It Starts Small

The previous chapter ended with God warning Israel. He will again allow the temple to be desecrated. Israel will suffer humiliation for failing to honor him.

But this chapter starts with God once again reassuring Israel, poetically called Jeshurun (v2). She need not be afraid, for God has chosen her (v1). God will pour out his Spirit on Israel, and he will restore the nation and the land (v3-4). They belong to him (v5), their protector. He is their kinsman redeemer, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. He is the First and the Last. He is the only God (v6), the only sheltering rock (v8). In the New Testament, Jesus is identified as Jehovah God in each of these ways. Jesus is Israel’s rock.

and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual rock that followed them, and that rock was Christ.

1 Corinthians 10:4

In verses 6 to 8, God once again offers a challenge, as though in a court or debate. He is the only one who proclaims the future and then fulfills it. The people of Israel are witnesses that He is the only God. He has re-established an ancient people. He decreed beforehand that he would do so (v7). God is Israel’s only Rock (v8).

God is still speaking in verses 9 to 20. He launches into the longest attack on idolatry to be found in the bible. God highlights the uselessness (v10) and the absurdity (v19-20) of idolatry. He warns that everyone associated with it will be put to shame (v11). Men are made in the image of God. They create something in the image of man and bow down to it (v12-13). It is made of wood or metal, and can never rise above the material from which it is created (v14). A carpenter lights a fire with half a piece of wood to warm himself. From the other half, he creates a god to worship (v15-17). Idol worshipers are blind and deluded (v9, 18-20).

In the New Testament, Paul attributes this blindness to the work of Satan.

In their case, the god of this age has blinded the minds of the unbelievers to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

2 Corinthians 4:4

Today, it might seem that idolatry is no longer a relevant problem in Israel. Today, most people don’t literally bow down to idols. But we do materialistically run after created objects, serving them with our time and resources. In the Great Tribulation, there will clearly be gross idolatry in Israel. The Antichrist will set up the image called the ‘abomination that causes desolation’ (Matthew 24:15).

In verses 21 to 28, God reaffirms his promise to redeem Israel. He calls Israel to remember that He formed her to be His servant and he will not forget her (v21). He will remove her guilt. He calls her to come back to himself. He will protect (redeem) her (v22). God is intervening for Israel, and He calls all of nature to shout with joy. By redeeming and delivering Israel, God will reveal his splendor (glory) (v23). God affirms that He, the creator of the universe, formed Israel in the womb (v24). He frustrates the ways of the wicked. He overturns those who are seen to be wise but are actually fools (v25). But He fulfills the words of his prophets. And His prophetic word says that Judah will once again be inhabited and its towns rebuilt (v26).

He commands the deep sea to be dry. This figuratively implies there will be a new Red Sea crossing type experience – (v27). He appoints Cyrus as his shepherd (king). Cyrus is commissioned to carry out his decree. The decree is that Jerusalem and its temple be rebuilt (v28). This is Cyrus the Persian. He conquered Babylon in 539 BC. He allowed the Jews to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple. Such mention of Cyrus certainly points to the 6th century fulfillment of this prophesied deliverance. However, in the broader context of Isaiah 40 to 55, this chapter suggests an even greater deliverance for Israel. This deliverance is expected to occur in the end times.

Isaiah is explaining to the people of God (you and I) that we are prone to idol worship. We are prone to fake gods in our lives. Anything that takes the worship and devotion that belongs to our heavenly Father is a an idol. He is the One true God and wants all our devotion.

As we reflect on this past year, can you see things, people, honors/awards, jobs, relationships….that became an idol in your life?

How can you guard your heart from seek out your own idols?

© Kimberlee Smith 2025 http://www.itstartssmall.com All rights reserved.