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115 lines
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<h2><a onclick="return mV('Isa',41,'1-');">Isa 41</a> - Fear Not</h2>
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<p>A. The glory of God over the coastlands.</p>
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<p class="c1">1. (<a onclick="return mV('Isa',41,1);">1</a>) A command and an invitation to the coastlands.</p>
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<p class="c2">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.</p>
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<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">Keep silence before Me, O coastlands</span></b>: The Hebrew word translated <b><span class="c3">coastlands</span></b> is also translated <i>islands</i> or <i>isles</i> in other passages, such as <a onclick="return mV('Isa',11,11);">Isa 11:11</a> and <a onclick="return mV('Isa',40,15);">40:15</a>. It is also translated with broader words like <i>territory</i> in passages like <a onclick="return mV('Isa',20,6);">Isa 20:6</a>. The idea is probably best expressed as "distant lands." Here, God is calling to <i>all nations</i> - even the "distant lands" - to <b><span class="c3">keep silence before</span></b> Him. Why? Because they are coming to God's courtroom: <b><span class="c3">Let us come near together for judgment</span></b>.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. Bultema on <b><span class="c3">coastlands</span></b>: "a poetic name for the idolatrous distant nations." Motyer: "Isaiah uses the word [<b><span class="c3">coastlands</span></b>] as shorthand for the far reaches of the earth."</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">And let the people renew their strength!</span></b> <a onclick="return mV('Isa',40,31);">Isa 40:31</a> has just promised that <i>those who wait on the <span class="c6">Lord</span> shall renew their strength</i>. But here, God advises the <b><span class="c3">people</span></b> - those in the distant lands, who do not know Him - to <b><span class="c3">renew <i>their</i> strength</span></b> as they come into His courtroom. If you are going to contest with God, you had better be prepared!</p>
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<p class="c5">i. The problem is that while those who wait upon the <span class="c6">Lord</span> have the <span class="c6">Lord'</span>s limitless strength, those from distant lands have no god of strength to help them. "The repetition of the phrase 'renew their strength' (cf. <a onclick="return mV('Isa',40,31);">40:31</a>) may well be ironic. Perhaps as the exiles renew their strength in the true God, so the nations are ironically exhorted to do the same - but in their man-made deities!" (Grogan)</p>
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<p class="c4">c. <b><span class="c3">Let them come near, then let them speak</span></b>: God will allow the idol worshippers of all the world come before Him and justify their idolatry. They will have the opportunity to speak, though they must enter His courtroom in silence, out of respect of His majesty.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. There are many different reasons for silence. There is the silence of <i>shame</i>, the silence of <i>attention</i>, the silence of <i>submission</i>. Any one of these is good reason to initially be silent in the <span class="c6">Lord</span>'s presence.</p>
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<p class="c1">2. (<a onclick="return mV('Isa',41,'2-4');">2-4</a>) God reasons with the coastlands.</p>
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<p class="c2">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? Who pursued them, and passed safely by the way that he had not gone with his feet? Who has performed and done it, calling the generations from the beginning? I, the <span class="c6">Lord</span>, am the first; and with the last I am He.</p>
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<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">Who raised up the one from the east?</span></b> God questions the idolaters from the distant lands, and asks them who authored this important event in human history - <b><span class="c3">who raised up the one from the east?</span></b></p>
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<p class="c5">i. Commentators warmly debate the identity of this <b><span class="c3">one from the east</span></b>. Most believe him to be either Abraham, the patriarch of the Jewish people and the father of the faithful, or Cyrus, the king who joined the Medes and the Persians into a fighting force which conquered Babylon - which, prophetically, is the broad time context Isaiah speaks to.</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. Wolf speaks for those who believe Cyrus is spoken of: "Born east of Babylon in what is now Iran, Cyrus would move through country after country, conquering every king in his path. Shortly after 550 <span class="c6">b.c.</span>, Cyrus was able to unify the Medes and the Persians and to defeat the powerful kingdom of Lydia in Asia Minor. Then he turned south to conquer Babylon (539 <span class="c6">b.c.</span>)." Bultema adds regarding Cyrus: "Both secular and sacred documents present him as righteous and good, and he can be called <i>righteous</i> or, as the text actually has it, <i>justice</i>, especially since he carried out the righteous acts of vengeance on Babylon and that of the deliverance of Israel."</p>
