IV. JEHOVAH, THE ONE TRUE GOD, WILL REMEMBER HIS PEOPLE AND DELIVER THEM (44:1-45:25)
A. Israel Should Fear Not Because They Are God's Chosen, And He Will Pour Out His Spirit On Their Seed (44:1-5)
(1) In spite of the curse made in 43:25-28, Israel will be blessed to the point that the heathen will take notice. Jacob-Israel is His elect and therefore His purposes through them and for them will succeed.
(2) The reference here is probably all the way back to the call of the Abraham. Their Creator exhorts them to fear not in spite of the upcoming exile. The exact meaning of Jeshurun is uncertain, but may mean "upright one" (Deut. 32:15; 33:5,26). The name is applied here to the country as it was applied in Deuteronomy of the man. While neither met the standard set, yet both were used by the Lord for His purposes and the nation will be used for God's purposes yet again.
(3) When the nation experiences a period of spiritual drought and thirst Jehovah will bring about a solution. By pouring out His Spirit upon the seed of Israel all of Jehovah's offspring will be blessed.
(4) The providential outpouring of the Holy Spirit will cause the offspring to grow and flourish and a new spiritual nation will come to life.
(5) Even those from among the heathen will be attracted to this new nation. They will not turn to the new nation in large groups, but one at a time. This verse does not teach a divided church, but one nation belonging to Jehovah, through the promise made to Jacob, and in the name of Israel. This passage (vv. 1-5) seems to be a conclusion to chapter 43, rather than the introduction to chapter 44.
B. There Is No Other God Besides Jehovah (44:6-28)
1. Only the Lord can declare events that are to come (44:6-8)
(6) In verses 6-8 Jehovah will contrast His absolute deity with the uselessness of idolatry (verses 9-20). Jehovah styles Himself in three distinct ways: 1, Jehovah the King of Israel (any earthly king ruled under His authority), 2, his Redeemer (Israel's redeemer), 3, Jehovah of hosts (Ruler over all creation). Additionally Jehovah adds two more of His characteristics: 1, I am the first and the last and 2, besides me there is no God. From the pedestal rightly described here Jehovah challenges all comers.
(7) Jehovah now challenges anyone, man or idol, to a contest of prophetic strength. What has anyone ever done compared with His works? No one or no thing can rise to this challenge.
(8) The word fear in this verse is a more intense fear, terror, or dread instead of the usual word indicating awe or respect. The people are not to be terrified of idols. Israel stands as Jehovah's witness of His power, strength, and permanence.
2. Idols are made by men who are blind and foolish (44:9-20)
(9) The men who make the idols are as empty as their creations. Those that come to worship these man-made creations are no better off.
(10) Can man, who God created from the dust of the earth, in turn fashion something from among God's other creations and call it god ? This is foolishness.
(11) Both the idol-makers and the idol worshipers will be put to shame for their folly. Humanity cannot create Divinity.
(12) Even in fashioning the tools to build the idol a man will grow weary, yet the idol will provide the man no rest from his labors. The metal for his tools and his food and drink must be provided from some source, but not from the idol.
(13) A carpenter uses the tools of his trade to fashion an idol after the figure of a man, thus making his god in his own image. The idol is completely passive throughout the entire procedure. It does nothing to help form itself, its appearance, or its dwelling place.
(14) Where then does the wood to make the idol come from? The idol-maker firsts cuts down a tree, but must himself replant to replace it. He then hopes the rains come to cause the new tree to grow, but neither he nor his idol have any control over this.
(15) How will man used the felled tree? He might burn it for firewood. He might burn it for cooking. In either the case the wood turns to ashes and cannot be reused. Whatever wood is left after man sees to his physical needs might be turned into an idol. The use of wood for warmth and cooking are within God's plan for man's use of the earth, but to carve an idol from it makes that same piece of wood an abomination to Him.
(16,17) The tree could not stop the man from from cutting it down, using it for warmth and cooking, or carving the remainder into an idol, but foolish man now expects that same tree to be his deliverer!
(18) Man is blind to his own foolishness. He neither understands nor gives thought to his worthless, empty practices (Hailey). Their self-imposed spiritual darkness has made them blind to God (Rom. 1:20-28).
(19) The idolater will not consider the consequences of his actions, because he is blind to what he is doing.
