1 God comforts the church with his promises. 7 The vanity of idols, 9 and folly of idol makers. 21 He exhorts to praise God for his redemption and omnipotence.
Israel the Lord’s Chosen
Isa 44:1 “But now listen, Jacob, my servant, Israel, whom I have chosen.
Having rebuked His people for their sins (ch. 43:22–28), the Lord now speaks words of comfort and courage. They are to remember Him as the One who chose them and loves them, who has mercy on them and saves them.
Isa 44:2 This is what the LORD says— he who made you, who formed you in the womb, and who will
help you: Do not be afraid, Jacob, my servant, Jeshurun, whom I have chosen.
A poetical name for Israel meaning “upright one” (see on Deut. 32:15). God reminds Israel that He has chosen her to be “an holy nation” and to obey His voice (Ex. 19:5, 6).
Isa 44:3 For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour out my Spirit on your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants.
The first part of the verse is symbolic, explained in the second part. The outpouring of God’s Holy Spirit is compared to refreshing showers of rain (Joel 2:23, 28, 29). The “thirsty” are those who thirst for God and His righteousness (Ps. 42:1, 2; Matt. 5:6; John 4:13, 14).
Isa 44:4 They will spring up like grass in a meadow, like poplar trees by flowing streams.
The people upon whom God’s Spirit was poured would flourish like trees by the banks of flowing streams (see Ps. 1:3; Jer. 17:8; Eze. 47:12)
Isa 44:5 Some will say, ‘I belong to the LORD’; others will call themselves by the name of Jacob; still others will write on their hand, ‘The LORD’s,’ and will take the name Israel.
Besides Me There Is No God
Isa 44:6 “This is what the LORD says— Israel’s King and Redeemer, the LORD Almighty: I am the first and I am the last; apart from me there is no God.
Here are set forth some of the most striking attributes of God: He is (1) the Lord, (2) Israel’s King, (3) Israel’s Redeemer, (4) Commander of the heavenly hosts, (5) the Eternal, the “first” and the “last,” and (6) the only true God. In vs. 9–20 Isaiah sets God forth in contrast with idols.
Isa 44:7 Who then is like me? Let him proclaim it. Let him declare and lay out before me what has happened since I established my ancient people, and what is yet to come— yes, let them foretell what will come.
It is God who orders and disposes the affairs of earth; it is He who knows the past and declares the future. It is He who appointed Israel as a righteous and eternal people. In all of this lies evidence that He is the true God; idols cannot do what He has done (see on ch. 41:4, 21–26).
Isa 44:8 Do not tremble, do not be afraid. Did I not proclaim this and foretell it long ago? You are my witnesses. Is there any God besides me? No, there is no other Rock; I know not one.”
No Rock. Heb. ṣur, a common Scriptural term for God, denoting His enduring qualities and His strength (see Deut. 32:4; 2 Sam. 22:3; 23:3; Ps. 18:2; cf. Isa. 26:4). Israel has nothing to fear with God as their strength and defense.
Isa 44:9 All who make idols are nothing, and the things they treasure are worthless. Those who would speak up for them are blind; they are ignorant, to their own shame.
Isa 44:14 He cut down cedars, or perhaps took a cypress or oak. He let it grow among the trees of the forest, or planted a pine, and the rain made it grow.
Isa 44:15 It is used as fuel for burning; some of it he takes and warms himself, he kindles a fire and bakes bread. But he also fashions a god and worships it; he makes an idol and bows down to it.
It is a mere matter of chance which piece of wood is used for fuel and which for the idol!
Isa 44:16 Half of the wood he burns in the fire; over it he prepares his meal, he roasts his meat and eats his fill. He also warms himself and says, “Ah! I am warm; I see the fire.”
The folly of making a god out of something a man has the power to destroy!
Isa 44:17 From the rest he makes a god, his idol; he bows down to it and worships. He prays to it and says, “Save me! You are my god!”
The wood could not have delivered itself from the fire had he chosen to burn it instead of worship it! How foolish of a man who has used most of his wood for fuel to shape one of the leftover sticks into an idol and expect it to have the strength and the intelligence to save his life!
Isa 44:18 They know nothing, they understand nothing; their eyes are plastered over so they cannot see, and their minds closed so they cannot understand.
Men who do worship images have little knowledge. Their foolish hearts are dark, and though they profess to be wise they are fools (Rom. 1:21–23).
