Isaiah 41:14-29
14 "Fear not, you worm Jacob,
You men of Israel!
I will help you," says the LORD
And your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.
15 "Behold, I will make you into a new threshing sledge with sharp teeth;
You shall thresh the mountains and beat them small,
And make the hills like chaff.
16 You shall winnow them, the wind shall carry them away,
And the whirlwind shall scatter them;
You shall rejoice in the LORD,
And glory in the Holy One of Israel.
17 "The poor and needy seek water, but there is none,
Their tongues fail for thirst.
I, the LORD, will hear them;
I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.
18 I will open rivers in desolate heights,
And fountains in the midst of the valleys;
I will make the wilderness a pool of water,
And the dry land springs of water.
19 I will plant in the wilderness the cedar and the acacia tree,
The myrtle and the oil tree;
I will set in the desert the cypress tree and the pine
And the box tree together,
20 That they may see and know,
And consider and understand together,
That the hand of the LORD has done this,
And the Holy One of Israel has created it.
21 "Present your case," says the LORD.
"Bring forth your strong reasons," says the King of Jacob.
22 "Let them bring forth and show us what will happen;
Let them show the former things, what they were,
That we may consider them,
And know the latter end of them;
Or declare to us things to come.
23 Show the things that are to come hereafter,
That we may know that you are gods;
Yes, do good or do evil,
That we may be dismayed and see it together.
24 Indeed you are nothing,
And your work is nothing;
He who chooses you is an abomination.
25 "I have raised up one from the north,
And he shall come;
From the rising of the sun he shall call on My name;
And he shall come against princes as though mortar,
As the potter treads clay.
26 Who has declared from the beginning, that we may know?
And former times, that we may say, 'He is righteous'?
Surely there is no one who shows,
Surely there is no one who declares,
Surely there is no one who hears your words.
27 The first time I said to Zion,
'Look, there they are!'
And I will give to Jerusalem one who brings good tidings.
28 For I looked, and there was no man;
I looked among them, but there was no counselor,
Who, when I asked of them, could answer a word.
29 Indeed they are all worthless;
Their works are nothing;
Their molded images are wind and confusion.
The utter futility of serving idols of any shape or form, tangible or intangible and imaginary, brings only wind which cannot be half as empty and unreal confusion. Only the LORD is our Redeemer and His word tells us this over and over until we accept of reject it to our salvation or judgment. The high place of idol worship were to be threshed to eliminate the chaff of false worship in the whirlwind of God’s breath as God’s people were to rejoice and glory in the Holy One alone due the glory and honor of our worship. God hears the poor and needy to bring them water because He hears (Matthew 5:6, Revelation 7:16) and will not forget those who look to Him for deliverance from suffering and death. He plants the different trees together as a picture for us and a testimony to “consider and understand together that the hand of the LORD has done this” and “the Holy One of Israel has created it.” We as His people should study to understand from His word what He has done by His work and not substitute lifeless idols of our own hands as if our work could do any of His wondrous works. Yes, we also cannot be called on to predict the future as false prophets of our own imaginations or explain the course of history apart from His word. We are simply powerless and lack understanding in light of the Lord and His working. We are not gods as verse 23 reminds us. Apart from Him we can do nothing (John 15:5); we must abide in Him to bear fruit because we simply do not have any lasting ability in ourselves. Whoever therefore chooses idols or relies on the work of man’s hands will only encounter futility as an abomination against grace. Only reliance on God’s word and works will suffice. The proof is seen in all the philosophers and self appointed seers whose predictions fall flat with no good answers to life and meaning which we find in God alone in Christ alone according to His word alone. Apart from the Counselor within us there is no good counsel to be found as verse 28 reminds us (Romans 11:34, John 14:16, 16:13). Yes, all other worldly counsel and worship is futile and of no value. The idols of man are but intangible wind and meaningless confusion of empty answers not based on truth and reality. Who do we trust in and serve? Idols of wind and confusion or the Holy One who tells us all things to our good and His glory (Romans 8:28)?
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