Isaiah 48:7

Only the *Lord could announce new events. Because it was he who was arranging them.

The *Lord protects his name

v8 ‘You have never listened to me. So I have never been able to trust you. v9 But because of my name, I will hold back my anger. And because of my honour, I will still be patient. I will not destroy you.

v10 An expert with metals wants silver that is pure. So he puts the silver into a very hot fire. This removes all that is not pure in the silver.’ This is a picture of God’s action when he allowed the people from Israel to suffer in Babylon. But God knew that he would find nothing good in his people. So he stopped the process, because otherwise it would have destroyed the nation called Israel completely. v11 ‘But because of my name, yes, because of my name, I will save you from my anger. I will not destroy you. Otherwise wicked people will declare that their gods have overcome me. I will not allow anybody or anything to have the honour that is mine and mine alone.’