Isaiah 44:8 - Prayer Tents

Isaiah 44

44“But now, listen to me, Jacob my servant, Israel my chosen one.H8085H3290H5650H3478H9772The Lord who made you and helps you says. Do not be afraid, O Jacob, my servant, O dear Israel

, my chosen one.H559H3068H6213H3335H990H5826H3372H3290H5650H3484H9773For I will pour out water to quench your thirst and to irrigate your parched fields. And I will pour out my Spirit on your descendants, and my blessing on your children.H3332H4325H6771H5140H3004H3332H7307H2233H1293H66314They will thrive like watered grass, like willows on a riverbank.H6779H996H2682H6155H4325H29885Some will proudly claim, ‘I belong to the Lord.’ Others will say, ‘I am a descendant of Jacob.’ Some will write the Lord’s name on their hands and will take the name of Israel as their own.”H559H3068H7121H8034H3290H3789H3027H3068H3655H8034H3478

The Foolishness of Idols

6This is what the Lord says—Israel’s King and Redeemer, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies: “I am the First and the Last; there is no other God.H559H3068H4428H3478H1350H3068H6635H7223H314H1107H4307Who is like me? Let him step forward and prove to you his power. Let him do as I have done since ancient times when I established a people and explained its future.H7121H5046H6186H7760H5769H5971H857H935H50468Do not tremble; do not be afraid. Did I not proclaim my purposes for you long ago? You are my witnesses—is there any other God? No! There is no other Rock—not one!”H6342H7297H7297H8085H227H5046H5707H3426H433H1107H6697H30459How foolish are those who manufacture idols. These prized objects are really worthless. The people who worship idols don’t know this, so they are all put to shame.H3335H6459H8414H2530H3276H5707H7200H3045H95410Who but a fool would make his own god—an idol that cannot help him one bit?H3335H410H5258H6459H3276H111511All who worship idols will be disgraced along with all these craftsmen—mere humans—who claim they can make a god. They may all stand together, but they will stand in terror and shame.H2270H954H2796H120H6908H5975H6342H954H316212The blacksmith stands at his forge to make a sharp tool, pounding and shaping it with all his might. His work makes him hungry and weak. It makes him thirsty and faint.H1270H2796H4621H6466H6352H3335H4717H6466H3581H2220H7457H3581H369H8354H4325H328613Then the wood-carver measures a block of wood and draws a pattern on it. He works with chisel and plane and carves it into a human figure. He gives it human beauty and puts it in a little shrine.H2796H6086H5186H6957H8388H8279H6213H4741H8388H4230H6213H8403H376H8597H120H3427H100414He cuts down cedars; he selects the cypress and the oak; he plants the pine in the forest to be nourished by the rain.H3772H730H3947H8645H437H553H6086H3293H5193H766H1653H143115Then he uses part of the wood to make a fire. With it he warms himself and bakes his bread. Then—yes, it’s true—he takes the rest of it and makes himself a god to worship! He makes an idol and bows down in front of it!H120H1197H3947H2552H5400H644H3899H6466H410H7812H6213H6459H545616He burns part of the tree to roast his meat and to keep himself warm. He says, “Ah, that fire feels good.”H8313H2677H1119H784H2677H398H1320H6740H6748H7646H2552H559H1889H2552H7200H21717Then he takes what’s left and makes his god: a carved idol! He falls down in front of it, worshiping and praying to it. “Rescue me!” he says. “You are my god!”H7611H6213H410H6459H5456H7812H6419H559H5337H41018Such stupidity and ignorance! Their eyes are closed, and they cannot see. Their minds are shut, and they cannot think.H3045H995H2902H5869H7200H3826H791919The person who made the idol never stops to reflect, “Why, it’s just a block of wood! I burned half of it for heat and used it to bake my bread and roast my meat. How can the rest of it be a god? Should I bow down to worship a piece of wood?”H7725H3820H1847H8394H559H8313H2677H1119H784H644H3899H1513H6740H1320H398H6213H3499H8441H5456H944H608620The poor, deluded fool feeds on ashes. He trusts something that can’t help him at all. Yet he cannot bring himself to ask, “Is this idol that I’m holding in my hand a lie?”H7462H665H2048H3820H5186H5337H5315H559H8267H3225

Restoration for Jerusalem

21“Pay attention, O Jacob, for you are my servant, O Israel. I, the Lord, made you, and I will not forget you.H2142H3290H3478H5650H3335H5650H3478H538222I have swept away your sins like a cloud. I have scattered your offenses like the morning mist. Oh, return to me, for I have paid the price to set you free.”H4229H5645H6588H6051H2403H7725H135023Sing, O heavens, for the Lord has done this wondrous thing. Shout for joy, O depths of the earth! Break into song, O mountains and forests and every tree! For the Lord has redeemed Jacob and is glorified in Israel.H7442H8064H3068H6213H7321H8482H776H6476H7440H2022H3293H6086H3068H1350H3290H6286H347824This is what the Lord says—your Redeemer and Creator. “I am the Lord, who made all things. I alone stretched out the heavens. Who was with me when I made the earth?H559H3068H1350H3335H990H3068H6213H5186H8064H7554H77625I expose the false prophets as liars and make fools of fortune-tellers. I cause the wise to give bad advice, thus proving them to be fools.H6565H226H907H7080H1984H7725H2450H268H1847H552826But I carry out the predictions of my prophets! By them I say to Jerusalem, ‘People will live here again,’ and to the towns of Judah, ‘You will be rebuilt; I will restore all your ruins!’H6965H1697H5650H7999H6098H4397H559H3389H3427H5892H3063H1129H6965H272327When I speak to the rivers and say, ‘Dry up!’ they will be dry.H559H6683H2717H3001H510428When I say of Cyrus, ‘He is my shepherd,’ he will certainly do as I say. He will command, ‘Rebuild Jerusalem’; he will say, ‘Restore the Temple.’”H559H3566H7462H7999H2656H559H3389H1129H1964H3245