The Beginning and the End!

Isaiah 41

Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Wednesday, February 7.

From the first to the last chapter of the Revelation of John, we hear Jesus described this way, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end” (Revelation 22:13; cf. 1:8, 17; 2:8; 21:6). This name of God was introduced in Isaiah, as God’s answer to a rhetorical question about who had caused the uprising of the nations; Isaiah 41:2-4 was specifically referring to Cyrus king of Persia. Twice in Isaiah 41, God asks such a rhetorical question. The first time is in verse 4, “Who has performed and accomplished it, calling forth the generations from the beginning? ‘I, the Lord, am the first, and with the last. I am He.’” The second time began the conclusion of today’s chapter, verses 26-29:

Who has declared this from the beginning, that we might know? Or from former times, that we may say, “He is right!”? Surely there was no one who declared, surely there was no one who proclaimed, surely there was no one who heard your words. Formerly I said to Zion, “Behold, here they are.” And to Jerusalem, “I will give a messenger of good news.” But when I look, there is no one, and there is no counselor among them who, if I ask, can give an answer. Behold, all of them are false; their works are worthless, their molten images are wind and emptiness.

Wouldn’t you expect the answer to the second rhetorical question to parallel that of the first one? Instead, God contrasted Himself with the false gods of the nations, who are merely idols. While there is an unfortunate chapter break here, the truth is that the quote never closes, and God gives us the first of the four Suffering Servant Songs in Isaiah 42:1-9. He does provide the couplet we were waiting for, and we learn that the One who is “the beginning and the end” is the Suffering Servant of Israel.

Seize the moment and trust Jesus as “the beginning and the end!”

God bless you!

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