I am the Lord; No One is like Me

Our lecture at Bible study today was awesome. I'm not sure that I can accurately explain all that the Lord impressed upon my heart, but here it goes. Father, I pray you use these words to make clear to any reading hearts Your Truth. You see them where they are, you know their needs, and you can use these truths to teach, challenge, and encourage them. Have Your way.

Isaiah is constantly speaking out against false prophets and false idols of his day. Perhaps as in no time since then, we are now living in a society that has returned to Babylonian religion. More people than ever are visiting fortune tellers, palm readers, tarot card readers, horoscopes, angel readers....you name it, people will pay to hear "prophecy" of where their life is headed. However, God's point in much of chapters 42-45 of Isaiah is that the idols of the people have made no prophecies that have actually come true; in contrast, every word God has spoken has thus far come to pass. So:

Fortune tellers predict what will happen. God promises what will happen.

"You may say to yourselves, “How can we know when a message has not been spoken by the LORD?” If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the LORD does not take place or come true, that is a message the LORD has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously, so do not be alarmed." Deuteronomy 18:21-22

This message is so applicable to our world. Wow.

Now, in the particular passage we read this last week, God calls Cyrus, King of Persia, to be the contemporary savior of His people from their captivity in Babylon......only he calls this king by name 150 years before he was born!

"This is what the LORD says to his anointed, to Cyrus,
whose right hand I take hold of...
For the sake of Jacob my servant, of Israel my chosen,
I summon you by name and bestow on you a title of honor,
though you do not acknowledge me." Isaiah 45:1,4

As they say up here in Canada, "Cool, eh?" This calling of Cyrus was a hard pill for the Israelites to swallow. They were looking for a savior much like Moses, the prince-turned-shepherd. Yet here was God, telling them they would be saved by a Gentile, pagan king! The lecturer's point here was that we must let God work through unexpected people in our lives. Don't assume you know either his ways or his vessels as you walk through trials and struggles.

The last real point of this section of scripture dealt with the concept of questioning God. We've all been there at one time or another...why did this happen? What are you doing, God? What's going on?! The people in Isaiah's time were not questioning God out of a spirit of need, desire for his will, or even simply a desire for understanding? They were "quarreling" with their Maker; the hebrew word for quarrel here indicates rage-filled, accusatory questioning. Ultimately, we are welcomed to be open with our Heavenly Father. We are welcome to bring our questions and our needs before him. However, we are not to question his character. We can, though, question his purpose; these questions actually indicate our faith when we ask, believing that we serve a God who is capable of answering!

Regardless of whom you depend on and spend your time on in this world, even with good purpose: serving your husband, teaching your children, getting to know a boyfriend or girlfriend....our lecturer said: "The greatest children, husbands, and boyfriends still make very poor gods." Serve and honor the One and Only, the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End. He will take your hand and guide you until at last you arrive at his throne in the eternal Kingdom. Praise be to our God!