Study Desk

King Hezekiah understood this to mean that there would be peace and security during his lifetime, so he replied, "The message you have given me from the Lord is good."

Look up at the sky! Who created the stars you see? The one who leads them out like an army, he knows how many there are and calls each one by name! His power is so great— not one of them is ever missing!

He follows in pursuit and marches safely on, so fast that he hardly touches the ground!

"The people of distant lands have seen what I have done; they are frightened and tremble with fear. So they all assemble and come.

Come here and predict what will happen, so that we will know it when it takes place. Explain to the court the events of the past, and tell us what they mean.

Which of you predicted that this would happen, so that we could say that you were right? None of you said a word about it; no one heard you say a thing!

Israel, you have seen so much, but what has it meant to you? You have ears to hear with, but what have you really heard?"

The Lord is a God who is eager to save, so he exalted his laws and teachings, and he wanted his people to honor them.

So he made us feel the force of his anger and suffer the violence of war. Like fire his anger burned throughout Israel, but we never knew what was happening; we learned nothing at all from it.

"People of Israel, you are my witnesses; I chose you to be my servant, so that you would know me and believe in me and understand that I am the only God. Besides me there is no other god; there never was and never will be.

and your rulers profaned my sanctuary. So I brought destruction on Israel; I let my own people be insulted."

All those who make idols are worthless, and the gods they prize so highly are useless. Those who worship these gods are blind and ignorant—and they will be disgraced.

It makes as much sense as eating ashes. His foolish ideas have so misled him that he is beyond help. He won't admit to himself that the idol he holds in his hand is not a god at all.

I do this so that everyone from one end of the world to the other may know that I am the Lord and that there is no other god.

And so I predicted your future long ago, announcing events before they took place, to keep you from claiming that your idols and images made them happen.

The Lord said to me, "I have a greater task for you, my servant. Not only will you restore to greatness the people of Israel who have survived, but I will also make you a light to the nations— so that all the world may be saved."

So the Lord answers, "Can a woman forget her own baby and not love the child she bore? Even if a mother should forget her child, I will never forget you.

"Why did my people fail to respond when I went to them to save them? Why did they not answer when I called? Am I too weak to save them? I can dry up the sea with a command and turn rivers into a desert, so that the fish in them die for lack of water.

The Sovereign Lord has taught me what to say, so that I can strengthen the weary. Every morning he makes me eager to hear what he is going to teach me.

It was you also who dried up the sea and made a path through the water, so that those you were saving could cross.