Isaiah 48

It is logical that Isaiah wants the remnant that he also belongs to, to hear the heartbeat of God for His remnant through all the ages. God’s love is the same for His remnant in every generation. So Isaiah is knocking on the door of his own believing brethren, who are Hebrews, born of Jacob and named Israel to hear God’s message (v. 1). Interestingly, every generation’s remnant is filled with weeds and wheat, growing together, both taken care of by God. God cannot accommodate evil, for He died to eradicate it, so the templates are the same. The remnant says “Lord, Lord” but has no righteousness or truth (v. 1c-e). They refer to themselves as Jerusalemites and lean on God even though not in truth or righteousness, thus making God a deus ex machina, or ‘machine god’ who is there only for rescue emergencies and unexpected contingencies. God delays His actions with the weeds of the remnant (v. 9a) “for the sake of My name I delay My wrath” but in the same vein God is said to “suddenly I acted and they came to pass” (v. 3c). Both are New Testament concepts also for the Bridegroom delayed His coming and He comes as a thief in the night. God focus on the weeds in the remnant since they are an obstinate remnant (v. 4a); an idolatrous remnant (v. 5c-d); a rebellious remnant (v. 8a) “even from then your ear has not been opened” but the Qumran Isaiah scroll and the Targum reads mistakenly here “even from then you have not opened your ear”. These texts originated in times when quality copying was out of the question. As a result of the remnant’s actions, they became a tribulational remnant (v. 10a) “I have refined you but not as silver”. It is a tested remnant (v. 10b) “I have tested you in the furnace of affliction”. To rebels in the remnant that turn faithful, God will give His glory and not to the evil (v. 11c). It is a called remnant (v. 12a) “whom I called”. God expects what He expects for every generation from people, conversion: “come near to Me, listen” (v. 16a). The remnant is taught (v. 17b) “I am the Lord your God Who teaches you to profit”. God is the navigator of the remnant “Who leads you in the way you should go” (v. 17c). The weeds in the remnant are breaking the commandments (v. 18a) but the wheat in the remnant or faithful ones are keeping His commandments (v. 18a). If they keep His commandments there will be well-being for them and righteousness (v. 18b-c). Isaiah switch from a one generation remnant to an Endtime remnant in v. 19 since an eschatological time signal is used “their name would never be cut off or destroyed from My presence” (v. 19c). Of course persecution powers always wanted to remove the name of the remnant believers but eternity is brought closer here since God will not forget their names. This special remnant gets the ‘Come out of Babylon’ message (v. 20a). They are charged with an Elijah-like message: “declare with the sound of joyful shouting, proclaim this” (v. 20b). The message is to be global “send out to the end of the earth” (v. 20c). The core of the message is about a saving God “the Lord has redeemed His servant Jacob” (v. 20d). There is a reminder of the miracles during Moses’ time of the spiritual Israel then in the desert that they had no thirst (v. 21a-c). The wicked of course will not experience peace (v. 22). God has a plan and follow a definite course of action. There is no way environmentalism will save the earth. The end-time is going to be troublesome. God directed natural disasters will come also as an Endtime fulfillment. These plaques will fall on the evil and the remnant will be a Babylon outcoming remnant; an Elijah message preaching remnant; a global preaching remnant; a redeemed remnant and lastly, a miracle experiencing remnant. God has prepared Babylon for a future time in Isaiah’s history but revealed it before it happen (v. 16). The same was said about Sennacherib in Isaiah 37:26. Every successful empire or ruler has God Who has a role for that individual or country to play, regardless their own perception or ours. The Trinity is involved in all this. Christ telling Isaiah and then said “the Lord God has sent Me [Christ] and His [Holy] Spirit” (v. 16d). We know that the Babylon event did not take place yet since that is what God said to Isaiah “I proclaim to you new things from this time even hidden things which you have not known” (v. 6c-d). History is dragged out or delayed for the sake of the remnant (v. 9) but there is a day when God will act suddenly (v. 3c). The Owner of the remnant makes a special emphasis in verse 15 using “I” twice in the original plus once as attachment to the verb, thus three times. “I”, “I”, “I” have spoken. There is also a double emphasis by God in verse 11 “for My own sake”, “for My own sake”.

Dear God

We also want to be called your remnant unto the end. We want to come out of Babylon when asked to do so. We want to participate in the Elijah message across the globe. Redeem us also and consider us also as Yours. Amen.

Koot van Wyk, (DLitt et Phil; ThD) Kyungpook National University, Department of Liberal Education, Sangju, South Korea; conjoint lecturer of Avondale College, Australia