In light of our trip to Israel in 2011 and our interactions with the Messianic Jews there, this verse is especially meaningful to us. These people referred to in this passage would be all believers in Jesus as Messiah, the Messianic Jews, the scattered tribes of Israel, and the Gentiles.

Isa 44:5 One person will say, "I belong to the LORD." Another will call on the name of Jacob. Another will write on his hand, "The LORD'S," and he will adopt the name of Israel.

Under the heading, FUTILITY OF IDOLATRY,  Isaiah speaks of the ridiculousness of their worship of idols and calls the people to account.  The theme seems to be this.  

God made man and said, "Worship Me!"

Man made idols and said, "We worship you, our idols."  

Creation should worship the Creator, not the creator worship their own creation. 

Isaiah makes a couple of accurate prophecies about Cyrus king of Persia 150 years before it really happened.
   

In today's reading, God makes it very clear that once He acts, no one can change it.

Isa 43:13
Yes, and from ancient days I am he. No one can deliver out of my hand. When I act, who can reverse it?"

John 10:28-30
I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand. I and the Father are one."

The following passages make more connections between Old and New Testaments.

Isa 44:6
"This is what the LORD says-- Israel's King and Redeemer, the LORD Almighty: I am the first and I am the last; apart from me there is no God.

Rev 22:13
I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.

And more connections…

Isa 44:8
Do not tremble, do not be afraid. Did I not proclaim this and foretell it long ago? You are my witnesses. Is there any God besides me? No, there is no other Rock; I know not one."

1 Cor 10:4
and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ.

And even more connections…

Isa 44:24
"This is what the LORD says-- your Redeemer, who formed you in the womb: (see Psalm 139) I am the LORD, who has made all things, who alone stretched out the heavens, who spread out the earth by myself,

John 1:1-3
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.

And still more…

Isa 45:3
I will give you the treasures of darkness, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the LORD, the God of Israel, who summons you by name.

John 10:3
The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.

The Bible proves that it is one continuous story from beginning to end!

And one final amazing thought for today...
Isaiah 45:4b
I summon you by name and bestow on you a title of honor, though you do not acknowledge me.
Even though we as Believers do not acknowledge Him, He still bestows on us a title of honor!  Ponder that today!!!

In today’s reading the headings seemed to tell the story. NOTHING TO FEAR, NEEDS TO BE PROVIDED, IDOLS CANNOT PROVIDE, FALSE PROPHETS FAIL, MESSIAH BRINGS JUSTICE, and NEW KINGDOM FOR BELIEVERS. This is a great summary of Life in the Kingdom of God. In the life of a true believer in Jesus Christ, there is nothing to fear. Only He provides all we need, not any thing of this world (idols) or any prophets (false or true). Only Messiah, Jesus Christ, brings justice and through belief in Him we have the promise of the New Kingdom! Anything and everything falls short of that great promise!

All creation speaks of the majesty of God's handiwork.  God promises us so much. His promises stand firm. We are the ones who deprive ourselves of His great promises. 

Jesus quoted Isaiah, making it perfectly clear to whom Isaiah was referring.
Matt 12:18-21
"Here is my servant whom I have chosen, the one I love, in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him, and he will proclaim justice to the nations. He will not quarrel or cry out; no one will hear his voice in the streets. A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out, till he leads justice to victory. In his name the nations will put their hope."
Can we relate a “bruised reed” and a “smoldering wick” to life today? Truth tellers may be bruised but not broken. Their flame may be quenched but not extinguished. 

Isa 42:9
See, the former things have taken place, and new things I declare; before they spring into being I announce them to you."
God tells us ahead of time what is going to happen. Our future is laid out in His Word; the wrath to come, the Millennial Kingdom, Eternity...

A verse very close to our hearts:
Isa 42:16
I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them.
On a day shortly after Phil lost his eyesight, this verse “found” us. It is a verse that we revisit often, especially when we travel down “unfamiliar paths”. Before Phil’s blindness, few paths were more unfamiliar than public speaking and writing books. We praise God that He has turned the darkness into light and the rough places smooth. If Phil could see, there are many paths we would not have taken. 

Isaiah 43 speaks of the redemption of Israel and the gathering of the scattered tribes into the millennium.  For Believers today, spiritually speaking, no matter how far away we may stray or are scattered either through our own fault or our circumstances, He will lead us back if we are willing.

One of my (Patti) favorite verses in Scripture is the following:  (Yes, Jim, I know I say that about a lot of verses!)
Isa 43:1
But now, this is what the LORD says-- he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.
Just as He calls all the starry host (Isa 40:26) by name, He calls us by name. We belong to Him! AMEN!

