Isaiah 49:9

Isaiah 49:9 says. That thou mayest say to the prisoners, Go forth; to them that are in darkness, Shew yourselves. They shall feed in the ways, and their pastures shall be in all high places.  Isaiah said that when the people put their faith in the Messiah, especially after He had come, that they could tell those in spiritual prison because of their sins that they had been set free if they chose to be by putting their faith in Him.  They were also called on to come out of the darkness and into the Light.  Until someone accepts Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord, they will remain prisoners of sin and will live in spiritual darkness.  This is not talking about being imprisoned physically, which many of the followers of Christ have been, but it is speaking of being imprisoned spiritually and then being set free. 

Verse ten adds, They shall not hunger nor thirst; neither shall the heat nor sun smite them: for he that hath mercy on them shall lead them, even by the springs of water shall he guide them.  Once more, I don’t believe this refers to physical things but to spiritual things.  If we put our faith in Jesus Christ, we will never hunger nor thirst spiritually, because He is the Bread of Life and the Living Water.  Since this is true, we need to always allow Him to lead us.  Even though this also referred to the people of Israel being set free physically at that time and being allowed to return to Jerusalem, it even more so refers to the freedom from spiritual captivity by the forces of evil in the life of everyone and our ability to be able to return to a right relationship with God when we put our faith in Jesus Christ.

Verse eleven continues, And I will make all my mountains a way, and my highways shall be exalted.  God said He would make the way for the people to come to Him.  He would make the way on the mountains even, and His highways would be exalted.  God has made a way for us to come to Him, and that is by putting our faith in Jesus Christ.   When we do, we get on the gospel road and He will lead us when we are traveling on the easy path, but even more importantly, He will guide us when there are mountains in the way. 

Verse twelve concludes, Behold, these shall come from far: and, lo, these from the north and from the west; and these from the land of Sinim.  Matthew Henry says this referred to bringing those people of Israel and Judah who still put their faith in God but had fled to other countries home to Jerusalem.  As Matthew Henry also said, I believe in its broader context it applies to the Gentiles, those who were physically far away from Israel and Judah being called into the kingdom of God when they accept Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord. 

Isaiah 49:4

Isaiah 49:4 says, Then I said, I have laboured in vain, I have spent my strength for nought, and in vain: yet surely my judgment is with the Lord, and my work with my God.  Isaiah begins to speak about his ministry and to say that he had worked in vain since the people weren’t listening.  It is not our responsibility as Christians to make sure that people believe the gospel if we share it with them, but it is only our responsibility to share it.  Isaiah also said that even if he felt that he had failed, that the judgment of his work was up to the Lord.   We are not the ones who will ultimately determine our success or failure in obeying God, but He is.  We are simply to be obedient to His call, and then we are to leave the results of our work up to Him.  Of course, this passage also points to Jesus Christ when he came to redeem the people of Israel and was rejected.\, but He knew He had done what His Father had sent Him to do.

Verse five adds, And now, saith the Lord that formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob again to him, Though Israel be not gathered, yet shall I be glorious in the eyes of the Lord, and my God shall be my strength.  Isaiah said that God had formed him from the womb to bring Jacob, or the people of Israel, to Him again.  God has a purpose for each individual before they are born, but it is up to each individual whether they accept that purpose for their life or not.  If we are to be glorious in God’s eyes, we must obey His will, and when we do, He will empower us to carry out our calling. Once more, this also applies to Jesus Christ when He was here in the world.

Verse six continues, And he said, It is a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth.  Though Isaiah had also been speaking of himself in the last couple of verses I believe, here the focus shifts to Jesus Christ once again.  Isaiah could not bring salvation to people to the ends of the earth, and he was not the light that they needed.  He could proclaim God’s word, but that could only point the to the coming Messiah, Jesus Christ.  Jesus Christ is still the only One Who can bring salvation to anyone. 

Verse seven says, Thus saith the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel, and his Holy One, to him whom man despiseth, to him whom the nation abhorreth, to a servant of rulers, Kings shall see and arise, princes also shall worship, because of the Lord that is faithful, and the Holy One of Israel, and he shall choose thee.  Isaiah now speaks of the humiliation that the Messiah would face, especially by God’s chosen people, Israel.  Jesus Christ came to be the Redeemer of Israel, but the people of Israel despised Him as a nation, because he came as a Servant and not as an earthly ruler.  There are people today who reject Jesus Christ because He doesn’t live up to their standard of what a Christian should be.  We as followers of Christ should never reject the leadership of the Holy Spirit, the Comforter Who came to be with us when Jesus Christ ascended into heaven, because what He teaches does not align with what we want. 

