What is the meaning of Isaiah 42:23? Who among you will pay attention to this? Isaiah has just rehearsed how God’s covenant people became “plunder with none to rescue” (Isaiah 42:22). Now the prophet pauses and throws a challenge to the hearers. • “Pay attention” is an invitation to wake up spiritually, like Moses’ call, “Give ear, O heavens, and I will speak” (Deuteronomy 32:1). • It implies personal responsibility; no one can heed for someone else (Ezekiel 18:20). • The phrase pierces complacency: “My people do not consider” (Isaiah 1:3). God asks them to face the painful facts of their sin and His just discipline. • Jesus echoes the same urgency: “He who has ears to hear, let him hear” (Mark 4:23), showing the continuity of God’s call across both Testaments. • Paying attention means more than noticing; it means treasuring God’s word (Proverbs 4:20–22) and letting it reshape the heart (Psalm 119:9–11). Who will listen and obey hereafter? The first question targets the present; the second projects into the future. God seeks lasting change, not momentary interest. • “Listen” points to humble reception of revelation (Jeremiah 26:3). • “Obey” (lit. “hear for the afterward”) links hearing with action—James would later write, “Be doers of the word, and not hearers only” (James 1:22). • The “hereafter” highlights that choices today shape tomorrow. Israel’s exile proved the cost of stubbornness (Isaiah 42:24–25), yet God still offers a fresh start (Isaiah 55:6–7). • The same pattern appears in Hebrews: “Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts” (Hebrews 3:15), and in Revelation’s letters, “Whoever has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches” (Revelation 2:7). • Obedience is never abstract. It flows into concrete faithfulness—justice (Micah 6:8), trust in the Servant-Messiah (Isaiah 42:1), and hope in the promised redemption (Jeremiah 29:11–14). summary Isaiah 42:23 is God’s heartfelt appeal in the middle of judgment: Wake up, listen deeply, and commit to lifelong obedience. He wants His people to look honestly at their sin, receive His word with humble hearts, and walk forward in trusting, responsive faith. |
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