Isaiah 41:11-16 – Tearing Down and Building Up
In verses 11-12 we see that the nations were angry against the people of God. Why? Because they were the people of God. The wicked sinners cannot get at God, so they seek to attack the people of God. But the wicked will be ashamed and disgraced. They shall be as nothing, and they shall die. For the people to whom Isaiah was writing, they could look back to what had just occurred to the Assyrian army. God destroyed 185,000 soldiers in a night. All sorts of powers that resist King Jesus shall be brought to nothing.
The image in verses 13-14 is of a little child, Israel, scared and clinging tightly to his father’s hand — the father to whom he looks for protection, the father to whom he looks for care. And the father will not let go of that little one, will he? God is honest with his people. They of themselves are lowly and powerless. All our hope is founded in God, in Jesus Christ, and not in ourselves. And God says to us worms, fear not.
God often tears down the wicked by pulling them away from their wickedness, pulling them into His kingdom, and pulling them from death into life. He does this through the gospel, by the Spirit working upon them, transforming and changing them. The imagery here is of a harvest and harvest equipment which cuts down the grain and beats it. The chaff and the straw that are left really are thrown away or frequently burned. But at the harvest, what else do you have besides chaff? The whole point of the harvest is the precious grain that is brought forth. So God uses His people to cut down the mountains and beat them small, using them to remove every obstacle to the gospel. God uses them to winnow out those who are destined for destruction. But in the thrashing and in the winnowing, while those others are blown away and set for burning, there is something at the feet. There is this growing pile of something which is golden and precious, the wheat that’s being harvested and thrashed out. Here is this mighty mound of the precious, the saved, the redeemed. The wicked indeed are destroyed. But the godly are built up and strengthened as the gospel goes forth. Harvest time is going on. You are living proof of it. The mountains are partway through being thrashed. God is harvesting and building His church, tearing down the wicked and building up the godly.
Questions
- What could the people of Isaiah’s day look at as evidence of the power of God?
- How is God’s harvest going on today?
Prayer Points
- Pray that God would bring in a mighty harvest in our country.
- Use prayer points from your congregation.
- Pray for family matters.