Isaiah 43:22-44:22 The Promise of Prosperity
Overview:
In these past few chapters (Isaiah 40-43), God has been making a case for His ability to save Israel. He has laid out the fullness of His power, His past record of delivering her (from Egypt), and made a great avowal of love to her. He urges her to be of sound mind and bear witness of Him, that He is who He says He is. A sound mind, bolstered by this understanding of His power and love, were meant to help her battle her fear as she endures her exile.
In addition to this, He reminds her of all the blessings that He promised she would receive if she only returned to Him. He promised these back when He first gave her the Mosaic Covenant as He brought her out of Egypt. He promised that if she obeyed the Laws, He would give her a world of well-being, security, and abundant life (Deuteronomy 28:1-14) and the means of prospering for generations to come. But if she disobeyed, then she would have the opposite experience. She would fall victim to the curses (Deuteronomy 28:15-68) and those curses would not be lifted until she returned to Him. He asked her to choose:
The problem is that Israel sees a third choice: a life of prosperity and abundance that the world of idolatry offers—without having to obey all those rules—and it seems like a much easier path to take. And so, she turned to idolatry, and now God is locked in this struggle with her, trying to make her see not just the futility of it but the sheer foolishness of it. This is where we are picking up today, with this comparison of God’s assured blessing in a kingdom to come to the world’s illusion of prosperity in this life, and the question as to which is more able to comfort and deliver Israel from her misery.
Isaiah 43:22-28
Just as He did with Chapters 41 and 42, God ends Chapter 43 with a rebuke. In Isaiah 41, He rebuked Israel for the futility of her reliance on idols. In Isaiah 42, He rebuked her for not walking in His ways and being obedient to His Law—the very Law that He gave her last time He made a road for her out of her captivity. God is her Savior, not just because He delivers her out of her oppressive circumstances, but because He is the only one who can relieve the oppression caused by her sin (which, in Israel's case, just happens to be the reason why she is in her physical circumstances). But she sees God's provision for her salvation through the sacrificial system as being burdensome. She is weary of it, weary of Him, and has gone to other gods. And He takes it personally. Notice the emphasis on the repeated word "Me" in His charges against her in these verses.
God points out that she wasn't the one being wearied and burdened. She was wearying Him and burdening Him by not dealing with her sin. Seeing that this was the path she is determined to take, He said, "Fine! Leave! I'll send you into exile and destroy the Temple, and then you won't have to make any more sacrifices to Me." But now Israel's sin has brought her into truly burdensome oppression, and she wails over being victimized and that God has overlooked her just claim (Isaiah 40:27).
Have you ever watched someone's life implode like this? Having turned a deaf ear to all instruction and warnings, they rejected a relationship with God (if they ever had one to begin with) and started down a worldly path in pursuit of--whatever. As the consequences of their decisions begin to unfold, they then try various methods of coping, but their life only gets deeper and deeper into that crooked place. Finally, when they find themselves so entrenched that they are unable to cope any more, then they begin to wail that they have been wronged somehow and show up again on your doorstep, appealing to you for sympathy and support. Isn't it wearying? Can you empathize with God here?
This is how God responds. God says to Israel, "You and I need to have a discussion." (That's how my mother always began these conversations.) Then He goes on. "State your case. Let's examine the facts and see how you justify your claim. Your first father (Adam) sinned and was cursed (and now, not one of you is without sin). Your advocates who might have interceded on your behalf have only added to the transgressions. Those sacrifices were the only things that would have acquitted you in My eyes, and you refused to perform them. You didn't do what would have brought you the blessing and honor, so now you will reap the curse and reproach." (paraphrase of verses 27-28)
The blessings for obedience and curses for disobedience (Deuteronomy 28) are all part of God’s enduring word to Israel. Once spoken, they are written in stone and He cannot go back on His word. If He did, then the promises that He is making for her future would be valueless. The promises in Deuteronomy to send her into exile for disobedience are as much a witness to His past track record of mighty works as was the exodus from Egypt. He warned her long ago of the consequences (in all their gory detail) and now He has to follow through, for His own honor.
Chapter 43 ends rather abruptly and leaves the impression that this is going to be Israel’s permanent condition from here on. Is the cursing and reproach permanent?