Verse eight adds, Thus saith the Lord, In an acceptable time have I heard thee, and in a day of salvation have I helped thee: and I will preserve thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, to establish the earth, to cause to inherit the desolate heritages;  Matthew Henry says this refers to God’s saving Jesus Christ at the acceptable time, which was after all His humiliation and His death on the cross.  God did not let death defeat Jesus Christ, but He raised Him from the dead when the time was right.  Without His enduring death for our sins, we could not be saved, so the time was not right before then.  God also said in the day that He raised Jesus Christ from the dead that He established a new covenant with them.  We are a part of that covenant relationship if we have accepted Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord.  I believe that the acceptable time that God will hear us is when we call out to Him in faith and finally realize that He alone can save us.  I also believe that it was just a small minority of the people of Israel who did this in that day, but those who did were a part of the true descendants of Abraham. 

Isaiah 49:1

Isaiah 49:1 says, Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far; The Lord hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name.  The message from God was now extended to the isles, or the Gentiles.  It didn’t matter how far away from Israel they might be, God’s message still applied to them.  That message was that God was going to send a Redeemer to them, One Who had been made known when He was still in His mother’s womb.  God had revealed to Mary and Joseph Who Jesus was even begore He was born.  We may tend to think that the gospel going to the Gentiles, that would be us, was something new that happened after the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, but the Old Testament tells us many times that God’s intention was always to save everyone who would accept His gift of salvation. 

Verse two adds, And he hath made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of his hand hath he hid me, and made me a polished shaft; in his quiver hath he hid me;  Isaiah said that this coming Messiah would be like a sharp sword, and Matthew Henry adds two-edged.  He would divide the truth from the lies and those who put their faith in Him from those who didn’t.  He is still doing that today.

Verse three continues, And said unto me, Thou art my servant, O Israel, in whom I will be glorified.  This coming One would declare Israel to be His servant through whom He would be glorified.  This was always God’s plan for Israel.  He was not to glorify them, but they were to glorify Him.  As followers of Christ, we do not put our faith in Him so that we might be glorified, but we put our faith in Him and should live our lives so that He might be glorified.

Isaiah 48:16

Isaiah 48:16 says, Come ye near unto me, hear ye this; I have not spoken in secret from the beginning; from the time that it was, there am I: and now the Lord God, and his Spirit, hath sent me.  In this verse, Isaiah calls on the people to listen to him, because God has called him and given him the message for them.  Isaiah had not been speaking in secret but had spoken openly from the beginning of his ministry.   We as Christians are commissioned to carry God’s word into the world and we cannot do that in secret and be effective. Preachers and teachers in particular should make sure that they are proclaiming God’s word, and the Holy Spirit will help them to do so. 

Verse seventeen adds, Thus saith the Lord, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I am the Lord thy God which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go.  Isaiah said that God declared Himself to be their Lord and Redeemer, and that He was the Holy One of Israel.  God said He taught them things that would be profitable for them spiritually and not just materially I believe.  God will always lead us to an understanding of Who He is, and this will be profitable for us spiritually, no matter what is happening in our lives materially or physically.

Verse eighteen continues, O that thou hadst hearkened to my commandments! then had thy peace been as a river, and thy righteousness as the waves of the sea:  God said it was too bad that the people of Israel had stopped listening to His commandments and that if they had, they would have had peace like a river and righteousness as the waves of the sea.  This was God’s plan for them had they lived up to their part of the covenant, but they didn’t.  So instead of having years of peace and righteousness, they had lived in captivity and started to put their faith in idols, which made them anything but righteous.  God calls everyone to a covenant relationship with Him, and until people accept that call to salvation, they will never live at peace spiritually.  If a person does accept Jesus Christ and strays away from God’s word like the people of Israel had done in that day, they will never be at peace spiritually, and since we can only be made righteous by Jesus Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, we like Israel then will need to return to Him confessing our sins and asking His forgiveness if we want to become righteous once again. 

