Old Testament - Isaiah 44-45 - September 21, 2022

9/21/2022 – Isaiah 44-45

Chapter 44

The student manual introduces this chapter: “Isaiah contrasts the Lord’s power to save us with the foolishness of trusting in anything else.”  That makes me ask myself: ‘Where do I turn when I feel the need for help?’

In v’s 2-3 the Lord is speaking to Jacob: “Fear not, O Jacob, my servant…whom I have chosen. For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground; I will pour my spirit upon thy seed, and my blessings upon thine offspring.”  As we yearn toward God, he will give unto us the good things that we desire. We can be secure knowing that those desires, added to our efforts to come closer to Heavenly Father WILL have an effect upon us.

The Lord knows we will go through good times and bad times. In v 8 He reassures us: “Fear ye not, neither be afraid: have not I told thee …and have declared it. Emily Bell Freeman has posted the ways that the Lord has said that He will help us: “If you feel unknown; If you are lonely; If you’ve mis stepped; if you need an increase of strength; if you are frightened; If you feel forgotten; If you’ve forgotten whose you are.” The Lord has given us the course to follow. Are we on that course?

In v 18-19 He alerts us to what will happen when our course of life is no longer toward Him: “They have not known nor understood: for he hath shut their eyes, that they cannot see; and their hearts, that they cannot understand. And none considereth in his heart, neither is there knowledge nor understanding…”

Chapter 45

In v’s 2-3 the Lord is telling Israel all the things He can do for them, if they turn to Him: “I will go before thee, and make the crooked places straight: I will break in pieces the gates of brass and cut in sunder the bars of iron: And I will give thee treasures [hidden treasures] of darkness and hidden riches of secret places, that thou mayest know that I, the Lord, which call thee by thy name, am the God of Israel.”

The Lord has seen so many stray from His path.  V 8 is as if He has given a prayer for our righteousness: “Drop down , ye heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness: let the earth open and let them [the heavens and the earth]bring forth salvation, and let righteousness spring up together: I the Lord have created it.”

He continues in v’s 12-13 “I have made the earth and created man upon it: I, even my hands, have stretched out the heavens, and all their host have I commanded. I have raised him up in righteousness, and I will direct all his ways: he shall build my city, and he shall let go my captives…”. He continues on teaching us that there is purpose to this earth, and it has been created for our sake.

In v 22 He tells us the way to live: “Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.”  He is working to have the Israelites give up their idols. We need to look to ourselves and determine if we have ‘idols’ that take us away from Him, and if so, we need to change our ways. By doing that, we WILL find peace, comfort, growth and happiness.

Elder D. Todd Cristofferson gave a talk about Jesus Christ as the Redeemer: “Among the most significant of Jesus Christ’s descriptive titles is Redeemer. … The word redeem means to pay off an obligation or a debt. Redeem can also mean to rescue or set free as by paying a ransom. If someone commits a mistake and then corrects it or makes amends, we say he has redeemed himself. Each of these meanings suggests different facets of the great Redemption accomplished by Jesus Christ through His Atonement, which includes, in the words of the dictionary, ‘to deliver from sin and its penalties, as by a sacrifice made for the sinner’ [Webster’s New World College Dictionary, 3rd ed. (1988), ‘redeem’]” –April 2013 General Conference: “Redemption”.

 

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