Isaiah 44:1-5
In Deuteronomy 30:1-7, God made a promise to take Israel back if she will return to Him. This is the whole reason why He is making a way for that now. Isaiah 44 now opens with a hopeful "Yet hear now . . ." Israel has reason to fear the oppressor, but even more reason to fear being left in that oppression by her angry God. But God holds out the promise of His blessing again, if she will only return to Him. He repeats the command, "fear not," and gives her this promise:
Water has been a recurring motif in these passages, and the provision of water in the wilderness is a signature act that the LORD performs as He delivers Israel from bondage. He did it first during her exodus from Egypt. Back then, the physical deliverance and provision of water was paired with the spiritual provision of the Law for dealing with her sin.
In the KJV, the Holy Spirit is called a Comforter. Jesus speaks of Him in the Gospel of John:
In other versions, that Greek word, parakeltos, is translated as Helper or Advocate. It describes one who pleads another’s cause before a judge or acts as an intercessor. Jesus said that this Spirit would take His place after His ascension and lead His followers into a deeper understanding of the truth of the Word of God, and also give them divine strength to enable them to persevere under trials and persecutions on behalf of the kingdom. But, most importantly, He would be an indwelling Spirit. Why does that make a difference?
This goes along with what God promised in Deuteronomy 30, that when Israel returned, He would circumcise His people's hearts, not their flesh. There would be an internal change in the heart rather than a mere external altering of the flesh.
Israel’s response to this promise of abundant life (v5) is to renew her identity with God.
Do these promises of blessing and abundant life mean that God has overlooked Israel’s transgressions? No, they don’t. But clearly the Law was not a sufficient agent to deal with Israel's sin issue since it relied on her own volition and initiative in performing it. That is why God must provide a way to satisfy the Law Himself so that she can return to Him and still have hope of future blessings. Only He can blot her transgressions and He does it for His own sake (Isaiah 43:25).
Isaiah 44:6-8
These verses give us a summary statement of who God is. He has proved the enduring quality of His word in sending Israel into exile for her disobedience as He said He would, and He will be good to His word in making a way for her return. And all those blessings and promises of prosperity are on the horizon if Israel will only return.
Isaiah 44:9-11
God then levels the challenge at those who still choose idols. Compare Him and the blessing He offers with His rivals! Previously, He rebuked Israel for the futility of her idolatry. Now He reveals the foolishness of it, beginning with its unprofitableness.
The definition of "profit" in the Hebrew is rooted in the idea of rising above or ascending. These idolized things are meant to lift a person up or help them get ahead in the world, and that is what makes them valuable. They are valuable based on man's values and by what standards man ranks himself against other men.
The first thing God points out is that these people spend a lot of money pursuing these idols and get no profit in return. They have a figurine of wood or metal molded to their liking and then put it on the shelf. How many things do we have sitting around on our desks, shelves, bookcases, etc.? They may be pleasant to the eye, have an encouraging messages inscribed on them, or have memories attached to them that are comforting to us. But that is all they have to offer in the way of comfort. They don't help facing a difficult boss or an angry family member. They can't cure cancer or solve our financial problems. (A pursuit of such pricy "collectibles" may actually be adding to our financial problems.)
Next, God gives us a picture of what a pursuit of this "profit" looks like.
Isaiah 44:12-20
Despite there being no profit in these idols, the people spend an inordinate amount of time and effort pursuing them. In verses 12-17, we see the blacksmith hammering away as he fashions the idol, but what is his end condition? He toils until his strength fails, and he is still hungry and thirsty. The craftsman spends even more time. He actually plants the tree and harvests the wood. He selects a particularly fine piece of wood and uses part of it to fashion his idol. The rest of the log he throws on the fire. As Isaiah says,
Which offers more comfort: the warmth of the fire and the roasted meat, or the unburnt portion that he worships? That is the utter absurdity of idolatry, and for those who pursue it, God gives them over to the lie. He closes their eyes and hearts and lets them persist in their blindness and stupidity (Isaiah 44:19).
These idols have no power, and yet, there are people who believe they do have power, and this isn't just a problem for ancient Israel. Once in my varied career, I worked for a picture-framing shop, and I remember the day a young man brought in a bit of wood that was supposedly a piece of the Cross. Yes, the Cross. He was almost frantic over parting with it even to have it framed and demanded I treat it with the utmost reverence because it was a holy thing (and he had paid an exorbitant sum for it). I looked at him in disbelief. It was a piece of wood. It could have come off of a fence post. At that moment, I felt like the craftsman in this passage, being asked to take a useless piece of wood that was clearly an idol in this young man's life, and, in essence, build a shrine for it. And I had to do it, though my soul rebelled against it, because he was the client and this was the business. It was a souring experience. I would like to have known what that young man thought he would get as a return for all the money he had spent (the frame itself was not cheap), but, of course, I could not ask.
