Isaiah 49, A Light for the Gentiles

The people have been told to one day flee Babylon, for it too will fall. Now a rescuer comes.

Isaiah 49:1-4, A servant to display splendor

Listen to me, you islands;

    hear this, you distant nations:

Before I was born the LORD called me;

    from my mother’s womb he has spoken my name.

He made my mouth like a sharpened sword,

    in the shadow of his hand he hid me;

he made me into a polished arrow

    and concealed me in his quiver.

He said to me, “You are my servant,

    Israel, in whom I will display my splendor.”

But I said, “I have labored in vain;

    I have spent my strength for nothing at all.

Yet what is due me is in the LORD’s hand,

    and my reward is with my God.”

Even the faraway islands and coastlands are called to pay attention, A servant comes, one who was called from his mother's womb. This begins the second of four "Servant Songs", songs about the coming Messiah. The other Servant Songs are Isaiah 42:1-4, Isaiah 50:4–11 and Isaiah 52:13–53:12. This Servant Song continues through at least verse 6 below.

In verse 4 this Servant seems to be questioning his role. So far, he says, I have not accomplished anything. But I will persevere. 

Isaiah 49:5-6, Restoring Jacob and bringing light to the Gentiles.

And now the LORD says—

    he who formed me in the womb to be his servant

to bring Jacob back to him

    and gather Israel to himself,

for I am honored in the eyes of the LORD

    and my God has been my strength—

he says:

“It is too small a thing for you to be my servant

    to restore the tribes of Jacob

    and bring back those of Israel I have kept.

I will also make you a light for the Gentiles,

    that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.”

This servant will not only restore the tribes of Israel but will, in fact, bring salvation to the ends of the earth! (This servant is not Israel herself, but one who will restore Israel.)

In the New Testament, the old priest, Simeon, who circumcises Jesus, probably looks to this passage when he expresses gratitude for seeing the Messiah (Luke 2:29-32.) Later Paul and Barnabus quote this passage before Gentiles in Psidian Antioch (Acts 13:46-48.)

Isaiah 49:7, Kings will stand up

This is what the LORD says—

    the Redeemer and Holy One of Israel—

to him who was despised and abhorred by the nation,

    to the servant of rulers:

“Kings will see you and stand up,

    princes will see and bow down,

because of the LORD, who is faithful,

    the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.”

The kings and rulers will stand up when they meet this messenger.

Isaiah 49:8-12, Day of salvation

This is what the LORD says:

“In the time of my favor I will answer you,

    and in the day of salvation I will help you;

I will keep you and will make you

    to be a covenant for the people,

to restore the land

    and to reassign its desolate inheritances,

to say to the captives, ‘Come out,’

    and to those in darkness, ‘Be free!’

“They will feed beside the roads

    and find pasture on every barren hill.

They will neither hunger nor thirst,

    nor will the desert heat or the sun beat down on them.

He who has compassion on them will guide them

    and lead them beside springs of water.

I will turn all my mountains into roads,

    and my highways will be raised up.

See, they will come from afar—

    some from the north, some from the west,

    some from the region of Aswan.”

In the coming Day of salvation, this person will be a covenant for the people, to restore captives and prisoners, smoothing highways, so that people can come from afar to Israel.

In the New Testament, Paul cites verse 8 in 2 Corinthians 6:2.

The Hebrew word Sinim at the end of verse 12 is unclear. It is a location and some have attempted to identify it with China (says Grogran.) But the NIV translates it as Aswan, in southern Egypt. Grogan cites Jeremiah 44:1 as evidence that there were Jews living in that region; the Elephantine papyrus of 500 BC reveals that there were Jewish settlements at Aswan during that time.

Isaiah 49:13, Shout for joy!

Shout for joy, you heavens;

    rejoice, you earth;

    burst into song, you mountains!

For the LORD comforts his people

    and will have compassion on his afflicted ones.

The mountains, indeed, the heavens, are to sing as YHWH comes to comfort His people. As Grogran  points out, in 48:20 this news is to go out to the ends of the earth; here the earth is to respond in song.

