Imagine a man having to tell his wife that he is her husband. Tragically, there are reasons why she may have had her doubts, the way he’s treated her, or memory loss. But imagine he had always treated her well, and he has to remind her because of the way she’s acting. God has always been the perfect God to His people, yet they have forsaken Him so much that time and again He has to remind them, because they have been turning to idols. Here in Isaiah 45 He says “I am the LORD and there is no other.”
Not only were Israel in danger of crediting God’s work to idols, but they were also struggling to believe that God could do what He said He would do. God has to remind them who He is. He will do whatever He says He will do.
Perhaps one thing that Israel are really struggling with is that God will use a pagan king (Cyrus) to accomplish His purposes. God’s people are going to end up in exile in Babylon for their sin, but God will bring them back to the land, by using Cyrus. The fact that God tells His people the future should be of great encouragement as we see what He says fulfilled, it should increase our faith. But Israel seem troubled by the fact that God will use a pagan King to accomplish His purposes, so God has to remind them, they are the creature and He is the Creator (45:9), something we often need reminding of.
God’s purposes will not only involve using a pagan king, but an invitation to the nations to come in. God’s salvation will not just be for Israel, but to the ends of the earth. Look at His gracious invitation in 45:22 “turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth.” As we will see in the coming chapters, God is sending His suffering servant (Jesus), who will die in our place so that we can be brought near to God.
He is the one true God, His salvation is only way to be saved, and in the next chapters God shows the folly of trusting anything or anyone else. Look at how foolish it is to trust in idols (anything we trust in instead of God), they can’t support you, in fact they need carrying (45:7). God says, why would you turn to anything else, it can’t deliver. You can enjoy things as gifts from God, but don’t turn them into gods, they were never meant to bear that weight. Come to the one who says “come to me, all you who are weary and heavy burdened, and I will give you rest.” There is no God like our God, a God who tells us what will happen, and offers to take our burdens for us, even the burden of our rebellion against Him. Here is the one true God, rejoice in Him.
Light and Momentary Troubles 
Leave a comment