THE SECTION of Isaiah which we have for consideration this month consists of 44:6-23. This block of scripture constitutes a literary unit in the Book of Isaiah. In this sermon the prophet once again called attention to the fact that God alone exists and that Israel is His servant, His witnesses. He then showed the folly of idolatry and delineated the process of making an idol. Following this detailed description, he explained why seemingly intelligent men will engage in such useless, unreasonable worship. He concluded the message by calling Israel's attention to the fact that it is God alone who blots out her sins. The final thought is an ejaculation, calling upon all living things to rejoice in the fact that God "hath redeemed Jacob, and will glorify himself in Israel."

The sermon begins with following words:

"6 Thus saith Jehovah, the King of Israel, and his Redeemer, Jehovah of hosts: I am the first, and I am the last; and besides me there is no God. 7 And who, as I, shall call, and shall declare it, and set it in order for me, since I established the ancient people? and the things that are coming, and that shall come to pass, let them declare. 8 Fear ye not, neither be afraid: have I not declared unto thee of old, and showed it? and ye are my witnesses. Is there a God beside me? yea, there is no Rock; I know not any" (44:6-8).

Again in this study I wish to call attention to the fact that the word Jehovah has four different connotations and that the facts of each context must determine its specific meaning in a given case. Sometimes it refers to God the Father; at other times, to God the Son; on other occasions the data of the context indicates the Holy Spirit; and finally, in other contexts, the term refers to the Holy Trinity. What is its meaning here? In apposition with the word Jehovah is the expression, "the King of Israel, and his Redeemer." When this passage is read in the light of parallel ones, it immediately becomes apparent that God the Son is the one who is called Israel's King. He is also her Redeemer. At the time of the Exodus He appeared in His prenatal state as "the angel of Jehovah," and delivered her from her servile bondage. It was He who nineteen hundred years ago paid the price of her redemption. It is He who will, when she acknowledges her national sin, come and realistically deliver her from all of her foes. In view of these facts one may be confident that the speaker here is none other than the second person of the Holy Trinity, the Lord Jesus Christ.

The one whom the prophet is representing declares, "I am the first, and I am the last; and besides me there is no God." How, one may ask, can the speaker be the second person of the Trinity, and at the same time declare that there is no God besides Him? Such a question is to the point and demands a candid, straightforward answer. The only solution to this problem is that which is offered in the correct explanation of the doctrine of the Holy Trinity. As I show in my new volume, The God of Israel, there are three divine personalities appearing here and there throughout the Hebrew Scriptures. They are separate and distinct as an investigation of each context shows. At the same time they are, as Moses asserted in Israel's Great Confession, one in a different sense of the term. Speaking in New Testament phraseology, I have need only to call attention to the fact that the Lord Jesus Christ, according to His infallible assertion, and the Father are one. Although they are one in a very definite sense, Jesus in prayer could speak of Himself as "I, me, or mine," and of God the Father as "thou and thee." The Apostle Paul declared that in the person of the Lord Jesus all the fulness of the Godhead dwelt bodily--every attribute or characteristic of Deity dwelt in Him as an individual. Isaiah, in the passage under consideration, understood the same doctrine and spoke accordingly. The Redeemer of Israel, therefore, could say, "Besides me there is no God." In one sense He is distinct from the other two personalities of the Godhead; yet at the same time He, realizing the essential unity of their nature, could declare that there is no God besides Him.

In verse 7 the prophet, as the representative of Israel's Redeemer, asks who can, like Himself, declare and set in order the events of the past since He established the ancient people of Israel. If no one could thus reproduce the past history of the nation accurately, who can, asks the prophet, outline the future of the nation? It was only by inspiration that the sacred writers could survey the centuries of the past and could write accurately that which had transpired. It is only by the infallible inspiration of the Spirit that a prophet of God could write history ahead of time. None of the false prophets nor the idols whom they represented could do either.

Then the prophet encouraged the nation, urging it not to be afraid nor fear lest his challenge can be taken up by anyone; for the Redeemer of Israel is the one who has, through the prophets, declared the past and showed it. Israel constitutes God's witnesses to the world. The Jew is God's imperishable monument to the truth. The prophets proclaimed the Word of God to the nation in the past, and the faithful remnant of Israel will yet become His witnesses to the truth and will proclaim it to the world. In the future this remnant of Israel will learn the facts concerning the persons of the Holy Trinity and will declare the truth to the nations, but she cannot give that which she does not have. We, therefore, who have the truth must give it to her that she in turn may proclaim it to the world.

In verses 9-11 the prophet showed that both graven and molten images are of no profit. Isaiah therefore challenged his auditors to find a single image, or god, that had been of any profit to anyone. He concluded this phase of his discussion by challenging idol makers and worshipers of the same to gather together to present their cause. Then he showed that they shall fear and be put to shame together.

In verses 12-17 the prophet in a most stinging and realistic manner depicted the process of making idols. In verse 12 he showed the smith making an axe, with which the idol worshiper cuts down the tree. In verse 13 he presented the carpenter with his line and pencil drawing the form that the image is to have. Then the carpenter took the wood with his plane, marked it out with his compass, and shaped the form of a man. In verse 14 we see the workman hewing down the cedars, the holm-tree, and the oak. But before he goes to cut down the tree, he waters and fertilizes the growing plant in order that it might become a strong tree. When it is cut down, the best part of the wood is used for making an idol. With part of the same tree, the workman builds a fire by which he warms himself. With part of it he also cooks his bread and roasts his meat. With the rest he makes various gods.