The Pursuit of Prosperity
God challenges Israel (and us) to consider what is profitable and worth pursuing, but also where we look for comfort: in the future, eternal blessing that He offers according to His definition and provision versus the fleeting blessing we achieve by our own works, according to our own or the world's definition.
Isaiah 44:21-22
Back in Isaiah 43, God repeatedly made the point that He had formed Israel which He reiterates here. He is her Creator. And yet Israel, who is herself a created thing, has now created gods of her own to rival Him, which is part of the absurdity of idolatry. The power to deliver and redeem is only in the hand of the Creator, not created man or man's created things. If those idols had created Israel, then they would have power to redeem her, but they didn't and they don't. She was the one who created those things and then attributed power to them that she herself did not have. The idols could do no more for her than she could do for herself. God commands Israel, "Remember this truth!" (Isaiah 44:21-22)
What can God the Creator do for His people that her created idols cannot do? He blots out their transgressions and thus provides a release from the curse. That phrase, "I have blotted out your transgressions," brings the argument back to His opening statement in Isaiah 43:25, which was Israel's point of departure from Him. He now implores her, "Return to Me, for I have redeemed you."
God's Highway Project: The Promise of Prosperity
God's way is the only true way to a lasting experience of prosperity and security, but presenting this motivation to a struggling person can have both an upside and downside.
I worked for a time in the communications department at Prison Fellowship Ministries, and I remember the warning that was given to volunteers who ministered in the prisons. Volunteers were told not to promise inmates that a relationship with Christ would make the consequences of their sins disappear. It wouldn't necessarily get them out of prison any sooner. It wouldn't guarantee that their addictions would magically disappear. It wouldn't mean that the broken relationships would be healed and reconciled or that they would have it easy from here on. The immediate release that they were being given was a spiritual release, and with the Spirit's help, the physical bondage and brokenness might be overcome with time. So, it was important to cast the vision of a future prosperity, but to be realistic about what abundant life looks like from God's eyes and when the full experience of that might be realized.
In regard to Israel’s response in Isaiah 44:5 where she returns to her association with God after He promises the blessing, we should pause and consider how difficult it is to change the mindset of a person who has walked away from God and begun to cling to a personal or worldly source of empowerment to relieve his or her oppression.
In these past few chapters (Isaiah 40-43), God has been making a case for His ability to save Israel. He has laid out the fullness of His power, His past record of delivering her (from Egypt), and made a great avowal of love to her. He urges her to be of sound mind and bear witness of Him, that He is who He says He is. A sound mind, bolstered by this understanding of His power and love, were meant to help her battle her fear as she endures her exile.
In addition to this, He reminds her of all the blessings that He promised she would receive if she only returned to Him. He promised these back when He first gave her the Mosaic Covenant as He brought her out of Egypt. He promised that if she obeyed the Laws, He would give her a world of well-being, security, and abundant life (Deuteronomy 28:1-14) and the means of prospering for generations to come. But if she disobeyed, then she would have the opposite experience. She would fall victim to the curses (Deuteronomy 28:15-68) and those curses would not be lifted until she returned to Him. He asked her to choose:
Deuteronomy 30:19-20 NKJV - "I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; that you may love the LORD your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days; and that you may dwell in the land . . ."
The problem is that Israel sees a third choice: a life of prosperity and abundance that the world of idolatry offers—without having to obey all those rules—and it seems like a much easier path to take. And so, she turned to idolatry, and now God is locked in this struggle with her, trying to make her see not just the futility of it but the sheer foolishness of it. This is where we are picking up today, with this comparison of God’s assured blessing in a kingdom to come to the world’s illusion of prosperity in this life, and the question as to which is more able to comfort and deliver Israel from her misery.
Isaiah 43:22-28
Just as He did with Chapters 41 and 42, God ends Chapter 43 with a rebuke. In Isaiah 41, He rebuked Israel for the futility of her reliance on idols. In Isaiah 42, He rebuked her for not walking in His ways and being obedient to His Law—the very Law that He gave her last time He made a road for her out of her captivity. God is her Savior, not just because He delivers her out of her oppressive circumstances, but because He is the only one who can relieve the oppression caused by her sin (which, in Israel's case, just happens to be the reason why she is in her physical circumstances). But she sees God's provision for her salvation through the sacrificial system as being burdensome. She is weary of it, weary of Him, and has gone to other gods. And He takes it personally. Notice the emphasis on the repeated word "Me" in His charges against her in these verses.
