Isaiah 44

Isaiah 44:6-7 NIV

"This is what the Lord  says—
Israel's King and Redeemer, the Lord  Almighty:
I am the first and I am the last;
apart from me there is no God. Who then is like me?
Let him proclaim it.
Let him declare and lay out before me
what has happened since I established my ancient people,
and what is yet to come—
yes, let them foretell what will come.

The promises of God our grounded in the person of God. God is the one who formed us. Idols were formed by us. God is the one that created us in his image. Idols and false gods are designed by men in their own image. God knows past, present and future. Idols know nothing. God, who created us and who called out Israel as a special people for himself, promises to restore Judah and Jerusalem. He will do so by turning the King of a foreign country, who serves idols and foreign gods, into his shepherd to protect and provide for his people. What other God can do that?

God says of the one who fashions and then bows down to an idol:

Isaiah 44:20 NIV

"Such a person feeds on ashes; a deluded heart misleads him;
he cannot save himself, or say,
"Is not this thing in my right hand a lie?"

Reading this chapter makes me think about all the gods we have created for ourselves. We have created everything from idols before which we brown down to philosophies of life that ultimately fail us. We feed on ashes and are mislead by a deluded heart. What philosophy can protect you against the wickedness of this world? What god can give you real hope beyond this life? What guru of finance can always be right? What bank account or stash of supplies can protect you when the world falls apart?

Father, thank you for the hope I find in you. You alone can see the end from the beginning. You alone can turn evil into good and ashes into beauty. Your promises are grounded in who you are. Thank you!

By His grace,
Rick Weinert