Isaiah 48


Isaiah 48:1, 18 (ESV)

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.

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;


To become a Christian and to live as a Christian are two different things. The descendants of Jacob were God’s people, yet they failed to live like God’s people. God had not hidden himself from them. God reminds them, “From the beginning I have not spoken in secret, from the time it came to be I have been there” (Is 48:16) God spoke to Adam. God spoke to Abraham. God spoke to Moses. God spoke through the prophets. It was not that God was hidden from them, but that they had refused to listen. The People of God swore by the name of the LORD, and confessed the God of Israel, but they did not do so in truth or right. Their living did not match their words. The result was that they did not experience the peace of God.


The text laments, “Oh that you had paid attention to my commandments! Then your peace would have been like a river” (Is 48:18a). But, “There is no peace…for the wicked” (Is 48:22). It is one thing to call ourselves by the name of Christ. It is another thing to live out that which is true and right. Jesus said that “In the world you will have tribulation” (Jn 16:33b). But the warning about tribulation was sandwiched between these two statements: “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace” (Jn 16:3a). “Take heart; I have overcome the world” (Jn 16:33c). His promise was that even in the midst of tribulation from the world, his peace would reign in our hearts because he has overcome the world.


So why are we not experiencing his peace? Why is there so much turmoil in our lives? We call ourselves by the name of Christ, but we do not live according to the name of Christ in rightness or truth. When we buy into the World’s value systems, we rob ourselves of his peace. When we listen to the World’s lies about our security and significance, we rob ourselves of his peace. When we embrace what the World tells us is important, right or true, we rob ourselves of his peace. When we act without listening to the Word or the Spirit, we rob ourselves of his peace. God has not hidden himself. He has spoken clearly. We have too often been quick to call ourselves Christians but slow to trust him, rest in him, embrace his values, or walk by his Word. Calling oneself a Christian does not guarantee peace. Believing, thinking, speaking and living according to that which is true and right leads to peace even in the middle of tribulation.


Isaiah 48:18
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;

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