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Bible Commentaries
Isaiah 44

Old & New Testament Restoration CommentaryRestoration Commentary

Verses 1-5

Isa 44:1-5

Isaiah 44:1-5

An analysis of this chapter is as follows:

I. (Isaiah 44:1-5) Despite the fact of Israel’s sin and their condemnation to seventy years of captivity, God was by no means through with Israel. He would restore Israel to his favor and to their homeland. Their posterity would turn to God and actually receive the Spirit of the Lord.

II. (Isaiah 44:6-20) The most powerful and effective condemnation of idolatry to be found anywhere.

III. (Isaiah 44:24-26) God will confound the wisdom of the astrologers, the soothsayers and the diviners and at the same time confirm the word of his servants the holy prophets by bringing about the delivery of Israel from captivity and their return to Jerusalem, even naming the great King who would be a prominent figure in accomplishing this tremendous deliverance about 150 years after Isaiah prophesied this.

Isaiah 44:1-5

"Yet now hear, O Jacob my servant, and Israel whom I have chosen: Thus saith Jehovah that made thee, and formed thee from the womb, who will help thee: Fear not, O Jacob my servant; and thou, Jeshurun, whom I have chosen. For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and streams upon the dry ground; I will pour my Spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring: and they shall spring up among the grass, as willows by the watercourses. One shall say, I am Jehovah’s; and another shall call himself by the name of Jacob; and another shall subscribe with his hand unto Jehovah, and surname himself by the name of Israel."

Practically all present-day commentators would connect this passage with the previous chapter, basing their reason upon the expression "Yet now hear." However, in our view, the chapter division is appropriate enough where it stands. It is true of course that there is a connection, because Isaiah always placed in close juxtaposition his prophecies of doom for wicked Israel and redemption for upright Israel; and so it is here. The closing verses of Isaiah 43 left Israel under the curse and under the ban; but here the help and redemption of Israel are the glorious theme.

This, of course, is fully in keeping with the "two Israels," visible on every page of this great prophecy. But the words, "Yet now hear" emphasize not a continuation of the same theme, but a dramatic change to a new one, just as the word "now" in Romans 8:1 signals a dramatic switch from the deadness of Romans 7 to the eternal life of chapter 8, the significant word in each place being "now." Just so it is here, the dramatic shift is from the fleshly, rebellious, condemned Israel who would rot in captivity to their seed, their offspring, who would receive God’s great blessings and even experience the infusion of God’s Spirit.

In Isaiah’s day, the two Israels were a single people, intermingled, and indistinguishable; and therefore, it was absolutely necessary that a single noun or pronoun refer to Jacob, or Israel, no matter which Israel was addressed. Failure to distinguish which Israel was addressed has often led to extravagant statements about how God’s totally unmerited and undeserved grace went ahead and saved Israel no matter what they did. A littie thought on what actually happened will do much to temper such extravagant statements.

Payne, for example, on this paragraph noted that, "The big point here is that Israel has a future; she is still God’s servant with a mission to perform. Her future will be one of material and spiritual prosperity, so much so that non-Jews will voluntarily attach themselves to Israel and to her God. Yes, yes, this is true; but it should be noted that the blessings promised in no sense whatever applied to that fleshly Israel under the ban and condemned to captivity, but to their children of far distant generations, and particularly among those, only to the obedient. Note what this little paragraph actually promises:

"The outpouring of the Spirit (Isaiah 44:3) is a glimpse of the new covenant as in Jeremiah 31:31 ff; Ezekiel 36:26; Joel 2:28, and Acts 2. ; Isaiah 44:5 is a foretaste of Gentile conversion. These verses promise redemption and the reception of the Spirit through the success of the Gospel of Christ. Here God explicitly predicts that future Israel who was to receive the Living Water and the Holy Spirit poured out upon them pre-eminently on Pentecost (Acts 2). Mention of Israel’s `seed’ in Isaiah 44:3 refers primarily to Israel after the Spirit, the true `Israel of God’" (Galatians 6:16).

