“Remember this, and shew yourselves men: bring it again to mind, O ye transgressors.”
My Notes
What Does Isaiah 46:8 Mean?
"Remember this, and shew yourselves men: bring it again to mind, O ye transgressors." God commands the idol-worshipers to REMEMBER — to recall what they know to be true about God versus idols — and to 'show themselves men' (act like mature, rational adults). The command treats idol worship as a failure of MEMORY and MATURITY: they've forgotten what they know, and they're behaving like children. The remedy is remembering and growing up.
The phrase "shew yourselves men" (hithosheshu — show yourselves to be firm, stand strong, act like adults) commands spiritual maturity: the idol-worshipers are behaving childishly — making toys and calling them gods. God says: act your age. Think like adults. The gods you're making are a child's game. The worship you're offering is beneath your dignity as beings made in God's image.
The "bring it again to mind, O ye transgressors" (hashivu al lev poshim — return it to your heart, rebels) makes the remembering INTERNAL: the truth needs to be brought back into the heart — not just acknowledged intellectually but returned to the center of decision-making. The transgressors have the truth available. They've pushed it out of their hearts. The command is: bring it back.
Reflection Questions
- 1.What truth have you pushed out of your heart that needs to be brought back?
- 2.How does God calling idol-worshipers to 'act like adults' reframe idolatry as immaturity?
- 3.What does 'remember' — recalling what you already know — teach about the role of amnesia in spiritual failure?
- 4.What would 'showing yourself mature' look like in the area where you've been behaving childishly?
Devotional
Remember. Act like adults. Bring the truth back to your hearts, you rebels. God's command to idol-worshipers is surprising: He doesn't just condemn the idolatry. He calls them to REMEMBER what they already know and to GROW UP. The problem isn't ignorance. It's amnesia and immaturity.
The 'remember this' assumes they KNOW: the truth about God versus idols isn't new information. They've heard it. They've seen it demonstrated. They KNOW that idols are manufactured by human hands and that God is the Creator of everything. The problem isn't that the truth was never available. The problem is that they've forgotten it — or chosen to forget.
The 'show yourselves men' is God calling them to maturity: the idol worship is childish. Making a god with your own hands and then bowing to it is the spiritual equivalent of a child's game. God says: grow up. Act your age. Use the rational capacity I gave you. The command to 'show yourselves men' implies they've been behaving as less than what they are — as less than the image-of-God beings God created them to be.
The 'bring it again to mind' means the truth has been displaced: the transgressors haven't destroyed the truth. They've pushed it away from their hearts. The truth still exists. It's just not in the center anymore. The command is: bring it BACK. Return it to the heart — the decision-making center, the place where convictions live. The truth that was displaced needs to be reinstated.
What truth have you displaced from your heart that God is telling you to bring back?
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
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Cross References
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