One immediately asks himself, How is it that any intelligent person can plant a tree, fertilize it, look to the rains to give it moisture until it becomes the proper size; then can take part of it with which to warm himself, part with which to bake his bread, and finally make the rest of it into images, before which he falls down and worships, and to which he prays? How can any sane, sensible person act thus? To us it seems ridiculous. Are those who thus engage in idolatry void of all understanding? Have they no common sense? Have they no brains? Can they not understand the law of cause and effect? O yes! Idolaters are some of the most brilliant people in the world. They can understand the various sciences. They can perform marvelous feats in material matters. What then is the trouble? The answer is given in these words: "For he [Jehovah] hath shut their eyes, that they cannot see; and their hearts, that they cannot understand" (vs. 18). God blinds the minds of men who do not want truth, and who will not see the evidence of His everlasting power and divinity that is stamped upon the entire material universe. When men will not receive the truth but prefer error, God will blind the eyes and harden their hearts so that they cannot understand even the most rudimentary principles of religion. The Lord blinds their minds by allowing Satan, the god of this world, to hide spiritual realities from them. (See Isaiah 66:3,4; II Cor. 4:3,4; II Thess. 2:8-10.) The prophet therefore declared, "A deceived heart hath turned him aside; and he cannot deliver his soul, nor say, Is there not a lie in my right hand?" (vs. 20). The natural heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. When one turns from the truth and Satan blinds one's eyes, it is utterly impossible for one to comprehend spiritual realities. Under those conditions one will do most unreasonable and absurd things. From a spiritual standpoint there is neither rhyme nor rhythm in what such a person does.

With verse 20 the prophet dropped the discussion of the folly of idolatry and the unprofitableness of worshiping images. With verse 21 he, as God's representative, began to speak to Israel saying, "Remember these things, O Jacob, and Israel; for thou art my servant: I have formed thee; thou art my servant: O Israel, thou shall not be forgotten of me. I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions, and, as a cloud, thy sins: return unto me; for I have redeemed thee" (vss. 21,22).

The words "Jacob" and "Israel" are synonymous terms, referring to the Jewish people. The Hebrews constituted God's, servants. They are still His servants, although the majority of the race has turned its back upon the spiritual realities of the Old Testament and has rejected in toto the New. Nevertheless, the gifts and the callings of God are not repented of. The Lord will, as we have often seen in this series of expositions, purge all wickedness from the ranks of Israel and will purify the nation, which at that time will become the new Israel. He will then use her as He has never before. Truly, then, she will be God's servant.

Once more the Lord called Israel's attention to the fact that He had formed her, and that therefore she is His servant. He not only formed her, but He also created her to be the channel of world-blessing (Gen. 12:1-3; Isa. 43:1).

The Lord likewise gave Israel assurance saying, "O Israel, thou shalt not be forgotten of me." Mothers, declared Isaiah in chapter 49, may forget their children; yet the Lord will never forget Israel. That nation is ever before His mind. The Shepherd of Israel, the Lord Jesus Christ, who is now seated above the cherubim, is still guiding the nation. When the penitent remnant sees the truth regarding Him and calls upon Him, He will leave His position in glory, shine forth, and come to save His people (Ps. 80:1-3). He is waiting patiently to hear that cry for deliverance.

The Lord cries out in verse 22, "I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions, and, as a cloud, thy sins ..." The blotting out of sins, according to this statement, is an accomplished fact--"I have blotted." Nevertheless, the Lord follows this statement by the exhortation, "Return unto me; for I have redeemed thee." Although He states that He has blotted out her sins and has redeemed her, yet He insists that she return to Him. The exhortation for her to return is positive proof that she has not returned at the time here foreseen. Does God blot out the sins of anyone before he returns to Him in genuine repentance? The answer is a most emphatic denial. What is the significance, then, of the expression "I have blotted out?" When we view this statement in the light of related passages, this verse becomes very clear. The means by which the sins are blotted out is an accomplished fact, but Israel will have to repent and come to her Messiah in order to enjoy the blessings that have been procured for her by the finished work of Messiah--on the cross. My sins were dealt with at Calvary nineteen hundred years ago, but I had to come and accept the Lord before He would blot them out in reality. Thus it is with Israel. The price of redemption was paid at Calvary--the shedding of the blood of the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world. The prophet, therefore, in vision looked forward to some time in the future and, as if present in this coming period, declared to Israel, "I have blotted out ... thy sins ... I have redeemed thee." This vision will become a reality when we who know the truth concerning the redemption at Calvary tell the nation this very story that her sins were blotted out nineteen hundred years ago; but that she must repent of her wrongs and accept the long-rejected Messiah in order to enjoy the benefits accruing from His redemption.

The prophet looked beyond the proclamation of the truth to Israel and saw the time when the entire nation living at that future period will have learned the truth, will have accepted it, and will have become beloved in the Beloved. In other words, he sees the remnant of Israel saved and in fellowship and communion with her God and her Messiah. He therefore exultantly calls upon all intelligent beings in the heavens to sing and those in the lower parts of the earth to shout. He speaks to inanimate nature and calls upon it--every mountain and every tree of the forest--to break forth into singing for what God has wrought and for the coming blessing.

He therefore sees the nation in closest fellowship with God and declares, "For Jehovah has redeemed Jacob, and will glorify himself in Israel." God created the nation of Israel in order that He might be glorified through her. He will never be glorified in the world as contemplated by the prophet until the truth is given to Israel and she accepts Him. May we, in the power of the Spirit, give this message to God's ancient people in order that this vision might be realized.