Isaiah 49:14-16, Engraved on His hands

But Zion said, “The LORD has forsaken me,

    the LORD has forgotten me.”

“Can a mother forget the baby at her breast

    and have no compassion on the child she has borne?

Though she may forget, I will not forget you!

See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands;

    your walls are ever before me.

When Judah responds with "YHWH has forgotten me!", God says, "How can I forget the baby I nursed?" Indeed, God has Zion tattooed on His hands!

Isaiah 49:17-18, Children gather

Your children hasten back,

    and those who laid you waste depart from you.

Lift up your eyes and look around;

    all your children gather and come to you.

As surely as I live,” declares the LORD,

    “you will wear them all as ornaments;

    you will put them on, like a bride.

Israel's children gather; Israel is dressed like a bride.

Isaiah 49:19-21, A land too small

“Though you were ruined and made desolate

    and your land laid waste,

now you will be too small for your people,

    and those who devoured you will be far away.

The children born during your bereavement

    will yet say in your hearing,

‘This place is too small for us;

    give us more space to live in.’

Then you will say in your heart,

    ‘Who bore me these?

I was bereaved and barren;

    I was exiled and rejected.

    Who brought these up?

I was left all alone,

    but these—where have they come from?’”

When Israel returns, the land will be too small. Israel will look around and say, "Who bore these (new) children for me? Where did these people come from?"

Isaiah 49:22-23, Sons and daughters return

This is what the Sovereign LORD says:

“See, I will beckon to the nations,

    I will lift up my banner to the peoples;

they will bring your sons in their arms

    and carry your daughters on their hips.

Kings will be your foster fathers,

    and their queens your nursing mothers.

They will bow down before you with their faces to the ground;

    they will lick the dust at your feet.

Then you will know that I am the LORD;

    those who hope in me will not be disappointed.”

The returning children ride on their parents' hips; kings and queens foster and care for them. In that day Israel will know that YHWH has watched over them.

Isaiah 49:24-26, Captives and children saved

Can plunder be taken from warriors,

    or captives be rescued from the fierce?

But this is what the LORD says:

“Yes, captives will be taken from warriors,

    and plunder retrieved from the fierce;

I will contend with those who contend with you,

    and your children I will save.

I will make your oppressors eat their own flesh;

    they will be drunk on their own blood, as with wine.

Then all mankind will know

    that I, the LORD, am your Savior,

    your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.”

When the captives are rescued from their captors and the oppressors are defeated, all mankind will know Who really watches over Israel.

Some Random Thoughts

Throughout this passage it is clear that not just Jews, but Gentiles will "return" to Israel, just as Ruth did.

Isaiah 48, Flee Babylon

Judgment will come upon Judah, as Cyrus comes from the east. But mighty Babylon will herself fall. The fall of Babylon is first predicted in chapter 46 and culminates here.

Isaiah 48:1-4, Sudden action to stubborn Israel

“Listen to this, you descendants of Jacob,

    you who are called by the name of Israel

    and come from the line of Judah,

you who take oaths in the name of the LORD

    and invoke the God of Israel—

    but not in truth or righteousness—

you who call yourselves citizens of the holy city

    and claim to rely on the God of Israel—

    the LORD Almighty is his name:

I foretold the former things long ago,

    my mouth announced them and I made them known;

    then suddenly I acted, and they came to pass.

For I knew how stubborn you were;

    your neck muscles were iron,

    your forehead was bronze.

God has warned of these actions but Israel has been stubborn. Now, suddenly, the acts (the conquests by Cyrus) come to pass. They were prepared and declared in advance, says God.

Note that the people of Israel have identified themselves with the "name of YHWH." In verse 11, below, we will see that these people profane this name by their actions.

Isaiah 48:5-6a, Will you admit this?

Therefore I told you these things long ago;

    before they happened I announced them to you

so that you could not say,

    ‘My images brought them about;

    my wooden image and metal god ordained them.’