The single word in this very first verse which should have opened the eyes of the blind and deaf Israel is that word Jeshurun, a word derived from a Hebrew root meaning "upright," and also interpreted by some as a diminutive. "It occurs only here and in Deuteronomy 32:15; Deuteronomy 33:5; Deuteronomy 33:26." "Whether explained as a diminutive, as `dear little Israel,’ or as a reference to their call to be an upright nation as Hebraists generally suppose," it spelled out the special love of God for Israel and at the same time stressed the great requirement of their holiness; but there is little evidence that the captive Israel paid very much attention. Kelley believed that this word Jeshurun, "Is a title of honor and is perhaps intended to describe the transformed character of Israel in the eschatalogical age (the current dispensation)."

Isaiah 44:1-5 INVIGORATES: Although the chastening judgment of Jehovah is predicted with absolute certainty (chapter 43) upon Israel, still Israel is the chosen of the Lord. They were not even a nation when God chose them. He took them as nomadic sheepherders and formed them as an instrument of His from nothing! God molded them from useless clay into a vessel for His purpose (cf. Romans 9:19 f). They should surely know that God desired with all His heart to help them and favor them. But God could not help them become the vessel they were chosen to be because they did not want to be that vessel! The Lord knew, and predicted through His prophet here, there would be a remnant formed from the chastening captivity which would believe and surrender to its chosen purpose. This remnant, even now being formed by Isaiah’s preaching, need not fear the impending judgment. God’s purpose will survive through this remnant called Jeshurun (the name means: right, upright, esteemed, righteous). The prophet suddenly makes a dramatic shortening of perspective in verse three. From the promise of help to the remnant of Israel formed from the chastening captivity Isaiah focuses his prophetic telescope down on the time when God will “pour my Spirit upon thy seed . . . and thine offspring.” God’s redemptive purpose will be accomplished ultimately in the “seed” and “offspring” of Israel. What is this pouring out of the Spirit? Is it the special, miraculous Spirit on the apostles at Pentecost (cf. Joel 2:28 f; Acts 2:14 f), or is it the promise of the Holy Spirit to all obedient believers (Isaiah 32:14; Acts 2:38-39)? Isaiah could be making a general prophecy in which both were intended since without the miraculous revelation of the gospel covenant terms of salvation through the Spirit to the apostles there could have been no indwelling presence of the Spirit. Whatever the case, we feel certain Isaiah’s prophecy of the Spirit here is intended to be fulfilled in the new covenant believer. Christ is the “seed” and “offspring” (cf. Galatians 3:15-29) and Christians are “offspring” by being in Him. So, Isaiah has skipped from the Captivity to the New Covenant without any mention of the centuries between. Keil and Delitzsch think “the threefold zeh” (demonstrative pronoun) (one . . . another . . . another) indicates verse five is speaking of the heathen (cf. Psalms 87:4-5). Gentiles will take pride in belonging to Jehovah. They will confess their allegiance orally and yiketov (from kathav, to subscribe) in writing. The emphatic willingness of the Gentile to allow himself to be “surnamed” Israel is an astounding prophecy in view of the contempt most of the heathen world had for the Hebrew and his God. Nothing short of conversion and rebirth could fulfill this prophecy!

Verses 6-8

Isa 44:6-8

Isaiah 44:6-8

"Thus saith Jehovah, the King of Israel, and his Redeemer, Jehovah of hosts: I am the first, and I am the last; and besides me there is no God. And who, as I, shall call, and shall declare it, and set it in order for me, since I established the ancient people? and the things that are coming, and that shall come to pass, let them declare. Fear ye not, neither be afraid: have I not declared unto thee of old, and showed it? and ye are my witnesses. Is there a God besides me? yea, there is no Rock; I know not any."

Here is an awesome assertion of Almighty God Himself to the effect that he alone is God; he only can declare future events before they happen; and he alone has done it! This emphasis of Deity Himself upon the importance of predictive prophecy should not be lightly considered. Such a declaration accredited to God Himself cannot be set aside by a ridiculous dictum of human seminaries that "there is no such thing," which is a lie, conceived in the mind of Satan himself and advocated only by those in his service.

"These three verses are the very essence of these chapters, with their emphasis upon God as Israel’s champion.”

