God causes Isaiah to proclaim to the people, “”Listen to me, you stubborn of heart, you who are far from righteousness” [46 v.12]. But did the people of Israel listen? As a nation they did not. God’s message through Isaiah has been preserved for the whole world to read – it is now available in every language.

Today, we sense the last verse in this chapter is near to being fulfilled. ”I bring near my righteousness; it is not far off, and my salvation will not delay; I will put salvation in Zion, for Israel my glory.”

God will act – we will see, if we alive, “salvation” will be seen “in Zion”, for God’s “glory.” How soon now? It will be the time of the resurrection – for Jesus referred to a remarkable prophecy; of the time when, as we read in John’s gospel (19 v.37), of the Scripture being fulfilled (which) says future time when “they will look on him whom they have pierced”. Those who put Jesus to death will be raised for judgement.

Our minds also go to the prediction of Jesus in Matthew 24 v.30, he foresaw a time “when all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.”

Those who mourn in shock – we might also say – terror – because they have been “stubborn of heart” having convinced themselves there is no God, no Creator, that all the wonders of life around them all came into being by some incredible sort of accident. Let us read God’s word more and more so that it comes more and more ‘alive’ in our minds so that we will not be among the “stubborn of heart”.