Bible Blog for the day, January 26, 2015: Scripture: Isaiah 46: 9 (NIV): “ ‘Remember the former things, those of long ago; I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me.’ ” Thought: To me, if we forget to remember God, we will soon become lost in idolatry. Question: Do I know Bible history? The previous verse began the recommendation, “remember this…”, since Israel had wandered away from God and become increasingly distant. Idolatry had crept in and taken over. Today’s verse repeats this injunction and then specifies what to “remember.” In remembering, we are all taken back to “square one:” God is, and there is no other. “Remember the former things,” These “former things” would include all the dealings God has had with His people since before they were a nation. The record of former things is found in Scripture. It starts with Creation and the story of the fall of Adam. From there it proceeds to the history of Abraham and how God promised he would be the father of a great nation—great because out of his “nation” would come a Savior who would undo what Adam had done. When no son seemed to be forthcoming from God, Abraham attempted in his own strength to create a son. The result was Ishmael, ancient ancestor to the Arabs. But God did come through, delivering on His promise, and Isaac was miraculously born. From Isaac came Jacob who fathered twelve sons, these becoming the origins of the twelve tribes of Israel. (To this day there is still conflict between the “sons” of Ishmael and the “sons” of Isaac, due to Abraham’s impatience.) But whatever God did, He, of course, did supremely well, and each bit of His activity should be brought into remembrance so that His kindness, mercy, longsuffering, faithfulness, purity and love may be brought to mind again and again. This is why the record of the scriptures was prompted (and inspired) by God to be made. Romans 15: 4: “For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.” I Corinthians 10: 11: “These things [judgment unto death] happened to them [the Israelites] as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come.” These two scriptures in the New Testament display both “sides” of the coin, as it were: 1) the positive encouragement of the written record of God blessing those who trust Him, and, 2) the negative warning of the written record when man fails to obey God. The “former things” includes how God miraculously saved Israel in many instances; including how He delivered His people from bondage in Egypt, how He brought them through the Red Sea, how he fed them with manna from heaven and water from the rock in the wilderness, how He healed and protected them from many diseases, how He preserved their shoes from wearing out as they travelled and how He faithfully led them by pillars of fire and smoke. Later on there were many more acts of God that protected, benefitted, preserved and helped Israel. All of these powerful and protective acts of God need to be remembered; not only by the Israelites themselves over the years, but also by us today. “…those of long ago;” Scripture is unequalled in its preservation of truth down through the ages. God moved Moses and the prophets to write things down that would benefit mankind for all time—right up to the end of the world. What we call “history” is really “His Story”—the thread all the way through is the goodness of God. The “former things”, as recorded in the Holy Bible, begin to display God’s plan and Divine purpose as worked out on our planet. One large and predominant purpose of God is to illustrate and magnify His own Son, Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world. The entire Bible is about Jesus Christ. Each book contained in the Holy Scripture has some reference to Jesus, whether prophetic or actual. He is the Bible’s central character, and the salvation He brings to human beings is the main point. The Bible clearly points out that Christ was present and active during Creation. Genesis 1: 26: “Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, in our likeness…” Christ is symbolized in Exodus via the lamb’s blood placed over the doorways of each believer’s home during the plagues in Egypt. Christ is represented by type in the Tabernacle in Leviticus as The One Whose blood would put an end to animal sacrifice. And on through each Old Testament book one can find Jesus Christ foretold, or symbolized, or in type in some fashion, until we cross over into the four Gospels of the New Testament where Christ is born as a man into our world. Thus the “former things… of long ago” work together to support and solidify the vast plan and purpose of God in bringing us His Son. We would do well to “remember” all of these things! “I am God, and there is no other;” In remembering Who God is, and that He is also brought to us in and through the Son, Jesus Christ, we do well to effectively tear down all other idols that would seek to compete with Him. “There is no other” god than The LORD God Almighty, Who extends Himself also through the gift of His Son, Jesus Christ. John 10: 30: “ ‘I and the Father are one.’ ” John 17: 21: “ ‘that all of them [believers] may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you…’ ” John 1: 1 and 14: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” “No other” god can compare with The One True God. It is time to simply capitulate and give God all the glory due Him. “I am God, and there is none like me.” For emphasis, Isaiah repeats the same idea with slightly different wording. Not only is there no other True God, but also false idols are nothing like the True God. Man may erect all kinds of statues and towers and images. They may be called gods. Their so-called reputation may become far-flung and greatly believable. They may seem to “compete” with God for admiration and worship. But in reality they are nothing. And all it takes to burst the bubble of idolatry is to “remember the former things” God has accomplished. Let us “remember!” Prayer: Great God, The One and Only God, thank You for giving us Your Word! In it I begin to understand Your greatness. Help me, Oh Father, to dwell in the pages of the Bible every day, day in and day out, that I may be reminded, over and over, again and again, how awesome You truly are. Help me to realize that if I do not dwell in Your Word I will begin to drift away from you, and quite quickly I will become vulnerable to the enemy’s subterfuge. Strengthen me to “remember” You, dear Lord. Cause me to never forget! In Christ’s Name I pray, Amen.
Posted on: Tue, 27 Jan 2015 02:57:03 +0000
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