Isaiah 44:6-8 INFORMS: Man thinks in terms of beginnings and endings. Timelessness is outside man’s experience. God condescends to man’s limited experience and calls Himself, the first, and the last. When time began, God was already there; when time shall end, God will still be there. Many heathen people claimed such eternal existence for their gods, but they could not prove it. Jehovah demonstrated His eternal deity, not only in the things He made (cf. Romans 1:18 f), but also in the predictions and revelations He gave through His prophets. Jehovah challenged and defeated scores of false prophets and false priests (scoffers of the days of Noah; magicians of Pharaoh in Moses’ day; false prophets of Baal in the days of Elijah; the witch of Endor in King Saul’s day; the false prophet Hananiah in Jeremiah’s day). None of these were able to meet the challenge of Jehovah. In every instance Jehovah demonstrated that only He has absolute knowledge and power. Now, Isaiah is emphatically reminding his generation that as the Lord’s servant the power of Almighty God is available to them in the supernatural revelation of Jehovah through His prophets. He knows their future and their destiny—they do not need to be afraid—they simply need to trust Him. Has He not from of old proven His omniscience? And are they not witnesses to it? There is no other god they need to fear.

Verses 9-17

Isa 44:9-17

Isaiah 44:9-11

A DENUNCIATION OF IDOLATRY

"They that fashion a graven image are all of them vanity; and the things that they delight in shall not profit; and their own witnesses see not, nor know: that they may be put to shame. Who hath fashioned a god, or molten an image that is profitable for nothing? Behold, all his fellows shall be put to shame; and the workmen, they are of men: let them be gathered together, let them stand up, they shall fear, they shall be put to shame together."

In words which again recall an imaginary court scene, God here challenges the makers of idols to gather themselves together that their foolish and sinful practice of making idols may be publicly exposed and that their advocates and makers may be put to shame together. God’s denunciation will continue through Isaiah 44:20. "This extended expose was doubtless intended to strengthen the Jews against the allurements of paganism during their long captivity in Babylon." The appeal of paganism was powerful indeed. Not only were the licentious rites fully attuned to the lustful desires of men’s hearts; but, for ages, nations had credited their pagan idols with giving them victory in war; and weak and thoughtless men were prone to honor their claims. As an aid to captive Israel, God here, through Isaiah, sarcastically made out a devastating case against idols and the worship of them."

Isaiah 44:12-17

"The smith maketh an axe, and worketh in the coals, and fashioneth it with hammers, and worketh it with his strong arm; yea, he is hungry, and his strength faileth; he drinketh no water, and is faint. The carpenter stretcheth out a line; he marketh it out with a pencil; he shapeth it with planes, and he marketh it out with the compasses, and shapeth it after the figure of a man, according to the beauty of a man, to dwell in a house. He heweth him down cedars, and taketh the holm tree, and the oak, and strengtheneth for himself one among the trees of the forest: he planteth a fir-tree, and the rain doth nourish it. Then shall it be for a man to burn; and he taketh thereof and warmeth himself; yea, he kindleth it, and baketh bread: yea, he maketh a god, and worshipeth it; he maketh it a graven image, and falleth down thereto. He burneth part thereof with fire; with part thereof he eateth flesh; he roasteth roast and is satisfied; yea, he warmeth himself, and saith, Aha, I am warm, I have seen the fire. And the residue thereof he maketh a god, even his graven image; he falleth down unto it and worshipeth, and prayeth unto it, and saith, Deliver me; for thou art my god."

This is a most remarkable statement about idols. As Adam Clarke stated it:

"The sacred writers are generally large and eloquent upon the subject of idolatry; they treat it with great severity, and set forth the absurdity of it in the strongest light. But this passage of Isaiah (Isaiah 44:12-20) exceeds anything that was ever written upon the subject, in force of argument, energy of expression, and elegance of composition."

A few lines are not clear, for example, why would the smith be faint from hunger and thirst? Some have suggested that fasting and abstinence were sometimes used when men were making an idol; but the smith was, in this line, merely making an axe to cut down the tree, a portion of which would be made into an idol! The mention of the smith’s strong hands is interesting. All generations, except our own perhaps, have marveled at the strength of blacksmiths.

"Under the spreading chestnut tree.

The village smithy stands;

The smith a mighty man is he

With strong and sinewy hands!"

But how absurd an idol is. First there must be a tree. One must be found, or planted; and then it must be nourished by God’s rain until it is grown. Then a workman must take an axe, the axe itself having been made by another workman, and then cut down the tree. Part of it is used for firewood, or cooking, or nearly anything else; and then somebody decides to make a god out of part of it! There must be the carpenter, and the artist, and the pencils, and the compasses, etc.; and then, finally, when the idol is finished, the one who made it falls down in front of it and worships it! What stupid folly is this?

