God’s Challenge to The Idols
December 25, 2022
Commentary
We find a beautiful picture of God’s provision of water to abundantly supply the need of His people (vv 17-20). Because of this supply, He will also plant trees in this desert when normally these varieties will grow only in fertile areas. Having promised to bless His people, Israel, the Lord next challenges the gods of the heathen nations (vv. 21-29). He challenges them to predict the future and explain the meaning of the past. However, they can do neither, because they are not gods at all.
The end of this chapter is the picture of a courtroom. The inability of these idols to tell the future shows that their gods are ineffective and worthless. In contrast to these idols, which are man-made and unable to help people, God can and does tell the future (vv. 21-24). He predicted that a strong leader would come from the north and from the east (the rising sun), who would destroy many nations (vv. 25-29). Most commentators would agree that this refers to Cyrus, although he is not named here. He was from the east (Persia was east of Israel) and also from the north (many of his conquests extended to the north of Israel). Only God could predict something like this. This is a proof that the Lord is the true God and all idols are false gods. Those who believe in such idols have an empty faith and offer no more help than the wind which confuse peoples’ minds (v. 29).
Application
When I am tempted to put my trust in something other than the living God, such as money, career, or family, I should ask: Will it provide what I am really looking for? Only God can be trusted!
Isaiah 41:17– 29 (NET)
17 The oppressed and the poor look for water, but there is none; their tongues are parched from thirst. I, the Lord, will respond to their prayers; I, the God of Israel, will not abandon them.
18 I will make streams flow down the slopes and produce springs in the middle of the valleys. I will turn the wilderness into a pool of water and the arid land into springs.
19 I will make cedars, acacias, myrtles, and olive trees grow in the wilderness; I will make evergreens, firs, and cypresses grow together in the arid rift valley.
20 I will do this so people will observe and recognize, so they will pay attention and understand that the Lord’s power has accomplished this, and that the Holy One of Israel has brought it into being.
21 “Present your argument,” says the Lord. “Produce your evidence,” says Jacob’s king.
22 “Let them produce evidence! Let them tell us what will happen! Tell us about your earlier predictive oracles, so we may examine them and see how they were fulfilled. Or decree for us some future events!
23 Predict how future events will turn out, so we might know you are gods. Yes, do something good or something bad, so we might be frightened and in awe.
24 Look, you are nothing, and your accomplishments are nonexistent; the one who chooses to worship you is disgusting.
25 I have stirred up one out of the north and he advances, one from the eastern horizon who prays in my name. He steps on rulers as if they were clay, like a potter treading the clay.
26 Who decreed this from the beginning, so we could know? Who announced it ahead of time, so we could say, ‘He’s correct’? Indeed, none of them decreed it. Indeed, none of them announced it. Indeed, no one heard you say anything!
27 I first decreed to Zion, ‘Look, here’s what will happen!’ I sent a herald to Jerusalem.
28 I look, but there is no one, among them there is no one who serves as an adviser, that I might ask questions and receive answers.
29 Look, all of them are nothing, their accomplishments are nonexistent; their metal images lack any real substance.
Illustration: Predictions That Underestimated Vision
Consider these famous predictions that underestimated the incredible power of vision:
• Ken Olson, president and founder of Digital Equipment Corporation said in 1977, “There is no reason why anyone would want a computer in their home.”
• Consider this Western Union memo from 1876: “The Telephone has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication."
• Or consider the words of Decca Recording company, when they turned down signing the Beatles in 1962: “We don’t like their sound and guitar music is on the way out."
(Charles Duell, commissioner of the U.S. Office of Patents said this in 1899).