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<p class="c5">iii. Clarke speaks for those who believe Abraham is the <b><span class="c3">one from the east</span></b>: "Some explain it of Abraham, others of Cyrus. I rather think that the former is meant; because of the character of the righteous man, or righteousness, agrees better with Abraham than with Cyrus."</p>
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<p class="c5">iv. Who is it? It's a tough call, and either answer can be correct according to the context. On balance, it is best to see the <b><span class="c3">one from the east</span></b> as Abraham, because of the word of the <span class="c6">Lord</span> later in the chapter, in <a onclick="return mV('Isa',41,22);">Isa 41:22</a>: <i>Let them bring forth and show us what will happen; let them show the former things, what they were</i>. God appeals to idols and their worshippers, and asks them to tell both the future and the past. Since Cyrus is mentioned in <a onclick="return mV('Isa',41,25);">Isa 41:25</a> (<i>I have raised up one from the north...from the rising of the sun</i>), he is the figure that shows God's knowledge of the <i>future</i>. Abraham is the figure that shows God's knowledge of the <i>past</i>. Past and future - with the present sandwiched in-between - all belong to the <span class="c6">Lord</span> our God.</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">Who...Who...Who</span></b>: As God invites those in distant lands to come and reason with Him, He shows them His greatness over all creation, and over all history. They must ask themselves, "Who is in control of the course of human events?" <b><span class="c3">Who has performed and done it, calling the generations from the beginning?</span></b></p>
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<p class="c5">i. This is always a relevant question. Is there a point, a direction to human history? Is it just a random, meaningless combination of undirected events? Is it a cycle, fated to repeat itself endlessly? Or, is there a God in heaven who directs human events, always moving to a final resolution and fulfillment? Our answer to this question influences almost everything in our lives.</p>
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<p class="c4">c. <b><span class="c3">I, the <span class="c6">Lord</span>, am the first; and with the last I am He</span></b>: Here, the <span class="c6">Lord</span> God of Israel declares that <i>He</i> <b><span class="c3">has performed and done it, calling the generations from the beginning</span></b>. He lifts up and puts down kings and nations. He is <b><span class="c3">the first</span></b> and He is <b><span class="c3">the last</span></b>; He is the "bookend" both before and after the saga of human history, starting the story, ending the story, and keeping the whole story together.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. If God is both the <b><span class="c3">first</span></b> and the <b><span class="c3">last</span></b>, then He also has authority over everything in-between. This means that there absolutely <i>is</i> a plan of God for human history, and He directs the path of human events toward His designed fulfillment. Our lives are not given over to blind fate, to random meaninglessness, or to endless cycles with no resolution. Instead, the <span class="c6">Lord</span> God who is <b><span class="c3">the first</span></b> and <b><span class="c3">the last</span></b> directs all of human history and even our individual lives.</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. Jesus takes the same title of <i>the First and the Last</i> in <a onclick="return mV('Rev',1,17);">Rev 1:17</a> and <a onclick="return mV('Rev',22,13);">22:13</a>. If the <b><span class="cmscap">Lord</span></b> is <b><span class="c3">the first</span></b> and <b><span class="c3">the last</span></b> according to <a onclick="return mV('Isa',41,4);">Isa 41:4</a>, and if Jesus is <i>the First and the Last</i> according to <a onclick="return mV('Rev',1,17);">Rev 1:17</a> and <a onclick="return mV('Rev',22,13);">22:13</a>, since there cannot be <i>two firsts</i> or <i>two lasts</i>, Jesus must be the <b><span class="cmscap">Lord</span></b> God!</p>
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<p class="c1">3. (<a onclick="return mV('Isa',41,'5-7');">5-7</a>) The reaction of the coastlands.</p>
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<p class="c2">The coastlands saw it and feared, the ends of the earth were afraid; they drew near and came. Everyone helped his neighbor, and said to his brother, "Be of good courage!" So the craftsman encouraged the goldsmith; he who smooths with the hammer inspired him who strikes the anvil, saying, "It is ready for the soldering"; then he fastened it with pegs, that it might not totter.</p>