Verse nineteen states, Thy seed also had been as the sand, and the offspring of thy bowels like the gravel thereof; his name should not have been cut off nor destroyed from before me.  Isaiah said that at one time the people of Israel had been as numerous as the sand of the sea and that this was because of God’s promise, so God’s name should not have been cut off before Him.  The people of Israel should have never turned away from God, Who had made them a great nation.  Instead, because of their disobedience to God, they were few in numbers and in captivity.  We as followers of Christ need to obey the commandments of God and only give Him praise if we are to grow in numbers. 

Verse twenty adds, Go ye forth of Babylon, flee ye from the Chaldeans, with a voice of singing declare ye, tell this, utter it even to the end of the earth; say ye, The Lord hath redeemed his servant Jacob.  God said that He had freed them from their captivity in Babylon and that they were to flee from the Chaldeans while singing to the world that God had delivered them.  As Christians, God has forever delivered us from the penalty of sin, and we should sing this out to the world. 

Verse twenty-one continues, And they thirsted not when he led them through the deserts: he caused the waters to flow out of the rock for them: he clave the rock also, and the waters gushed out.  Isaiah reminded them that God had brought water out of a rock when they were thirsty in the desert or wilderness.  God had always met their needs even when it seemed impossible, yet they had not continued to put their faith in Him.  As followers of Christ, God supplies us with Living Water, and yet we too often let concerns about the world come between Him and us.  Once we put our faith in Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord the spiritual battle is won for us, so all we need to do is to continue to be faithful to Him. 

Verse twenty-two concludes, There is no peace, saith the Lord, unto the wicked.  God had said that if the people of Israel would put their faith in Him that they would have peace, but that the wicked, anyone who would not put their faith in Him, would never have peace.  If you want to be at peace in the world today, spiritually if not materially and physically, you need to put your faith in God.  Until you do, there will never be any spiritual peace in your life.

Isaiah 48:9

Isaiah 48:9 says, For my name's sake will I defer mine anger, and for my praise will I refrain for thee, that I cut thee not off.  God said for the sake of His name and for His glory that He wouldn’t just cut them off, or completely destroy them.  God could have just as easily destroyed mankind when they rebelled against Him, but He chose to provide a way of redemption instead.  He did this for the sake of His name and for His praise and not for mankind to be praised.  Even if we are redeemed by accepting Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord, we are still but a part of God’s creation, and all the honor and glory for our redemption should go to Him. 

Verse ten adds, Behold, I have refined thee, but not with silver; I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction.  God said that He had refined the people, not with wealth, but with affliction.  We today seem to often proclaim a gospel that says that God is going to refine us with material blessings, but I believe we are more often refined with affliction.  If we have everything we want or desire as Christians, then it is easy to begin to think that we are so valuable to God that we deserve these blessings, but we are still like grass before God.  It is in trials and tribulations that our faith is really refined. 

Verse eleven continues, For mine own sake, even for mine own sake, will I do it: for how should my name be polluted? and I will not give my glory unto another.  God said He was going to redeem the people of Israel for His name’s sake alone and that none other would ever receive His glory.  As Christians, all that we have is a gift of God and we can rest assured that He will never fail to deliver on His promises.  We just need to always give Him the glory, even if we are going through times of trouble, or maybe especially when we are.

Verse twelve adds, Hearken unto me, O Jacob and Israel, my called; I am he; I am the first, I also am the last.  God again calls on the people of Israel, the ones He entered into a covenant relationship with, to listen to His word and obey it.  We as follower of Christ are a part of the new covenant that God made with mankind when He sent His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to die for our sins, so we need to listen to His words to us.  We should start by reading and understanding what His word, the Bible, says, and the Holy Spirit will help us to do so if we submit to His leadership. 

Verse thirteen continues, Mine hand also hath laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand hath spanned the heavens: when I call unto them, they stand up together.  God said that He created and controls the universe, and we either believe that, or we don’t.  Those are the two choices.  I believe that God is the Creator and Sustainer of the universe and that Jesus Christ is the only Redeemer that there is. 

Verse fourteen states, All ye, assemble yourselves, and hear; which among them hath declared these things? The Lord hath loved him: he will do his pleasure on Babylon, and his arm shall be on the Chaldeans.  The people were called on to assemble themselves and were asked which of these idols among them had declared these things.  There was none that did or even could.  God said that He loved the people of Israel and He would defeat the Babylonians and the Chaldeans, even though the false prophets had not said anything about their deliverance. God alone can deliver us from the power and penalty of sin, so we need to put our faith in Him alone.  Not only can He do it, but He already has, when He sent His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to die in our place.  All we have to do is accept this gift of salvation. 

