The Path of Profitable Peace Text: Isaiah 48:17-19
Introduction: The Divine Business Plan
We live in an age that is obsessed with profit, but has no earthly idea what it means. Our culture chases after a profit that does not satisfy, a peace that does not last, and a legacy that turns to dust. Men spend their lives climbing ladders that are leaned against the wrong wall, and when they get to the top, they find nothing there but a bitter wind. They pursue autonomy as though it were the greatest good, only to find it is a synonym for meaninglessness. This is because they have rejected the Owner's manual. They are trying to run the machinery of their lives, their families, and their nations in direct defiance of the Designer's specifications. The result is the grinding, clattering, and eventual breakdown that we see all around us.
But God is not a cosmic killjoy. He is not a taskmaster who gives arbitrary rules just to see us squirm. He is a loving Father, a master Teacher, and a shrewd Redeemer who wants His people to flourish. He is in the business of blessing. The world thinks of God's law as a burden, a set of restrictions designed to curtail our fun. But Scripture presents the law of God as the pathway to true liberty, true prosperity, and true joy. It is the curriculum for success. To follow God's commandments is not to enter a life of grim-faced austerity; it is to enroll in a course on how to truly profit.
In our text today, Isaiah is speaking to a stubborn and stiff-necked Israel. They have a long and storied history of hearing the Word of the Lord and then promptly doing the opposite. They are on the cusp of judgment, heading into the crucible of Babylonian exile. And yet, in the midst of this rebuke, God extends this tender, aching, heartfelt appeal. It is a lament filled with divine pathos. He lays out for them what could have been, what should have been, and what still can be for all who will turn and listen. This is not just a history lesson for ancient Israel. This is a word for us. It is the fundamental choice set before every man, every family, every church, and every nation: God's way, which leads to peace like a river, or our way, which leads to a parched and desolate wasteland.
The Text
Thus says Yahweh, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel,
"I am Yahweh your God, who teaches you to profit,
Who leads you in the way you should go.
If only you had paid attention to My commandments!
Then your peace would have been like a river,
And your righteousness like the waves of the sea.
Your seed would have been like the sand,
And the offspring from your loins like its grains;
Their name would never be cut off or destroyed from My presence."
(Isaiah 48:17-19 LSB)
The Teacher of True Profit (v. 17)
We begin with God's self-identification, which is the foundation of everything that follows.
"Thus says Yahweh, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, 'I am Yahweh your God, who teaches you to profit, Who leads you in the way you should go.'" (Isaiah 48:17)
Before God tells Israel what He does, He reminds them of who He is to them. He is Yahweh, the covenant-keeping God. He is their Redeemer, their Goel, the kinsman who pays the price to buy them back from slavery. This is not the language of a distant deity; it is the language of intimate, familial, covenantal love. He is also the Holy One of Israel, the one who is utterly separate from all sin and corruption, and who calls them to be separate as well. His holiness is not just a threat to their sin, but also the very power of their deliverance.
And what does this Redeemer-God do? He "teaches you to profit." The world hears this and immediately thinks of stock portfolios and quarterly earnings reports. But God's definition of profit is far more robust. The Hebrew word here means to be useful, to be benefited, to gain advantage. God is saying, "I am teaching you how life actually works. I am giving you the blueprint for blessing." This is not the prosperity gospel of health-and-wealth charlatans. This is the true prosperity doctrine of the whole counsel of God. Deuteronomy tells us that God is the one who gives us the power to get wealth, in order to confirm His covenant (Deut. 8:18). Proverbs is filled with instructions on how the diligent hand makes rich. God is not against wealth; He is against wealth that is not held in submission to Him.
True profit is a life that is rightly ordered under God. It is a fruitful marriage, children who love the Lord, meaningful work, a clear conscience, and a peaceful heart. These are the durable riches. And God does not just give us a textbook and wish us luck. He "leads you in the way you should go." He is a personal guide. He doesn't just point the way; He walks the way with us. The way He leads is the way of His commandments. The law is not a maze; it is a map. It is not a prison; it is a path. And the one who drew the map is the one who holds our hand as we walk it.
The Lament of Lost Blessings (v. 18)
In verse 18, the tone shifts to one of profound sorrow. It is the lament of a spurned lover, a grieving father.