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<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">The coastlands saw it and feared</span></b>: When they met this God of all authority and power, they <b><span class="c3">feared</span></b>. They were brought so low by this encounter with God that they had to encourage one another to go on! (<b><span class="c3">Everyone helped his neighbor, and said to his brother, "Be of good courage!"</span></b>)</p>
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<p class="c5">i. This is a <i>logical</i> reaction. It is the same kind of reaction Peter had when he saw the great power of Jesus (<a onclick="return mV('Luk',5,8);">Luk 5:8</a>).</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">So the craftsman encouraged the goldsmith</span></b>: What did they do with the fear they felt after their encounter with God? They <i>let the fear drive them away from the true God</i>. Instead of surrendering to this God of glory and majesty and power, they turned <i>from</i> God, and <i>made for themselves gods</i>, idols of gold!</p>
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<p class="c5">i. Isaiah pours on the irony. It took a lot of work to make a good god. It took skilled workers (<b><span class="c3">the craftsman...the goldsmith...he who smooths with the hammer...him who strikes the anvil</span></b>). It took organization and teamwork (<b><span class="c3">"It is ready for the soldering"</span></b>). If you don't do it right, your god might not be able to stand up! (<b><span class="c3">That it might not totter.</span></b>)</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. People still see something of God's power and glory, reject it, and then make their own god. This is Paul's whole message in <a onclick="return mV('Rom',1,'18-25');">Rom 1:18-25</a>.</p>
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<p>B. God encourages Israel.</p>
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<p class="c1">1. (<a onclick="return mV('Isa',41,'8-9');">8-9</a>) Israel is different from those in the distant lands.</p>
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<p class="c2">But you, Israel, are My servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the descendants of Abraham My friend. 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."</p>
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<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">But you, Israel, are My servant</span></b>: In contrast to the God-rejecting and idol-making people in distant lands, <b><span class="c3">Israel</span></b> - remember the name means, "Governed by God" - <b><span class="c3">Israel</span></b> is the <b><span class="c3">servant</span></b> of the <span class="c6">Lord</span>.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. A <b><span class="c3">servant</span></b> of God would never make God into his own image, his own idea of what God should be. Servants don't tell their masters what to do, or what to be. Servants know who the master is and who the servant is.</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. "Israel is twice addressed as <i>servant</i> (literally 'slave'), that is to say a person without position or rights - but this servant belongs to a great master." (Motyer)</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">Jacob, whom I have chosen</span></b>: Lest Israel become proud, God pops their swelling quickly. If they are <b><span class="c3">Israel</span></b> - "Governed by God" - then they are also <b><span class="c3">Jacob</span></b> - "Conniving, untrustworthy con-man." They are only the <b><span class="c3">servant</span></b> of God because He has <b><span class="c3">chosen</span></b> them.</p>
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<p class="c4">c. <b><span class="c3">The descendants of Abraham My friend</span></b>: Israel stood in this place because of their <i>family relationship</i> to Abraham. Since Abraham was the <b><span class="c3">friend</span></b> of God, so his <b><span class="c3">descendants</span></b> had a special place before God also.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. Jehoshaphat knew that Abraham was the friend of God (<a onclick="return mV('2Ch',20,7);">2Ch 20:7</a>). James knew that Abraham was the friend of God (<a onclick="return mV('Jam',2,23);">Jam 2:23</a>). We are also the friends of God, not because of our relation to Abraham, but because of our relation to the Son of God, Jesus. <i>You are My friends if you do whatever I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you.</i> (<a onclick="return mV('Jhn',15,'14-15');">Jhn 15:14-15</a>)</p>
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<p class="c4">d. <b><span class="c3">You whom I have taken from the ends of the earth...And said to you, "You are my servant, I have chosen you and have not cast you away"</span></b>: Again, Israel's special place before God is because of <i>God's initiative</i>, not because of <i>Israel achievement</i>. Israel is different from the idol-makers in distant lands because of God's work in them, not because of their own greatness.</p>
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<p class="c1">2. (<a onclick="return mV('Isa',41,'10-13');">10-13</a>) Fear not, for God's help is present.</p>
