This week we see God continuing to point out how insane it is to trust in things other than God or to attribute God's attributes to any created thing.
Set forth your case, says the Lord; bring your proofs, says the King of Jacob. Let them bring them, andtell us what is to happen. Tell us the former things, what they are, that we may consider them, that we may know their outcome; or declare to us the things to come. Tell us what is to come hereafter, that we may know that you are gods; do good, or do harm, that we may be dismayed and terrified.Behold,you are nothing, and your work is less than nothing; an abomination is he who chooses you.
Isaiah 41:21-24
The verses here are presented as a court case. God calls Himself “the King of Jacob” to temporarily continue the pattern of comparing Himself to Idols as the King of Jacob. In rebuking sinful men who build useless idols, God begins to call for attributes that only He as God can have. He asks for transcendence from these hunks of metal and wood. Either tell what will happen or tell what did happen. God calls for an explanation of the flow of history. Can you see through time in either direction? Then He asks for an idol that can do good or harm to put a reasonable fear in anyone's heart. These commands and statements are directed at the idols.
The idol truly is nothing with work that is less than nothing, literally, since they are made and can't make anything. To turn from the perfect God of all creation to a lump of metal or wood is an awful thing. However, we tend to place our trust in money. We look to money to provide a future for us. We must balance being good stewards of what God has given us against our tendency to this sin but we also must keep our hearts with diligence to keep them holy. We also need to only look to God for our future. This means that you'll be careful to avoid syncretistic activities like horoscopes, spiritualist teaching (increasingly popular in TV), lucky charms, study of pagan psychics such as Nostradamus, or even an ungodly fascination with those who try to predict the stock market. We are careful because we don't want to be abhorrent to God.
I stirred up one from the north, and he has come, from the rising of the sun,and he shall call upon my name; he shall trample on rulers as on mortar, as the potter treads clay. Who declared it from the beginning, that we might know, and beforehand, that we might say, “ He is right”? There was none who declared it, none who proclaimed, none who heard your words.
I was the first to sayto Zion, “Behold, here they are!” andI give to Jerusalem a herald of good news. But when I look there is no one; among these there is no counselor who, when I ask, gives an answer. Behold, they are all a delusion; their works are nothing; their metal images are empty wind.
Isaiah 41:25-29
The one who is stirred up here is generally taken to be Cyrus (from the north but coming now from the east). The phrase “ he shall call upon my name” can also mean “he shall proclaim my name”. This man, by his actions, has fulfilled God's prophecy and even though he is a sinner he proclaimed God's name.
Judgment is an attribute of God that is not shared. In all world events and our personal lives we need to acknowledge God in great humility. Mortar and clay were mixed by treading on them and God is giving something that only God can give and He is sovereign.
Beholdmy servant, whom I uphold, my chosen,in whom my soul delights; I have put my Spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations. He will not cry aloud or lift up his voice, or make it heard in the street; a bruised reed he will not break, and a faintly burning wick he will not quench; he will faithfully bring forth justice. He will not grow faint or be discouragedtill he has established justice in the earth; andthe coastlands wait for his law.
Isaiah 42:1-4
This is the only “Servant Song” that begins with “ Behold”. We are commanded to behold Christ. To meditate upon Him. To consider all the ways He lived and all the things He taught. He doesn't need to shout and carry on but He will bring forth justice to the nations. In a sense, He has done that now with the atonement but we also wait for His coming and His perfect rule on earth.
The gentleness of Christ is in view as he will not destroy weak things. That is good news for us isn't it. He will work through our bruises and our faintly burning flames and restore us in justice. His righteousness becomes ours at the cross.
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