Introduction
God has the unique ability to predict the future.
and formed you from the womb,
who will help you says:
“Don’t be afraid, Jacob my servant;
and you, Jeshurun, whom I have chosen.
and streams on the dry ground.
I will pour my Spirit on your descendants,
and my blessing on your offspring:
and another will be called by the name of Jacob;
and another will write with his hand ‘to the LORD,’
and honour the name of Israel.”
and his Redeemer, the LORD of Armies, says:
“I am the first, and I am the last;
and besides me there is no God.
Who will call,
and will declare it,
and set it in order for me,
since I established the ancient people?
Let them declare the things that are coming,
and that will happen.
neither be afraid.
Haven’t I declared it to you long ago,
and shown it?
You are my witnesses.
Is there a God besides me?
Indeed, there is not.
I don’t know any other Rock.”
The things that they delight in will not profit.
Their own witnesses don’t see, nor know, that they may be disappointed.
and the workmen are mere men.
Let them all be gathered together.
Let them stand up.
They will fear.
They will be put to shame together.
works in the coals,
fashions it with hammers,
and works it with his strong arm.
He is hungry,
and his strength fails;
he drinks no water,
and is faint.
He marks it out with a pencil.
He shapes it with planes.
He marks it out with compasses,
and shapes it like the figure of a man,
with the beauty of a man,
to reside in a house.
and takes the cypress and the oak,
and strengthens for himself one amongst the trees of the forest.
He plants a cypress tree,
and the rain nourishes it.
and he takes some of it, and warms himself.
Yes, he burns it, and bakes bread.
Yes, he makes a god, and worships it;
he makes it a carved image, and falls down to it.
With part of it, he eats meat.
He roasts a roast, and is satisfied.
Yes, he warms himself,
and says, “Aha! I am warm. I have seen the fire.”
even his engraved image.
He bows down to it and worships,
and prays to it, and says, “Deliver me; for you are my god!”
for he has shut their eyes, that they can’t see;
and their hearts, that they can’t understand.
neither is there knowledge nor understanding to say,
“I have burnt part of it in the fire.
Yes, I have also baked bread on its coals.
I have roasted meat and eaten it.
Shall I make the rest of it into an abomination?
Shall I bow down to a tree trunk?”
A deceived heart has turned him aside;
and he can’t deliver his soul,
nor say, “Isn’t there a lie in my right hand?”
for you are my servant.
I have formed you.
You are my servant.
Israel, you will not be forgotten by me.
and, as a cloud, your sins.
Return to me, for I have redeemed you.
Shout, you lower parts of the earth!
Break out into singing, you mountains, O forest, all of your trees,
for the LORD has redeemed Jacob,
and will glorify himself in Israel.
and he who formed you from the womb says:
“I am the LORD, who makes all things;
who alone stretches out the heavens;
who spreads out the earth by myself;
and makes diviners mad;
who turns wise men backward,
and makes their knowledge foolish;
and performs the counsel of his messengers;
who says of Jerusalem, ‘She will be inhabited;’
and of the cities of Judah, ‘They will be built,’
and ‘I will raise up its waste places;’
even saying of Jerusalem, ‘She will be built;’
and of the temple, ‘Your foundation will be laid.’ ”
Questions
1. What does the LORD, the King of Israel, say about himself and what he has done?
v 6 to 8 This is what the LORD, the King of Israel,
and his Redeemer, the LORD of Armies, says:
“I am the first, and I am the last;
and besides me there is no God.
Who is like me?
Who will call,
and will declare it,
and set it in order for me,
since I established the ancient people?
Let them declare the things that are coming,
and that will happen.
Don’t fear,
neither be afraid.
Haven’t I declared it to you long ago,
and shown it?
You are my witnesses.
Is there a God besides me?
Indeed, there is not.
I don’t know any other Rock.”
2. What does the LORD say no-one thinks about when they have made an idol?
v 19 No one thinks,
neither is there knowledge nor understanding to say,
“I have burnt part of it in the fire.
Yes, I have also baked bread on its coals.
I have roasted meat and eaten it.
Shall I make the rest of it into an abomination?
Shall I bow down to a tree trunk?”
3. What does the LORD tell Jacob and Israel to remember?
v 21 Remember these things, Jacob and Israel;
for you are my servant.
I have formed you.
You are my servant.
Israel, you will not be forgotten by me.
Summary Points
- v 1 to 5 the LORD will bless hIs people Israel
- v 6 to 8 The God of Israel says he is the only God
- v 9 to 20 The LORD points out the folly of making idols and then worshipping them, trusting in human ideas
- v 21 to 28 The LORD is always willing to forgive his people and appeals to them to return to him. The LORD predicts that Cyrus [the Persian] will enable Jerusalem to be built. and the temple foundation to be laid