Isaiah 44:9-17 GRAVEN IMAGES: There are a number of Hebrew words for idol; ‘alilim (a thing of nought); atsabbim (an image of grief); gilulim (a filthy image); tsirim (images of stone); teraphim (images) and others. The word used in verse nine is pesel which means specifically “graven thing” or sculpture. The object of the pesel or sculpture was to make some material into a representation of the invisible God to be worshipped and thus it was an idol. The word translated delight is also interesting; it is hkamudyehem which means desirable, delectable, precious, darling. Their graven images were more than ornaments! They venerated, pampered and worshiped those pieces of stone and chunks of wood much like the ignorant masses of India worship cows and the Buddhists of Japan worship statues of bronze and gold.

Isaiah is shaming the foolishness of the people who make and worship idols as much as he is the idols themselves! Those who make them are tohu, “void, empty, vain” people. Their “witnesses” is reference to the idolaters who are the only witnesses the idols could have. The idols are dumb and so are those idolaters (the people) who testify to them. It must have taken a great deal of courage for Isaiah to make such scathing public rebuke of idolatry. It had been instigated and approved by Ahaz and was practiced by the majority of the population. The prophet presents a sarcastic question: Who but a fool would fashion something with his own hands and call it a god when it cannot ever be more than it is—a piece of wood or stone? In Isaiah 44:11 Isaiah offers both a prediction and a challenge. He predicts that idolaters will someday be acknowledged as the fools they really are. His prediction has come true. Idolatry stands discredited as utter folly in most of the world today. The discrediting of idolatry is due fundamentally to Christianity, not science! Science is due to Christianity! Isaiah challenges that if all the idolaters and idols could be gathered together in one great mass meeting to substantiate the truthfulness of idols, they could present no evidence or verification. Their images would still remain dumb, unable to speak, hear or see and unable to deliver, save or act at all!

Our author now begins (Isaiah 44:12-17) one of the most satirical, comical passages of the Bible! This is the graphic, ludicrous picture of the idol-smith as seen from God’s perspective. We must understand that most idols were composites of wood and metal. First, a wooden image was carved with the desired features. Then molten metal (gold, silver, bronze, etc.) was poured over the wooden image and the metal is then polished and worked again into the desired product. All this craftsmanship required proper tools and so Isaiah begins his picture describing the hot, exhausting, famishing work invested by human beings in just the tools to make idols. All that human energy to make tools to make something that is nothing! Then the craftsman hkarash (artificer, engraver, probably from the root, to scratch), spends long hours sketching, measuring, shaping, remeasuring, shaping again and the end product is the image of a man! Perhaps it would be the most masculine man with the most perfect features the craftsman could fashion, but still the image of man. Water cannot rise above its level. So, the human cannot produce the divine—not even an image of the divine! And the image of man is not alive. It is only an image of the features of man—not man! Most idols are much more decadent than that because they are images of beasts and creeping things!

The prophet has described the process of idol-making in reverse order. In Isaiah 44:14-17 he describes the initial steps in the formation of a graven image. Even before the craftsmen begin there is much human energy exerted on a project of “nothingness.” The woodsman must spend time deciding on the proper tree (only the best will do for one’s god). Then much energy and time is invested in hewing down the tree, sectioning it and hauling it to the craftsman. But before all this long years of time has been invested in planting, nourishing and protecting the sapling until it was time to harvest it for idol-making. The destiny and existence of this “god” was totally dependent upon the circumstances of weather and growth and man’s whims of selection and harvesting it should appear absolutely idiotic to think the thing formed was a “god”! But that isn’t all! After planting a sprout, watching it grow into a sapling, then a tree, then taking all the pains to select, harvest, transport, and sell to the craftsman, one watches as the craftsman takes half of the log for a “god” and casts the other half aside for cook-wood! How utterly incredible! Out of the same log a man makes a god and fuels a fire to cook his meal or warm his body! What supernatural guidance did the craftsman use to decide from which half to make a god and which to burn in the fire? Why couldn’t the half in the fire have made a god equally as well as the other half? There is an interesting use of the word raiyth from the root raah to see. The Hebrews used see often to mean feel, experience. The idea is the contrast between feeling the warmth of the fire made by the same wood the man falls down before to worship as a god! How senseless! He has just felt the warmth from the fire of the wood and now he cries out, Deliver me, to part of the same wood! How can men and women be so stupid?

