Written by Michelle J. Goff
Isaiah 48 begins with the LORD’s reminder to Israel of all He has done in the past and how He has fulfilled His prophecies of old. Israel had become blind to all God had done. They were deaf to the LORD’s admonitions. And they were lame, attempting to walk in ways that God had not led them, especially in the following of idols.
Since none of that applies to us and I am never sarcastic (ha!), I will get straight to the point of how this particular chapter of Isaiah has taken on a very practical meaning for me, particularly verse 10.
Isaiah 48:1-8 is the rebuke.
Unfaithfulness to God and stubbornness characterize the description of Israel. Their worship of physical idols, cast from silver, was deplorable to God. Carved images were no match for the Sovereign LORD! Check out verse 5 (ESV):
I declared them to you from of old,
before they came to pass I announced them to you,
lest you should say, ‘My idol did them,
my carved image and my metal image commanded them.’
Whew, it’s a good thing I haven’t carved any images lately! But how has my own unfaithfulness and stubbornness been revealed? Throughout 2020, maybe we clung to our well-planned calendars and our decorated planners. We might have thrown up our hands when we felt overwhelmed, stomped our feet in defiance of one more restriction placed on our freedoms, or lashed out in frustration when we lost control of what we were barely holding onto in the first place.
One of my idols was a measuring stick the size of an 11th commandment that I was expected to meet all expectations (stated or perceived), be whatever anyone needed in support, and bear the weight of responsibility for things that were never mine to bear. Gulp. Okay, I admit it. We do each have our idols…
But the LORD, the I AM, who is right there with us always, is not finished with the chapter.
Isaiah 48:9-11 is the grace.
God has had reason to be angry with me and my dysfunctional relationship with idols, but the middle section of this chapter is a tremendous demonstration of His love, grace, and patience, as a teacher and refiner.
“For my name's sake I defer my anger;
for the sake of my praise I restrain it for you,
that I may not cut you off.
Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver;
I have tried you in the furnace of affliction.
For my own sake, for my own sake, I do it,
for how should my name be profaned?
My glory I will not give to another. (Is. 48:9-11, ESV)
The imagery in Malachi 3 has always come to mind when I think of a refiner and purifier of silver. I see God sitting by the fire waiting to see when all of my impurities have been burned away. A painful and lengthy process, it has given me hope when I feel like life is going up in flames. It is an illustration I have called to mind this year in light of my health struggles and a medical sabbatical.
And while 2020 has been that type of refiner’s fire for me, the silver, the refiner’s fire has a slightly different application from this text in Isaiah 48. Yes, we are being refined by the furnace of affliction, but it is in order that the fire reveal the true colors and the futility of the silver idols in our lives. The LORD makes a play on the imagery of the refiner’s fire that the Israelites had used to cast their silver idols to reiterate His sovereignty.
Yahweh, the I AM, the LORD God of Israel, our Heavenly Father is the one true God. Anything that we put in His place can be burned away through the furnace of affliction, if we let the Refiner do His work. Does God want us to go through that time of trial and affliction? No. But can He use it for good? Absolutely (Rom. 8:28)!
For me, the refiner’s fire of 2020 revealed some idols, burned off some impurities, and made me more malleable in order to be redefined by God. It has allowed me to accept the call that God offers throughout the rest of the chapter.
Isaiah 48:12-22 is the call to a redefined life.
Verse 17 in the NIV states,
Thus says the LORD,
your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:
“I am the LORD your God,
who teaches you what is best for you,
who guides you in the way you should go.
Speak to us, LORD, especially the auditory learners.
Teach us LORD, some of us are visual and need to see it modeled.
Lead us LORD, the kinesthetic learners need to step it out.
No matter the specific calling the LORD is offering to redefine you, please join me in the struggle to allow Him to do His work. I often want to jump out of the fire. Some of my idols have defined me for so long, they are hard to let go of. We must let go of our previous definitions of who we were or what we were doing. We are His. Dying to self is crucial to being redefined. Thanks be to God for sending His Son who modeled this and makes it possible for us to unite with Him in the rebirth of being redefined!
If you have not been united with Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection to receive a new life in Him, please contact us and we will put you in touch with someone in your area who can help you understand and accept this invitation from God.
If you are like me who accepted that invitation long ago, but has found herself in the furnace of affliction, with stubbornness like the Israelites’, or at whatever level of unfaithfulness… God offers us the grace to be redeemed, redefined, and made new in Him.
How has God walked with you through a furnace of affliction this past year? What idols has He burned off? What beauty has come out of the ashes? What good has come out of tragedy?