You have heard these things; look at them all.

    Will you not admit them?

God calls on Israel to admit that they were forewarned by Him. It was not their idols that foretold this.

Isaiah 48:6b-8, New things

“From now on I will tell you of new things,

    of hidden things unknown to you.

They are created now, and not long ago;

    you have not heard of them before today.

So you cannot say,

    ‘Yes, I knew of them.’

You have neither heard nor understood;

    from of old your ears have not been open.

Well do I know how treacherous you are;

    you were called a rebel from birth.

But there are new announcements coming, events that had not been forecast. The people of Israel are again identified, like Jacob, as stubborned and rebellious.

Isaiah 48:9-11, Refined and tested

For my own name’s sake I delay my wrath;

    for the sake of my praise I hold it back from you,

    so as not to destroy you completely.

See, I have refined you, though not as silver;

    I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.

For my own sake, for my own sake, I do this.

    How can I let myself be defamed?

    I will not yield my glory to another.

Israel is being refined and purified -- for the sake of the name of YHWH.

In the next to last line, YHWH says that He will not allow himself to be "defamed." The Hebrew word yechal means "to profane" (or "pierce") and there is an echo of the Third Commandment here -- the people are profaning God's name by their idolatry.

Isaiah 48:12-13, First and last, eternal Creator

“Listen to me, Jacob,

    Israel, whom I have called:

I am he;

    I am the first and I am the last.

My own hand laid the foundations of the earth,

    and my right hand spread out the heavens;

when I summon them,

    they all stand up together.

God's credentials as Creator and the only God, are repeated. He alone is the one who rules earth history. Motyer argues that the word "stand" in the last line describes servants who are waiting to be called.

Isaiah 48:14, The idols did not predict this

“Come together, all of you, and listen:

    Which of the idols has foretold these things?

The LORD’s chosen ally

    will carry out his purpose against Babylon;

    his arm will be against the Babylonians.

God has created an ally (Cyrus) who will act against the earlier empire of Babylon. No still idols foretold this.

Isaiah 48:15, Called for a mission

I, even I, have spoken;

    yes, I have called him.

I will bring him,

    and he will succeed in his mission.

Because God has called, this individual will succeed in his mission.

Isaiah 48:16, Come listen

“Come near me and listen to this:

“From the first announcement I have not spoken in secret;

    at the time it happens, I am there.”

And now the Sovereign LORD has sent me,

    endowed with his Spirit.

The text changes. God calls for the people to listen. One speaks up now who is endowed by the Spirit of God. Is this the coming Servant Messiah? Grogan and Motyer see this individual as different than Cyrus of verse 15. It is likely that this passage is a prelude to the next chapter, where the Servant Messiah appears for a second Servant Song.

Isaiah 48:17-19, If only you had listened

This is what the LORD says—

    your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:

“I am the LORD your God,

    who teaches you what is best for you,

    who directs you in the way you should go.

If only you had paid attention to my commands,

    your peace would have been like a river,

    your well-being like the waves of the sea.

Your descendants would have been like the sand,

    your children like its numberless grains;

their name would never be blotted out

    nor destroyed from before me.”

The people of Israel did not listen. Had they listened, they would have survived in peace. Instead their names will be blotted out. (But presumably not completely blotted out, as there will always be a remnant.)

Isaiah 48:20-22, Flee Babylon

Leave Babylon,

    flee from the Babylonians!

Announce this with shouts of joy

    and proclaim it.

Send it out to the ends of the earth;

    say, “The LORD has redeemed his servant Jacob.”

They did not thirst when he led them through the deserts;

    he made water flow for them from the rock;

he split the rock

    and water gushed out.

“There is no peace,” says the LORD, “for the wicked.”

The people will eventually flee Babylon, flowing back west to Canaan. The promise harkens back to the event at Massah/Meribah (Exodus 17:1-7) where Moses struck a rock and water came out to quench the people's thirst.