Verses 18-20

Isa 44:18-20

Isaiah 44:18-20

"They know not, neither do they consider; for he hath shut their eyes that they cannot see; and their hearts that they cannot understand. And none calleth to mind, neither is there knowledge nor understanding to say, I have burned part of it in the fire, also I have baked bread on the coals thereof; I have roasted flesh and eaten it: and shall I make the residue thereof an abomination? shall I fall down to the stock of a tree? He feedeth on ashes; a deceived heart hath turned him aside: and he cannot deliver his soul, nor say, Is there not a lie in my right hand?"

This concludes the heavenly denunciation of idols and of idol worship. Note in Isaiah 44:18 that the fundamental reason why any man is able to engage in such folly is due to the fact that he has been blinded. This, of course, is a reference to the judicial blinding, or hardening of men’s hearts by God Himself; but this must never be understood as a capricious or haphazard action on the part of the heavenly Father. "God closes the eyes and hearts of men, but that is never an arbitrary action on God’s part. The hardened and blinded are themselves responsible for it (Romans 1:20-28). In their self-imposed darkened state the idolaters cannot understand their own folly."

Furthermore, we consider the consecration of so-called "sacred images" in certain allegedly "Christian" communions of our own era as just as foolish, and just as loaded with folly, as was the practice of idolatry in ancient times. Yes indeed, we are familiar with the allegation that the "worshippers" who are bowing down in front of "images" are not actually worshipping the image; but that the image serves to "remind them" of realities which indeed they claim to worship. Yet God did not merely condemn "worshipping" images; he also outlawed and condemned the making of them and the bowing down before them as well (Exodus 20:4-5).

As for the silly notion that an "image" can remind people of any reality whatever: (1) How can an object which cannot think remind an intelligent person of God who is the Infinite Mind? (2) How can an object which can stand in only one place remind an intelligent person of Him who is ubiquitous? (3) How can an object which is totally without any strength or power whatever remind one of the all-powerful, omnipotent God? (4) How can an object, which itself had to be manufactured, improved, painted, and decorated remind any thoughtful person of God the Creator of all things? Etc.

Isaiah 44:18-20 GULLIBLE IDOLATERS: Lange says the tahk (shut, plaster shut) of Isaiah 44:18 should be considered as the nominal form and take as its nearest qualification the word ‘aeyneyhem which is 3 pers. pl. masc. In other words, they plastered their eyes shut—not God. It is apparent from the context that the idolater exercised his own choice in knowing or not knowing the utter stupidity of idolatry. The Hebrew lo-yashyiv el-libbo means literally, “carry not back into the heart,” and is translated in the ASV “none calleth to mind.” Evidently these idolaters once had understanding about the vanity of idols, but they did not “carry it back into their hearts.” They rejected any willing reflection or investigation of their practices. They refused to come to the light lest their deeds be exposed (cf. John 3:18-20). It certainly was not because they were incapable of understanding the stupidity of their practice—they simply did not want to “carry it back into their minds.” To’evah is “an abhorrence” or an “abomination.” Its evaluation comes from God, not from man. Men who make them think them darling—God calls them abominations! Idols insult God and degrade and eventually destroy men whom God made in His own image.

The man who makes idols of wood and metal which are so easily reduced to ashes has been led astray from truth by a heart overpowered with self-delusion and cannot be saved nor does it ever occur to him to say, Isn’t all this a big lie? The most enslaving delusion is self-delusion, because it has to do with selfish feelings—not objective truth. There does not seem to be any hope for these idolaters of Isaiah’s people unless they are willing to investigate what is outside their own feelings and desires. As long as men accept only what agrees with their feelings and desires, and are unwilling to accept that something may be valid truth outside their own autonomous selves, they cannot be saved. God is transcendent. He is the objective Object. He is the eternal Person. He is truth, outside of and beyond man. His being, objectivity and truthfulness must be validated by His revelation of Himself. Man cannot reduce Him to man’s limited experience for man can rise no higher than himself (as evidenced by his idols)!