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<p class="c2">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. 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. You shall seek them and not find them; those who contended with you. Those who war against you shall be as nothing, as a nonexistent thing. For I, the <span class="c6">Lord</span> your God, will hold your right hand, saying to you, "Fear not, I will help you."</p>
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<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">Fear not, for I am with you</span></b>: This is both a <i>command</i> and a <i>promise</i>. Israel is <i>commanded</i> to <b><span class="c3">fear not</span></b>. Fear, worry, and anxiety are often <i>sin</i>. When the God who rules over the nations as described in <a onclick="return mV('Isa',41,'2-4');">Isa 41:2-4</a>, the God who chose us and loves us as described in <a onclick="return mV('Isa',41,'8-9');">Isa 41:8-9</a>, when <i>that God</i> tell us <b><span class="c3">fear not</span></b>, we must take it seriously! But there is also a <i>promise</i>. We <b><span class="c3">fear not</span></b>, because the <span class="c6">Lord</span> has told us, <b><span class="c3">I am with you</span></b>. What more do we need? <i>If God is for us, who can be against us?</i> (<a onclick="return mV('Rom',8,31);">Rom 8:31</a>)</p>
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<p class="c5">i. How much more prone to fear and discouragement we are when we are alone. But we are never alone, because God has declared, <b><span class="c3">fear not, for I am with you</span></b>.</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">Be not dismayed, for I am your God</span></b>: "Remember Me? The God of all power and glory? I'm that one. <b><span class="c3">I am your God</span></b>." Years ago, J.B. Phillips wrote a wonderful book titled, <i>Your God is too Small</i>. In it, he showed how when people forget the greatness of God, they easily become <b><span class="c3">dismayed</span></b>. But God says, <b><span class="c3">be not dismayed, for I am your God</span></b>.</p>
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<p class="c4">c. <b><span class="c3">I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand</span></b>: God's <i>strength</i> and <i>glory</i> make Him <i>able</i> to help us. But it is His <i>love</i> that makes Him say, "<b><span class="c3">I will</span></b> help you."</p>
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<p class="c5">i. Idols must be <i>fastened...with pegs</i>, so they <i>might not totter</i> (<a onclick="return mV('Isa',41,7);">Isa 41:7</a>). You have to hold <i>them</i> up. But God holds <i>us</i> up; <b><span class="c3">I will uphold you with My righteous right hand</span></b>. You should never have a God that you have to hold up!</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. Knowing this, do we see <i>the terrible nature of our fear and unbelief?</i> They say to God, "You are not with me. You are not the God of glory and might. You do not really love me."</p>
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<p class="c5">iii. "<span>Every truthful man feels that he has a right to be believed. He speaks upon the honor of an honest man, and if you say, 'I cannot believe you,' and even begin to lament that you have no faith in him, the reflection is not upon yourself, but on the person whom you cannot believe. And shall it ever come to this, that God's own children shall say that they cannot believe their God? Oh, sin of sins! It takes away the very Godhead from God, for if God be not true, he is not a God; and if he be not fit to be believed, neither is he fit to be adored, for a God whom you cannot trust you cannot worship." (Spurgeon)</span></p>
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<p class="c4">d. <b><span class="c3">Behold, all those who were incensed against you shall be ashamed and disgraced</span></b>: God will deal with our enemies, if we keep our trust in Him. He knows how to make our adversaries - whether they be men or devils - <b><span class="c3">ashamed and disgraced</span></b>.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. <b><span class="c3">Behold, all those who were incensed against you shall be ashamed and disgraced</span></b> is, in part, an outworking of God's promise to Abraham in <a onclick="return mV('Gen',12,3);">Gen 12:3</a>: <i>I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you</i>. God has always crushed anti-Semitic nations and movements, and in the reign of the Messiah, He will crush them completely.</p>
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<p class="c4">e. <b><span class="c3">For I, the <span class="c6">Lord</span> your God, will hold your right hand, saying to you, "Fear not, I will help you."</span></b> In <a onclick="return mV('Isa',41,10);">Isa 41:10</a>, God promised to <b><span class="c3">uphold you with My righteous right hand</span></b>. That was God's hand holding us up. Now, we see God's hand holding our <b><span class="c3">right hand</span></b>, and giving us strength over fear, doubt, and our adversaries.</p>
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<p class="c1">3. (<a onclick="return mV('Isa',41,'14-16');">14-16</a>) Fear not, with God's help, no obstacle is too great.</p>
