I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Isaiah 48-51.

    Isaiah, speaking on behalf of God, calls out people for their stubbornness. Because of the fact that people continually make excuses to not believe in God, God declared through Isaiah what He was going to do in the future. God did this so that people could not say, “Oh, I knew that was going to happen all along.” God still does this sort of thing today so that we cannot give credit to objects which we worship for what God has done. Time and again, people see what God has done but quickly make up excuses to not believe that God had done it.
    God teaches us what is good for us, but all too often we refuse to listen to His commands. I am going to go on a slight tangent here because I just wrote something which needs to be emphasized. God’s commands are not arbitrary. Rather, they are good for us and violating them is bad for us. If we follow God’s commands and do as He instructs us, peace will flow over us like a river. Reading chapter 48 verse 18 reminded me of the song “It Is Well With My Soul”. This song was written by Horatio Gates Spafford as he passed over the place in the Atlantic where his four daughters had drowned after a shipwreck as he sailed to join his mourning wife. Despite the tragedies which he had experienced (follow the link I posted to read about them), he could say, “It is well with my soul.” He could say that because he did listen to God’s instructions and obeyed His commands.

    Chapter 49 is primarily a prophecy about the coming of the Messiah, but it contains messages that apply to all who serve God. The Lord called us before we were born and He called us by our names. God has declared that we will bring Him glory. What we have done on this earth seems inconsequential to us (at least mine does to me), but Isaiah tells us that God see it differently. If we leave the results of our efforts in God’s hands, He will use us to serve His purposes. We may be despised and rejected by the people of this world, but, if we are faithful to Him, God will honor us. He will use us to bring His salvation to those who would otherwise never see it. The results of our actions may seem inconsequential to us, but God knows what truly matters.

    Actually, this passage contains many Messianic prophecies. As I read them I see both a prophecy about Christ and a message/lesson for us. God has spoken to us and given us His words of wisdom that we can use to comfort those in need of comfort. However, in order for us to fulfill our part we need to have not rebelled or turned away from God. We need to accept that we will be mocked for obeying the Lord. No, we need to more than accept it, we need to embrace it. We cannot hide from those who mock and persecute us for faithfully doing the Lord’s will. If we offer our backs to be beaten and are determined to do God’s will, He will not allow us to be shamed. God will waken us each morning and open His will so that we can understand (at least, the parts that apply to us).