5 And I have even from the beginning declared to thee; before it came to pass I showed them thee; and I showed them for fear lest thou shouldst say—Mine idol hath done them, and my graven image, and my molten image hath commanded them.
At first this looks like God just wants the credit for what
happens in the world. It looks like He’s saying, “I gave you prophets to tell
you of things to come so that when those things actually came to pass you would
give credit where it was due: to me instead of your idols.” We need to remember,
however, what His real purpose is. His revealed job, and the way He grows
(growth=life) is to “bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man”
(Moses 1:39). All of a sudden this verse is not about jealously taking credit
for being so smart; it’s about giving His children (Israel, or more personally,
us) every opportunity to recognize Him (the Lord) as the only real way to gain exaltation, to return
to Heavenly Father. Dumb idols don’t have that power. They don’t prophesy. The
people still have a choice to make as to whom they should follow, but if they
don’t follow the Lord they need to account for the evidence He has provided via
prophets that He is the only true and
living God.
