Isaiah 48:12-16
The eternal Creator speaks and sends according to His purpose.
12 “Listen to me, O Jacob, and Israel my called: I am he. I am the first. I am also the last.
13 Yes, my hand has laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand has spread out the heavens. when I call to them, they stand up together.
14 “Assemble yourselves, all of you, and hear! Who among them has declared these things? He whom Yahweh loves will do what he likes to Babylon, and his arm will be against the Chaldeans.
15 I, even I, have spoken. Yes, I have called him. I have brought him and he shall make his way prosperous.
16 “Come near to me and hear this: “From the beginning I have not spoken in secret; from the time that it happened, I was there.” Now the Lord Yahweh has sent me with his Spirit.
The eternal Creator speaks and sends according to his purpose.
To reaffirm the LORD’s eternal identity, creative authority, and active sending in redemptive history.
Addressed to Israel in a time of uncertainty, the passage reassures them of God’s unchanging authority and purposeful action.
The LORD Refines Stubborn Israel and Calls His People Out of Babylon
The LORD exposes Israel’s stubbornness, proves his sovereign word, refines his people for his glory, and calls them out of Babylon into redeemed obedience.