Daily Devotions
Isaiah
"I will make darkness light before them"
Text: Isaiah 42:16
GOD WOULD SHOW COMPASSION STILL
The rulers of the Northern Kingdom of Israel would suffer terribly. All who walked in the path of wickedness would suffer for all their misdeeds. But what about those who did not choose the path of evil? The LORD promised that He would show them much compassion. Two groups of people are to be distinguished in this text.
“I will bring the blind by a way they did not know;
I will lead them in paths they have not known.
I will make darkness light before them,
And crooked places straight.
These things I will do for them,
And not forsake them.
They shall be turned back,
They shall be greatly ashamed,
Who trust in carved images,
Who say to the moulded images,
‘You are our gods.'”
Isaiah 42:16-17
1. Those who trusted the LORD.
a) As one would lead the blind.
So the LORD would lead those who trusted in Him.
b) The Paths that are not known.
i) God will lead them.
ii) He will give light where there is darkness.
iii) He will make straight the crooked places.
c) The essential truth.
i) God will not forsake those who trust Him.
ii) He will do good things for all who believe in Him.
This was a great word of comfort to a country that suffered the ravages of war.
2. Those who choose idolatry.
a) The idols were powerless.
b) They could do nothing for their devotees.
c) Their devotees had trusted in their carved images.
d) They had called their idols “our gods”.
i) They would be turned back.
ii) They would suffer setbacks.
iii) They would be utterly ashamed of their idolatrous practices.