#1010 Isaiah 48 In Name Only

 

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.

2 For they call themselves after the holy city,

and stay themselves on the God of Israel;

the Lord of hosts is his name.

3 “The former things I declared of old;

they went out from my mouth, and I announced them;

then suddenly I did them, and they came to pass.

4 Because I know that you are obstinate,

and your neck is an iron sinew

and your forehead brass,

5 I declared them to you from of old,

before they came to pass I announced them to you,

lest you should say, ‘My idol did them,

my carved image and my metal image commanded them.’

6 “You have heard; now see all this;

and will you not declare it?

From this time forth I announce to you new things,

hidden things that you have not known.

7 They are created now, not long ago;

before today you have never heard of them,

lest you should say, ‘Behold, I knew them.’

8 You have never heard, you have never known,

from of old your ear has not been opened.

For I knew that you would surely deal treacherously,

and that from before birth you were called a rebel.

9 “For my name's sake I defer my anger;

for the sake of my praise I restrain it for you,

that I may not cut you off.

10 Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver;

I have tried you in the furnace of affliction.

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.

The Lord's Call to Israel

12 “Listen to me, O Jacob,

and Israel, whom I called!

I am he; I am the first,

and I am the last.

13 My hand laid the foundation of the earth,

and my right hand spread out the heavens;

when I call to them,

they stand forth together.

14 “Assemble, all of you, and listen!

Who among them has declared these things?

The Lord loves him;

he shall perform his purpose on Babylon,

and his arm shall be against the Chaldeans.

15 I, even I, have spoken and called him;

I have brought him, and he will prosper in his way.

16 Draw near to me, hear this:

from the beginning I have not spoken in secret,

from the time it came to be I have been there.”

And now the Lord God has sent me, and his Spirit.

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.

18 Oh that you had paid attention to my commandments!

Then your peace would have been like a river,

and your righteousness like the waves of the sea;

19 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.”

20 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!”

21 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.

22 “There is no peace,” says the Lord, “for the wicked.” Isaiah 48 ESV

Isaiah 48 Refining of Israel

The Jews valued themselves on descent from Jacob, and used the name of Jehovah as their God. They prided themselves respecting Jerusalem and the temple, yet there was no holiness in their lives. If we are not sincere in religion, we do but take the name of the Lord in vain. By prophecy they were shown how God would deal with them, long before it came to pass. God has said and done enough to prevent men's boasting of themselves, which makes the sin and ruin of the proud worse; sooner or later every mouth shall be stopped, and all become silent before Him. We are all born children of disobedience. Where original sin is, actual sin will follow. Does not the conscience of every man witness to the truth of Scripture? May the Lord prove us, and render us doers of the word. - Matthew Henry

1-2. O house of Jacob - The name Jacob means "deceiver", God changed His name to Israel which means "governed by God." He will not have it in name only, for whom He calls, He justifies, who He justifies He also sanctifies. Israel is happy with the name alone, outward rituals, saying what they think is right, but it is in complete denial as to spiritual reality. 

Who come from the waters of Judah - This is not a compliment either, for Judah was an immoral representative. It is an appeal to heritage, culture, and they are fine with all that, even profaning God's name. Judah and Joseph , he sold his brother Joseph. He was also a hypocrite in how he lived versus how he expected others to, Tamar. He was willing to stone his daughter in law for the same sin he was guilty of, unwilling to discipline his sons, willing to deceive his father. He had to be refined, there was no boast to be had in his name, but only in the One Who refined him. Israel, you come from corrupted seed. 

But not in truth or right - You swear by God's name, but you take it in vain. The truth is you are in a desperate way, you think you keep the law by what you are willing to show, and by concealing what you are not willing for others to see. Yours is a horizontal religion, words without truth, without action, deceiving and being deceived, but God is not deceived.

…2“The scribes and Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. 3So practice and observe everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. 4They tie up heavy, burdensome loads and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.… Matthew 23: 2-4

…28A man is not a Jew because he is one outwardly, nor is circumcision only outward and physical. 29No, a man is a Jew because he is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a man’s praise does not come from men, but from God. Romans 2: 28-29

The Lord of hosts is His name - They call themselves after Zion, and take comfort that the Creator is their God. They like Him as deliverer from their earthly foes, as material giver, prosperity, rain and harvest. Jerusalem and it's God are names that have become enchantments to them, for they do not like the idea of repentance, of acknowledging their need of refinement. The church has become just as cliché in our day, programs, guides and slogans. They look to numbers instead of believing Christ when He says, "I will build My Church." We have settled for the compliments of men, and have hated anyone who confronts our disingenuous claims. We have heard, but refuse to acknowledge the reality and authority. 

3-5. Because I know that you are obstinate - He declared the former things before they happened so Israel could not say it was chance or the working of an idol they had prayed to, because it was in their hearts to go with apostasy, and the gods of this world. He keeps the religion of the elect in tact by calling out the destruction of Babylon, and even naming the deliverer, Cyrus.

6-11. You have heard - They know of past sayings of God, of the law, of His judgments against sin, of His deliverance and power, yet they remain obstinate, rebellious, unrepentent.