Some Random Thoughts

As I read through the Old Testament, I have begun to see the importance of identifying with the Name of God and then acting so as to not abuse (profane) that name. The third commandment of the Ten is much more serious than saying "Damn" or "God" in conversation. It is more robust than mere words.

Isaiah 47, Babylon Falls

Isaiah has predicted that Cyrus, king of Babylon, will be brought to judge Israel and the nearby nations. But Babylon has no right to boast. It too is evil and will be brought down, as chapters 46-48 foretell. In chapter 46 the useless idols of Babylon collapse. Here it is Babylon, herself.

Isaiah 47:1-3, Queen dethroned

“Go down, sit in the dust,

    Virgin Daughter Babylon;

sit on the ground without a throne,

    queen city of the Babylonians.

No more will you be called

    tender or delicate.

Take millstones and grind flour;

    take off your veil.

Lift up your skirts, bare your legs,

    and wade through the streams.

Your nakedness will be exposed

    and your shame uncovered.

I will take vengeance;

    I will spare no one.”

Babylon, chosen as a tool of judgment for Israel, has no righteousness in herself. Here she is portrayed as a dethroned queen, made to work in a mill and wade through water. A once proud woman is forced to act as a shameful slave.

Isaiah 47:4-5, Arrogance instead of reflection

Our Redeemer—the LORD Almighty is his name—

    is the Holy One of Israel.

“Sit in silence, go into darkness,

    queen city of the Babylonians;

no more will you be called

    queen of kingdoms.

Babylon will eventually fade away, because the God of all creation has full power over history.

Isaiah 47:6-7, I was angry, but...

I was angry with my people

    and desecrated my inheritance;

I gave them into your hand,

    and you showed them no mercy.

Even on the aged

    you laid a very heavy yoke.

You said, ‘I am forever—

    the eternal queen!’

But you did not consider these things

    or reflect on what might happen.

Babylon has arrogantly assumed it would have power forever. "Not so," says YHWH Almighty. Although God was angry with Judah, Babylon acted in cruelty, without mercy.

Isaiah 47:8-11, Disaster follows her wickedness

“Now then, listen, you lover of pleasure,

    lounging in your security

and saying to yourself,

    ‘I am, and there is none besides me.

I will never be a widow

    or suffer the loss of children.’

Both of these will overtake you

    in a moment, on a single day:

    loss of children and widowhood.

They will come upon you in full measure,

    in spite of your many sorceries

    and all your potent spells.

You have trusted in your wickedness

    and have said, ‘No one sees me.’

Your wisdom and knowledge mislead you

    when you say to yourself,

    ‘I am, and there is none besides me.’

Disaster will come upon you,

    and you will not know how to conjure it away.

A calamity will fall upon you

    that you cannot ward off with a ransom;

a catastrophe you cannot foresee

    will suddenly come upon you.

Babylon is portrayed as a powerful arrogant queen, trusting in sorcery and spells. Her wisdom and knowledge will fail her. (Babylon was indeed one of the leading repositories of knowledge at that time.) Eventually Babylon too will face disaster. Even though she claims she will never be a widow or be childless, both these calamities will come and come quickly.

Isaiah 47:12-15, Futile magic and astrology

“Keep on, then, with your magic spells

    and with your many sorceries,

    which you have labored at since childhood.

Perhaps you will succeed,

    perhaps you will cause terror.

All the counsel you have received has only worn you out!

    Let your astrologers come forward,

those stargazers who make predictions month by month,

    let them save you from what is coming upon you.

Surely they are like stubble;

    the fire will burn them up.

They cannot even save themselves

    from the power of the flame.

These are not coals for warmth;

    this is not a fire to sit by.

That is all they are to you—

    these you have dealt with

    and labored with since childhood.

All of them go on in their error;

    there is not one that can save you.

The Babylonian culture dealt in magic and astrology. (They developed a circle of 360 degrees so that they could study the stars, a concept we still use today.) "Go on," says YHWH. "Keep trying with your spells and stargazing -- see how far that will get you." All of Babylon's religious rites are in error and will not save them.

