If only you had paid attention to my commands. Isaiah 48:18
In 1799, twelve-year-old Conrad Reed found a large, glittering rock in the stream that ran through his family’s small farm in North Carolina. He carried it home to show his father, a poor immigrant farmer. His father didn’t understand the rock’s potential value and used it as a doorstop. The family walked by it for years.
Eventually Conrad’s rock—actually a seventeen-pound gold nugget—caught the eye of a local jeweler. Soon the Reed family became wealthy, and their property became the site of the first major gold strike in the United States.
Sometimes we walk past a blessing, intent on our own plans and ways. After Israel was exiled to Babylon for disobeying God, He proclaimed freedom for them once again. But He also reminded them of what they’d missed. “I am the Lord your God,” He told them, “who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go. If only you had paid attention to my commands, your peace would have been like a river, your well-being like the waves of the sea.” God then encouraged them to follow Him away from old ways into a new life: “Leave Babylon . . . ! Announce this with shouts of joy” (Isaiah 48:17–18, 20).
Leaving Babylon, perhaps now as much as then, means leaving sinful ways and “coming home” to a God who longs to do us good—if only we’ll obey and follow Him!
Israel Freed
12 “Listenc to me, Jacob,
Israel, whom I have called:d
I am he;e
I am the first and I am the last.f
13 My own hand laid the foundations of the earth,g
and my right hand spread out the heavens;h
when I summon them,
they all stand up together.i
14 “Come together,j all of you, and listen:
Which of the idols has foretoldk these things?
The Lord’s chosen allyl
will carry out his purposem against Babylon;n
his arm will be against the Babylonians.a
yes, I have calledo him.
I will bring him,
and he will succeedp in his mission.
16 “Come nearq me and listenr to this:
“From the first announcement I have not spoken in secret;s
at the time it happens, I am there.”
And now the Sovereign Lordt has sentu me,
endowed with his Spirit.v
17 This is what the Lord says—
your Redeemer,w the Holy Onex of Israel:
“I am the Lord your God,
who teachesy you what is best for you,
who directsz you in the waya you should go.
18 If only you had paid attentionb to my commands,
your peacec would have been like a river,d
your well-beinge like the waves of the sea.
19 Your descendantsf would have been like the sand,g
your children like its numberless grains;h
their name would never be blotted outi
nor destroyed from before me.”
fleej from the Babylonians!
Announce this with shouts of joyk
and proclaim it.
Send it out to the ends of the earth;l
say, “The Lord has redeemedm his servant Jacob.”
INSIGHT
- What aspect of God do you look forward to as you walk with Him today?
- What can you do to gently lead others to His love?
The people’s return from Babylon (Isaiah 48:12–20) was significant because Israel needed to be in the promised land for Messiah Jesus to come and be born in Bethlehem as prophesied (Micah 5:2). But perhaps the greatest importance of deliverance for Israel was that in this rescue, God had once again fulfilled His promises to His chosen people. The promises found in Jeremiah 25:11–12 motivated Daniel to pray for his displaced people (Daniel 9:2–3) that they’d be ready for rescue when the time came.
PRAYER
Loving God, there’s no one like You! Help me embrace the opportunity to walk with You and discover the blessings You alone provide. In Jesus name, I pray. Amen!!
Read: Isaiah 48:12-20 (NIV) | Bible in a Year: 2 Kings 15-16; John 3:1-18
