Context No. 3730 of 4322 · Isaiah

Isaiah 48:1-15: in context

1“Hear this, house of Jacob, you who are called by the name of Israel, and have come out of the waters of Judah. You swear by the LORD’s name, and make mention of the God of Israel, but not in truth, nor in righteousness— 2for they call themselves citizens of the holy city, and rely on the God of Israel; the LORD of Armies is his name. 3I have declared the former things from of old. Yes, they went out of my mouth, and I revealed them. I did them suddenly, and they happened. 4Because I knew that you are obstinate, and your neck is an iron sinew, and your brow bronze; 5therefore I have declared it to you from of old; before it came to pass I showed it to you; lest you should say, ‘My idol has done them. My engraved image and my molten image has commanded them.’ 6You have heard it. Now see all this. And you, won’t you declare it? “I have shown you new things from this time, even hidden things, which you have not known. 7They are created now, and not from of old. Before today, you didn’t hear them, lest you should say, ‘Behold, I knew them.’ 8Yes, you didn’t hear. Yes, you didn’t know. Yes, from of old your ear was not opened, for I knew that you dealt very treacherously, and were called a transgressor from the womb. 9For my name’s sake, I will defer my anger, and for my praise, I hold it back for you so that I don’t cut you off. 10Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver. I have chosen you in the furnace of affliction. 11For my own sake, for my own sake, I will do it; for how would my name be profaned? I will not give my glory to another. 12“Listen to me, O Jacob, and Israel my called: I am he. I am the first. I am also the last. 13Yes, my hand has laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand has spread out the heavens. when I call to them, they stand up together. 14“Assemble yourselves, all of you, and hear! Who among them has declared these things? He whom the LORD loves will do what he likes to Babylon, and his arm will be against the Chaldeans. 15I, even I, have spoken. Yes, I have called him. I have brought him and he shall make his way prosperous.

God speaks to a stubborn people, obstinate, their necks an iron sinew, their brows bronze, and yet he does not cast them off. He explains why he foretold events long in advance: so that when they came to pass, Israel could not credit their idols, saying, my idol did this. God guards his own glory and will not give it to another.

And he says something searching: I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction. Their sufferings were a refining, though a hard one. But the note that stands out is the ground of God's mercy: for my own sake, for my own sake, I do it; how should my name be profaned? God preserves and redeems his people not because they deserve it, they are obstinate and treacherous, but for the sake of his own name and glory. There is deep comfort in this: our salvation rests not on our worthiness but on God's commitment to his own glory, which cannot fail. He is the first and the last, and he acts for his name's sake.

Do I rest my hope not on my own worthiness but on God's commitment to his own name and glory, which secures his mercy even to an undeserving people like me?

Sources

Isaiah 48:11: "For my own sake, for my own sake, I will do it; for how would my name be profaned? I will not give my glory to another."
Isaiah 48:10: "Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver. I have chosen you in the furnace of affliction."
Isaiah 48:12: "I am he. I am the first. I am also the last."