(20) Trying to spiritually feed on something (idols) that has nothing to sustain spiritual life will lead to certain spiritual death. Satan has once again deceived man into believing that God's way is not the only way. By giving up God, man has placed his own creation (the idol) at the place of honor (the right hand). Everything God is capable of doing the dumb idol is incapable of even thinking about doing! Because Judah has succumbed to such foolishness as idols, the Babylonians will be coming to take them into captivity.
3. In contrast, the Lord made Israel, not they Him (44:21-28)
a. Pardon and praise (vv. 21-23)
(21) It will be the Lord that will deliver the people from Babylon. He is active, but the idols are passive. Jehovah formed man and man formed idols, making them (the idols) less like God than even man. In all man's folly, God will not forget His creation.
(22) The sin that had separated man from God would be blotted out. Speaking as if it had already been done, God guarantees that it will be done. This passage looks beyond the redemption of the physical nation to the final redemption of the spiritual kingdom (Heb. 9:15).
(23) The prophet bursts forth with a shout of praise and urges all the world to join him. From the greatest height (heaven), to the lowest depths (canyons, caves, etc.), and even to the mountains and forests, every aspect of creation is to join in the singing. Not only will physical Jacob be redeemed, but spiritual Israel as well.
b. Cyrus the Deliverer is named (vv. 24-28)
(24) Now Jehovah declares His own eternal greatness in preparation for naming the deliverer. It is His infinite wisdom that controls destiny, no idol was or will be involved.
(25) In addition to creating, controlling, foretelling, and bringing to pass, God also has the power to frustrate the efforts that idolaters might make to prove their claims. He maketh the diviners mad (Eze. 21:21,22). The wisest man can be confused by the least of God's wisdom.
(26) In contrast to the confusion of the idols and their followers, God's servant will do what he has been sent to do. Here the servant is probably Isaiah himself. In similar fashion God proposes now to send Cyrus to do His will. Jerusalem will once again be inhabited, the cities rebuilt, and the wastelands will be raised up. Other messengers (such as Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Haggai, Zechariah, and even Cyrus) will bring this same news to the people.
(27) While God had used waters in such a way for His purposes in the past (the Red Sea) and will again in the future (Cyrus diverts the Euphrates), it is perhaps best to view this verse as a metaphor for the extent of God's power over any and all obstacles.
(28) Now Jehovah does that which no other prophet would dare to do, he names the deliverer 150 years in advance of his coming - Cyrus. Cyrus will act as God's shepherd, having the temple and Jerusalem rebuilt and the people brought back to their homeland. The modern commentators would use this passage to place the writing in the time of Cyrus, yet a true prophet of God could prophesy 150 years in advance as well as 6 months in advance. Even if the prophecy was written at the time of Cyrus' capture of Babylon how would the prophet know of the restoration of Jerusalem, the people, and the land unless God told him. To restrict God to a time frame of prophecy (6 months or a year as opposed to 150 years) is ludicrous and is man once again trying to understand God's power in his (man's) terms. [TOP OF THIS PAGE]
C. The Lord Promised To Deliver Israel From Captivity (45:1-13)
1. He has anointed Cyrus to be their deliverer (45:1-8)
(1) Here Jehovah addresses Cyrus himself, 100 years before he was even born. Cyrus' God-given purpose will be to shepherd God's flock and deliver them from the Babylonians. Note that Isaiah does not refer to Cyrus in terms of morality or religion. Cyrus was an instrument of God's righteousness, not his own. History bears out the fact that Cyrus was a polytheist and thus it is not for us to attribute righteousness were none could be found. He was led by Jehovah to do Jehovah's righteous will.
(2) Jehovah reveals that He will smooth the way for Cyrus. Gates and mountains will not be able to stand in Cyrus' way, because Jehovah will make the way clear.
(3) All nations that would stand in the way would be given over to Cyrus along with their riches. All of these blessings would come to the cause of Cyrus so that he might see that Israel needed to be freed because of the power of their God.
(4) Jehovah had already used the Assyrians and Babylonians for His purposes, now He would use Cyrus as He has and will use all nations of all times.
(5) If Cyrus was not a convert to Judaism, how do we explain his knowledge that his victories came at the hands of the God of Israel? (2 Chron. 36:22,23; Ezra 1:1,2) Most likely the passage here in Isaiah was pointed out to him by Daniel who counseled him until the third year of his reign.
(6) Not only will Jehovah gird Cyrus to show him the power of the God of Israel, but to also show that power to the surrounding nations. This showing of power will assure that the people will be returned to their homeland and the Ideal Servant will be born in Bethlehem (Mic. 5:2).
