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Isaiah 41 Commentary

No one but Me, says the LORD

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KEY THOUGHT: Who raised up one from the east? [Isaiah 41:2a NKJV]

Kindly read your Bible before going through the commentary!

Isaiah 41 NKJV
Israel Assured of God’s Help

41 “Keep silence before Me, O coastlands,
And let the people renew their strength!
Let them come near, then let them speak;
Let us come near together for judgment.

2 “Who raised up one from the east?
Who in righteousness called him to His feet?
Who gave the nations before him,
And made him rule over kings?
Who gave them as the dust to his sword,
As driven stubble to his bow?
3 Who pursued them, and passed [a]safely
By the way that he had not gone with his feet?
4 Who has performed and done it,
Calling the generations from the beginning?
‘I, the Lord, am the first;
And with the last I am He.’ ”

5 The coastlands saw it and feared,
The ends of the earth were afraid;
They drew near and came.
6 Everyone helped his neighbor,
And said to his brother,
[b]“Be of good courage!”
7 So the craftsman encouraged the goldsmith;[c]
He who smooths with the hammer inspired him who strikes the anvil,
Saying, [d]“It is ready for the soldering”;
Then he fastened it with pegs,
That it might not totter.

8 “But you, Israel, are My servant,
Jacob whom I have chosen,
The descendants of Abraham My friend.
9 You whom I have taken from the ends of the earth,
And called from its farthest regions,
And said to you,
‘You are My servant,
I have chosen you and have not cast you away:
10 Fear not, for I am with you;
Be not dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you,
Yes, I will help you,
I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’

11 “Behold, all those who were incensed against you
Shall be ashamed and disgraced;
They shall be as nothing,
And those who strive with you shall perish.
12 You shall seek them and not find them—
[e]Those who contended with you.
Those who war against you
Shall be as nothing,
As a nonexistent thing.
13 For I, the Lord your God, will hold your right hand,
Saying to you, ‘Fear not, I will help you.’

14 “Fear not, you worm Jacob,
You men of Israel!
I will help you,” says the Lord
And your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.
15 “Behold, I will make you into a new threshing sledge with sharp teeth;
You shall thresh the mountains and beat them small,
And make the hills like chaff.
16 You shall winnow them, the wind shall carry them away,
And the whirlwind shall scatter them;
You shall rejoice in the Lord,
And glory in the Holy One of Israel.

17 “The poor and needy seek water, but there is none,
Their tongues fail for thirst.
I, the Lord, will hear them;
I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.
18 I will open rivers in desolate heights,
And fountains in the midst of the valleys;
I will make the wilderness a pool of water,
And the dry land springs of water.
19 I will plant in the wilderness the cedar and the acacia tree,
The myrtle and the oil tree;
I will set in the desert the cypress tree and the pine
And the box tree together,
20 That they may see and know,
And consider and understand together,
That the hand of the Lord has done this,
And the Holy One of Israel has created it.

The Futility of Idols

21 “Present your case,” says the Lord.
“Bring forth your strong reasons,” says the King of Jacob.
22 “Let them bring forth and show us what will happen;
Let them show the former things, what they were,
That we may [f]consider them,
And know the latter end of them;
Or declare to us things to come.
23 Show the things that are to come hereafter,
That we may know that you are gods;
Yes, do good or do evil,
That we may be dismayed and see it together.
24 Indeed you are nothing,
And your work is nothing;
He who chooses you is an abomination.

25 “I have raised up one from the north,
And he shall come;
From the [g]rising of the sun he shall call on My name;
And he shall come against princes as though mortar,
As the potter treads clay.
26 Who has declared from the beginning, that we may know?
And former times, that we may say, ‘He is righteous’?
Surely there is no one who shows,
Surely there is no one who declares,
Surely there is no one who hears your words.
27 The first time I said to Zion,
‘Look, there they are!’
And I will give to Jerusalem one who brings good tidings.
28 For I looked, and there was no man;
I looked among them, but there was no counselor,
Who, when I asked of them, could answer a word.
29 Indeed they are all [h]worthless;
Their works are nothing;
Their molded images are wind and confusion.