Verse fifteen adds, I, even I, have spoken; yea, I have called him: I have brought him, and he shall make his way prosperous.  This was speaking about Cyrus at that time, and God was already at work to bring about his success in delivering the people of Israel from captivity.  I believe that it also refers to a date in future when Jesus Christ would come to deliver all who believe in Him forever. 

Isaiah 48:1

Isaiah 48:1 says, Hear ye this, O house of Jacob, which are called by the name of Israel, and are come forth out of the waters of Judah, which swear by the name of the Lord, and make mention of the God of Israel, but not in truth, nor in righteousness.  God called on those of the house of Jacob who called themselves people of Israel, which included Judah, or the whole kingdom of Israel before it divided, to remember who they were.  He said they called on His name but didn’t do so in truth.  They were paying lip service to God, but they weren’t living in righteousness.  It is not enough for us to use God’s name to endorse what we do or even our righteousness before Him if we do not truly believe in Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord, and I believe that God will always call us to a real relationship with Him. 

Verse two adds, For they call themselves of the holy city, and stay themselves upon the God of Israel; The Lord of hosts is his name.  This is a continuation of the fact that even though the people of Israel, especially those in Jerusalem, called themselves a holy people and city, they were so in name only.  We in America can call ourselves a holy nation and use the name of God to justify a lot of what we do, but if our actions are not consistent with our words, we are fooling ourselves, but we will never fool God. 

Verse three continues, I have declared the former things from the beginning; and they went forth out of my mouth, and I shewed them; I did them suddenly, and they came to pass.  God said that He had showed the people of Israel that He was God in the past by telling them things that would happen and then having them coming to pass.  God has shown the world that He is God, and this was manifested at its most personal level when Jesus Christ came to live a perfect life and die on the cross so that the sins of everyone could be forgiven.  Of course, we have to put our faith in this in order for it to be of any benefit to us. 

Verse four states, Because I knew that thou art obstinate, and thy neck is an iron sinew, and thy brow brass;  God said He called the people of Israel even though He knew that they were a stiff-necked people who would tend to turn away from Him.  God still calls each individual today, even though He knows that even if we accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord that we can be stiff-necked, going our own way at times instead of following His. 

Verse five adds, I have even from the beginning declared it to thee; before it came to pass I shewed it thee: lest thou shouldest say, Mine idol hath done them, and my graven image, and my molten image, hath commanded them.  God said he showed them the truth of Who He was from the beginning so that they could not give the credit for what He had done to idols, yet we find that they often did.  As followers of Christ, we need to give credit to God for all the good that He has done in our lives and never try to give the credit to anyone or anything else.  If we do give the credit to any one or anything other than God, even giving ourselves credit for the good things in our lives, we are giving credit to an idol.

Verse six continues, Thou hast heard, see all this; and will not ye declare it? I have shewed thee new things from this time, even hidden things, and thou didst not know them.  God continued to call on the people of Israel to acknowledge that He alone was God and stated that He had revealed this to them plainly.  We can see the workmanship of God in the order of the universe today, and this should lead us to acknowledge Him as the only God that there is.  Instead, many times we try to give credit for His work to someone or something else, even a giant cosmic explosion. 

Verse seven says, They are created now, and not from the beginning; even before the day when thou heardest them not; lest thou shouldest say, Behold, I knew them.  God said He had revealed to them new things that were set in order even before they heard them, so how could they claim to have known these things before He revealed them to them.  We may see things happening in the world today that have been foretold by God long ago and then claim that we always knew exactly what was going to happen and when based on our own intelligence, but we never will.  We may see some things coming to pass that God has foretold, but we certainly didn’t know what was going to happen before He did.

Verse eight adds, Yea, thou heardest not; yea, thou knewest not; yea, from that time that thine ear was not opened: for I knew that thou wouldest deal very treacherously, and wast called a transgressor from the womb.  God said that not only did they not know what He was going to do because they wouldn’t listen to His word, but that they were born transgressors.  I know some people disagree, but I believe this means that they had the ability to choose to transgress from the time they were conceived since everyone is born with free will and not that they were guilty even before they had the opportunity to choose whether to obey or defy God. 