Verses 21-23

Isa 44:21-23

Isaiah 44:21-23

"Remember these things, O Jacob, and Israel; for thou art my servant: I have formed thee; thou art my servant: O Israel, thou shalt not be forgotten of me. I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions, and, as a cloud, thy sins; return unto me for I have redeemed thee. Sing, O ye heavens, for Jehovah hath done it; shout, ye lower parts of the earth; break forth into singing, ye mountains, O forest, and every tree therein: for Jehovah hath redeemed Jacob, and will glorify himself in Israel."

God did indeed glorify himself in Israel throughout those long ages while the time was being fulfilled for the revelation of the Holy Messiah. There were many defeats for Israel during that period, but none for God. He maintained the continuity of that people through long ages till Christ was born of the Virgin Mary and cradled in the manger at Bethlehem. The Old Israel was intended and expected to recognize and love the Holy Christ, and to receive him with joy and proclaim him as the Saviour of all mankind for the whole world. Israel, through their leaders, refused to do that; but Jesus Christ became the principal Person of all time in spite of Israel’s failure. All history is dated from his birth; and history itself shall be concluded in his second advent, at which time he will judge all nations.

Isaiah 44:21-23 FORGIVENESS Is IN JEHOVAH: The message of this section is that Israel is to remember (Heb. zekar) who Jehovah is. We remind the reader, this is the very essence of biblical religion—the realization of the objective Personhood of God. Biblical religion is not how man feels, but what man acknowledges about who God is and what God has said. Especially Israel is admonished to remember who Jehovah is in view of the foregoing expose of the idiocy of idolatry, All men are vulnerable to idolatry if they do not acknowledge the objective reality of the eternal, supernatural Personhood of Jehovah. Men must have a god. He will make one of wood or stone, of science or government, of fame or fortune—or even of himself, Israel must remember that Jehovah chose her and created her for Himself. He evidenced His special claim upon her in ages past by miraculous powers of deliverance, sustenance, subjugations and revelations. He demonstrated that He was a living God, capable and willing to guide and guard Israel over thousands of years. He never forgot her!

The blotting out of Israel’s sin is apparently in promise here. We know from the New Testament that the actual, historical event which blotted out sin and accomplished redemption was the atoning death of Jesus Christ (cf. Hebrews 10:1-18). The blood of bulls and goats could not take away sin. The Hebrew who offered his sacrificial lamb lived in faith that God would, someday, accomplish the act which would atone for his sins and thus fulfill His promises. The point being stressed in Isaiah 44:22 is willingness and mercifulness of God in promising to blot out Israel’s sin and offering her, even then, a way to believe in that promise. The redemption spoken of in Isaiah 44:22-23 cannot refer to the return from the exile, for there was no permanence to that. The Hebrew word goal is repeated in this text and it implies more than forgiveness of sins; it implies that a price has been paid to purchase Israel. That price was God’s dear Son on Calvary. Certainly, the redemptive plan included God’s deliverance of Israel from her captivity so she might bring forth the Suffering Servant. And this is exactly what Israel needed to remember now—her redemptive servanthood. She needed to remember that God had called her and promised her (in type and prophecy) redemption. God’s promises are as good as done! God can direct His prophets to predict the future as if it were accomplished!

All nature is bound up with the destiny of mankind. When man sinned, God cursed nature so man would not, in his sinful state, fall in love with this earth. When Christ died on the cross suffering the curse upon man and earning man’s redemption, He also suffered the curse upon nature and earned nature’s redemption. Therefore, in view of the certainty of God’s redemption of Israel, all of God’s creation can rejoice and sing and shout because all of God’s creation is equally certain of its redemption. The true Israel of God is destined for dominion over a redeemed and recreated Eden (cf. Romans 8:18-25; Hebrews 2:5-9; 2 Peter 3:13). Israel must remember that and repent of idolatry!

Verses 24-28

Isa 44:24-28

Isaiah 44:24-28

THE PROPHECY REGARDING CYRUS

"Thus saith Jehovah, thy Redeemer, and he that formed thee from the womb: I am Jehovah that maketh all things; that stretcheth forth the heavens alone; that spreadeth abroad the earth (who is with me?); that frustrateth the signs of the liars, and maketh diviners mad; that turneth wise men backward, and maketh their knowledge foolish; that confirmeth the word of his servant, and performeth the counsel of his messengers; that saith of Jerusalem, She shall be inhabited; and of the cities of Judah, they shall be built, and I will raise up the waste places thereof; that saith to the deep, Be dry, and I will dry up thy rivers; that saith of Cyrus, He is my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure, even saying of Jerusalem, She shall be built; and of the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid."

