then will you liken God, or what likeness compare with him?” (Isa. 40:18).