Isa 44:19 No one stops to think, no one has the knowledge or understanding to say, “Half of it I used for fuel; I even baked bread over its coals, I roasted meat and I ate. Shall I make a detestable thing from what is left? Shall I bow down to a block of wood?”
He who worships an idol merely pays reverence to a block of wood. He talks to it and bows down before it, little thinking that it would be as sensible to make his requests to a staff or a doorpost.
Isa 44:20 Such a person feeds on ashes; a deluded heart misleads him; he cannot save himself, or say, “Is not this thing in my right hand a lie?”
How foolish a man would be to make a meal of ashes, expecting nourishment from them. It is equally foolish to think that an idol can benefit man.
Isa 44:21 “Remember these things, Jacob, for you, Israel, are my servant. I have made you, you are my servant; Israel, I will not forget you.
God calls Israel to heed what He has said about the folly of worshiping idols. Israel belongs to God; they are to serve Him.
Isa 44:22 I have swept away your offenses like a cloud, your sins like the morning mist. Return to me, for I have redeemed you.”
Like a cloud. As sun and wind disperse clouds, so God sweeps away the transgressions of His people.
Isa 44:23 Sing for joy, you heavens, for the LORD has done this; shout aloud, you earth beneath. Burst into song, you mountains, you forests and all your trees, for the LORD has redeemed Jacob, he displays his glory in Israel.
The “heavens” and the “lower parts of the earth” are figurative for all the world (see on ch. 40:22). Not only Israel, but all the earth, is to rejoice in the knowledge of God’s love and grace.
Sing for joy, you heavens, for the LORD has done this; shout aloud, you earth beneath. Burst into song, you mountains, you forests and all your trees, for the LORD has redeemed Jacob, he displays his glory in Israel.
Isa 44:24 “This is what the LORD says— your Redeemer, who formed you in the womb: I am the LORD, the Maker of all things, who stretches out the heavens, who spreads out the earth by myself,
Isa 44:25 who foils the signs of false prophets and makes fools of diviners, who overthrows the learning of the wise and turns it into nonsense,
This refers to the signs given by the pagan wise men to substantiate their claims. God would confound the wisdom of these pagans and prove their words untrue. As their predictions come to nought, they will stand exposed as the fools that they are.
Isa 44:26 who carries out the words of his servants and fulfills the predictions of his messengers, who says of Jerusalem, ‘It shall be inhabited,’ of the towns of Judah, ‘They shall be rebuilt,’ and of their ruins, ‘I will restore them,’
As God reveals the folly of false prophets, so He establishes the reliability of true prophets. Their predictions are fulfilled (see on Jer. 28:9 )
A century and more before Jerusalem was captured by Nebuchadnezzar and its people carried into captivity, God foretold its restoration. This is a most remarkable prediction, in striking contrast with the prophecy concerning the city of Babylon, that eventually it would be as completely desolate as Sodom and Gomorrah, and never again be inhabited (see ch. 13:19, 20).
Isa 44:27 who says to the watery deep, ‘Be dry, and I will dry up your stream
Watery deep. Heb. ṣulah, “[ocean or river] depth.” This is the only use of the word in the OT. This prediction was fulfilled when Cyrus turned the waters of the Euphrates out of their course in order that his soldiers might enter Babylon. Jeremiah made similar predictions concerning the fall of Babylon, comparing it to the drying up of the river Euphrates (see on Jer. 50:38; 51:36; cf. Rev. 16:12).
Isa 44:28 who says of Cyrus, ‘He is my shepherd and will accomplish all that I please; he will say of Jerusalem, “Let it be rebuilt,” and of the temple, “Let its foundations be laid.”‘
This is a remarkable prophecy in that it mentions Cyrus by name, a century and a half before his time, and foretells the remarkable part he was to play in the liberation of the Jews (for a similar advance prophecy given concerning Josiah’s reform see 1 Kings 13:2).
Cyrus must have been greatly astonished to learn that a Jewish prophecy named him, described his capture of Babylon, and predicted his policy toward the captive Jews, a century and a half before his birth (see PK 557)
My shepherd. In overthrowing Babylon and liberating the Jews, Cyrus did for literal Israel what Christ will accomplish for all His chosen ones in the overthrow of mystical Babylon and the deliverance of His people from her dominion (Rev. 18:2–4, 20; Rev. 19:1, 2).
Soon after capturing Babylon, Cyrus issued the decree that permitted the captive Jews to return to their homeland and rebuild the Temple (2 Chron. 36:22, 23; see on Ezra 1:1–4).