There Is Nothing in Our Actions, Attitudes, or
Accomplishments
to Compel God to Love and Save Us.
9Yet, for my own sake and for the honor of my name, I will hold back my anger and not wipe you out. 10I refined you in the furnace of affliction but found no silver there. You are worthless, with nothing good in you at all. 11Yet for my own sake—yes, for my own sake—I will save you from my anger and not destroy you lest the heathen say their gods have conquered me. I will not let them have my glory.[1] (Isaiah 48:9–11)
God’s Patience: He Delayed
His Wrath to Deliver His People
God Revealed a Wonderful Fact to His People: despite their hypocrisy and stubbornness, He was patient and not willing that any of them should perish. With a heart full of love for His people, He suffered a long time with their insincere, obstinate behavior. He delayed His wrath, longing for them to repent and turn back to Him. All who repented would be delivered from the bondage and oppression of their enemies. Although the people deserved to be condemned due to their despicable behavior, the Lord would have mercy on them. He would not cut His people off, not immediately. Four reasons are given explaining why God delayed His wrath:
A. To Stir
Praise for His Name: Due to His Mercy, Not Cutting His People Off
God is patient, showing mercy so that people will praise His Name (v. 9). When a person honestly looks at how much sin has infected the world and considers how merciful God has been by delaying His wrath, the person is stirred to praise God for His mercy. However, death is the just reward for sin and rebellion against God. But out of a heart of mercy, the Lord has delayed His wrath. It will not be delayed forever, for the day of final judgment is coming when every person will give an account for His or her behavior. But for now, God’s mercy provides a way of eternal salvation for all who will believe. Because of His mercy, His Name is to be praised.
B. To Refine
His People in The Furnace of Affliction
God is patient, showing mercy in order to refine His people in the furnace of affliction (v. 10). Just as silver is refined—made purer and more valuable—in a furnace of fire, so God’s people are refined through the hardships and suffering they endure. It is through these trials that the Lord makes His people stronger, both in character and in faith. When a true believer suffers, he draws closer to the Lord through prayer and worship. Suffering arouses a person to call upon the Lord for provision, help, guidance, protection, or deliverance. And when the Lord answers the true believer’s prayer, the believer draws even closer to the Lord through more prayer, worship, and thanksgiving. Hence, the Lord’s patience and mercy are continuously refining His people, making them stronger believers than ever before.
C. To Honor
His Name & Keep It from Being Defamed
The Lord is patient, showing mercy in order to honor His Name and keep His Name from being defamed (v. 11a). The words “for my sake” are emphasized and are mentioned twice in this brief verse. God is absolutely determined to protect the integrity of His Name and His Word. This thought should be reassuring to believers, for if God had executed His wrath upon the human race in Isaiah’s day, His promise of redemption—that some would be saved—would not have been fulfilled. Neither would many of the prophecies that were given long ago. Therefore God delayed His wrath in order to honor His Word, to fulfill all the predictions and promises He had given to His people. By keeping and fulfilling His Word, He honors His Name. Hence, no person can legitimately defame God’s Name by accusing Him of lying to people. The earth is still standing so that God can honor His Name by keeping the promises He has given to the world, in particular to true believers.
D. To Protect
His Glory
God is patient, showing mercy to protect His glory (v. 11b). As the Lord God of the universe, the Creator of heaven and earth, the Lord is by His very nature the most magnificent being who has ever existed or ever will exist. The very essence of His being is light, a light so brilliant and magnificent that it shines forth with the blazing holiness of God’s righteousness. God’s glory is so radiant and powerful, so full of splendor, that in the New Jerusalem, there will be no need for sunlight. The magnificence of God’s glory and being shines so intensely that it will provide the light needed in the capital city of the new heavens and earth. God’s majesty and righteousness are so potent that they would consume any sinner or imperfect being who stood in His presence. Because of God’s glory and majesty, He is to be praised and honored by true believers. When God is patient and merciful to His people, they are to exalt and worship His Holy Name. It is this glory—the glory of praise and honor—that the Lord will never share with another person or being.
Thought 1. God is patient with the human race, delaying the day of His coming wrath against the ungodly and unrighteous of the earth. Although death is the just reward for sin, God has not yet executed His justice and judgment upon the world. The Lord is longsuffering, yearning for individuals and nations to repent, to turn back to Him and away from their sinful behavior. In addition, He is merciful, willing to forgive any who will truly repent. Listen to God’s Holy Word:
V “And His mercy is on them that fear Him from generation to generation” (Lu. 1:50).
V “What
if God, willing to show His wrath,
and to make His power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of
wrath fitted to destruction” (Ro.
9:22).
V “But God, who is rich in mercy, for His great
love wherewith He loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us
together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: That in the ages
to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. For by grace are ye
saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God” (Ep.
2:4–8).
V “Not by works of righteousness which we have
done, but according to His mercy He saved us, by the washing of regeneration,
and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Which He shed on us abundantly through Jesus
Christ our Saviour; That being justified by His grace, we should be made heirs
according to the hope of eternal life” (Tit. 3:5–7).
V “Which sometime were disobedient when once
the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a
preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water” (1 Pe. 3:20).
V “The Lord is not slack concerning His
promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not
willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Pe. 3:9).
V “But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting upon
them that fear Him, and His righteousness unto children’s children” (Ps. 103:17).
V “For my name’s sake will I defer mine anger,
and for my praise will I refrain for thee, that I cut thee not off” (Is. 48:9).
V “It is
of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed because His compassions fail
not. They are new every morning” (La. 3:22–23).
V “Nevertheless mine eye spared them from
destroying them, neither did I make an end of them in the wilderness” (Eze. 20:17).
V “And rend your heart, and not your garments,
and turn unto the Lord your God: for He is
gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth Him
of the evil” (Joel 2:13).
V “Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of His heritage? He retaineth not His anger forever, because He delighteth in mercy” (Mic. 7:18).[2]
9Yet for my own sake and for the honor of my name I will hold back my anger and not wipe you out. 10I refined you in the furnace of affliction but found no silver there. You are worthless, with nothing good in you at all. 11Yet for my own sake—yes, for my own sake—I will save you from my anger and not destroy you lest the heathen say their gods have conquered me. I will not let them have my glory (Isaiah 48:9-11).[1]
There was
nothing in the people’s actions, attitudes, or accomplishments to compel God to
love and save them. But for his own sake, to show who he is and what he can do,
he saved them. God does not save us because we are good but because he
loves us and because of his forgiving nature.
Do you find it easy to complain when your life becomes complicated or difficult? Why would a loving God allow all kinds of unpleasant experiences to come to his children? This verse shows us plainly that God tests us in the “furnace of suffering.” Rather than complain, our response should be to turn to God in faith for the strength to endure and rejoice in our sufferings (see Romans 5:3; James 1:2–4). For without the testing, we would never know what we are capable of doing, nor would we grow. And without the refining, we will not become more pure and more like Christ. If you are facing adversity or suffering, seek God and his refining work in your life.[2]
[1] Taylor, Kenneth Nathaniel. 1997. The Living Bible,
Paraphrased. Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House.
[2] Leadership Ministries Worldwide. 2005. Isaiah: Chapters 36–66. Vol. II. The Preacher’s Outline & Sermon Bible. Chattanooga, TN: Leadership Ministries Worldwide.
[3] Life Application
Bible Notes. 2007. Tyndale.
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