God points out that she wasn't the one being wearied and burdened. She was wearying Him and burdening Him by not dealing with her sin. Seeing that this was the path she is determined to take, He said, "Fine! Leave! I'll send you into exile and destroy the Temple, and then you won't have to make any more sacrifices to Me." But now Israel's sin has brought her into truly burdensome oppression, and she wails over being victimized and that God has overlooked her just claim (Isaiah 40:27).
Have you ever watched someone's life implode like this? Having turned a deaf ear to all instruction and warnings, they rejected a relationship with God (if they ever had one to begin with) and started down a worldly path in pursuit of--whatever. As the consequences of their decisions begin to unfold, they then try various methods of coping, but their life only gets deeper and deeper into that crooked place. Finally, when they find themselves so entrenched that they are unable to cope any more, then they begin to wail that they have been wronged somehow and show up again on your doorstep, appealing to you for sympathy and support. Isn't it wearying? Can you empathize with God here?
Q: What should be our response to people like this who come to us seeking comfort and support, knowing what we know of how they got into their problems?
This is how God responds. God says to Israel, "You and I need to have a discussion." (That's how my mother always began these conversations.) Then He goes on. "State your case. Let's examine the facts and see how you justify your claim. Your first father (Adam) sinned and was cursed (and now, not one of you is without sin). Your advocates who might have interceded on your behalf have only added to the transgressions. Those sacrifices were the only things that would have acquitted you in My eyes, and you refused to perform them. You didn't do what would have brought you the blessing and honor, so now you will reap the curse and reproach." (paraphrase of verses 27-28)
Q: Why would God be so brutal about this? Wasn't He supposed to be comforting Israel?
The blessings for obedience and curses for disobedience (Deuteronomy 28) are all part of God’s enduring word to Israel. Once spoken, they are written in stone and He cannot go back on His word. If He did, then the promises that He is making for her future would be valueless. The promises in Deuteronomy to send her into exile for disobedience are as much a witness to His past track record of mighty works as was the exodus from Egypt. He warned her long ago of the consequences (in all their gory detail) and now He has to follow through, for His own honor.
Q: Why is important for us to model God's consistency and follow-through when dealing with sin?
Q: Are there times when a little bit of tough love and a rather blunt stating of the obvious necessary to break a person out of their self-pity and sense of entitlement?
I think so. However . . . Remember where this chapter began. This rebuke comes on the heels of God’s earlier avowal of love and validation. This has been a pattern with Him through the last several chapters. On one hand, He offers the reassurances of His ability and desire to reclaim His people. They are precious to Him and He loves them. On the other hand, He doesn't shy away from addressing the sin, which is a stumbling block and source of conflict between Himself and Israel. These are the lifting-up and tearing-down steps in His highway project.
Q: When comforting a struggling person, why is it important not to overlook the sin factor in their actions (or reactions) and not just in the oppressor's actions? Why is it important not to be impartial about that?
Q: Why is it important to balance rebuke with consolation and validation?
Chapter 43 ends rather abruptly and leaves the impression that this is going to be Israel’s permanent condition from here on. Is the cursing and reproach permanent?
Isaiah 44:1-5
In Deuteronomy 30:1-7, God made a promise to take Israel back if she will return to Him. This is the whole reason why He is making a way for that now. Isaiah 44 now opens with a hopeful "Yet hear now . . ." Israel has reason to fear the oppressor, but even more reason to fear being left in that oppression by her angry God. But God holds out the promise of His blessing again, if she will only return to Him. He repeats the command, "fear not," and gives her this promise:
"For I will pour water on him who is thirsty, and floods on the dry ground; I will pour My Spirit on your descendants, and My blessing on your offspring" (Isaiah 44:3 NKJV)
Water has been a recurring motif in these passages, and the provision of water in the wilderness is a signature act that the LORD performs as He delivers Israel from bondage. He did it first during her exodus from Egypt. Back then, the physical deliverance and provision of water was paired with the spiritual provision of the Law for dealing with her sin.