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<p class="c2">"Fear not, you worm Jacob, you men of Israel! I will help you," says the <span class="c6">Lord</span> and your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel. "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. You shall winnow them, the wind shall carry them away, and the whirlwind shall scatter them; you shall rejoice in the <span class="c6">Lord</span>, and glory in the Holy One of Israel."</p>
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<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">Fear not, you worm Jacob, you men of Israel!</span></b> The idea of a <b><span class="c3">worm</span></b> is connected to the name <b><span class="c3">Jacob</span></b>, but the idea of <b><span class="c3">men</span></b> is connected with the name <b><span class="c3">Israel</span></b>.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. "In the rabbinical commentary on the five books of Moses, <i>Yelamedenu</i> is asked, Why are the Israelites called a <i>worm</i>? To signify, that as the work does not smite, that is, <i>gnaw</i> the cedars, but with its mouth, which is very tender, yet it nevertheless destroys the hard wood; so all the strength of the Israelites is in prayer, by which they smite the wicked of this world, though strong like cedars, to which they are compared." (Clarke)</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. "The name <i>Jacob</i>, as applied to Israel here, always points back to Israel's lowly and deceitful past, so that it is by no means an honor." (Bultema)</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">And your Redeemer</span></b>: "<i>Redeemer</i> is <i>goel</i>, see <a onclick="return mV('Isa',35,10);">Isa 35:10</a>, the Next-of-Kin who takes upon himself his people's needs as if they were his own."</p>
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<p class="c4">c. <b><span class="c3">Behold, I will make you into a new threshing sledge with sharp teeth; you shall thresh the mountains and beat them small</span></b>: God so helps Israel, so empowers them, that they are able to cut down mountains as if they were a great <b><span class="c3">threshing</span></b> machine, removing mountains and seeing their dust blown away. The point is clear: <i>nothing</i>, not even a mountain, will stand in their way when God helps them.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. "I don't know of any other than the Creator Himself who can take a weak worm and make it sharp with teeth! God can do that." (Redpath)</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. Jesus expressed the same idea in <a onclick="return mV('Mat',17,20);">Mat 17:20</a>: <i>If you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, "Move from here to there," and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.</i></p>
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<p class="c4">d. <b><span class="c3">You shall rejoice in the <span class="c6">Lord</span>, and glory in the Holy One of Israel</span></b>: When we overcome great obstacles with the help of the <span class="c6">Lord</span>, we know it is His work. We <b><span class="c3">rejoice in the <span class="c6">Lord</span></span></b>, not in ourselves. We <b><span class="c3">glory in the Holy One of Israel</span></b>, not in ourselves.</p>
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<p class="c1">4. (<a onclick="return mV('Isa',41,'17-20');">17-20</a>) Fear not, God has abundant resources.</p>
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<p class="c2">The poor and needy seek water, but there is none, their tongues fail for thirst. I, the <span class="c6">Lord</span>, will hear them; I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them. 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. 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, that they may see and know, and consider and understand together, that the hand of the <span class="c6">Lord</span> has done this, and the Holy One of Israel has created it.</p>
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<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">I will open rivers in desolate heights</span></b>: In response to the cry of the <b><span class="c3">poor and needy</span></b>, those whose <b><span class="c3">tongues fail for thirst</span></b>, God sends miraculous supplies of water to them. God has resources and supplies we know nothing about, and He loves to supply us from His hidden resources.</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">I will plant in the wilderness the cedar and the acacia tree</span></b>: God will also make barren places fruitful, and full of beautiful forests. God can take the most barren <b><span class="c3">wilderness</span></b>, and make it a forest.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. "Water and shade are the two great needs of the desert traveller...None of the trees mentioned are fruit trees: the point is shelter, not sustenance." (Motyer)</p>
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<p class="c4">c. When it all takes place, everyone knows: <b><span class="c3">That the hand of the <span class="c6">Lord</span> has done this, and the Holy One of Israel has created it</span></b>. Miraculous supplies of water and forests in the wilderness are impossible without God, so He gets the glory when the work is done.</p>
