Beginning in chapter 48, the Lord turns his address from the Babylonians to the “house of Jacob” (1). Where the Babylonians had linked themselves to their idols (46:1) and enchantments (47:10), the Israelites identified themselves with the “God of Israel” (48:1). But sadly, it was only in words, not in truth: “Hear this, O house of Jacob, who are called by the name of Israel, and who came from the waters of Judah, who swear by the name of the Lord and confess the God of Israel, but not in truth or right” (1). Their pious words were not matched with obedient lives (18).
The Lord knows the true condition of their hearts and so confronts their waywardness (3-5). As the nation takes its name from Jacob/Israel, so they take their spiritual DNA from him as well. Like Jacob they are “obstinate” with necks of “iron sinew” and foreheads of “brass.” Like Jacob in the womb grasping his brother’s heel to be first (Gen. 25:23-26), the people of Israel have acted “treacherously” from their inception: “from before birth you were called a rebel” (8).
For this reason, the Lord had previously announced what He would do in the future: “The former things I declared of old” (3). He gave advance notice so that, when He accomplished His purposes, the Israelites could not claim, “My idol did them, my carved image, and my metal image commanded them” (5). These “former things” would include the destruction of Jerusalem and exile into Babylon (39:6-7).
Now the Lord speaks to announce “new things” that Israel had not known (6). Again, he speaks of what He will do in the future to pre-empt his people from falsely claiming, “Behold, I knew them” (7). The Lord knows the tendency of his people to act “treacherously” towards him (8). However, because He guards His own glory and protects His own praise, He has not completely consumed Israel in the furnace of His righteous fury (9-11). “For my own sake, for my own sake, I do it, for how should my name be profaned? My glory I will not give to another” (11).
Again, the Lord summons “Jacob and Israel” to “Listen to me” (12). He puts them in their place by reminding them that His is the first and the last, the creator of the earth and heavens (12-13).
Still again, He calls them to “assemble” and “listen” (14). What does the Lord want them to hear? His plans to raise up one who will defeat the Babylonians: “The Lord loves him; he shall perform his purpose on Babylon, and his arm shall be against the Chaldeans. I, even I, have spoken and called him; I have brought him, and he will prosper in his way” (14-15).
This is a stunning statement, deserving of Israel’s full attention. The Lord “loves” Cyrus and will cause him to prosper in his own plans of dethroning the Chaldeans. By announcing this openly (“not spoken in secret”—16) and well before Cyrus is born or comes to power, the Lord makes the case why Israel should listen to Him and follow His lead (16, 17). “Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: ‘I am the Lord your God, who teaches you to profit, who leads you in the way you should go” (17).
However, like Jacob, the nation has proven rebellious and treacherous. The Lord pours out a lament for their waywardness in verse 18: “Oh that you had paid attention to my commandments.” Had Israel does this, the blessings first promised to Abram (Gen 12:1-3) and repeated to Jacob would have been theirs: “your offspring would have been like the sand, and your descendants like its grains; their name would never be cut off or destroyed from before me” (19).
In spite of their disobedience, the Lord will still be faithful to His covenant promises. He will be Israel’s Redeemer from Babylon. He bids them, “Go out from Babylon, flee from Chaldea, declare this with a shout of joy, proclaim it, send it out to the end of the earth; say, ‘The Lord has redeemed his servant Jacob!” (20).
What will happen to the people if they leave Babylon and head across the vast desert towards the Promised Land? How will they make it? The Lord reminds them of how He preserved His people before as they traveled through the desert towards Canaan: “They did not thirst when he led them through the deserts; he made water flow for them from the rock; he split the rock and the water gushed out” (21).
What if they rebel and refuse to follow His commands? Verse 22 ends the chapter with a sober, timeless warning: “’There is no peace,’ says the Lord, ‘for the wicked.’”
Behold Your God
The Lord fulfills His words faithfully but not always immediately. The Lord reminds his faithless people of how he had declared the “former things” and had faithfully carried them out “suddenly” (3). But suddenly doesn’t necessarily mean immediately. For he now declares in advance what he will do in raising up a leader to bring down Babylon (14). These words would not be fulfilled for over a hundred years. The Lord speaks in advance to prove His unrivaled ability to know and control the future (4-8). So, wait for the Lord, confident that He will do what He has declared. His word will be fulfilled faithfully, though not always immediately.
The Lord is the Redeemer of His people. Throughout Isaiah 40-66, we find the Lord calling Himself or being called Israel’s “Redeemer” (41:14; 43:14; 44:6, 24; 47:4; 48:14; 49:7, 26; 54:5, 8; 59:20). The Hebrew term is used of a person who comes to the aid of a kinsman to rescue them in a significant way (buying them out of poverty, avenging their unjust death). Often there is the sense of a payment or purchase price to restore those redeemed out of slavery or bondage. Sometimes, the redeemer buys back what was previously owned. In Isaiah, the Lord comes to redeem His covenant people, freeing them from the bondage in Babylon and bring them back to Himself and His homeland. Without the Lord being their Redeemer, Israel would be forever lost. The same is true for all of us who belong to the Lord. Without Christ’s redemption (through the blood payment of the ultimate price), we would be forever enslaved to sin and death. Praise God for being our Redeemer.
Here Am I
I can say the right words but not be right with God. The Lord rebukes the “house of Jacob” for saying words that were not a reflection of reality: “Hear this, O house of Jacob, . . . who swear by the name of the Lord and confess the God of Israel, but not in truth or right” (1). As the Lord had previously said about them, “this people draw near with their mouth and honour me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me” (29:13). Jesus quoted these words to expose the hypocrisy in the hearts of the religious leaders (Matt. 15:8). God sees past our words to the truth in our hearts. My heart must align with my mouth, or I will be wrong even when speaking what is right.
I don’t want to have an iron neck, brass forehead or plugged ears—signs of a wayward heart. The nation of Israel’s obstinate and rebellious heart (4, 8) led to having a neck that was “an iron sinew,” a forehead that was “brass,” and an ear that “has not been opened” (4, 8). I don’t want to be stiff necked towards the Lord or remain unable to clearly hear him. Lord—You who see the truth about me—please help me have a heart that is responsive rather than rebellious, obedient instead of obstinate. Open my ears to hear and “pay attention” to your commandments (18).
Oh, I want to experience God’s peace by paying attention to His words. The Lord longs for His people to listen and obey Him so they will enjoy His “shalom”: “Oh that you had paid attention to my commandments! Then your peace would have been like a river”—constant and ever-flowing (18). Conversely, “’There is no peace,’ says the Lord, ‘for the wicked’” (22). With David I say, “Oh that my ways may be steadfast in keeping your statutes!” (Psalm 119:5).
Rick and Linda Reed 