Isaiah 47:6

Isaiah 47:6 says, I was wroth with my people, I have polluted mine inheritance, and given them into thine hand: thou didst shew them no mercy; upon the ancient hast thou very heavily laid thy yoke.  God said that He was upset with His people because they were not obeying Him, so He gave them over to the Babylonians, who then mistreated them terribly.  God may have allowed the people of Israel to be defeated by the Babylonians, but He didn’t intend for them to be treated as though they had no value.  God may allow us to be defeated in the world today as followers of Christ, but if He does it will never be because He wants us to be treated as valueless.  God will still deliver us spiritually to heaven one day no matter what, and if those who defeat us become haughty about it, they will find out how powerless they really are. 

Verse seven adds, And thou saidst, I shall be a lady for ever: so that thou didst not lay these things to thy heart, neither didst remember the latter end of it.  God through Isaiah said that the Babylonians thought they would be a great kingdom forever, so they didn’t even think about what they were doing to God’s people.  There are kingdoms or countries today that think they do not have to be concerned about God or His people, so they just do whatever they want to do, often abusing Christians thinking nothing will ever happen to them because of it.  They will one day find out how wrong they are. 

Verse eight states, Therefore hear now this, thou that art given to pleasures, that dwellest carelessly, that sayest in thine heart, I am, and none else beside me; I shall not sit as a widow, neither shall I know the loss of children:  God said that the people of Babylon believed that they were so powerful that they would always live in pleasure and never suffer from loss.  When any one or any nation starts to think that they are above God and His power, they are setting themselves up for a fall.  If we are more concerned with the pleasures of life than we are with obeying God and think that it never will matter, we too will one day find out how wrong we are.

Verse nine adds, But these two things shall come to thee in a moment in one day, the loss of children, and widowhood: they shall come upon thee in their perfection for the multitude of thy sorceries, and for the great abundance of thine enchantments.  Isaiah said that God warned them now that two things were going to happen to the people Babylon soon.  They were going to suffer the loss of children, and their women were going to be widows, which meant that many of the men were going to die.  Those who oppose God and persecute His people today will one day suffer an even greater loss, no matter how powerful they may think themselves to be.  They will be sent away to everlasting punishment forever separated from God and His mercy. 

Verse ten continues, For thou hast trusted in thy wickedness: thou hast said, None seeth me. Thy wisdom and thy knowledge, it hath perverted thee; and thou hast said in thine heart, I am, and none else beside me.  Isaiah said this was going to happen because the people of Babylon had trusted in wickedness and their wisdom, declaring that there was none to be found elsewhere.  Some countries today believe that their system of government is undefeatable, and they deny the existence of God.  They, like Babylon, will one day find out how wrong they were. 

Verse eleven says, Therefore shall evil come upon thee; thou shalt not know from whence it riseth: and mischief shall fall upon thee; thou shalt not be able to put it off: and desolation shall come upon thee suddenly, which thou shalt not know.  Isaiah said that evil was going to come on the people of Babylon from a place they didn’t know about and they would not be able to withstand it.  They were proud of their knowledge, but they wouldn’t even be able to see the coming defeat.  If people or nations are living by following pleasure or anything else instead of God, destruction is coming and those who will suffer this destruction will never see it coming.  Worldly wisdom will always fail us. 

Verse twelve adds, Stand now with thine enchantments, and with the multitude of thy sorceries, wherein thou hast laboured from thy youth; if so be thou shalt be able to profit, if so be thou mayest prevail.  Isaiah said God called on them to stand by the power of their gods that they had put their faith in all their lives.  Then, see if they would profit from it.  There are still people who have followed false gods all their lives who have been successful and think that they always will be.  They will one day find out how powerless these false gods really are, just as the Babylonians were going to then.

Verse thirteen continues, Thou art wearied in the multitude of thy counsels. Let now the astrologers, the stargazers, the monthly prognosticators, stand up, and save thee from these things that shall come upon thee.  Isaiah said that they had so many counselors that it wearied them and now called on these counselors to save them from the coming destruction that God had pronounced on them.  It does not matter how many people who think they know more than God that we have advising us, they cannot stop God’s judgment. 

Verse fourteen states, Behold, they shall be as stubble; the fire shall burn them; they shall not deliver themselves from the power of the flame: there shall not be a coal to warm at, nor fire to sit before it.  Isaiah said that God had pronounced that these counselors would be no more than stubble that would be burned in the fire and there was nothing they could do about it.  When God’s judgment comes, all those who have denied Him will be no more than stubble to be burned in the everlasting fires of hell. 

