NOTES for Isa 46:1-47:15
We all often turn to God with requests for help or support, or with gratitude for one event or another. Yet in doing so, we often forget that His purpose for us, His “counsel” in the language of the Bible, extends to absolutely every moment of our life, from beginning to end. The prophet says that God carried Israel “from the womb.” In the same way, He is present at every event in the life of every person, from conception to the complete fulfillment of God's purpose for that person. God is near even when we do not think of His presence; He remembers us when we do not remember Him. He carries out His purpose even when we resist His will. Here we encounter one of the most astonishing revelations of prophetic preaching: God is utterly incomprehensible and transcendent, yet He is also the One closest to our heart and knows us far more deeply than we know ourselves...