Growing with God: A daily devotional with Tonia Slimm.
Isaiah 48:6 (NIV)
“You have heard these things; look at them all. Will you not admit them? “From now on I will tell you of new things, of hidden things unknown to you.”
Isaiah 48:6 (MSG)
“You have all this evidence confirmed by your own eyes and ears. Shouldn’t you be talking about it? And that was just the beginning. I have a lot more to tell you, things you never knew existed.”
**********************************
“You have heard [these things foretold]; look at all this [that has been fulfilled]. And you, will you not declare it? I proclaim to you [specific] new things from this time, even hidden things which you have not known.” -AMPLIFIED
“Unbelief is not a misfortune to be pitied; it is a sin to be deplored. Is sinfulness lies in the fact that it contradicts the word of the one true God and thus attributes falsehood to Him.” ~John Stott
God has been speaking to the kingdom of Judah about how deeply they have become entrenched in their sin. He has reminded them that He had told them long ago about what would happen if they chose to worship idols, instead of giving to Him the glory and honor that is due Him. He has been admonishing them for trusting in their man-made idols, but furthermore, for their not taking Him at His Word.
“Long ago I told you these things. Long before they happened
I proclaimed them so you would never be able to say,
‘My idols did this; my wood and metal idols decreed it!’” -Isaiah 48:5 (The Passion Translation)
Today’s text reminds us that there is no excuse for God’s covenant people to not bear witness to Him, and the things that He has done. It is their unbelief that has brought them to the place that they are in.
“You have heard; see all this. And will you not declare it? It was as if the LORD was amazed that His people had seen all of His great power and glory, yet they still stood in stubborn rebellion against Him.” ~David Guzik
“You’ve heard what I foretold; now you’ve seen what has happened—do you agree that I’m God? Well, from this moment, I am telling you new things, secrets hidden that no one has known.” -(VOICE)
Adonai says to Judah: “You have heard the predictions. You have seen them come to pass before your very eyes. So, why can you not admit that what I have said was true? Why can you not declare my goodness to others? Because of your reluctance, I will tell you new things. Things that have been hidden, that no one could know but me.”
It seems that Judah had the attitude that what God had done for them was just the natural outcome of things. They felt He had nothing to do with things at all. Every storm, every famine, every pestilence was just nature taking its course. Their unbelief was incredible, but we find this same attitude prevalent in the world today.
“You have heard my predictions and seen them fulfilled, but you refuse to agree it is so. Now I will tell you new things I haven’t mentioned before, secrets you haven’t heard.” -(TLB)
“Unbelief is never cheap; it costs more than it pays.” ~Woodrow Kroll
In Psalm 78 we find Asaph writing about the unbelief of the people of Israel, and how God’s anger burned against them:
“Jehovah heard them and was angry; the fire of his wrath burned against Israel because they didn’t believe in God or trust in him to care for them…” -Psalm 78:21-22 (TLB)
In the New Testament we find Jesus warning the unbelievers and the pretenders about their unbelief. He told those following Him:
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter into heaven’s kingdom. It is only those who persist in doing the will of my heavenly Father.” -Matthew 7:21 (The Passion Translation)
He also told these same people that there would be consequences for refusing to believe His words:
“If you reject me and refuse to follow my words, you already have a judge. The message of truth I have given you will rise up to judge you at the Day of Judgment.” -John 12:48 (The Passion Translation)
To Nicodemus Jesus spoke these words about trusting and believing in Him:
“Whoever believes and has decided to trust in Him [as personal Savior and Lord] is not judged [for this one, there is no judgment, no rejection, no condemnation]; but the one who does not believe [and has decided to reject Him as personal Savior and Lord] is judged already [that one has been convicted and sentenced], because he has not believed and trusted in the name of the [One and] only begotten Son of God [the One who is truly unique, the only One of His kind, the One who alone can save him]. This is the judgment [that is, the cause for indictment, the test by which people are judged, the basis for the sentence]: the Light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil.” -John 3:18-19 (AMP)
“The curse, of this age especially, is unbelief, frittering the real meaning of God’s word away, and making it all figure and fiction.” ~Catherine Booth
My friend, unbelief in the One who loves us with an everlasting love will be our eternal undoing. Remember, trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. Unbelief in Adonai–Tzva’ot, God Almighty, brought about dire consequences for the nation of Israel. Believe in and trust the Lord and you will be saved.
“Grieve not the Christ of God, who redeems us; and remember that we grieve Him most when we will not let Him pour His love upon us, but turn a sullen, unresponsive unbelief towards His pleading grace, as some glacier shuts out the sunshine from the mountainside with its thick-ribbed ice.” ~Alexander MacLaren
My Prayer:
Adonai–Tzva’ot, God Almighty, forgive my unbelief, I ask you, dear Lord. Help my faith and trust in you to grow. Remind me of those things that you have done for me in the past and help me to believe that nothing is impossible with you. For You are the Doer of the impossible. You have worked miracle after miracle in my life, and your Word is full of them as well. What you have done for others you can do for me. I want to say thank you now, even before I have seen that miracle. Because I know that you are at work in my life. You are my good, good Father, and you have good things in store for me. I choose to trust you, even when I cannot see the answer. Thank you for who you are, Lord. I will declare your goodness!
Growing with God 