Lesson 366 - Senior
Memory Verse
"I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images" (Isaiah 42:8).
Cross References
I Deliverance for Israel
1. The Lord calls the nations to come near to judgment, to decide the point at issue between them, [ISA:41:1]; [ZEC:2:13].
2. A prediction of one's being raised up to deliver the Israelites from captivity, with the Messiah in the end days as the antitype, [ISA:41:2-3]; [ISA:45:1-3]; [EZR:1:1-2].
3. The origin of nations is from the Lord, [ISA:41:4]; [DEU:32:8]; [ACT:17:26].
4. The nations are alarmed and come together for mutual defence. One workman encourages another to make new gods to avert the impending danger, [ISA:41:5-7]; [JOE:3:9-12].
5. The Lord encourages Israel to fear not for He is with them and will help them, [ISA:41:8-14]; [ISA:43:1-2]; [ISA:44:2]; [JOS:1:9]; [ROM:8:31].
6. Israel will be a new threshing instrument to thresh the mountains, [ISA:41:15-16]; [ISA:64:1-3]; [MIC:4:13].
II A Vision of the Coming Messiah
1. When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, the Lord will open rivers in high places, [ISA:41:17-18]; [ISA:35:6-7]; [ISA:43:19]; [ISA:44:3]; [PS:107:35].
2. The Spirit of the Lord will be upon Him (Jesus). His character is described, [ISA:42:1-4]; [MAT:3:17]; [JHN:3:34].
3. The Lord who created the heavens and giveth breath to the people will not give His glory to another, [ISA:42:5-8]; [PS:136:5-9].
Notes
Folly of Idols
The Lord has a controversy with the idolatrous nations for their worship of images made of wood and stone. He calls them to come near and reason with Him; then He points out the worthlessness of an idol.
One man will take a tree and cut it down and build a fire with part of it. He will warm himself by it and then take the coals and bake his bread. Upon the rest of the tree the carpenter will stretch out his rule, and with a pencil and compass mark out the figure of a man. The smith with his tongs works in the coals and fashions a covering with hammers and puts it together with the strength of his arm. Thus he makes a god, falls down and worships it, and prays unto it and says, "Deliver me; for thou art my god" [ISA:44:12-17]).
In this controversy the Lord is showing the vanity of idols; how impossible it is for them to have power to do anything! They cannot see, they cannot hear, they cannot move, yet men are so much impoverished spiritually that they bow down and worship and expect the idols to deliver them in time of war. Israel was to be a nation different from the nations around.
False Religions
From the very first temptation in the Garden, people have been prone to go after other gods. In our day false cults and false religions have taken the place of much of the idol worship. The devil is promoting the formation of many new religions. There are many devoted followers among the "high-minded," the materialist, and those who see this world governed only by natural laws. The devil uses some truth to cover a lot of lies and dangles it before the eyes of men who are ready to grasp almost anything to ease their conscience and cover a life of sin.
Pride and egotism are two terrible things injected into the hearts of fallen humanity. Men want to be great and, like the devil, want to exalt their "throne" above the throne of God.
A worm
The Lord calls Israel a worm, something that is looked down upon and trodden under the foot of men. Jesus Himself was despised and rejected of men. But the Lord says he will make Israel a new sharp threshing instrument having teeth, and he will thresh the mountains and beat them small and make the hills as chaff. There is coming a time when the Lord will lay judgment to the line and righteousness to the plummet. All they who warred against Israel "shall be as nothing, and as a thing of nought."
God declares that before Him there was no God formed, neither shall there be after Him, and besides Him there is no Saviour.
A God of Power
The mighty God of Jacob is a God of power. He spoke, and this world came into existence. He set the sun, moon, and stars into their sphere. He said, "Let there be light," and there was light. He created man out of the dust of the earth and breathed life into his nostrils. A God of miracles, a God of power! He is so high and holy that He inhabits all space, yet so meek and lowly that He hears the faintest cry from a troubled heart; a God so great that He holds the waters of the sea in the hollow of His hand and weighs the hills in a balance; a God so mighty that the nations are but a drop of a bucket! Yet man, the created, will stand up and defy God, the Creator. But God in His majesty and in His power still remembers poor, helpless humanity. He plucked the brightest Jewel out of Heaven and sent Him down to earth to lift men from the slime pits of hell and the bondage of slavery into the glorious liberty and freedom of the sons of God. What a changed! What a transformation! It is the Mighty God of Jacob who brought it about.
It pleased Him to bruise His Son that He might know how to care for the bruised. He will not break the "bruised reed" nor quench the "smoking flax," but He will bring forth judgment unto truth.
No Discouragement
Though Christ was despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, the Word tells us that He shall not fail nor be discouraged till He has set judgment in the earth.
The Gospel of Jesus Christ shall never lose its power. From its first proclamation to the present time, it has opened the eyes of the spiritually blind and unstopped spiritually deaf ears. It has brought light and liberty to millions of people, and millions more have a chance to partake of its healing power.
"When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue faileth for thirst, I the LORD will hear them, I the God of Israel will not forsake them." He will open rivers in high places and fountains in the midst of valleys.
The Lord has a peculiar way of leading people to the place where they can hear the truth. Either He will open a fountain right in their midst or He will lead them across the desert to where there is a fountain. He led the Ethiopian across the desert and brought Philip down to the desert to bring the living waters to the Ethiopian. Tradition tells us that the Ethiopian went back and helped open up a living fountain in his own land.
David Livingstone went as a missionary to Africa, and fountains bubbled forth in many places in that dark Continent.
The Lord is looking for channels through which the Living Waters can run. Will you be a channel for Jesus? By your life, by your prayers, by your means, you can help exalt the Mighty God of Jacob, and His Son, Jesus Christ, who died to redeem a lost world from sin and bring back righteousness, truth, and holiness into the hearts of the children of men.
A Light to the Gentiles
This lesson also tells us that the Gospel will be a light to lighten the Gentiles. It was hard for the Jews to believe that anyone who did not come fully under the rituals of Judaism could be partaker with them of the Gospel light. Even the disciples wanted to send the Syrophenician woman away. But the Gentiles received the Gospel and were grafted in. That brings you and me into relationship with God, provided we accept the terms laid down by the Gospel.
We can claim the same promise He gave to Israel, "Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness." These are the words of the Mighty God of Jacob.
Questions
1. What was the issue in question between the Lord and the nations around?
2. Describe how an idol was made in olden days. What may constitute an idol today?
3. Why did the nations join one another?
4. What was the promise of the Lord to the Israelites?
5. Quote some of the prophecies concerning Jesus.
6. What did the Lord say concerning giving His glory to another?
p>7. What was the Lord's promise to the poor and needy?
8. To whom, besides the Jews, was the Gospel promised?