Isaiah 48:17, 18 - Follow God And Enjoy Peace Like A River.
Isa.48:17, 18; Follow God And Enjoy Peace Like A River.
CONTENT; What's in the verse; Translations; Paraphrase; Word
Study:
Isaiah 48:17 (NIV) This is what the LORD says--your Redeemer,
the Holy One of Israel: "I am the LORD your God, who teaches you
what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go.
Isa 48:18 (NIV) If only you had paid attention to my commands,
your peace would have been like a river, your righteousness like the
waves of the sea.
Isaiah 48:17 (NLT) "The LORD, your Redeemer, the Holy One of
Israel, says: I am the LORD your God, who teaches you what is good and
leads you along the paths you should follow.
Isaiah 48:18 (NLT) Oh, that you had listened to my commands!
Then you would have had peace flowing like a gentle river and
righteousness rolling like waves.
Isaiah 48:17 (CWR) This is what the Lord, the Holy One of
Israel said, "I am the Lord your God, the One who teaches you what is
right, who directs you in the way you should go.
Isaiah 48:18 (CWR) If you had only listened to me and paid
attention to what I told you, your peace would have been like the gentle
flow of still waters and your righteousness as powerful as the waves
of the sea.
CONTEXT; What's around the verse; Overview; Topic:
Overview
Judah's sovereign LORD intends good for His people (40:1-31).
God, not the idols worshiped by the nations, controls the future
(41:1-29). Though Israel failed its national calling as God's servant, One
from the nation will fulfill God's purpose (42:1-25) when the Creator
acts to redeem His chosen people (43:1-44:25). As evidence, God will
appoint one named Cyrus to restore Jerusalem (v. 26-45:25). Oppressive
Babylon will be crushed, and God's word of blessing for Israel will be
fulfilled (46:1-48:22).
[The 365-Day Devotional Commentary]
The Lord's Call to Israel (48:12-22)
Freedom from Babylon
CROSS REFERENCES; What's in verses elsewhere.
Job 22:21-22 (KJV) Acquaint now thyself with him, and be at
peace: thereby good shall come unto thee. [22] Receive, I pray thee,
the law from his mouth, and lay up his words in thine heart.
Psalm 25:8-10 (KJV) Good and upright is the Lord: therefore
will he teach sinners in the way. [9] The meek will he guide in
judgment: and the meek will he teach his way. [10] All the paths of the
Lord are mercy and truth unto such as keep his covenant and his
testimonies.
Psalm 25:12 (KJV) What man is he that feareth the Lord? him
shall he teach in the way that he shall choose.
Psalm 32:8 (KJV) I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way
which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye.
Isaiah 2:3 (KJV) And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and
let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of
Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths:
for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord
from Jerusalem.
Micah 4:2 (KJV) And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and
let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the
God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in
his paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the
Lord from Jerusalem.
Isaiah 30:20 (KJV) And though the Lord give you the bread of
adversity, and the water of affliction, yet shall not thy teachers be
removed into a corner any more, but thine eyes shall see thy teachers:
Isaiah 43:16 (KJV) Thus saith the Lord, which maketh a way in
the sea, and a path in the mighty waters;
Isaiah 49:9-10 (KJV) That thou mayest say to the prisoners, Go
forth; to them that are in darkness, Shew yourselves. They shall feed
in the ways, and their pastures shall be in all high places. [10]
They shall not hunger nor thirst; neither shall the heat nor sun
smite them: for he that hath mercy on them shall lead them, even by
the springs of water shall he guide them.
Isaiah 54:13 (KJV) And all thy children shall be taught of the
Lord; and great shall be the peace of thy children.
Jeremiah 6:16 (KJV) Thus saith the Lord, Stand ye in the ways,
and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk
therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will
not walk therein.
Jeremiah 31:33-34 (KJV) But this shall be the covenant that I
will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the Lord,
I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their
hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. [34] And
they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his
brother, saying, Know the Lord: for they shall all know me, from the
least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord; for I will
forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.
John 6:45 (KJV) It is written in the prophets, And they shall
be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath
learned of the Father, cometh unto me.
Psalm 119:165 (KJV) Great peace have they which love thy law:
and nothing shall offend them.