This paragraph is the place where critics generally refuse to acknowledge any possibility of Isaiah’s having written these verses; but they have nothing whatever upon which to base any logical objection. Nothing ever known in the history of Biblical interpretation is as thoroughly discredited and repudiated by all thoughtful persons as is the vain, arrogant, and ridiculous postulations of the critics.

This mention of Cyrus in this place was shown to Cyrus when he came to the throne of Persia, according to the historian Josephus; and it was his seeing this passage in the Hebrew Bible and having it identified to him as a valid prophecy of Isaiah that caused him to take the lead in the restoration of the Jews to Jerusalem and in the laying of the foundation of their temple. Josephus’ testimony here is independent of the Bible, and is also verified in the Bible. Now let the critics produce one line, or even a single word, of historical testimony about their imaginative "Deutero-Isaiah." Where is it? See our Introduction to Isaiah for further comment on this.

One of the most brilliant young scholars of our generation is Homer Hailey, and we are happy to join him in his affirmation concerning this genuine predictive prophecy:

"Without hesitation or apology, this writer stands with the older commentators who ascribed the whole prophecy, the entire Book of Isaiah, to but one man, the prophet Isaiah; and we believe that by the inspiration of Jehovah’s Spirit, God foretold, through Isaiah, events far in the future."

Rawlinson pointed out that the prophecy of so minute a thing as the name of man so long before he was born is not, by any means, a unique thing. "Three centuries before Josiah was born, God prophesied his birth, the name he would bear, and the fact that Josiah would burn the bones of men upon the altar at Bethel (1 Kings 13:2)." Not only so, did not the angel of God announce the name of Jesus before he was born; and to Almighty God is that anything different from announcing Cyrus a hundred fifty years before he was born? As Barnes said, "That this passage of Isaiah was seen by Cyrus is the testimony of Josephus; and it is morally certain from the nature of the case, since, otherwise it is incredible that Cyrus should have aided the Jews to return and rebuild their city and the temple."

What could possibly have been any more incredible than the prophecy that the Jews would be liberated from captivity by a pagan ruler who would also aid financially in their return and rebuilding of Jerusalem? "Yet it was done by Cyrus 150 years after Isaiah prophesied it."

The critics have something much more difficult to explain than the mere fact of this prophecy’s having been written 150 years before Cyrus fulfilled it, and that is the incredible wonder of why Cyrus did it at all, unless the Biblical explanation of it is allowed.

The Holy Scriptures affirm that Cyrus himself uttered the following decree and proclamation during the very first year of his reign:

"Now, in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of Jehovah by the mouth of Jeremiah might be accomplished, Jehovah stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying, Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, All the kingdoms of the earth hath Jehovah, the God of heaven, given me; and he hath charged me to build him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whosoever there is among you of all his people, his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and build the house of Jehovah the God of Israel (He is God), which is in Jerusalem. And whosoever is left in any place where he sojourneth, let the men of his place help him with silver, and with gold, and with goods, and with beasts, besides the freewill offering for the house of God which is in Jerusalem" (Ezra 1-4).

This remarkable edict by Cyrus is also mentioned in the last two verses of 2Chronicles.

Several of God’s prophets had foretold the fall of Babylon, and remarkably, they all indicated that it would be due to a drought upon the waters of the Euphrates; as this passage here puts it, "I will dry up thy rivers." This was quite different from the prophecy of the fall of Nineveh, which, according to Nahum, was prophesied to take place as the result of a flood!

The most exact and circumstantial fulfillment of the prophecy of Babylon’s fall occurred on October 12,539 B.C.

Belshazzar, the grandson of Nebuchadnezzar, was drinking himself drunk with his lords, ladies, and concubines in the great banquet hah of the palace, an immense place 50 feet by 160 feet in size, quite unaware that the Euphrates River had been diverted by Cyrus, and that the entire Medo-Persian military force would fill the city before daylight, having their access under the walls and gates as the waters of the Euphrates sank lower and lower. That was the night when Daniel interpreted the handwriting on the wall, the last night before "Darius the Mede took the kingdom." See Daniel 5, and the commentary on Daniel.

