Isaiah 45:15-25

Passage: Isaiah 45:15-25
15 Truly, you are a God who hides himself,
O God of Israel, the Savior.
16 All of them are put to shame and confounded;
the makers of idols go in confusion together.
17 But Israel is saved by the LORD
with everlasting salvation;
you shall not be put to shame or confounded
to all eternity.
18 For thus says the LORD,
who created the heavens
(he is God!),
who formed the earth and made it
(he established it;
he did not create it empty,
he formed it to be inhabited!):
"I am the LORD, and there is no other.
19 I did not speak in secret,
in a land of darkness;
I did not say to the offspring of Jacob,
'Seek me in vain.'
I the LORD speak the truth;
I declare what is right.
20 "Assemble yourselves and come;
draw near together,
you survivors of the nations!
They have no knowledge
who carry about their wooden idols,
and keep on praying to a god
that cannot save.
21 Declare and present your case;
let them take counsel together!
Who told this long ago?
Who declared it of old?
Was it not I, the LORD?
And there is no other god besides me,
a righteous God and a Savior;
there is none besides me.
22 "Turn to me and be saved,
all the ends of the earth!
For I am God, and there is no other.
23 By myself I have sworn;
from my mouth has gone out in righteousness
a word that shall not return:
'To me every knee shall bow,
every tongue shall swear allegiance.'
24 "Only in the LORD, it shall be said of me,
are righteousness and strength;
to him shall come and be ashamed
all who were incensed against him.
25 In the LORD all the offspring of Israel
shall be justified and shall glory."

Journal: The ways of God are not for us to fully understand, for we are limited in our own ability to comprehend He who created us. He reveals Himself to us in the way He deems proper. [v. 15 -- "Truly, you are a God who hides himself, O God of Israel, the Savior."] Yet, He is making it clear that His revelation of Himself is for both the Jew and for the Gentile. Today's passage addresses the Jewish nation in verses 15-19, and the Gentile nations in verses 20-25. [v.17 -- "But Israel is saved by the LORD with everlasting salvation; v. 22 - "Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other."] The result of this universal offer of salvation is that there will be a universal reckoning of man to God. [v. 23 -- "By myself I have sworn; from my mouth has gone out in righteousness a word that shall not return: 'To me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear allegiance.'"] This is great evidence that "He hides Himself," for He declares that it is His sovereign will both that all be saved and that He will save only the elect in Christ. His unsearchable and rich character are fully formed beyond where I mind can gaze. Yet, what we can know is worthy of grasping and embracing and enjoying today and for all eternity. [v. 25 -- "In the LORD all the offspring of Israel shall be justified and shall glory."]

Note: Jill and the kids [and the laptop] were all at the beach last week, and therefore the Daily Journal was also on vacation . . .