Isaiah 46, One God and No Other

Cyrus will rise to conquer Judah and the surrounding kingdoms. But eventually Babylon will fall. The next three chapters of Isaiah describe that fall.

Isaiah 46:1-2, Bel and Nebo stoop

Bel bows down, Nebo stoops low;

    their idols are borne by beasts of burden.

The images that are carried about are burdensome,

    a burden for the weary.

They stoop and bow down together;

    unable to rescue the burden,

    they themselves go off into captivity.

A fast moving string of phrases, describes the uselessness of the Babylonian idols, Bel and Nebo, who are unable to rescue the people that worship them. (Bel/Baal and Nebo were gods of Babylon. Presumably Nebuchadnezzar was named for the god Nebo.)

Verse 2 begins qā·rə·sū ḵā·rə·‘ū which is literally "(They) stoop bow". Motyer says that when Hebrew runs two verbs together, the first is adverbial to the second; this might be read as "They stooping bowed" or "they bowed, toppled."

Isaiah 46:3-4, Sustainer

“Listen to me, you descendants of Jacob,

    all the remnant of the people of Israel,

you whom I have upheld since your birth,

    and have carried since you were born.

Even to your old age and gray hairs

    I am he, I am he who will sustain you.

I have made you and I will carry you;

    I will sustain you and I will rescue you.

God is committed to sustaining Jacob/Israel.

Isaiah 46:5-7, Cannot move or answer

“With whom will you compare me or count me equal?

    To whom will you liken me that we may be compared?

Some pour out gold from their bags

    and weigh out silver on the scales;

they hire a goldsmith to make it into a god,

    and they bow down and worship it.

They lift it to their shoulders and carry it;

    they set it up in its place, and there it stands.

    From that spot it cannot move.

Even though someone cries out to it, it cannot answer;

    it cannot save them from their troubles.

Isaiah's sarcastic view of idolatry reappears. People bow down to an idol that cannot speak; once it is placed, it cannot move.

Isaiah 46:8-10, One God

“Remember this, keep it in mind,

    take it to heart, you rebels.

Remember the former things, those of long ago;

    I am God, and there is no other;

    I am God, and there is none like me.

I make known the end from the beginning,

    from ancient times, what is still to come.

I say, ‘My purpose will stand,

    and I will do all that I please.’

Repeated, with emphasis, is the reminder that only YHWH is God and only YHWH is Creator. There are no others.

Isaiah 46:11, Bird of prey

From the east I summon a bird of prey;

    from a far-off land, a man to fulfill my purpose.

What I have said, that I will bring about;

    what I have planned, that I will do.

A bird of prey (Cyrus) will come from the east and fulfill the purposes of God.

Isaiah 46:12-13, Righteousness approaches

Listen to me, you stubborn-hearted,

    you who are now far from my righteousness.

I am bringing my righteousness near,

    it is not far away;

    and my salvation will not be delayed.

I will grant salvation to Zion,

    my splendor to Israel.

Righteousness and salvation approach, beginning with Cyrus from the east.

Isaiah 45, Cyrus

At the end of the previous chapter, Cyrus was revealed as the king who would come to judge Israel and the other nations. 

In the writings of Josephus (first century AD),  Antiquities XI, Book 5, Josephus claims that Cyrus read the prophecies of Isaiah.

Isaiah 45:1-3, I summon you!

“This is what the LORD says to his anointed,

    to Cyrus, whose right hand I take hold of

to subdue nations before him

    and to strip kings of their armor,

to open doors before him

    so that gates will not be shut:

I will go before you

    and will level the mountains;

I will break down gates of bronze

    and cut through bars of iron.

I will give you hidden treasures,

    riches stored in secret places,

so that you may know that I am the LORD,

    the God of Israel, who summons you by name.