The themes of portions of Isaiah 40 and 41 are:  God is in control and He tells us what He's going to do through His prophets.  There are many layered prophecies there as well.

 Paganism flourishes during the reign of Manasseh. In today’s reading, Isaiah turns the focus beyond the godless era and toward the restoration of God’s people, physical restoration and spiritual restoration.  

One thing we observed during this reading is that prayers are answered and requests to God are honored. However, if the prayer or request is outside the will of God, there are often dire consequences. Think about when the people asked for a king. Samuel knew that the people should not have a king, and warned the people of such. They, however, demanded a king. So what happened? God gave them a king. Now they are suffering the consequences for that request. Hezekiah bargained for longer life. God granted that request and dire consequences ensued. As a result of the 15 year extension, was the birth of Manasseh, who took the throne at age 12, one of the most evil of all of Judah’s kings. 

 If you haven’t read Isaiah 40 in a while, please read it again today! And while you’re at it, read Job chapters 38-42. It will give you a fresh perspective on just how great God is! And then read this

Isa 41:10
So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

This great God who laid the earth’s foundations, gives orders to the morning, sends lightning bolts on their way, knows when the mountain goats give birth, commands the soaring of the eagles, etc, etc, etc…cares enough about each of us to strengthen and help us. What an amazing God we have!

Some intriguing aspects of today’s reading…the nation of Judah spiritually declined with the reign of Manasseh, whose name means “causing to forget”. What an understatement! Not only about Manasseh, but the people of Judah as well. They had already stepped on that slippery slope anyway when they were unwilling to listen to the Lord’s instruction and asked for “no more visions of what is right”. 

The prophet spoke to them.  "But the people didn't listen."  What a sad, sad verse to read.  So true then, but also so true today.  

It doesn't seem to take much to turn AWAY from the Lord - but much effort and energy to turn TO the Lord.

Manasseh rebuilt the high places, erected altars to Baal, made an Asherah pole (this by the way was a symbol of sexual promiscuity as an act of worship), worshiped the starry host, desecrated the temple with altars to the gods, and even sacrificed his own son in the fire. He also was responsible for the shedding of “much innocent blood”; most likely other people followed his practice of human sacrifice.  This is a model example of how one person can change a nation. Satan is clever and time efficient with his resources. Instead of sending thousands of evil angels to influence thousands of people, he can send one evil angel to influence one strong leader who, in turn, will influence thousands of people. 

Another aspect for today… If Hezekiah hadn’t been given the extra 15 years to live, Manasseh would not have been born. 

We can learn many lessons from today’s reading. God is very patient but as He warned the people of Judah, He warns us today. He will stretch out the “measuring line” and the “plumb line”. Sometimes we can test His tolerance to the breaking point. And then, as spoiled children, we suffer the effects of disobedience. Why would we want to do that? It’s so much easier to obey and listen to His instruction. He is, after all, the perfect parent and He has the perfect plan! Who could argue with that???

The reading for today blends the accounts from 2 Chronicles, 2 Kings, and Isaiah to tell the complete story.  It makes it so much easier to understand. 

When Hezekiah paid tribute to the king of Assyria, he apologizes to him for doing wrong.  He hadn't done wrong exactly, he just needed to depend on God.  

Hezekiah became king around 725 BC. As recorded in 2 Kings 18, he rebelled against the king of Assyria and defeated the Philistines. This was around 721 BC. Then around 701 BC he paid extortion money to the king of Assyria, using the gold and silver in the temple and the treasuries of the royal palace after Sennacherib attacked and captured the fortified cities of Judah.  What happened in those intervening 20 or so years?  

The Assyrians were not successful in taking Judah into captivity.  God had reserved that capture for the Babylonians.

Around 711 BC Isaiah demonstrated the humiliation of Egypt and Cush by going naked. Then shortly after that we have a record of the people of Judah rejecting God’s truth. Is it that the people, led by King Hezekiah began drifting from God? We aren’t told that the people returned to pagan gods, high places, and sacred stones, but they did back away from God. They began trusting in themselves and what they could accomplish apart from God.  They were depending on their own strength instead of God's strength.

Hezekiah tries to rely on the past and reminds God of all the good things he had done earlier. He bargained with God for 15 more years. Hezekiah asked for a sign that God would heal him.  Isaiah responds by calling on the Lord to make a shadow go back ten steps from the sundial.  This doesn't mean that God turned the sun back, only that the shadow turned back. Could it have been that another light source made a shadow of its own?  Like maybe a supernova or a comet or asteroid, or could it have been the Shekinah glory of God?

