If Only…
Opening Prayer
To listen properly is to obey. Come, Holy Spirit, and give me a listening, understanding, obedient heart.
Read Isaiah 48:12–22
12 “Listen to me, Jacob,
Israel, whom I have called:
I am he;
I am the first and I am the last.
13 My own hand laid the foundations of the earth,
and my right hand spread out the heavens;
when I summon them,
they all stand up together.
14 “Come together, all of you, and listen:
Which of the idols has foretold these things?
The Lord’s chosen ally
will carry out his purpose against Babylon;
his arm will be against the Babylonians.
15 I, even I, have spoken;
yes, I have called him.
I will bring him,
and he will succeed in his mission.
16 “Come near me and listen to this:
“From the first announcement I have not spoken in secret;
at the time it happens, I am there.”
And now the Sovereign Lord has sent me,
endowed with his Spirit.
17 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.
18 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.
19 Your descendants would have been like the sand,
your children like its numberless grains;
their name would never be blotted out
nor destroyed from before me.”
20 Leave Babylon,
flee from the Babylonians!
Announce this with shouts of joy
and proclaim it.
Send it out to the ends of the earth;
say, “The Lord has redeemed his servant Jacob.”
21 They did not thirst when he led them through the deserts;
he made water flow for them from the rock;
he split the rock
and water gushed out.
22 “There is no peace,” says the Lord, “for the wicked.”
New International Version (NIV)
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
When was the last time God spoke to you?The God whose name is I AM, the First and the Last (12; Rev. 1:17), the Creator of everything, calls his people to listen. No idol could announce in advance how God would save his people—in this case through Cyrus, who would conquer Babylon (14,15). Now God’s servant, anointed with his Spirit (61:1), has been sent with an even greater mission (16b).
The question is this: will God’s people be willing to listen to his voice? The Lord’s heart for
them, and for us, is to bless us. He teaches us what is good for us and directs us along the right way. He wants us to experience peace like a river, well-being like the depths of the ocean (18) and lasting blessing on our families (19). But will we pay attention to his commands (18a)?
At that time God’s people were called to leave Babylon, trusting in the Lord to bring them safely home through the desert (20,21).
Apply
We too are called not to love the world but to do the will of God (1 John 2:15–17). What might that mean for you today?
Closing prayer
Thank You, Father, for the peace we can enjoy because Jesus died for us. Teach us to show our love for him by obeying his teaching.
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