Rev. Don Campbell

Isaiah 40-43

THOUGHT FOR TODAY, July 26, 2019

“GOD AND THE GODS”

In today’s reading, Isaiah challenges the nation to compare idols to the God of heaven: “To whom can you compare God? What image can you find to resemble him? Can he be compared to an idol formed in a mold, overlaid with gold, and decorated with silver chains? Or if people are too poor for that, they might at least choose wood that won’t decay and a skilled craftsman to carve an image that won’t fall down!” (Isaiah 40:18-20, NLT). He adds, “Behold, they are a delusion; their works are nothing; their metal images are empty wind” (Isaiah 41:29).

Compare these stick and stones to the living God: “Have you never heard? Have you never understood? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth. He never grows weak or weary. No one can measure the depths of his understanding. He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless. Even youths will become weak and tired, and young men will fall in exhaustion. But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint” (Isaiah 40:28-31).

The writer of Hebrews urges us, “Run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith” (Hebrews 12:1). Isaiah gave those of his day a glimpse of the one whom we can know intimately: “Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my Spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations. He will not cry aloud or lift up his voice, or make it heard in the street; a bruised reed he will not break, and a faintly burning wick he will not quench; he will faithfully bring forth justice. He will not grow faint or be discouraged till he has established justice in the earth; and the coastlands wait for his law” (Isaiah 42:1-4). Matthew quotes Isaiah in Matthew 12:18-21, so we know that the one in whom God delights is Jesus Christ.

Let us join the chorus:
Sing to the Lord a new song,
his praise from the end of the earth,
you who go down to the sea, and all that fills it,
the coastlands and their inhabitants.
Let the desert and its cities lift up their voice,
the villages that Kedar inhabits;
let the habitants of Sela sing for joy,
let them shout from the top of the mountains.
Let them give glory to the Lord,
and declare his praise in the coastlands (Isaiah 42:10-12).

CONNECTIONS

1. Jesus would not quench the faintly burning wick and we are told not to quench the Spirit (Matthew 12:20; 1 Thessalonians 5:19). How can we quench the Spirit in ourselves and in others?

2. Isaiah said that those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength and will not grow weary running the race (40:31). How do Paul’s words in 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 dovetail with this idea?

“Link to YouTube Video – Sing unto the LORD A New Song”