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<p>C. Idolatry on trial.</p>
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<p class="c1">1. (<a onclick="return mV('Isa',41,21);">21</a>) God calls idols and their worshippers to trial.</p>
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<p class="c2">"Present your case," says the <span class="c6">Lord</span>. "Bring forth your strong reasons," says the King of Jacob.</p>
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<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">Present your case</span></b>: God is fair. He will not condemn idols, the false gods of the nations, and those who worship them, without a fair trial. So He invites these idols and their worshippers to come and <b><span class="c3">present your case</span></b>. "Let's hear your side of the story." <b><span class="c3">Bring forth your strong reasons</span></b>. "Let's hear your best arguments."</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">Says the King of Jacob</span></b>: This is the only place in the Bible where God uses this title. <b><span class="c3">King of Jacob</span></b> is used only here, but the title <i>king of Israel</i> is used 138 times in the Bible, mostly of men, but of the Lord <span class="c6">God</span> in <a onclick="return mV('Isa',44,6);">Isa 44:6</a> and <a onclick="return mV('Zep',3,15);">Zep 3:15</a>, and of Jesus in <a onclick="return mV('Jhn',1,49);">Jhn 1:49</a> and <a onclick="return mV('Jhn',12,13);">12:13</a>.</p>
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<p class="c1">2. (<a onclick="return mV('Isa',41,'22-24');">22-24</a>) God examines the defendants - idols and their worshippers - at the trial.</p>
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<p class="c2">Let them bring forth and show us what will happen; let them show the former things, what they were, that we may consider them, and know the latter end of them; or declare to us things to come. 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. Indeed you are nothing, and your work is nothing; he who chooses you is an abomination.</p>
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<p class="c4">a. God invited idols to <i>present your case</i> in <a onclick="return mV('Isa',41,21);">Isa 41:21</a>. But none is presented; the next words are God's questioning of the idols. Why don't the idols present their case and defend themselves? Because they are dumb statues that can't speak! So the questioning moves on, and God examines the defendants.</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">Let them bring forth and show us what will happen</span></b>: If these idols really are gods, then they certainly know the future and the past. Then let them speak up. <b><span class="c3">Show us what will happen</span></b>. Then, <b><span class="c3">let them show the former things, what they were</span></b>. Gods know these things, don't they? Do it <b><span class="c3">that we may know that you are gods</span></b>.</p>
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<p class="c4">c. <b><span class="c3">Yes, do good or do evil</span></b>: It is as if God stands in a courtroom, questioning a thousands idols of different sizes and designs, and finally cries out, "Do <i>something!</i> <b><span class="c3">Do good or do evil!</span></b> Can't you do <i>anything?</i>"</p>
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<p class="c4">d. But they can not do anything. So, the accusation is made based upon the evidence: <b><span class="c3">Indeed you are nothing, and your work is nothing; he who chooses you is an abomination</span></b>.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. Today, idolatry is still an abomination. Though few bow down to statues, many still fashion a god of their own opinion, and decide that is the god they will respect. Even many churchgoers do this today. "The spiritual conflict experienced today is exactly of the same nature and of the same character as you find depicted here. The issue is still unsettled in the minds of men, though it is settled eternally in the mind of God. The world is still making every effort to put the best possible show upon its worship of the creature rather than the Creator. Its worship is more the patronizing of the shell of religion than bowing in submission before an empty cross, and occupied throne, and the King of kings in glory." (Redpath)</p>
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<p class="c4">e. <b><span class="c3">Indeed, you are nothing, and your work is nothing</span></b>: Paul quotes this idea in <a onclick="return mV('1Cr',8,4);">1Cr 8:4</a>, when he writes, <i>Therefore concerning the eating of things offered to idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is no other God but one.</i></p>
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<p class="c1">3. (<a onclick="return mV('Isa',41,'25-29');">25-29</a>) The <span class="c6">Lord</span>'s summation: Idols are worthless and man is so limited.</p>