It is God, YHWH, who summons Cyrus to power, to serve as a judgment of the nations. The summoning of Cyrus is a supernatural act, God acting on a mortal human, for God's purpose. This is not due to some righteousness in the actions of Cyrus. Indeed, as Grogan points out, in the Cyrus Cylinder, Cyrus attributes his victories to the god Marduk. (In Ezra 1, Cyrus attributes his decision to the God of Israel. In the culture of the ancient Near East, it was common to believe -- and give attribution to -- many gods.)

Isaiah 45:4-6, No other God but YHWH

For the sake of Jacob my servant,

    of Israel my chosen,

I summon you by name

    and bestow on you a title of honor,

    though you do not acknowledge me.

I am the LORD, and there is no other;

    apart from me there is no God.

I will strengthen you,

    though you have not acknowledged me,

so that from the rising of the sun

    to the place of its setting

people may know there is none besides me.

    I am the LORD, and there is no other.

The actions of YHWH are not due to some conflict between the gods -- as YHWH is the only God and the only Creator. Despite the Babylonian belief in many gods, Isaiah repeats the assertion that all of these activities, the raising and deposing of kings, is in the hands of just one God.

Isaiah 45:7, Creator of light and darkness

I form the light and create darkness,

    I bring prosperity and create disaster;

    I, the LORD, do all these things.

From the first verse of the Bible, it is God who creates light and darkness. He then can create prosperity and disaster.

Isaiah 45:8, Salvation, spring up!

“You heavens above, rain down my righteousness;

    let the clouds shower it down.

Let the earth open wide,

    let salvation spring up,

let righteousness flourish with it;

    I, the LORD, have created it.

God is the source of salvation and righteousness; He sends them down like rain. Motyer translates the second line as "let the very clouds drizzle righteousness!"  In a desert land, a steady drizzle is a wondrous thing; in a world of oppression and injustice, a drizzle of righteousness is desperately needed.

Isaiah 45:9-10, Quarrelsome pieces of clay

“Woe to those who quarrel with their Maker,

    those who are nothing but potsherds

    among the potsherds on the ground.

Does the clay say to the potter,

    ‘What are you making?’

Does your work say,

    ‘The potter has no hands’?

Woe to the one who says to a father,

    ‘What have you begotten?’

or to a mother,

    ‘What have you brought to birth?’

Isaiah anticipates the Jewish complaint, "If we have sinned, why are we punished by one who is more wicked than us?" But those who quarrel with God are like pieces of broken pottery quarreling with the potter, quarreling with the One who puts them together.

In this metaphor, the clay challenges the potter, Why have you made me so? Jeremiah gives a clear parable in Jeremiah 18:1-10 of God being the potter working with clay. This becomes a favorite metaphor for the prophets, showing up here and in Isaiah 29:16 and Isaiah 64:8. In the New Testament, Paul quotes this passage in Romans 9:19-21.

Isaiah 45:11-13, I made the stars -- and Cyrus

“This is what the LORD says—

    the Holy One of Israel, and its Maker:

Concerning things to come,

    do you question me about my children,

    or give me orders about the work of my hands?

It is I who made the earth

    and created mankind on it.

My own hands stretched out the heavens;

    I marshaled their starry hosts.

I will raise up Cyrus in my righteousness:

    I will make all his ways straight.

He will rebuild my city

    and set my exiles free,

but not for a price or reward,

    says the LORD Almighty.”

God made the earth and heavens, the starry hosts ... and He made Cyrus. They are all part of His plan.

Isaiah 45:14, Egypt, Cush, the Sabeans, all bow down

This is what the LORD says:

“The products of Egypt 

and the merchandise of Cush,

    and those tall Sabeans—

they will come over to you

    and will be yours;

they will trudge behind you,

    coming over to you in chains.

They will bow down before you

    and plead with you, saying,

‘Surely God is with you, and there is no other;

    there is no other god.’”

Verses 14 and 18 are long verses that begin with "This is what the LORD says." Here various tribes and nations will bow down to Cyrus.

In Isaiah 43:3-4, the people of Egypt, Cush and Seba are captured in place of Judah; here those same people come to Judah for salvation.

