Isaiah 48
I. (1-39) Condemnation
A. Chapters 1-12—Prophecies against Israel and Judah
B. Chapters 13-23—Prophecies against the Nations
C. Chapters 24-27—Prophecies of the Day of the Lord
D. Chapters 28-35—Prophecies of Judgment and Blessing
E. Chapters 36-39—Historical accounts
II. (40-66) Consolation
A. Chapters 40-48—Israel’s God
1. \\#40:1-31\\ Be comforted by meeting your God
2. \\#41:1-29\\ Be Comforted by Meeting Your Protector
3. \\#42:1-25\\ Be Comforted by Meeting the Servant
4. \\#43:1-28\\ Be Comforted by Knowing Your God’s Desire
5. \\#44:1-47:15\\ Be Comforted by Knowing A Real God
a. \\#44:1-8\\ Future Promise of a great Israel
b. \\#44:9-20\\ The weakness of false gods
c. \\#44:21-45:4\\ A challenge to Israel
d. \\#45:5-19\\ A Conversation with Israel
e. \\#45:20-25\\ A Conversation with the World
f. \\#46:1-13\\ A Comparison between deities
g. \\#47:1-15\\ The Fall of Babylon
6. \\#48:1-22\\ Be Comforted by God’s Mercy
I. \\#48:1-22\\ Be Comforted by God’s Mercy
A. \\#1-8\\ God Knew Israel’s Stubbornness
1. \\#1-2\\ Israel’s hypocrisy
a. They "swear by the name of the Lord, and make mention of the God
of Israel." They also refer to the "holy city" and say that
they rely on "the God of Israel."
b. But their religion is just a veneer for they do not these things
"in truth nor in righteousness."
2. \\#3-8\\ Knowing them, God gave them prophecy
a. \\#3\\ "I have declared the former things…they came to pass" -
This is God telling about things before them happen.
b. \\#4\\ "Because I knew that thou art obstinate" - If God knows all
things, He had to know what kind of people Israel would be. So to
help the few who would be helped and to condemn those who would
not, God…
c. \\#5\\ "I have even from the beginning declared it unto you" - …
gave them prophecy.
d. \\#5\\ "lest thou shouldest say, Mine idol hath done them" - By
telling Israel what would happen to them before it did, He gave
proof that He was the One true God.
e. \\#6\\ "will not ye declare it?" Yet, Israel has not and would not
bear record of this.
f. \\#7\\ "They are created now." Now, God has brought the things to
pass which He prophesied.
g. \\#8\\ "Yea, thou heardest not; yea, thou knewest not" - But Israel
did not learn because they are a treacherous and sinful people.
B. \\#9-15\\ Even so, God will be merciful.
1. \\#9-11\\ God will not destroy Israel
a. \\#9\\ "I cut thee not off" - God will not completely destroy this
wicked people but not because they are worthy.
b. \\#9\\ Rather "for my name’s sake… and for my praise" - God will
spare Israel to bring glory to Himself.
c. \\#10\\ "I have refined thee… I have chosen thee in the furnace
of affliction" - However, God will work on Israel through
affliction.
d. \\#11\\ "For mine own sake, even mine own sake, will I do it" - God
will do all these things with and to Israel that His name be
glorified.
e. \\#11\\ "I will not give my glory unto another" - At present,
Israel was giving their idols glory for what Jehovah had done.
This was unacceptable. God will not allow false gods to take His
glory.