Isaiah 32:15-18 (KJV) Until the spirit be poured upon us from
on high, and the wilderness be a fruitful field, and the fruitful
field be counted for a forest. [16] Then judgment shall dwell in the
wilderness, and righteousness remain in the fruitful field. [17] And the
work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness
quietness and assurance for ever. [18] And my people shall dwell in a
peaceable habitation, and in sure dwellings, and in quiet resting places;
Amos 5:24 (KJV) But let judgment run down as waters, and
righteousness as a mighty stream.
Romans 14:17 (KJV) For the kingdom of God is not meat and
drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.
COMMENTARY / APPLICATION: Moving From The Head To The Heart
What is God teaching here? What does it teach about Jesus?
The Lord teaches and leads through His servants (Deut. 5:27),
His prophets, and His Son. [Nelson SB]
Like a loving parent, God teaches and directs us. We should
listen to him because peace and righteousness come to us as we obey his
Word. Refusing to pay attention to God's commands invites punishment
and threatens that peace and righteousness. [Life Application SB]
The person who fails to trust God's Word completely forfeits
more than comfort. He or she forfeits peace. God said through Isaiah,
"I am the LORD your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who
directs you in the way you should go." He added, "If only you had paid
attention" then "your peace would have been like a river." The person who
abandons confidence in the Word of God will soon abandon God's commands
as well. When that happens, he or she will discover that "there is
no peace," says the LORD, "for the wicked." Trust in God's Word is
not simply an intellectual issue. It is one of the pivotal issues of
faith and life. [The 365-Day Devotional Commentary]
The source of Christ's victory, the secret of His power, and of
ours, lies in obedience .... In an obedient heart there is a way
prepared for God. There are many Christians who always seek pleasure and
satisfaction for themselves. These have not yet learned that only obedient
children are happy children. That which in truth brings abiding
happiness is nothing else than obedience toward God. For a healthy soul
there is only one thing that counts - to be obedient. Why have so
many of God's lambs so little assurance of salvation? Why are their
souls not satisfied with the peace of God? God gives us the answer in
Isa.48:18: "Oh, that thou hadst hearkened to my commandments! Then had thy
peace been as a river, and thy righteousness as the waves of the sea."
People say, "I lack faith. I have too little faith; therefore I
have no assurance of salvation, no peace." But in most instances it
is not faith which is lacking, for even with a trembling hand one
can receive costly gifts. It is rather obedience which is lacking.
There is something in their lives which they will not let go, and
which hinders the Holy Spirit from giving them the assurance that they
are God's children ... No one who is disobedient to God can have
confidence in Him. Confidence is a result of obedience. by G. Steomberger
[Time With God SB]
The yoke is placed upon the oxen to aid them in drawing the
load, to lighten the burden. So with the yoke of Christ. When our will
is swallowed up in the will of God, and we use His gifts to bless
others, we shall find life's burden light. He who walks in the way of
God's commandments is walking in company with Christ, and in His love
the heart is at rest. When Moses prayed, "Show me now Thy way, that
I may know Thee," the Lord answered him, "My presence shall go
with thee, and I will give thee rest." And through the prophets the
message was given, "Thus saith the Lord, Stand ye in the ways, and see,
and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein,
and ye shall find rest for your souls." Ex. 33:13, 14; Jer. 6:16.
And He says, "O that thou hadst hearkened to My commandments! then
had thy peace been as a river, and thy righteousness as the waves of
the sea." Isa. 48:18. {DA 331.1}
Those who take Christ at His word, and surrender their souls to
His keeping, their lives to His ordering, will find peace and
quietude. Nothing of the world can make them sad when Jesus makes them
glad by His presence. In perfect acquiescence there is perfect rest.
The Lord says, "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is
stayed on Thee: because he trusteth in Thee." Isa. 26:3. Our lives may
seem a tangle; but as we commit ourselves to the wise Master Worker,
He will bring out the pattern of life and character that will be to
His own glory. And that character which expresses the
glory--character--of Christ will be received into the Paradise
of God. A renovated
race shall walk with Him in white, for they are worthy. {DA 331.2}
As through Jesus we enter into rest, heaven begins here. We
respond to His invitation, Come, learn of Me, and in thus coming we
begin the life eternal. Heaven is a ceaseless approaching to God
through Christ. The longer we are in the heaven of bliss, the more and
still more of glory will be opened to us; and the more we know of God,
the more intense will be our happiness. As we walk with Jesus in
this life, we may be filled with His love, satisfied with His
presence. All that human nature can bear, we may receive here. But what is
this compared with the hereafter? {DA 331.3}
To leave Him is to lose the way. To follow Him is to find true
peace and just living. [Disciple SB]
|
|