"If only you had paid attention to My commandments! Then your peace would have been like a river, And your righteousness like the waves of the sea." (Isaiah 48:18 LSB)
This is one of the most poignant "what ifs" in all of Scripture. "If only you had paid attention." The problem was not a lack of information. God had spoken clearly. The problem was a lack of attention, a lack of hearing with the intent to obey. Israel heard the commandments, but they did not heed them. They were distracted by the glitter of idols, the whispers of pagan nations, and the rumbling of their own rebellious appetites. And in doing so, they forfeited a great treasure.
What did they lose? First, their "peace would have been like a river." The world's peace is like a puddle, a stagnant pool that evaporates in the heat of trial. It is dependent on circumstances. But God's peace, His shalom, is like a mighty river. It is deep, it is constant, it is flowing, and it carries life wherever it goes. It is not the absence of conflict, but the presence of God in the midst of conflict. This is the peace that surpasses all understanding (Phil. 4:7), a peace that comes from being rightly related to the Creator of all things.
Second, their "righteousness like the waves of the sea." This is not talking about a self-generated righteousness. It is a righteousness that flows from covenant faithfulness. When a people walks in obedience to God, their corporate life begins to reflect His character. Justice, equity, and mercy become as rhythmic and powerful as the tides. The waves of the sea are relentless, powerful, and they wash the shore clean. So too, a culture of covenantal righteousness would have been a powerful, cleansing force in Israel, washing away the filth of injustice and idolatry. They traded this for the stagnant swamp of their own sin.
The Promise of a Lasting Legacy (v. 19)
The consequences of their disobedience extend beyond their own generation. They forfeited a glorious future.
"Your seed would have been like the sand, And the offspring from your loins like its grains; Their name would never be cut off or destroyed from My presence." (Isaiah 48:19 LSB)
This promise goes all the way back to the headwaters of their national life, to the covenant God made with Abraham. God had promised to make his descendants as numerous as the sand on the seashore (Gen. 22:17). This was a promise of explosive, world-filling, covenantal fruitfulness. It was a promise of a legacy that would endure through the ages.
But their disobedience put that promise in jeopardy. Instead of multiplying, they were about to be decimated and deported. Instead of filling the land, they were about to be scattered among the nations. Their name was on the verge of being "cut off." This is the great terror of the Old Testament saint, to have one's name and line blotted out, to become a historical dead end. Covenantal disobedience is generational suicide. When fathers abandon the law of God, they are not just damning themselves; they are selling their children and their children's children into slavery.
This is a stark warning. The modern church, with its pathetic birth rates and its accommodation to a culture of death, needs to hear this. We have traded the promise of a seed like the sand for the mess of pottage that is personal comfort and convenience. We have forgotten that the central blessing of the covenant is children, a godly seed to carry the name of Christ into the future.
The Redeemer Who Fulfills the Promise
This passage is a lament, but it is not a eulogy. It is not the final word. The tragedy of Israel's failure is the black velvet backdrop against which the diamond of God's grace shines all the more brightly. Israel could not pay attention. Israel could not obey. Israel could not secure the blessings for herself. The "if only" of verse 18 hangs in the air, a question that man cannot answer.
But God had an answer. The answer is found in the first title He uses for Himself in this passage: Redeemer. Because Israel could not keep the covenant, God sent a true Israelite who could. Jesus Christ is the one who paid perfect attention to the commandments of His Father. He is the one whose ear was always open to the Father's will.
And because of His perfect obedience, He secured for us all the blessings that Israel forfeited. In Christ, we have peace like a river. He said, "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you" (John 14:27). This peace flows from His cross, where He made peace between a holy God and sinful men.
In Christ, we have a righteousness like the waves of the sea. It is not our own. It is the perfect righteousness of Christ Himself, imputed to us by faith (2 Cor. 5:21). It is a relentless, powerful righteousness that the gates of Hell cannot prevail against. It is washing over the whole earth as the gospel goes forth.
And in Christ, the promise of a seed like the sand is fulfilled. The true seed of Abraham is Christ, and all who are united to Him by faith are the children of Abraham (Gal. 3:29). The promise is not ultimately about ethnic Israel, but about a great multitude from every tribe, tongue, and nation, a numberless host washed in the blood of the Lamb. Through the gospel, God is gathering a people whose name will never be cut off, a people whose names are written in the Lamb's Book of Life from before the foundation of the world.
This passage, then, is a call to repentance and faith. It is a call to stop trying to profit by our own foolish schemes and to enroll in the school of Christ. He is the one who teaches us to profit. He is the one who leads us in the way we should go. The way is the way of the cross, the way of discipleship. It is the only path that leads to the river of peace and the shores of eternal life.