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<p class="c2">I have raised up one from the north, and he shall come; from the rising of the sun he shall call on My name; and he shall come against princes as though mortar, as the potter treads clay. 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. The first time I said to Zion, "Look, there they are!" And I will give to Jerusalem one who brings good tidings. 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. Indeed they are all worthless; their works are nothing; their molded images are wind and confusion.</p>
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<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">I have raised up one from the north, and he shall come</span></b>: In contrast to the idols who can tell nothing of the future, the <span class="c6">Lord</span> knows. He knows that He will bring Cyrus from the north to conquer the Babylonians, who conquered Judah and Jerusalem and took them captive. God would use Cyrus to allow the Jews in exile to return (<a onclick="return mV('Ezr',1,'1-');">Ezr 1</a>).</p>
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<p class="c5">i. "Cyrus had the greatest respect for Jehovah, as we can read in his proclamation concerning the freeing of Israel in Ezra one. In it he states correctly that Jehovah had given him all the kingdoms of the earth." (Bultema)</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. "The 'north' is included because the Persians conquered the lands north of Babylon before invading her borders." (Wolf)</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">Who has declared from the beginning, that we may know?</span></b> Not the idols; they know nothing. Not man, for <b><span class="c3">I looked, and there was no man...Who, when I asked of them, could answer a word</span></b>.</p>
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<p class="c4">c. Finally, the verdict is read at the trial: <b><span class="c3">Indeed they are all worthless; their works are nothing</span></b>. Apart from God, in the grand scheme of things, all of the greatness of man is <b><span class="c3">worthless</span></b> and all the great <b><span class="c3">works are nothing</span></b>. And what of the idols? <b><span class="c3">Their molded images are wind and confusion</span></b>.</p>
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<p class="c4">d. "This chapter is the great I WILL chapter of the Bible. No fewer than fourteen times in the scope of these verses does God reinforce His authority with the promise, 'I will.'" (Redpath)</p>
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<p class="c5">i. Look at them all:</p><ul class="c6"><li><i>I will strengthen you</i>. (<a onclick="return mV('Isa',41,10);">Isa 41:10</a>)</li><li><i>I will help you</i>. (<a onclick="return mV('Isa',41,10);">Isa 41:10</a>; <a onclick="return mV('Isa',41,'13-14');">41:13-14</a>)</li><li><i>I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.</i> (<a onclick="return mV('Isa',41,10);">Isa 41:10</a>)</li><li><i>I will make you into a new threshing sledge with sharp teeth</i>. (<a onclick="return mV('Isa',41,15);">Isa 41:15</a>)</li><li><i>I will open rivers in desolate heights</i>. (<a onclick="return mV('Isa',41,18);">Isa 41:18</a>)</li><li><i>I will make the wilderness a pool of water</i>. (<a onclick="return mV('Isa',41,18);">Isa 41:18</a>)</li><li><i>I will plant in the wilderness the cedar and the acacia tree</i>. (<a onclick="return mV('Isa',41,19);">Isa 41:19</a>)</li><li><i>I will set in the desert the cypress tree</i>. (<a onclick="return mV('Isa',41,19);">Isa 41:19</a>)</li><li><i>I will give to Jerusalem one who brings good tidings</i>. (<a onclick="return mV('Isa',41,27);">Isa 41:27</a>)</li></ul>
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<p class="c5">ii. What a contrast with <a onclick="return mV('Isa',14,'1-');">Isa 14</a> - the "I will" chapter of Satan! Look at the "I wills" of Satan:</p><ul class="c6"><li><i>I will ascend into heaven</i>. (<a onclick="return mV('Isa',14,13);">Isa 14:13</a>)</li><li><i>I will exalt my throne above the stars of God</i>. (<a onclick="return mV('Isa',14,13);">Isa 14:13</a>)</li><li><i>I will also sit on the mount of the congregation</i>. (<a onclick="return mV('Isa',14,13);">Isa 14:13</a>)</li><li><i>I will ascend above the heights of the clouds</i>. (<a onclick="return mV('Isa',14,14);">Isa 14:14</a>)</li><li><i>I will be like the Most High</i>. (<a onclick="return mV('Isa',14,14);">Isa 14:14</a>)</li></ul>
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<p class="c5">iii. The "I wills" of Satan were all proud and self-directed. Every "I will" of the <span class="c6">Lord</span> in <a onclick="return mV('Isa',41,'1-');">Isa 41</a> is for the benefit and blessing of His people. Though Satan was lifted up in pride, and proclaimed his "I wills," none of them came to pass. But each and every one of God's "I will's" will happen!</p>
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<p class="c5">iv. "When God says, 'I will,' He says it with all the authority of omnipotence. He has foreseen every difficulty. He has studied every obstacle which may come in His way. He has anticipated every possible contingency. He knows the weakness of the one to whom He makes His promise, and yet He says, 'I will!'" (Redpath)</p>
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