(7) Darkness will prevail where no light is made. This holds true in the spiritual as well as the physical world. The evil that God creates is not moral evil, but the strong judgments that He has had to use on man from time to time and will use again as He deems it necessary.
(8) Jehovah invokes the cooperation of both heaven and earth. God calls for an ethical and moral standard to be put into place. Salvation includes deliverance, safety, and freedom from distress. Jehovah will create both righteousness and salvation in Israel. Because of God's disappointment with the returning remnant (Dan. 10-12), many of the aspects of this prophecy would not be fulfilled until the arrival of the Ideal Servant.
2. Israel should not question God's ways (45:9-13)
(9) Jehovah now answers Israel's anticipated complaint concerning being delivered by a heathen king. For a man to complain about what his Maker is doing is absurd. Man, like a pot made of clay, really has no say in how things will turn out as only God (the Potter) makes such decisions.
(10) Israel contending with the Lord over this matter (or any matter) is like a child contending with his parents and criticizing them for making them what they are. The child complains that he should have been made different or not at all.
(11) Since Jehovah is the Maker, it is up to Him how the vessel will be made. Man should inquire of the Lord as to His purposes and then refrain from criticizing once those purposes are made known. It is interesting that everything man wants and needs to know is revealed to him in God's word and His creation, yet man refuses to go to either of those places for the answers.
(12) The earth was created and man was placed upon it by God's wisdom. God gives the orders and the directions, He does not take either orders or directions from man.
(13) There are no legitimate reasons for the people to complain against Cyrus or God's use of Cyrus. God's plans are righteous and those plans will be carried out.
D. The Effect Of Israel's Deliverance Will Cause The Gentiles To Turn To God (45:14-25)
1. Israel shall be saved by the Lord with an everlasting salvation (45:14-19)
(14) The Gentiles will be effected by Israel's redemption and return. Many of then will join Israel of their own free choice. The three specific nations mentioned probably represent the Gentile nations in general. Many Gentiles will realize that the God of Israel is the One True God.
(15) Now Isaiah expresses his astonishment at what has been done. The fact that Jehovah had previously hid his plans to save the Gentiles is unveiled here for at least Isaiah to see. Since there is no other God, then Israel's God must be the Savior of the world ­ Gentiles included.
(16) The makers and worshipers of idols are put to shame by the workings of Jehovah. Their cause has become a lost cause, never to be resurrected among Israel again.
(17) Jehovah will provide his people with a permanent and endless salvation, while the idols will provide their people with nothing. Israel will be free from the confusion and shame found among the idolatrous nations. All of these promises were fulfilled in their spiritual sense under the Messiah. The return of the people under Cyrus however, opened the way for the blessings to come through the Christ.
(18) Jehovah has two great witnesses that declare that He is the One True God: creation and revelation. When He created the earth He did so with purpose and a plan.
(19) God has openly spoken to His people since the beginning. First, directly (Deut. 18:18,19), then through His prophets and inspired writers. God created man to live under His precepts, not in spiritual and moral confusion. The physical world is all-sufficient for man's physical needs, therefore the spiritual world is all-sufficient for man's spiritual needs. God's revelation concerning all our needs testifies to His Godhood.
2. The Gentiles will turn to Jehovah when they understand that He is the One True God (45:20-25)
(20) Jehovah calls all the heathen to join His people. Those that refuse to follow Jehovah will continue to live in a world of spiritual chaos and moral confusion. The remnant of the children of Israel that will escape judgment is an indication that only a remnant of the Gentiles will escape as well.
(21) The inability of the idols to produce anything that their prophets foretell will cause them to fall further and further into disrepute. The good-hearted heathen will come to recognize Jehovah as the God of all, both Jew and Gentile.
(22) Jehovah appeals to all men to respond to Him, yet even though all are invited, not all will respond.
(23) When Jehovah takes an oath He must take it in His own name. Here Jehovah swears that every knee shall bow to Him. If not on this earth, then where? In eternal judgment. God's word in this matter (as in all matters in which He utters a word) will stand forever.
(24) Anyone who seeks righteousness and truth must come to God. Since everyone will not seek righteousness and truth, they will be in opposition to God and will ultimately pay the consequences.
(25) When taken as referring to spiritual Israel this verse is realized to its fullest extent. The return under Cyrus stands as an example of an even greater return. The deliverance and redemption under the Messiah would encompass both Jew and Gentile.