Verse of the Day for April 26

Isaiah is making a case for God against idols, and the argument he uses is about time rather than power.

Behold, the former things are come to pass, and new things do I declare: before they spring forth I tell you of them.

The evidence offered is track record. The former things are come to pass — check them, they happened. On that basis, hear the new ones.

Before they spring forth I tell you of them. The telling comes first, which means there is always a period of holding a declaration with nothing visible to support it.

That gap is where most faith is actually lived, and it is not a defect in the arrangement. It is the arrangement.

An idol, by contrast, can only comment on what has already happened. Isaiah's whole case is that anyone can do that.

If God has said something to you that has not materialised, the sequence in this verse is the normal one.

Check the former things. They are the reason to keep holding the new ones.