Barnes has this:

"Cyrus took the city of Babylon after having besieged it a long time in vain, by turning the waters of the river into a vast lake, forty miles square, which had been constructed to carry off the superfluous waters in times of a flood. By doing this, he laid the channel of the Euphrates almost dry, enabling him to enter the city and take it by surprise."

Isaiah 44:24-28 FAITHFULNESS IS IN JEHOVAH: Another aspect of Jehovah’s nature Israel is to remember is His absolute faithfulness. He alone is sovereign. He alone knows the future. He alone speaks and it comes to pass. Who dares challenge His claim that He created everything? Who can bring forth evidence to dispute His claim? Job learned a lesson he probably never forgot (Job 38-40) about challenging the sovereign wisdom of God. Many alleged “scientific” explanations of the formation of the universe are posited today but they are moral evasions, not verifiable scientific demonstrations.

Jehovah demonstrates His omnipotence and omniscience over and over again by frustrating the alleged “signs” of the liars (Heb. baddim, feigners, fakers, false prophets). The Lord may expose the false prophet immediately or He may take a long time to do so, but eventually the false prophet is exposed and the Lord’s Word is vindicated. Isaiah was one of those prophets of the Lord whose word was confirmed publicly (cf. Isaiah 36-38). Jeremiah (Jeremiah 28:5-17) was another! The list goes on and on. The Lord is still frustrating the fakers and confirming the veracity of His Word today! But this text is directed especially to Israel. She must remind herself of God’s omniscience and not listen to the oracles of the idolatrous false-prophets. When God says Jerusalem would be inhabited and the cities of Judah (although many of them had been made desolate by the Assyrian armies) would be built, Isaiah’s contemporaries must believe it will surely come to pass. Ultimately, Jehovah is going to confound the wisdom of the wise in His Suffering Servant. God will use the “Foolishness” of the cross to save those who believe (1 Corinthians 1:18 f). The idea of a crucified Messiah was utterly foreign to the Jewish concept. Isaiah predicted that (Isaiah 53:1-9)! Peter confirms the Jewish revulsion at the concept of a dying Messiah (cf. Matthew 16:21-23, etc.). The total absence of any specific reference to a personal, dying Messiah in the Jewish Apocrypha confirms this.

The point of these verses is the way in which Jehovah confirms His sovereign will. He confounds and frustrates the vain predictions and philosophies of men and fulfills the predictions of His commissioned prophets. Many said Jehovah’s program to redeem mankind and form a redeemed people on earth would not survive. Great empires and powerful emperors opposed it. They overran Jerusalem, tore down His temple and slaughtered His people, but God preserved a remnant through the centuries. Out of that remnant (Jerusalem and Judah) God produced Jesus Christ and His church. No river was “deep” enough to stop God from keeping His promise of redemption. No empire was large enough, cruel enough, rich enough to keep God from preserving those who remained faithful to Him. God was able even to use Cyrus, a pagan ruler of Persia, to “shepherd” His people and send them back to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple. God used Nebuchadnezzar and many others to fulfill His purposes (cf. Daniel, chapters 7–12). We will have much more to say of Cyrus in the next chapter.

Israel is to renew its divine destiny as the servant of Jehovah on the basis of Jehovah’s faithfulness. Jehovah will keep His promises, and no amount of opposition will stand in His way. As a matter of fact, Jehovah will use His opposition as servants and shepherds to carry out His plan. Israel is more than a conqueror through Him who loves her! The church must daily renew its divine destiny as God’s Zion in the world today on the basis of Christ’s faithfulness to keep His promises. Let the church focus its preaching on the nature of Christ—who He is and what He promises, and this will build the kingdom of God. Man has many questions, but Jesus cuts through all our irrelevancies and goes to the very heart of our problem when He asks, “Whom do you say that I am?” (Matthew 16:15). For in this question He asks for conviction, confession and commitment to the only thing that matters—the deity of Jesus of Nazareth. Once that is settled, all else falls into proper place.

Bibliographical Information
"Commentary on Isaiah 44". "Old & New Testament Restoration Commentary". https://studylight.org/commentaries/eng/onr/isaiah-44.html.
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