 

Verse fifteen adds, Thus shall they be unto thee with whom thou hast laboured, even thy merchants, from thy youth: they shall wander every one to his quarter; none shall save thee.  Matthew Henry says this refers to the astrologers and sorcerers who had guided them and when they began to fall, those who didn’t would flee back to their own countries.  The people of Babylon may have profited from these astrologers and sorcerers, but they could not be saved by them. People who deny God today or who refuse to accept that He is the only God may be very prosperous, but whatever they put their faith in other than God can never save them.

Isaiah 47:1

Isaiah 47:1 says, Come down, and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon, sit on the ground: there is no throne, O daughter of the Chaldeans: for thou shalt no more be called tender and delicate.  Isaiah said God called on the virgin daughter of Babylon to come and sit on the ground in the dust because there would be no throne left for her to sit on.  It seems that God had sent a messenger to Babylon, who was referred to as a virgin daughter, to get ready for the destruction that He was going to bring.  They had been high and mighty, but God was going to bring them down to earth.  All of God’s enemies will one day likewise be defeated and brought down, not to the dust of the earth, but to the pits of hell. 

Verse two adds, Take the millstones, and grind meal: uncover thy locks, make bare the leg, uncover the thigh, pass over the rivers.  I believe this refers to Babylon being stripped bare of all that they thought was great for them.  

Verse three continues, Thy nakedness shall be uncovered, yea, thy shame shall be seen: I will take vengeance, and I will not meet thee as a man.  God said that He was not going to meet them as a man who might be defeated, but He was going to meet them with His power and judgment that they could not defeat.  He would strip them bare of all their power.  When we meet Jesus Christ, we must strip ourselves bare of all pride and acknowledge that we can never be more powerful than God.  We must submit totally to the will of God if we are to be saved. 

Verse four declares, As for our redeemer, the Lord of hosts is his name, the Holy One of Israel.  Isaiah said that their Deliverer was the Lord of Hosts and the Holy One of Israel.  This refers to Jesus Christ, Who had yet to come, but for those who lived before He came and all those who have lived since, He is the only Redeemer there ever was or ever will be. 

Verse five adds, Sit thou silent, and get thee into darkness, O daughter of the Chaldeans: for thou shalt no more be called, The lady of kingdoms.  God said that the Chaldeans were to sit silent and in the darkness.  They were no longer to be exalted.  Babylon had been noted for being in power over many people and thought of as a great lady, since most countries are referred to as she.  Now, she was going to be stripped bare and go away to hide in the darkness.  No matter how great we may think we are as a nation or as an individual, when God comes in judgment, if we have not accepted His gift of salvation, we will be stripped bare of everything and sent away into the darkness that exists without the light of Jesus Christ.

Isaiah 46:5

Isaiah 46:5 says, To whom will ye liken me, and make me equal, and compare me, that we may be like?  God asked to whom could the people compare Him.  There are people today who say that it really doesn’t matter which god we worship since they are all basically the same, but this was not true in Isaiah’s day and is not true today. There is but one God, and there is none that He can be compared to.

Verse six adds, They lavish gold out of the bag, and weigh silver in the balance, and hire a goldsmith; and he maketh it a god: they fall down, yea, they worship.  God said that people weighed out gold and silver, hired a goldsmith and fashioned a god out of it.  We may not make the into actual idols, but sometimes today we worship gold and silver more than we worship God. 

Verse seven continues, They bear him upon the shoulder, they carry him, and set him in his place, and he standeth; from his place shall he not remove: yea, one shall cry unto him, yet can he not answer, nor save him out of his trouble.  God said that people would then carry this idol that they had made to a place of honor and bow down to it, but it could never help them.  Whatever we are bowing down to today instead of God is never going to be of help to us spiritually. We may think that having riches makes us better than other people and we may begin to worship our riches, but they will never help us spiritually.  Only a personal relationship with the only living God that we get by putting our faith in His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, can help us spiritually, and the material things will never be of any permanent importance.  

Verse eight states, Remember this, and shew yourselves men: bring it again to mind, O ye transgressors.  Isaiah said that God called on the people of Judah and Israel to remember Who He is and what He had done for them.  They were transgressors, but God was calling them to repentance.  We are all transgressors, and God calls us all to repentance.  If we have become a follower of Christ, we should never forget what He has done for us, but if we do and stray away from His will, God continues to call us back to Him one more.

Verse nine adds, Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me,  God called on the people to remember things of the past, and that He was the God that called them into a covenant relationship with Him, and that He alone is God. Sometimes, we as Christians need to look back at what God has done for us, especially if our faith starts to falter. 