Isaiah 45:15-17, Disgrace for the idol makers

Truly you are a God who has been hiding himself,

    the God and Savior of Israel.

All the makers of idols will be put to shame and disgraced;

    they will go off into disgrace together.

But Israel will be saved by the LORD

    with an everlasting salvation;

you will never be put to shame or disgraced,

    to ages everlasting.

Those who make idols will be disgraced, but Israel will be set aside for salvation.

Isaiah 45:18, He who created the heavens

For this is what the LORD says—

he who created the heavens,

    he is God;

he who fashioned and made the earth,

    he founded it;

he did not create it to be empty,

    but formed it to be inhabited—

he says:

“I am the LORD,

    and there is no other.

In parallel stichs, God is declared as the one who created the heavens and made the earth, who created it to be inhabited. A purpose is given to Creation.

Isaiah 45:19, Not secret

I have not spoken in secret,

    from somewhere in a land of darkness;

I have not said to Jacob’s descendants,

    ‘Seek me in vain.’

I, the LORD, speak the truth;

    I declare what is right.

God says that He has spoken clearly, not in secret.

Isaiah 45:20-21, None but YHWH

“Gather together and come;

    assemble, you fugitives from the nations.

Ignorant are those who carry about idols of wood,

    who pray to gods that cannot save.

Declare what is to be, present it—

    let them take counsel together.

Who foretold this long ago,

    who declared it from the distant past?

Was it not I, the LORD?

    And there is no God apart from me,

a righteous God and a Savior;

    there is none but me.

God's claim to uniqueness in power and in Creation is repeated here.

Isaiah 45:22-25, Turn to me

“Turn to me and be saved,

    all you ends of the earth;

    for I am God, and there is no other.

 By myself I have sworn,

    my mouth has uttered in all integrity

    a word that will not be revoked:

Before me every knee will bow;

    by me every tongue will swear.

They will say of me, ‘In the LORD alone

    are deliverance and strength.’”

All who have raged against him

    will come to him and be put to shame.

But all the descendants of Israel

    will find deliverance in the LORD

    and will make their boast in him.

After the ravages of Cyrus, all the ends of the earth are invited to turn to God and be saved. "Every knee will bow," says God. In the New Testament, in Philippians 2:10-11, future knees bow down and future tongues worship Messiah Yeshuah.

Some Random Thoughts

We mortal broken humans are portrayed in verse 9 as shattered piece of pottery, lying in a trash heap of other broken pieces, complaining about the potter who made us. This is a vivid picture and, in my experience, fairly accurate.

Isaiah 44, Feeding on Ashes

After making it clear that Israel is God's special creation, God's calls to Israel to continue with Him.

Isaiah 44:1-2, Chosen Jeshurun

“But now listen, Jacob, my servant,

    Israel, whom I have chosen.

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.

The chapter begins with a commanding "But now listen...." God calls to Jacob, "Do not be afraid, return my chosen one." Jeshurun is "an occasional name of endearment for Israel" (Motyer.) Grogan says that the name means "upright one", in contrast to the meaning of Jacob, which is "deceiver." Throughout Isaiah we see God's desire to turn deceitful descendants of Jacob into an upright people, 

Isaiah 44:3-4, Springing up like grass in a meadow.

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.

They will spring up like grass in a meadow,

    like poplar trees by flowing streams.

When Israel returns, it will spring up abundantly, with prosperity. Throughout the Old Testament, water, rain, streams are all blessings in this desert land. The promises of water are metaphorical, promising refreshment and the Spirit of God. (See also  Jeremiah 31:31-34, Ezekiel 36:26-28 and  Joel 2:28-29.)

Isaiah 44:5, Write on their hands

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.

People will make a personal commitment, even some writing God's name on their hands. Grogan suggests that some of these people are Gentiles, claiming adoption into Jacob. In the New Testament, Paul will use the adoption concept for Gentiles in Romans 11.

Isaiah 44:6-7, First and last

“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.

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.

