Isaiah 41:21-24 - Present your case!

41:21,22

It seems that this is addressed to idols, though it could be Israel or the nations. When an individual or a group or s nation start relying on idols they become like them. The good news is that when we rely on the Lord we become like Him. They are invited to present their case. Some say faith is believing despite the evidence. It would be more accurate to say it is believing because of the evidence. God goads them by inviting them to explain the former things or to say what is to come. The world cannot explain the past, and certainly cannot foretell the future. 

41:23,24

God taunts the idols, and those who rely on them, inviting them to foretell the future. Then taunting them do something, be it good or bad. Idols are nothing and can do nothing.

Those who choose idols are an abomination. Why so harsh, why not see it as a quaint cultural custom? Because it ruins life. Idol worship has lead to child sacrifice. And we are no better today with countless abortion at altar of the sex God.

Ephesians 4:26,27 - Do not give the devil a foothold

4:26

“In your anger do not sin” comes from the Septuagint version of Psalm 4:4. The Hebrew Bible for Psalm 4:4 has “Tremble and do not sin”. So what it is saying is that we feel emotions of anger, but we are not to act on them. We sometimes think that we should never have any feelings of anger, this is not true, and is not realistic. We will feel anger, sometimes this will be justified, and at other times will not be. But anger is a dangerous emotion if we let it control us. “Do not let the sun go down on your anger”. Anger can lead to bad actions either impulsively, or if we let anger fester within us. So we are to deal with any anger that we have.

4:27

“Do not give the devil a foothold”. This could be referring back to the previous verse, or to what he is about to say, and both are relevant. If we act impulsively out of anger, or if we let it fester within us, then that gives the devil the opportunity to work in our lives. We can never blame sin on the devil (that was tried in the Garden of Eden without success!), but he will take opportunity afforded by our sin. When we sin we open ourselves up to demonic activity. This is not in the demon possession category, but just in “normal” life. Sin is always destructive.

Isaiah 41:15-20 - I the Lord will answer them

41:15,16

While we start off weak, this does not mean that we remain so. God promises to make Israel into a threshing sledge. They will become powerful, having a significant effect on the world. The same applies to us. Instead of glorying in our own strength, or in the strength of others, we will glory in the Lord and rejoice in Him.

41:17, 18

These are not empty words, for the Lord knew the situation. He knew that the poor and needy were looking for water where there was none, and the associated suffering. His response is that He would answer them and not forsake them. Instead He would cause the water to flow, both on the heights and in the valleys. The dry places would become a place of springs.

41:19,20

The trees mentioned here do not grow in the wilderness, but God is the God of the impossible, He brings transformation.

The goal of all this is that they may know that it is the Lord who has created it. Notice that we to "see and know" and to "consider and understand". The Lord is the creator of all things and the sustainer of all things. We need to be utterly God focused. When you are worried what are your thoughts focused on? Not God!

Ephesians 4:24,25 - Put on the new self

4:24

Our purpose is to be like God “in true holiness and righteousness”. Everyone knows Rom 8:28 where it says that God works through all things for the good of those who love Him, but far fewer know the next verse where it says that He predestined us to be conformed to the likeness of His Son. Being saved does not mean we are “let off”, we were saved for a purpose, we were saved to be like Christ. Again, while it is God who does this He actively involves us in the process. So as well as taking off the old self, we are to put on the new self, which is a Christlike self.

4:25

Paul now fleshes out what he means by putting off the old self, and putting on the new. We are tp put off falsehood and instead speak truthfully. Falsehood can characterise so much of what goes on in the world. The more corrupt a system becomes, the greater part falsehood has to play in it. Politics is perhaps the most obvious example, but that, for most of us at least, is something other people do. What about ourselves? Today on social media how many people represent a true picture of themselves? There are many reports about young people in particular feeling pressured because they cannot live up to the image that social media seems to demand of them. “For we are all members of the one body”. Paul’s immediate area of application seems to be within the church. We are not competing against each other within the church, for we are all part of the one body. We are meant to work together.

Isaiah 41:11-14 - Do not be afraid you worm Jacob

41:11

Let us remind ourselves again that Israel had been utterly devastated and the Babylonian exile meant they were under the power of Babylon. We also know that Israel was attacked several times (eg AD 66-70) and throughout history many nations have and do rage against her. But this is a real promise, but one that certainly has not been fulfilled in full yet. We should also know that those who rage against Christ and the gospel will “be as nothing and perish”.

41:12,13

“Though you search for your enemies you will find none”. While the final fulfilment is yet to come, there are undoubtedly “mini-fulfilments” in our lives. There are times when we will face real opposition (see the words of Jesus!), but there will also be times when threats come to nothing.

Why will this be? Because it is the Lord who holds our right hand. We need to appreciate how close the Lord is to us, and He says, “Do not fear; I will help you”.

41:14

There are three aspects to fear dealt with in this chapter. One is the fear because what opposes us is to strong for us. Another is fear that God is against us because of our sin. Both of these have already been dealt with. A third is fear because of our own weakness. God now say “Fear not, you worm Jacob” God knows of our weakness, He has not made His plans or given His promises that we are actually very good and strong! He has made them knowing full well what we are like! He has made the promises because He is the One who helps us, and He is our redeemer. Everything is founded in God, in Christ.

Ephesians 4:22,23 - Put off your old self

4:22

We are saved by grace, and sanctified by grace, but God actively involves us in the process. In being saved He leads us to repentance and faith. In sanctification it is the Holy Spirit who works within us, but He does so by involving us, and part of this is putting off the old self. We all have many ways of thinking, habits, ways of acting that are part of the old nature, the way we used to live. We need to get rid of these ways. So Paul tells us to put off the old self. Later he will be more explicit in what this means in practical terms. And it is good riddance to our old self, for it is being corrupted by deceitful desires. Sin works by creating desires in us, these can be overtly sinful desires such as lust, or a desire for self-preservation as the dominant motivator in our lives. These desires are deceitful, and we need to understand this. The lustful desires promise pleasure, but are ultimately disappointing and destructive. The motivator of self-preservation also proves to be false, bringing no real security at all. It is only God who brings true pleasure, and it is only in Him that we find true security and peace.

4:23

These desires operate through the mind, they affect our ways of thinking. But they are deceitful, they are not based on truth. The answer to this is not to switch off our minds, but to be renewed in our minds (Rom 12:2). We need to learn to think differently. We need a mind that says no to the wrong desires of the flesh, and we need a mind that knows that following and obeying Christ is the only truly secure path. Our old mind will tell us that a certain way is dangerous, makes us vulnerable, but a renewed mind will tells us that God is actively looking after us. God’s path may involve suffering and cost, but it will be suffering and cost that is according to His purposes and is achieving His goals, both for us and for others.

Isaiah 41:9,10 - Do not fear, for I am with you

41:9

God did not just choose us, He created us. In Old Testament terms God created the nation of Israel. In individual terms, God created all of us, and He saved us through Christ. God took us and called us. Then He declared that He had chosen us, that we are His servant and we are not rejected. Our identity is given to us by God and is founded in God. We are not rejected. Remember that Israel had done nothing to deserve this, indeed she deserved to be rejected. But God had not rejected them, just as He has not rejected us. Remember also that from a Babylonian exile context it would seem very much that God had rejected them.

41:10

Therefore we should not fear. What are the grounds for not fearing? God is with us. Nor are we to be dismayed, for the Lord is our God. But that is not the end, these are not facts without consequence. Since He is with us and is our God He will strengthen and help us. He will uphold us with His righteous right hand. We should live our lives in the expectation and the knowledge that God will help, strengthen and uphold us.