God granted Hezekiah's request, but pride got hold of Hezekiah again. However, to his credit, he did repent, only to have pride resurface with the envoys of Babylon as he bragged about his storehouse treasures. BIG mistake! 

Isaiah once more reminds Hezekiah that the treasures will be carried off to Babylon.  Hezekiah's response tells us that he didn't really care about what happened to his descendants, only that God had promised him peace and security in his lifetime. Shortly after this God left Hezekiah.  

Satan was certainly speaking through the Assyrian field commander when he discouraged Hezekiah from listening to Isaiah.  The things he said were blasphemy against God.  God certainly took care of them! 

A couple of Satan-led attributes have surfaced in today's reading, self-reliance apart from God and pride.  Pride…what a successful tool that Satan uses, an attribute of which he is very familiar and something that we as Believers must guard against.

We can learn a few lessons from Hezekiah and from his son Manasseh.  A single person can change a nation - either for the good or the bad.  The further away from God we go - the closer to His discipline we get.

2 Kings 19:30
Once more a remnant of the house of Judah will take root below and bear fruit above.

To be that single person to change a nation for good, we must take root from His Word.  This is how we bear fruit for the Kingdom.

As a reminder, there is a difference between Israel and Judah. At this point in the chronological reading, the nations were separated, never to be joined again, until Jesus returns. The nation of Judah (plus the tribe of Benjamin) is known as the Jews. The rest of the tribes “the lost tribes” have been dispersed, many of them into the western nations. 

Isa 19:19
In that day there will be an altar to the LORD in the heart of Egypt, and a monument to the LORD at its border.
The land of Egypt in ancient times was divided into two parts; upper and lower Egypt. The boundary between these two nations is in the area of where Cairo and the Great Pyramid are today. Interestingly, the pyramid is located both on the border of and in the heart of Egypt. 

In the Millennium:
Isa 19:23
In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria. The Assyrians will go to Egypt and the Egyptians to Assyria. The Egyptians and Assyrians will worship together.

God sure uses an unusual sign (Isaiah’s nakedness) to demonstrate the humiliation of Egypt and Cush at the hands of the Assyrians.   For us today, spiritually speaking, is this illustrating how our sins will be revealed, nothing will be hidden when we come before the judgment?

Isaiah foretells that Judah will reject the truth.
Isa 30:9-11
These are rebellious people, deceitful children, children unwilling to listen to the LORD's instruction. They say to the seers, "See no more visions!" and to the prophets, "Give us no more visions of what is right! Tell us pleasant things, prophesy illusions. Leave this way, get off this path, and stop confronting us with the Holy One of Israel!"

In other words, they were saying, “Tell us things we want to hear”. Isaiah warned about this and so did Paul.

2 Tim 4:3-4
For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.

Turning “aside to myths” is comparable to worshiping God on pagan high places. This concept of worshiping God on pagan high places has been repeated many, many times in the last few weeks. What did God warn about that?

As always God gives us a chance for redemption.
Isa 30:21
Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it."

Can’t you just imagine Him whispering this in our ears? This creator of the universe, caring enough about us to whisper in our ears! Amazing!

Today’s reading has a summary of the reason for Israel’s fall. The people were taken into captivity because of the sins they committed against God, despite repeated warnings from the prophets. The historical record spells it out. The Samaritans mixed religions as the Israelites had done. It seems as if they had one foot with the world and one foot with the Lord.  The nation of Israel was taken captive.  Today, we too can be taken captive by false teaching and hollow philosophy.

II Kings 17:15

They rejected his decrees and the covenant he had made with their fathers and the warnings he had given them. They followed worthless idols and themselves became worthless. They imitated the nations around them although the Lord had ordered them, “Do not do as they do,” and they did the things the Lord had forbidden them to do.

Israel suffered because they imitated the pagan.  Do we today imitate the pagan?  Do we have other gods and idols that pull us away from a close relationship with the Lord?  

II Ki 17:41
Even while these people were worshiping the LORD, they were serving their idols. To this day their children and grandchildren continue to do as their fathers did.  

The people were only giving "lip service" to the Lord.  If they were truly worshiping Him, they would be convicted of their sins and would stop worshiping the Lord in pagan ways. Same thing applies to us today.  We can't just give Him "lip service".  We need to give Him "heart service". 

There are so many lessons we can learn from the Old Testament…all the mistakes that God’s people have made in the past are spelled out for us, repeatedly. The consequences of those mistakes are also spelled out, repeatedly. Why can’t we learn from them?  If we don't learn from them and make it personal, then the Old Testament is just another history book.