Verse ten continues, Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:  God said He could declare the end of things even from the beginning, because He was both.  His counsel would always stand, and He would act at His pleasure to bring about His purpose.  Fortunately for us, it was His pleasure to create us and to provide a way of redemption when we failed.

Verse eleven says, Calling a ravenous bird from the east, the man that executeth my counsel from a far country: yea, I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it.  This referred to Cyrus whom God was going to call to defeat the Babylonians who were enslaving His people.  Still, Cyrus was but a temporary deliverer who could only deliver the people of Israel from physical bondage.  God sent the only Savior Who can bring us everlasting salvation when He sent His Son Jesus Christ to die in our place. 

Verse twelve adds, Hearken unto me, ye stouthearted, that are far from righteousness:  God called on the stout hearted of Israel to listen to Him, even if they were currently far from righteousness. Matthew Henry says it could also refer to the proud Babylonians who felt that they were undefeatable.  I tend to believe that it is a call to the proud Jews who had so far refused to humble themselves before God.  Of course, both groups needed to do so.  If we become proud of our own abilities and don’t feel the need for God, whether we are a Christian or not, we need to hear God’s call to come humbly to Him once more. 

Verse thirteen continues, I bring near my righteousness; it shall not be far off, and my salvation shall not tarry: and I will place salvation in Zion for Israel my glory.  Isaiah said the God had stated that His salvation was not far off, and that His salvation would bring righteousness to the people who accepted it.  God’s ultimate salvation didn’t come for several hundred more years, though the physical deliverance from Babylonian captivity came much sooner.  When we accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord, which is the only way to be made righteous before God, we are forever delivered from the power of sin and death, even if it takes many years before we are finally delivered to our home in heaven.  We just need to rest securely in that promise.

Isaiah 46:1

Isaiah 46:1 says, Bel boweth down, Nebo stoopeth, their idols were upon the beasts, and upon the cattle: your carriages were heavy loaden; they are a burden to the weary beast.  Isaiah said that the people of Judah were carrying idols that weighed down their carriages.  There are different thoughts about who Bel and Nebo were, but they were false gods and could not harm or help anyone.  Matthew Henry says that after they were brought down from their places on high, the gold that was used to make them is what weighed the carriages down.  I do know that since they could not move themselves, that if they had to be moved, it was a burden to those who moved them.  Any idol that we worship today will only be a burden to us and can never help us.

Verse two adds, They stoop, they bow down together; they could not deliver the burden, but themselves are gone into captivity.  These two idols, like all idols, were not a help to those who worshipped them but a burden.  No idol will ever be able to help anyone, but they can certainly be a burden to those who worship them.  If nothing else, they stand between people and the only God that there is, Who will never be dependent on anyone to move Him from place to place.  He is the God Who can move everything. 

Verse three continues, Hearken unto me, O house of Jacob, and all the remnant of the house of Israel, which are borne by me from the belly, which are carried from the womb:  God called on the people of Judah and the remnant of the people of Israel to remember that He was the One Who had called them to serve Him.  They had entered into a covenant relationship with Him, and He had never failed in His part of the covenant.  Now, He was calling on them to return to their part of the covenant.  If there is ever a time when we as followers of Christ are separated from Him, it will be because we have failed to live faithfully to our covenant with Jesus Christ, and He will always call on us to remember it and return to Him. 

Verse four concludes, And even to your old age I am he; and even to hoar hairs will I carry you: I have made, and I will bear; even I will carry, and will deliver you.  God said that even when they got old and grey, that he would still carry them.  Once we accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord, He will never forsake us, no matter how old we get.  Even beyond that, when we die, we are still spiritually His forever.  He created us and He will keep us safe forever if we have accepted His gift of salvation.  He will always carry and deliver us spiritually. 

Isaiah 45:17

Isaiah 45:17 says, But Israel shall be saved in the Lord with an everlasting salvation: ye shall not be ashamed nor confounded world without end.  God said that the people of Israel, those who had truly put their faith in God and not just those born into the kingdom of Israel, would be saved and not ashamed or confused.  We who have put our faith in Jesus Christ are a part of that kingdom, and we should never be ashamed or confused about who we are.  Through our faith in Jesus Christ, we are a part of that world without end, God’s coming kingdom. 

