Isaiah 48:6

‘You have heard;
See all this.
And will you not declare it?
I have made you hear new things from this time,
Even hidden things, and you did not know them.’ (Isaiah 48:6)

God is here talking about the end of times, where He is now revealing to the Israelites what should happen right at the end, when they will be ultimately restored, and the millennial kingdom set up. Just previous to this God has reminded them of ‘the former things’ which He declared ‘from the beginning’ so that when they happened the Israelites would know it was Him that caused them, and not attribute the events to their idols. In effect He is saying, ‘since I told you the former things would happen, and they did, then what I tell you now is equally true’.

But reading this verse as a Christian applies in a slightly different way. Or it can. We have heard, we have read, we know! We know about Jesus’ love, His death, His resurrection, God’s saving grace, His plan for us. And will we not declare it? Will we not give God the glory by telling everyone we know about these marvelous things?

We are God’s witnesses, as the Israelites were in those days. How will the nations know if not by us?

Isaiah 45:19

‘I have not spoken in secret,
In a dark place of the Earth;
I did not say to the seed of Jacob,
‘Seek me in vain’;
I, the LORD, speak righteousness,
I declare things that are right.’ (Isaiah 45:19)

Chapter 45 is primarily God revealing His plan for Cyrus, the future king of Persia, who would invade Babylon, and then let the Israelites return to their own land. It makes it absolutely clear that Cyrus was merely a tool of God. God used Him for His purposes, and apparently Daniel made Cyrus aware of this fact. It is a very precise prophecy, quite detailed and accurate, and we see God saying the above verse in the light of this chapter.

He is declaring the truth, what is going to happen, in order that all may know that He is God and there is no other. In chapter 43 He says that Israel is His witness. Israel are His witness that what He says is right. That they do not seek Him in vain.

Today, along with Israel, we are His witnesses. We must declare the things that are right. When people look at our lives, they should declare the wonder of God! For we do not seek God in vain. When we seek Him, He shows Himself to us. He shows us the truth. God is not a God of great secrets and hidden knowledge. The truth is plain for all to see. It is merely because so many of us are blind that we miss it. But as Christians, we see and know the truth, and it is up to us to herald this brilliant message to the world.