Daily Digest: Capstone Capsule

“Who confirms the Word of His servant, and PERFORMS the COUNSEL of His messengers…” – Isaiah 44:26a

There is a divine commitment to the performance of the COUNSEL of the LORD: “Who confirms the Word of His servant, and PERFORMS the COUNSEL of His messengers; Who says to Jerusalem, ‘You shall be inhabited,’ to the cities of Judah, ‘You shall be built,’ and I will raise up her waste places” (Isa.44:26). Divine Performance refers to God's sovereign action of fulfilling His specific prophecies through His chosen servants and even unwitting foreign rulers. It is His sovereign power to validate and fulfill the words of His chosen prophets and servants. The "counsel of the Lord" describes God's set Plan or Purpose, which He guarantees will stand and be accomplished against all human predictions or obstacles. God has absolute sovereignty as the sole Creator and the only One who knows and controls the future. 

God asserts His unique power by contrasting His actions with the futile predictions of false prophets, diviners, and the supposed "wise" of the world, whose knowledge He makes foolish: “Who frustrates the size of the babblers, and drives diviners mad; Who turns wise men backward, and makes their knowledge foolishness.” (vv.24-25). He then confirms the Word of His servant and performs the counsel of His messengers. In Israel’s case, the specific content of His counsel was the imminent restoration of Jerusalem and the cities of Judah from their ruins. While human "experts" are often frustrated, God’s Word is absolute, resulting in tangible transformation and action (2Cor.3:18). 

Ultimately, the "divine performance" of a specific detail of God's Counsel is named: Using the pagan King Cyrus of Persia as His "shepherd" and instrument (vv.27-28). God, who can dry up the deep sea with a word, moved Cyrus to issue a decree for the rebuilding of Jerusalem and the laying of the Temple's foundation, a prophecy made long before his birth and the exile itself. Divine Performance is God’s active fulfillment of His “counsel," demonstrating that His Word is reliable and that He is in total control of history and world leaders to accomplish His redemptive purposes: “Who says to the deep, ‘Be dry! And I will dry up your rivers” (v.27).

God personally validates every prophetic word He inspires. The “counsel of His messengers” refers to His divine Plan as announced by the prophets. God "performs" or "fulfills" these predictions, proving they originated from Him. His promise of restoration for Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, which lied in ruins during the Babylonian exile, was that they would be "inhabited" and "rebuilt" long before it happened. The "divine performance" of ancient prophecies serves as a permanent record of God's faithfulness. Applied personally, God will "confirm" the promises found in the Bible regarding personal "breakthroughs" and the restoration of "ruins" in or around our lives.