2. \\#12-15\\ A future deliverer is coming
a. \\#12\\ "Hearken unto me, O Jacob and Israel" - God is calling
Israel to listen to Him.
b. \\#12\\ "I am he; I am the first, I also am the last" - There has
been no other and there will be no other.
c. \\#13\\ "Mine hand also laid the foundation of the earth…
spanned the heavens" - He is the Creator.
d. \\#13\\ "when I call unto them, they stand up together" - The God
of Israel is the God to Whom all things obey.
e. \\#14\\ "All ye, assemble yourselves, and hear" - God again calls
upon Israel to hear. This repeated command to listen is an
indication that something very important is about to be revealed.
f. \\#14\\ "which among them hath declared these things?" God is
asking which idol among the many whom Israel is worshipping can
make a declaration like He is about to do. Again, it is Isaiah’s
style of prophecy to be both coded in riddles and disjointed in
time. From this point, it appears that Isaiah is no longer writing
about the present afflictions of Israel but looks ahead to the end
time afflictions.
g. \\#14-15\\ "The Lord hath loved him." Who is this "him?"
(1) \\#14\\ He is the One whom the Lord loves.
(2) \\#14\\ He is the one who "will do his pleasure on Babylon,
and his arm shall be on the Chaldeans." This is a reference
to defeating the Babylonians, as God desires. Of course, the
Babylonians have not even risen to power yet and Isaiah is
again looking to their defeat.
(3) \\#15\\ "I have called him; I have brought him, and he shall
make his way prosperous." All demonstrations that God is the
power behind this man.
(4) This is possibly a dual reference prophecy, based on Cyrus whom
Isaiah has already introduced \\#Is 41:2-7, 44:28-45:3\\
\\#Is 45:13, 46:11\\, but also referring to Christ. Cyrus is
the one whom God will bring to destroy Babylon in the near
future (some 150 years from then) but Jesus will be the One
who will come and destroy the end time Babylon \\#Rev 14:8\\
\\#Rev 16:19, 17:5, 18:2, 10. 21\\.
(5) \\#14\\ "The Lord hath loved him" - The main reason for
establishing this as a dual reference prophecy instead of
a fulfilled prophecy is Isaiah’s strong phrase declaring that
the Lord has loved this person. While God loves all humanity,
most commentators believe this is too strong a phrase for God
to use about anyone but His Son.
h. \\#15\\ "I, even I, have spoken" - God declares that these words
are coming from Him, indicating that they are prophetical words
that not just anybody could speak.
C. \\#16-22\\ Israel still has a choice.
1. \\#16-19\\ What could have been!
a. \\#16\\ "Come ye near unto me, hear ye this" - God again calls for
His people to listen to Him.
b. \\#16\\ "I have not spoken in secret from the beginning" - God is
still following His plan of making the end known from the
beginning. That is why He has revealed the fall of Babylon. Of
course, the question is will they listen in better?
c. \\#16\\ "and now the Lord God, and his Spirit, hath sent me" -
Isaiah is another link in the long chain of prophets to prove to
Israel (and to the world) that God is the One true God.
d. \\#17\\ "I am the Lord thy God which teacheth thee to profit" - God
is the God of Israel but He is also the God who wants to teach
Israel how to help themselves.
e. \\#18\\ "O that thou hadst hearkened… then had thy peace…
righteousness" - If they would just obey, they would have peace and
righteousness.
f. \\#19\\ "Thy seed also had been as the sand" - In additional, the
Jews would be an innumerable host instead of the afflicted and
defeated nation it had become.
g. \\#19\\ Even more, they would not have been cut off from God’s
presence.
2. \\#20-21\\ What should be! Knowing how Babylon will rise to power and
conquer Israel (as discussed in chapter 47) and knowing that Babylon
will ultimately be destroyed (as repeatedly discussed in this section),
Israel should make some plans.
a. \\#20\\ When it is time to "Go ye forth of Babylon," they should go
with singing.
b. \\#20\\ Their song should be that "The Lord hath redeemed his
servant Jacob!" It was all prophesied and it all came to pass.
Indeed, Israel did go out of Babylon on a high spiritual note,
singing God’s praises.
c. \\#21\\ As they write new songs about God’s deliverance from
Babylon, they should also remember how the Lord had delivered them
out of Egypt. Remembering the past helps to keep us right in the
present.
3. \\#22\\ What is!
a. Sadly, because Israel did not hearken unto the Lord, they are the
wicked.
b. And there can be no peace to the wicked.
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