A Call to Witness for God – Isaiah 43:8-13
Isaiah’s proclamation to Judah to bring forth 1) those with eyes - but unaware of their spiritual blindness and 2) those with ears - but unaware of their spiritual deafness is a call to assemble all nations in a scene that is typical of a courtroom. The accused (those failing to recognize the God of Israel as the Only True and Living God) are challenged to call upon their false gods (idols) and have them give evidence of their deity by proclaiming the former things that had occurred in history. An earlier challenge (Isaiah 41:21-23) was made to solicit evidence of deity by 1) proclaiming future events, 2) declaring former events, and 3) giving demonstration of power to perform “good or evil” acts that others may stand in awe of or reverential fear. As would be expected the false gods could not speak and give evidence of deity.
Those nations worshipping the false gods should have recognized that they had no basis upon which to offer testimony and worship to man-made idols which simply had no being. Even today, there are individuals given to the worship of non-living entities. Whether individuals are simply unaware or spiritually deceived, logic should dictate that non-living entities created by man or otherwise are not deserving of any worship.
As Judah (the remnant of Israel) is pictured in the courtroom with the other nations, God stated that they were His witnesses. They had been specifically chosen as God’s servant to 1) to know and believe in Him, 2) to understand that He was the Only Living God, 3) to recognize that He is the Only Savior, and 4) declare that His Omnipotence is Eternal. God clearly had chosen the descendants of Abraham to be His witnesses to other nations and likewise today expects Christians to do the same in their communities.
Christians live in a society among all other peoples of the earth and we are called upon to be witnesses for God. Being a witness for God will often be met with opposition and/or disdain as Christianity is not always viewed with popularity in a pluralistic society. Nevertheless, understanding that our God is the Only Savior for humanity and that His Eternal Omnipotence negates the possibility of the existence or emergence of any other god should encourage us to be witnesses for Him. Let us proclaim the greatness of God and His undying love for humanity and His offer of eternal salvation to a world searching for answers to its multiplicity of ever-evolving problems.
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