Footnotes

a. Isaiah 41:3 Lit. in peace
b. Isaiah 41:6 Lit. Be strong
c. Isaiah 41:7 refiner
d. Isaiah 41:7 Or The soldering is good
e. Isaiah 41:12 Lit. Men of your strife
f. Isaiah 41:22 Lit. set our heart on them
g. Isaiah 41:25 East
h. Isaiah 41:29 So with MT, Vg.; DSS, Syr., Tg. nothing; LXX omits first line

New King James Version (NKJV)

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Isaiah 41 Commentary

In the first logical partition of Isaiah, we heard many judgments against various nations. In fact, the prophet even predicted a time when the LORD would judge the entire world. Chapter 41 reflects on the earlier predictions and builds a strong case against doubt, unbelief, and the various gods of the nations.

The scripture invites the reader to inspect and check the truthfulness of the Word of God. What the LORD God says remains intact; it comes to pass. Things happen exactly as predicted by the prophet Isaiah.

Probably we are looking at over a hundred years after the physical man Isaiah. And the institution named after him is unpacking the details of the prophecies. It can only be God. Can idols do anything close to this?

This chapter has done praise justice! It is full of boasting – showing off. Can the idols do anything as great? Can they explain the past or, failing that, tell us what will happen in the future?

There are certain things only the LORD God can do. The future is an exclusive club. The right of admission is strictly reserved. The gods of the nations have no clue. Let the saint reflect on this.

“I gave to Jerusalem a messenger of good news.” Verse 27b. Could this be a reference to the physical man Isaiah whose visions we read about in the first logical partition?

Chapter 41 makes the point that humanity lives in a black box. The future is unknown. But the LORD reveals it to His servants. The Word of the LORD remains a black box until the Spirit sheds light on it. The contents of the Holy Book remain hidden until the LORD Himself decodes them. We all don’t see the same things from the holy pages!

An attacker from the east and another one from the north – verses 2 and 25 – may refer to known ruling powers that ruled the region in ‘succession.’ The language is an adaptation from the first partition to show how accurate the predictions were.

We can look at the scripture and study it for information about the future. The purpose is to praise the LORD who gladly makes this information available to the saints.

Today is tomorrow’s past and yesterday’s future. If you can read this line, it means the LORD has kept His word concerning your present – the word you received yesterday. We should not complicate the basics! We can boast about the generosity of the LORD to everyone.

We can also look forward to when the LORD “will turn the desert into pools of water.” The LORD God won’t forsake us.

Loving Scripture….

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25 thoughts on “Home”

  1. It has been exciting learning how God can make things happen to his choosen one, God workout something wonderful and fulfils the promises he made to the father of Joseph.

    God’s words remains true so are his promises and indeed it has been God working out the salvation of man Kind by Grace through Faith alone.

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  11. Profound. My life needs a new introduction to God. Not that I have been right, but because God desires to help me… I see an amazing Grace here. Having broken the first commandment, still God looks for me and helps me to build up with him… And live for him. A littles knowledge of the Lord will ignite my passion and desire to serve him. This morning I pledge to seek, live and serve the Lord Jesus Christ and His purposes everyday of my life.
    Beautiful lesson

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  12. The Lord reintroduces himself and shows Israel, He is all they need. Some boast in horses and others in chariots but we’ll boast in the Lord. He is able and the only one worthy of our trust. Lord teach me how to always look up to you at all times and not focus on my strength or capabilities. This is my prayer

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  14. This far too common today. Just do something that seems like true worship yet it’s intent and actual practice is not even close to the set standard by the Lord. I personally feel challenged of some things we do in our personal lives, the focus of many churches and ministries today. We’ll need to realize the Lord must be worship as he has personally guided. Provides a good start of my reflection today

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  15. In those days when there was no King everyone did as they pleased. This is a good reminder to us that we are on own when the King of Kings isn’t leading our lives we’ll be doing what is not right and the results will show clearly how life without Christ looks like. We thank God that even when it looks like he’s not there, he’s behind the scenes working. I have learnt to trust in the Lord always.

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  16. Iam seeing this being stressed… There was no King in Israel… So lawlessness is the order of the day. This shows how heartless and wicked man can be with out the right King in his life. He can do anything. May the Lord help us to allow Christ in our lives that every aspect of our lives is changed and we yield ourselves to him alone.

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  17. I’m sure as the two daughters in-law stayed in Naomi’s home they learned about the God of Israel and appreciated His works among his people. Ruth’s determination and what she says moves my heart. She’s convinced she must go with Naomi and wants to spend her life with her, this relationship was strong especially between a mother inlaw and a daughter in-law. Yet Ruth stays and how she puts it shows the depth of her heart, I’ll go with with you, your people will be my people, your God will be my God…

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