From before birth you were called a rebel - Original sin, nothing that surname, relation to Abraham, merely holding the text, knowing the words of the law, or saying God's name in vain could fix. 

…4Against You, You only, have I sinned and done what is evil in Your sight, so that You may be proved right when You speak and blameless when You judge. 5Surely I was brought forth in iniquity; I was sinful when my mother conceived me.6Surely You desire truth in the inmost being; You teach me wisdom in the inmost place.… Psalm 51: 4-6

11Not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. 12Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, so also death was passed on to all men, because all sinned. 13For sin was in the world before the law was given; but sin is not taken into account when there is no law.… Romans 5: 11-13

For my name's sake, I defer my anger - He shows mercy because of His integrity to the promises and covenants He has made on behalf of this people. It is not mercy if it is earned or merited, but it is grace when it is completely undeserved. Their salvation will be to His glory, they will gladly cast the crowns at His feet.

6“Because I, the LORD, do not change, you descendants of Jacob have not been destroyed.7Yet from the days of your fathers, you have turned away from My statutes and have not kept them. Return to Me, and I will return to you,” says the LORD of Hosts. “But you ask, ‘How can we return?’… Malachi 3: 6-7

I have tried you in the furnace of affliction - The coming Babylonian captivity is such a trial, not quick like the smelting of silver, but over the course of all their history even now.

1“On that day a fountain will be opened to the house of David and the people of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and impurity.2And on that day, declares the LORD of Hosts, I will erase the names of the idols from the land, and they will no longer be remembered. I will also remove the prophets and the spirit of impurity from the land.… Zechariah 13: 1-2

My glory I will not give to another - Jesus is all the fullness of deity in bodily form, Immanuel (God with us), God adding to His deity, humanity.

…33and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever. His kingdom will never end!” 34“ How can this be, Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin? 35The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the Holy One to be born will be called the Son of God.… Luke 1: 33-35

25I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you will not be conceited: A hardening in part has come to Israel, until the full number of the Gentiles has come in. 26And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: “The Deliverer will come from Zion; He will remove godlessness from Jacob. 27And this is My covenant with them when I take away their sins.”… Romans 11: 25-27

…2But in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, and through whom He made the universe. 3The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His nature, upholding all things by His powerful word. After He had provided purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high. 4So He became as far superior to the angels as the name He has inherited is excellent beyond theirs.… Hebrews 1: 2-4

…7If you had known Me, you would know My Father as well. From now on you do know Him and have seen Him.” 8Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us. 9Jesus replied, “Philip, I have been with you all this time, and still you do not know Me? Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?… John 14: 7-9

13children born not of blood, nor of the desire or will of man, but born of God. 14 The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. 15John testified concerning Him. He cried out, saying, “This is He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me because He was before me.’ ”… John 1: 13-15

12-22. The Lord loves Him - It is God Who called Cyrus for Israel's deliverance from Babylon, but look at the context here, vs. 16 "from the time it came to be I have been there, and now the Lord God has sent Me and His Spirit." This is the promised Messiah speaking in terminology like that given to Mary by the angel in Luke 1, quoted above. Christ will come and destroy the final Babylon.

“Finally (v. 16) another speaker mysteriously enters the prophecy. This verse has a number of features that have mystified commentators, who have been puzzled particularly by its final couplet. Young, Kidner, and other conservative commentators have argued that the new speaker introduced here (or in the whole verse) is in fact God’s Servant, the Servant of the songs… Perhaps he is introduced here because Cyrus’ work is in fact simply a harbinger of the much greater deliverance he would bring to God’s people.” (Grogan)

Oh, that you had paid attention to My commandments - They would have profited so much from this, they would have had peace. 

1Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off every encumbrance and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with endurance the race set out for us. 2Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3Consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.… Hebrews 12: 1-3

Go out from Babylon - The shadow of Cyrus deliverance, and the following migration of Jews back to the homeland pales in comparison to what God will accomplish in the last days. The call will go out again for the finale. 

25I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you will not be conceited: A hardening in part has come to Israel, until the full number of the Gentiles has come in. 26And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: “The Deliverer will come from Zion; He will remove godlessness from Jacob. 27And this is My covenant with them when I take away their sins.”… Romans 11: 25-27

…3All the nations have drunk the wine of the passion of her immorality. The kings of the earth were immoral with her, and the merchants of the earth have grown wealthy from the extravagance of her luxury.” 4Then I heard another voice from heaven say: “Come out of her, My people, so that you will not share in her sins or contract any of her plagues. 5For her sins are piled up to heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities.… Revelation 18: 3-5

He split the rock and water gushed out - He giveth living water, they need but trust and follow Him.

There is no peace, says the Lord, for the wicked - Come out of her, for the land is ready to vomit her out, flee from the wrath to come.

7Awake, O sword, against My Shepherd, against the man who is My Companion, declares the LORD of Hosts. Strike the Shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered, and I will turn My hand against the little ones. 8And in all the land, declares the LORD, two-thirds will be cut off and perish, but a third will be left in it.9This third I will bring through the fire; I will refine them like silver and test them like gold. They will call on My name, and I will answer them. I will say, ‘They are My people,’ and they will say, ‘The LORD is our God.’ ”… Zechariah 13: 7-9