Here again is a challenge to find some other god equal to YHWH. YHWH, Creator, is First and Last. There is no other. (In the New Testament, in Revelation 1:8, 21:6 and 22:13, Jesus will be called the Alpha and the Omega, the first and last Greek letters.)

Isaiah 44:8, No other Rock

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.”

This echoes chapter 40. Everything that is happening is part of a plan. It is not a surprise to God.

The passage has echoes of the hymn in Deuteronomy 32. (See especially verse 4 there.)

Isaiah 44:9-13, The futility of idols

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.

Who shapes a god and casts an idol,

    which can profit nothing?

People who do that will be put to shame;

    such craftsmen are only human beings.

Let them all come together and take their stand;

    they will be brought down to terror and shame.

The blacksmith takes a tool

    and works with it in the coals;

he shapes an idol with hammers,

    he forges it with the might of his arm.

He gets hungry and loses his strength;

    he drinks no water and grows faint.

The carpenter measures with a line

    and makes an outline with a marker;

he roughs it out with chisels

    and marks it with compasses.

He shapes it in human form,

    human form in all its glory,

    that it may dwell in a shrine.

Isaiah elegantly addresses the absurdity of idol worship. The last sentence drips with irony: the carpenter shapes the idol into a human form, a human form in all its glory -- so that it may form a shrine. There is beauty to the human form; it is debased by pretending it is a god.

Isaiah 44:14-17, Idols made from leftovers

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.

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.

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.”

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!”

This Isaiah's longest sermon on the absurdity of idolatry. From the leftovers of his work, the blacksmith makes an idol. After making it -- from throwaway material -- he prays to it! Isaiah ridicules the idea of building carefully a piece of art so that one can then throw themselves down on the ground in front of it. In Isaiah 40:19-20, the craftsman uses all his skill to build an idol that "will not topple"!

Isaiah 44:18-20, Closed eyes, closed minds

They know nothing, they understand nothing;

    their eyes are plastered over so they cannot see,

    and their minds closed so they cannot understand.

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?”

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?”

The one who builds an idol from leftovers is deluded and foolish, "feeding on ashes". He is unable to ask, "Am I wrong? Is this a lie?"

Isaiah 44:21-22, Offenses swept away

“Remember these things, Jacob,

    for you, Israel, are my servant.

I have made you, you are my servant;

    Israel, I will not forget you.

I have swept away your offenses like a cloud,

    your sins like the morning mist.

Return to me,

    for I have redeemed you.”

God tells Israel that He has swept away their offenses, their sins disappear like the morning mists. He invites them back to Him.

Isaiah 44:23, Sing for joy!

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.

As God redeems the descendants of Jacob, the heavens are instructed to sing for joy.

Isaiah 44:24-27, Maker of all things

“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,

who foils the signs of false prophets

    and makes fools of diviners,

who overthrows the learning of the wise

    and turns it into nonsense,

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,’

who says to the watery deep, ‘Be dry,

    and I will dry up your streams,’

YHWH, who formed the Israelites in the womb, says of Jerusalem, "It shall be inhabited." The statement by YHWH, as Grogan notes, is one long sentence with a series of prepositional phrases, each introduced by the word "who". The original Hebrew does not use the word "who" but instead is a list of attributes: "formed you in the womb, makes all things, stretches out the heavens...." Grogran quotes another commentator, Allis, who says that this is an elegant "poem of the transcendence of the God of Israel." It builds to a climax, revealed in the next verse.

Isaiah 44:28, Cyrus

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.”’

At the end of the long chain of qualities of YHWH is the climactic statement that He has chosen a certain man to change the history of Israel. For the first time, the tool God will use to judge Jerusalem is named. It is Cyrus the Great, of Persia. He will be the subject of the next chapter.

Some Random Thoughts

How modern, how thoughtful, is Isaiah's attack on idols! He mocks every stage of their creation. The idols are bobbleheads, silly things made to look human and then -- can you believe it -- they are worshiped!

How colorful the descriptions of the sins of Israel, disappearing as the morning mist. And how reassuring.