Isaiah 44:17-28: a reflection

17The rest of it he makes into a god, even his engraved image. He bows down to it and worships, and prays to it, and says, “Deliver me, for you are my god!” 18They don’t know, neither do they consider, for he has shut their eyes, that they can’t see, and their hearts, that they can’t understand. 19No one thinks, neither is there knowledge nor understanding to say, “I have burned part of it in the fire. Yes, I have also baked bread on its coals. I have roasted meat and eaten it. Shall I make the rest of it into an abomination? Shall I bow down to a tree trunk?” 20He feeds on ashes. A deceived heart has turned him aside; and he can’t deliver his soul, nor say, “Isn’t there a lie in my right hand?” 21Remember these things, Jacob and Israel, for you are my servant. I have formed you. You are my servant. Israel, you will not be forgotten by me. 22I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, your transgressions, and, as a cloud, your sins. Return to me, for I have redeemed you. 23Sing, you heavens, for the LORD has done it! Shout, you lower parts of the earth! Break out into singing, you mountains, O forest, all of your trees, for the LORD has redeemed Jacob, and will glorify himself in Israel. 24The LORD, your Redeemer, and he who formed you from the womb says: “I am the LORD, who makes all things; who alone stretches out the heavens; who spreads out the earth by myself; 25who frustrates the signs of the liars, and makes diviners mad; who turns wise men backward, and makes their knowledge foolish; 26who confirms the word of his servant, and performs the counsel of his messengers; who says of Jerusalem, ‘She will be inhabited;’ and of the cities of Judah, ‘They will be built,’ and ‘I will raise up its waste places;’ 27who says to the deep, ‘Be dry,’ and ‘I will dry up your rivers,’ 28who says of Cyrus, ‘He is my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure,’ even saying of Jerusalem, ‘She will be built;’ and of the temple, ‘Your foundation will be laid.’”

Over against the folly of worshiping a lifeless idol, God calls his people back to himself with a promise of grace: I have blotted out your transgressions like a cloud; return to me, for I have redeemed you. I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, your transgressions, and, as a cloud, your sins, God says; return to me, for I have redeemed you. The passage first exposes the folly of idolatry: a man makes a god of a block of wood, bowing to what he burned for firewood, feeding on ashes, unable to save himself. Against this emptiness, God sets himself, the living Redeemer, and calls his people back, not with a threat, but with a promise of grace: he has blotted out their sins like a cloud, and has redeemed them; so return to him. This shows God's call to return, with the promise that he has blotted out our sins and redeemed us. God has blotted out your transgressions like a cloud; return to him. Leave worthless idols for the God who has forgiven and redeemed you. God calls his people back not with a threat, but with a promise of grace. Return to the Redeemer who has blotted out your sins.

Notice the contrast and the call. First, the passage exposes the utter folly of idolatry: a person takes a piece of wood, burns part of it for warmth and cooking, and makes the rest into a god, bowing down to it, praying to it to save him, feeding on ashes, deceived, unable even to see the lie in his own hand. It is a picture of the emptiness of trusting what cannot save. But God does not leave his people in this emptiness; he sets himself against it, the living God, the Redeemer, the maker of all things. And he calls his people back, not with a threat or condemnation, but with a word of grace: remember, you are my servant; I have blotted out your transgressions like a cloud, your sins like a cloud; return to me, for I have redeemed you. God has already dealt with their sins, blotting them out; he has redeemed them; and on this basis he calls them to return. This holds the heart of the gospel call. God calls us to turn from empty idols, from the worthless things we trust that cannot save, back to himself. And his call is a call of grace: he has blotted out our transgressions like a cloud, dealt with our sins, redeemed us; and on the ground of this grace, he calls us to return. We do not return to earn forgiveness, but because God has already provided it, blotting out our sins and redeeming us. This is a gracious, welcoming call: leave the worthless idols, and return to the God who has forgiven and redeemed you. We do well to leave our empty idols and return to the God who has blotted out our sins and redeemed us, on the ground of his grace. Return to God, who has blotted out your transgressions like a cloud. Leave the worthless idols that cannot save for the Redeemer who has. God calls you back not with a threat, but with the grace of forgiveness. You return not to earn forgiveness, but because God has already provided it.

That is worth taking to heart, for God has blotted out our transgressions and redeemed us, and calls us to return on the ground of his grace, as he called his people from empty idols. We can trust worthless idols that cannot save; but God, the living Redeemer, has blotted out our sins like a cloud and calls us to return. Return to him. Leave the worthless idols that cannot save, and return to God, who has blotted out your transgressions and redeemed you, not to earn forgiveness, but because he has already provided it. Leave the worthless idols that cannot save you and return to God, the living Redeemer, who has blotted out your transgressions like a cloud and redeemed you, returning not to earn forgiveness but because he has already provided it, as over against the folly of worshiping a lifeless idol God called his people back to himself with a promise of grace, that he had blotted out their transgressions like a cloud and redeemed them, so return to him; for the passage first exposes the folly of idolatry, a man making a god of a block of wood and bowing to what he burned for firewood and feeding on ashes, unable to save himself, and against this emptiness God sets himself, the living Redeemer and maker of all things, and calls his people back not with a threat but with a promise of grace, that he has blotted out their sins like a cloud and redeemed them, which holds the heart of the gospel call, that God calls us to turn from empty idols and the worthless things we trust that cannot save back to himself, his call being a call of grace since he has blotted out our transgressions and dealt with our sins and redeemed us and on the ground of this grace calls us to return, so that we do not return to earn forgiveness but because God has already provided it, a gracious, welcoming call to leave the worthless idols and return to the God who has forgiven and redeemed us, so that we do well to leave our empty idols and return to him.

Lord, over against the folly of worshiping a lifeless idol, you call your people back to yourself with a promise of grace: I have blotted out your transgressions like a cloud; return to me, for I have redeemed you. I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, your transgressions, and, as a cloud, your sins, you say; return to me, for I have redeemed you. The passage first exposes the folly of idolatry: a man makes a god of a block of wood, bowing to what he burned for firewood, feeding on ashes, unable to save himself. Against this emptiness, you set yourself, the living Redeemer, and call your people back, not with a threat, but with a promise of grace: you have blotted out their sins like a cloud, and have redeemed them; so return to you. Show me the contrast and the call. First, the passage exposes the utter folly of idolatry: a person takes a piece of wood, burns part of it, and makes the rest into a god, praying to it to save him, feeding on ashes, deceived, unable even to see the lie in his own hand. It is a picture of the emptiness of trusting what cannot save. But you do not leave your people in this emptiness; you set yourself against it, the living God, the Redeemer. And you call your people back, not with a threat, but with a word of grace: remember, you are my servant; I have blotted out your transgressions like a cloud; return to me, for I have redeemed you. You have already dealt with their sins, blotting them out; you have redeemed them; and on this basis you call them to return. This holds the heart of the gospel call. You call me to turn from empty idols, from the worthless things I trust that cannot save, back to you. And your call is a call of grace: you have blotted out my transgressions like a cloud, dealt with my sins, redeemed me; and on the ground of this grace, you call me to return. I do not return to earn forgiveness, but because you have already provided it. Take that to my heart. Help me leave the worthless idols that cannot save me and return to you, Lord, the living Redeemer, who have blotted out my transgressions like a cloud and redeemed me, returning not to earn forgiveness but because you have already provided it, drawn by the grace of your welcoming call.