Q: Now, in verse 3, we see the promise for physical provision, but what new spiritual provision is the LORD promising this time?
Q: Why change this? Why not just renew the Law?
Q: Is the giving of the Spirit a comfort? If so, how?
In the KJV, the Holy Spirit is called a Comforter. Jesus speaks of Him in the Gospel of John:
John 14:16, 26 KJV - "And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever . . . But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you."
John 15:26 KJV - "But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:"
In other versions, that Greek word, parakeltos, is translated as Helper or Advocate. It describes one who pleads another’s cause before a judge or acts as an intercessor. Jesus said that this Spirit would take His place after His ascension and lead His followers into a deeper understanding of the truth of the Word of God, and also give them divine strength to enable them to persevere under trials and persecutions on behalf of the kingdom. But, most importantly, He would be an indwelling Spirit. Why does that make a difference?
This goes along with what God promised in Deuteronomy 30, that when Israel returned, He would circumcise His people's hearts, not their flesh. There would be an internal change in the heart rather than a mere external altering of the flesh.
Q: God deliberately pairs the picture of pouring out water, which is easy to understand, with the pouring out of the Spirit, which is harder to understand. How is the pouring out of the Spirit like the pouring out of water or giving of rain?
Israel’s response to this promise of abundant life (v5) is to renew her identity with God.
Q: We know that this Comforter was given in the wake of Jesus' ascension, on the Day of Pentecost. Was the Day of Pentecost a fulfillment of this promise?
Do these promises of blessing and abundant life mean that God has overlooked Israel’s transgressions? No, they don’t. But clearly the Law was not a sufficient agent to deal with Israel's sin issue since it relied on her own volition and initiative in performing it. That is why God must provide a way to satisfy the Law Himself so that she can return to Him and still have hope of future blessings. Only He can blot her transgressions and He does it for His own sake (Isaiah 43:25).
Isaiah 44:6-8
These verses give us a summary statement of who God is. He has proved the enduring quality of His word in sending Israel into exile for her disobedience as He said He would, and He will be good to His word in making a way for her return. And all those blessings and promises of prosperity are on the horizon if Israel will only return.
Isaiah 44:9-11
God then levels the challenge at those who still choose idols. Compare Him and the blessing He offers with His rivals! Previously, He rebuked Israel for the futility of her idolatry. Now He reveals the foolishness of it, beginning with its unprofitableness.
Q: Israel has opted for a worldly pursuit of profit and prosperity. How does the world determine what is profitable?
The definition of "profit" in the Hebrew is rooted in the idea of rising above or ascending. These idolized things are meant to lift a person up or help them get ahead in the world, and that is what makes them valuable. They are valuable based on man's values and by what standards man ranks himself against other men.
The first thing God points out is that these people spend a lot of money pursuing these idols and get no profit in return. They have a figurine of wood or metal molded to their liking and then put it on the shelf. How many things do we have sitting around on our desks, shelves, bookcases, etc.? They may be pleasant to the eye, have an encouraging messages inscribed on them, or have memories attached to them that are comforting to us. But that is all they have to offer in the way of comfort. They don't help facing a difficult boss or an angry family member. They can't cure cancer or solve our financial problems. (A pursuit of such pricy "collectibles" may actually be adding to our financial problems.)
Next, God gives us a picture of what a pursuit of this "profit" looks like.
Isaiah 44:12-20
Despite there being no profit in these idols, the people spend an inordinate amount of time and effort pursuing them. In verses 12-17, we see the blacksmith hammering away as he fashions the idol, but what is his end condition? He toils until his strength fails, and he is still hungry and thirsty. The craftsman spends even more time. He actually plants the tree and harvests the wood. He selects a particularly fine piece of wood and uses part of it to fashion his idol. The rest of the log he throws on the fire. As Isaiah says,
"He burns half of it in the fire; with this half he eats meat; he roasts a roast, and is satisfied. He even warms himself and says, 'Ah! I am warm, I have seen the fire.' And the rest of it he makes into a god, his carved image. He falls down before it and worships it, prays to it and says, 'Deliver me, for you are my god!'" (Isaiah 44:16-17 NKJV)
Which offers more comfort: the warmth of the fire and the roasted meat, or the unburnt portion that he worships? That is the utter absurdity of idolatry, and for those who pursue it, God gives them over to the lie. He closes their eyes and hearts and lets them persist in their blindness and stupidity (Isaiah 44:19).
