Isaiah 48:9–11

Once more the obstinate sins of the people are exposed — so what then? We might have expected further announcements of coming judgment. Instead, God states what He proposes to do for the sake of His own Name and praise. He will defer His anger and not cut them off entirely, though He is going to pass them through the furnace of affliction. He will consider not only their ultimate good as a nation but also His own glory and the honour of His own Name.

Immediate destruction is the work of justice. Full and final preservation is the glorious and vital work of divine grace — grace reigning through righteousness. If God had dealt with the people in justice alone, He would not have declared His name. There is far more in His name than justice. There is love, mercy, goodness, kindness, long-suffering, deep and unfailing compassion. None of this could be seen if God had consumed the people in a moment. Then the name of Jehovah would not have been declared or glorified. "For my own sake, for my own sake, I do it… My glory I will not give to another."

Then we learn why God had not cut them off. For His own name's sake, and for His praise, Jehovah had spared them. Still, for His own sake God had also chastened them by passing them through "the furnace of affliction."

This shows another point we may often notice in Scripture. The point is not simply that God is glorious and must maintain His glory. It is that, having taken a people in the earth, He has identified His glory with that people. Faith feels this, with a deep and thankful sense of it, and counts on deliverance and grace. God delivers and secures His own glory. But for that very same reason God allows no evil. His name is tied to His people. We see it in Israel: "You only have I known of all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities."

Had God dealt with Israel according to their sins, they must have perished. Over and over again, in their long history, they have deserved God's unsparing judgment. But their blessing rested on His promises to Abraham and on His own purposes of love, and it was bound up with the honour of His Name. So time and again, when He might have consumed them, He spared them, to vindicate the honour of His great and holy Name.

Here is the true ground of appeal for mercy and forgiveness. Not our need, great as it may be. Not even repentance, heartfelt and true. It is the glory of God, the honour of His name, the written pledge of His faithfulness to those who are under the blood. For this He puts away the sins and failures of His own people. We pray, we make our requests known, we ask a Father's forgiveness. But do we fully take in the meaning of "for the sake of" or "in the name of Jesus Christ"? Is it merely a closing formula in our minds? Yet God our Father hears it in its full and blessed meaning, and answers our prayers according to Him. Otherwise no answer could righteously be given.

Then we learn why God had not cut them off. For His own name's sake, and for His praise, Jehovah had spared them. Yet for His own sake God had also chastened them, passing them through "the furnace of affliction."

This is the language of pure and inflexible justice. Immediate destruction is the work of justice. To keep them safe fully and finally is the glorious work that marks out divine grace — grace reigning through righteousness. If God had dealt with the people in mere justice, He would never have declared His name, since His name holds far more than justice. There is love, mercy, goodness, kindness, patience, deep and unfailing compassion. If God had consumed the people in a moment, no one would have seen any of this.

Two pictures sum up the whole of Israel's history: the "furnace" and the "lamp." The first shows us the times when they came into suffering and trial. Think of the long years of Egyptian slavery, their subjection to the kings of Canaan, the Babylonian captivity, and their present scattered and degraded condition. Through all these periods we may think of them as passing through the smoking furnace. Then in the burning lamp we have those points in Israel's history when God graciously appeared to give them relief. … The inheritance must be reached through the furnace, and the darker the smoke of the furnace, the brighter and more cheering the lamp of God's salvation.

Could not the Lord have preserved His beloved servants from being cast into the furnace? No doubt. This would have been a very small matter to Him. He did not, however, do so. It was His will that the faith of His servants should be tested — tried in the furnace, passed through the most searching crucible — so that it might "be found to result in praise and glory and honor." Is it because the refiner sets no value on the wedge of gold that he puts it into the furnace? No; but because he does. And, as someone has beautifully remarked, "His object is not merely to remove the dross, but to brighten the metal."

Proverbs tells us that "the crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold, and the LORD tests hearts" (17:3). And, blessed be His name, He sits by the crucible and watches until He sees His own face reflected in the molten silver. He walks in the middle of the fire with His own. The furnace may be heated seven times hotter, yet it can only burn away the ropes — or, to change the picture, purge the dross from the gold.

During this time God is choosing His own people "in the furnace of affliction." He lets the scorching heat of the beast's fury fall on them, so that He may purge away all their dross. So the war against them succeeds, and the beast's triumph looks complete.

Do you not know that Christ woos His wife in the furnace? "Behold, I have refined you, but not with silver; I have chosen you in the furnace of affliction." He casts His love on you when you are in the furnace of affliction. You might indeed be cast down if He brought you in and left you there. But He leads you through the waters. Do you not think He has a sweet, soft hand? You know His love-grip already; you shall be delivered, wait on.

Once more the obstinate sins of the people are exposed — so what then? Just when we might have expected further announcements of coming judgment, God states what He proposes to do for the sake of His own Name and praise. He will defer His anger and not cut them off entirely, though He is going to pass them through the furnace of affliction. He will consider not only their ultimate good as a nation but also His own glory and the honour of His own Name.

Immediate destruction is the work of justice. Full and final preservation is the glorious work that marks out divine grace — grace reigning through righteousness. Had God dealt in mere justice with the people, His name would not have been declared, since there is far more in His name than justice. There is love, mercy, goodness, kindness, long-suffering, deep and unfailing compassion. But none of these things could be seen had the people been consumed in a moment, and so the name of the Lord would not have been declared or glorified. "For my name's sake I defer my anger... For my own sake, for my own sake, I do it, for how should my name be profaned? My glory I will not give to another."

Then we learn why God had not cut them off. For His own name's sake, and for His praise, the Lord had spared them. Yet for His own sake God had also chastened them in passing them through "the furnace of affliction."

It is impossible that God should give His glory to another. If He did so, He would cease to be God. He cannot hand over His place to you; He cannot give you the credit that belongs to Himself alone. Blessed be God, He must have the glory.

What is God's glory which He cannot give to another? Surely it is the glory of being the source of all goodness and blessing. He cannot be otherwise than what He has ever been. "God is love," and He must always keep that character. This is His glory. Our part is to know Him in that love and to reflect that character.

The first controversy is idolatry (Isaiah 40 — 48). Israel meanwhile had the responsibility of being the Lord's servant, but Israel was blind and gave the Lord's praise to carved images. So He had handed them over to be plundered. But now they are delivered, and the fall of Babylon is the guarantee of a still mightier deliverance yet to come. This closes with Isaiah 48.

He is a just God. He will not give His glory to another. But He will not rob others of any glory that is their due. If men could have saved themselves, He would have let them try. When they had finished the work, He would have said, "Well done!" and crowned them with the glory of a great achievement. For 4000 years they had their opportunities. God well knew the result from the beginning. They only proved that they were without strength for good.