Thursday, October 24, 2013

Israel is God's Witness (Isaiah 43:8-13)


SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 10/24/2013 2:46 PM

My Worship Time                                                                           Focus:  Israel is God’s Witness

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Isaiah 43:8-13

            Message of the verses:  8 Bring out the people who are blind, even though they have eyes, And the deaf, even though they have ears. 9 All the nations have gathered together So that the peoples may be assembled. Who among them can declare this And proclaim to us the former things? Let them present their witnesses that they may be justified, or let them hear and say, "It is true." 10 “You are My witnesses," declares the LORD, "And My servant whom I have chosen, So that you may know and believe Me And understand that I am He. Before Me there was no God formed, And there will be none after Me. 11  "I, even I, am the LORD, And there is no savior besides Me. 12  "It is I who have declared and saved and proclaimed, And there was no strange god among you; So you are My witnesses," declares the LORD, "And I am God. 13 “Even from eternity I am He, And there is none who can deliver out of My hand; I act and who can reverse it?’”

            When we read in verse eight about the blind eyes, and the deaf ears we know that they will be healed and have spiritual eyesight, as this is speaking about the remnant.  Take a look at 43:18-19 which shows us that God is speaking about the future when Israel returns from Babylon.  I suppose too, that we can say that surely this verse will be fulfilled in the Kingdom Age.

            Verse nine is speaking of the nations and the “gods” that they worship.  Who among them could present a witness that Cyrus would be the one who would let Israel go from captivity?  No one but the Lord!

            Verse ten is a wonderful verse declaring who God is and showing that there is no other god other than the Lord.  Israel would be a witness to who God is and what He can do for He is the One who works through them.  Verse eleven reiterates the truth of verse ten.

            Verse twelve speaks of how God declared and saved and proclaimed that Israel would be taken out of Egypt, for God foretold of this in the 15th chapter of Genesis to Abraham, and after this was done then the nations feared Him.  God was about to do the same thing by bringing Israel out of Babylon by using the king that He has spoken of as His servant, that is Cyrus.

            John MacArthur writes the following on verse thirteen:  From Eternity:  Before the first day of creation when time began and throughout all periods of history, God exists and manifest His will and purpose.  None…My Hand:  The Heb. Behind this clause is identical with the comparable clause in Dt. 32:39.  ‘’See now that I, I am He, And there is no god besides Me; It is I who put to death and give life. I have wounded and it is I who heal, And there is no one who can deliver from My hand.’  God’s actions are irreversible and can never end in frustration.”

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  What I see from this section, among other things, is that God is immutable, God cannot ever change, and though at times we see in His Word that God changed His mind that is referring to the fact that there are times in the Scripture that in order to better explain God, He is explained like a man.  God does not have any eyes, nor have any ears, nor arms, nor feet, but all these things are used to better explain who God is to man.  God cannot ever change His mind and for that I am very glade.  God provided salvation through Jesus Christ as He suffered and died on the cross, now if God could change His mind then perhaps He would change His mind about our salvation, but that is impossible with God for being immutable is one of the attributes of God. 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Proverbs 3:5-6.

Memory verses for the week:  2 Peter 1:1-9.

            1 Simon Peter, a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ:  2 Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; 3 seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His glory and excellence.  4 For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.

            5 Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, 6 and in your knowledge self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, 7 and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love.  8 For if these qualities are yours ad are increasing, they render you neither useless, nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.  9 For he who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible Question:  “An altar” (Genesis 8:20).

Today’s Bible Question:  “Who is sometimes transformed into and angel of light?”

Answer in our next SD.

10/24/2013 3:22 PM  

           

No comments:

Post a Comment