These idols have no power, and yet, there are people who believe they do have power, and this isn't just a problem for ancient Israel. Once in my varied career, I worked for a picture-framing shop, and I remember the day a young man brought in a bit of wood that was supposedly a piece of the Cross. Yes, the Cross. He was almost frantic over parting with it even to have it framed and demanded I treat it with the utmost reverence because it was a holy thing (and he had paid an exorbitant sum for it). I looked at him in disbelief. It was a piece of wood. It could have come off of a fence post. At that moment, I felt like the craftsman in this passage, being asked to take a useless piece of wood that was clearly an idol in this young man's life, and, in essence, build a shrine for it. And I had to do it, though my soul rebelled against it, because he was the client and this was the business. It was a souring experience. I would like to have known what that young man thought he would get as a return for all the money he had spent (the frame itself was not cheap), but, of course, I could not ask.
Q: What do you think this young man believed he would benefit from his relic?
The Pursuit of Prosperity
God challenges Israel (and us) to consider what is profitable and worth pursuing, but also where we look for comfort: in the future, eternal blessing that He offers according to His definition and provision versus the fleeting blessing we achieve by our own works, according to our own or the world's definition.
Q: What does our world make into idols—things that help them get ahead, raise their status among their peers, or otherwise lift them up?
Q: There are profitable things in life that are not bad in themselves. At what point can profitable things become idols? (1 Timothy 6:10, 17-19)
In the Law, God continually reminds Israel that He is the one who gives them the ability to prosper and profit from their efforts. Her idols offer only the illusion of such help. The pursuit of power, salvation, and prosperity through idolatry is the lie that takes a person off of God's highway and can blind them with the false promise of deliverance. The LORD sums it up in verse 20, "A deceived heart has turned him aside and he cannot deliver his soul, nor say, 'Is there not a lie in my right hand?'" (Isaiah 44:20)
Isaiah 44:21-22
Back in Isaiah 43, God repeatedly made the point that He had formed Israel which He reiterates here. He is her Creator. And yet Israel, who is herself a created thing, has now created gods of her own to rival Him, which is part of the absurdity of idolatry. The power to deliver and redeem is only in the hand of the Creator, not created man or man's created things. If those idols had created Israel, then they would have power to redeem her, but they didn't and they don't. She was the one who created those things and then attributed power to them that she herself did not have. The idols could do no more for her than she could do for herself. God commands Israel, "Remember this truth!" (Isaiah 44:21-22)
What can God the Creator do for His people that her created idols cannot do? He blots out their transgressions and thus provides a release from the curse. That phrase, "I have blotted out your transgressions," brings the argument back to His opening statement in Isaiah 43:25, which was Israel's point of departure from Him. He now implores her, "Return to Me, for I have redeemed you."
God's Highway Project: The Promise of Prosperity
God's way is the only true way to a lasting experience of prosperity and security, but presenting this motivation to a struggling person can have both an upside and downside.
Q: When you are dealing with someone who struggling, why is it important to cast that vision of a future blessing to come?
Q: What is the danger of building up a person’s hope of prosperity in this world or this life? When does this experience of prosperity come?
I worked for a time in the communications department at Prison Fellowship Ministries, and I remember the warning that was given to volunteers who ministered in the prisons. Volunteers were told not to promise inmates that a relationship with Christ would make the consequences of their sins disappear. It wouldn't necessarily get them out of prison any sooner. It wouldn't guarantee that their addictions would magically disappear. It wouldn't mean that the broken relationships would be healed and reconciled or that they would have it easy from here on. The immediate release that they were being given was a spiritual release, and with the Spirit's help, the physical bondage and brokenness might be overcome with time. So, it was important to cast the vision of a future prosperity, but to be realistic about what abundant life looks like from God's eyes and when the full experience of that might be realized.
Q: Even within the Christian community, there are prosperity cults that promise the experience of abundant life. What is their idea of prosperity and how do you get it?
In regard to Israel’s response in Isaiah 44:5 where she returns to her association with God after He promises the blessing, we should pause and consider how difficult it is to change the mindset of a person who has walked away from God and begun to cling to a personal or worldly source of empowerment to relieve his or her oppression.
Q: The rational argument (or even pointing out the foolishness of their actions) doesn’t always work. Why not?
Q: How do you convince them of God’s power and love so that they will let go of the their identity with their idol and embrace that identity with God? Can you convince them, or is this something the LORD has to do?
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