Verse eighteen adds, For thus saith the Lord that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the Lord; and there is none else.  Isaiah said that God said He was the Creator of the earth, and He created it to be inhabited and that He didn’t do so in vain.  God will inhabit His earth with those who put their faith in Jesus Christ, and the earth will be restored to what He created it to be. 

Verse nineteen continues, I have not spoken in secret, in a dark place of the earth: I said not unto the seed of Jacob, Seek ye me in vain: I the Lord speak righteousness, I declare things that are right.  God then added that He had not worked in secret but declared Himself to the seed of Jacob.  It is not that they alone were to be able to know God, but that He was going to work through them to reveal Himself to the whole world.  As Christians. God has revealed Himself plainly to us, and He then expects us to proclaim His gospel to the whole world.  

Verse twenty states, Assemble yourselves and come; draw near together, ye that are escaped of the nations: they have no knowledge that set up the wood of their graven image, and pray unto a god that cannot save.  Isaiah invited the people who had escaped from captivity to assemble together and to acknowledge that the idols that had been worshipped had no power to deliver them.  Only God did then and only He does now.  If we have accepted Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord, we have been set free from sin’s power, and we can walk calmly in the world without having to run in fear. 

Verse twenty-one adds, Tell ye, and bring them near; yea, let them take counsel together: who hath declared this from ancient time? who hath told it from that time? have not I the Lord? and there is no God else beside me; a just God and a Saviour; there is none beside me.  What they were to declare when they did assemble together was that from the beginning, there had been but one God.  People had declared this in the past under His authority, and they were to declare it again.  He was not only the Creator, but He was a just God and the only Savior of mankind.  This is never going to change, and when we assemble together in His name, we need to make sure that this is what we are proclaiming today.  There is only one God and one Savior. 

Verse twenty-two continues, Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.  God called on people from the ends of the earth to look to Him and be saved because He was the only God and therefore the only One Who can save them.  This is just a true now as it was then.  God never called the people of Israel into a covenant relationship with Him because they were the only ones He intended to save.  He called them into a covenant relationship with Him so He could work through them to save anyone and everyone who would put their faith in Him, and that is still true for Christians today.  We are just as unworthy of salvation as anyone else, but when we put our faith in Jesus Christ, we are redeemed from the penalty of sin, and our purpose becomes to reach out to other people with the gospel and not to sit back feeling superior to them.  

Verse twenty-three says, I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear.  God said that He had proclaimed that one day every knee would bow and ever tongue would confess that He alone is God.  He is the only way to righteousness.  The question is, will we do that in this lifetime and accept His gift of salvation or will we wait until Jesus Christ returns in judgment and proclaim it after being forever separated from God’s forgiveness. 

Verse twenty-four adds, "Surely, shall one say, in the Lord have I righteousness and strength: even to him shall men come; and all that are incensed against him shall be ashamed."  God said that anyone who said that they had righteous with God would have men coming to him to find out about this righteousness.  We as followers of Christ know that our righteousness does not come from our own goodness, but it comes from our relationship with Jesus Christ once we put our faith in Him as our Savior and Lord, and we should then live our lives in such a way that people will be called to Him by our witness. 

Verse twenty-five continues, In the Lord shall all the seed of Israel be justified, and shall glory.  All the seed of Israel were those who had remained true to the covenant that they had made with God and not everyone who was born into the nation of Israel.  This was true because God was going to send the Messiah, Jesus Christ, to die for their sins and they had put their faith in His coming to do so.  We today, no matter where we were born, become a part of the people of God if we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, and that is the only way we can be justified, and we then should always give all the glory to God.

 

Isaiah 45:11

Isaiah 45:11 says, Thus saith the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker, Ask me of things to come concerning my sons, and concerning the work of my hands command ye me.  I believe this refers to Jesus Christ, our Lord, and His Maker refers to the heavenly Father Who did make the Son to be human. I believe that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are One, even if I don’t understand exactly what this means.  One day, the question will be answered.  God invited them, and us, to ask Him about His creative work, but He didn’t invite them to dispute with Him as Matthew Henry states.  I may not understand everything about God, but He invites me to ask Him anything.

Verse twelve adds, I have made the earth, and created man upon it: I, even my hands, have stretched out the heavens, and all their host have I commanded.  God says that He created the heavens and the earth by stretching out His hands.  I think this refers back to the example of the potter who shapes the vessel by his hands and not to the fact that God has to use His hands to make anything.  I believe He can just speak things into being or speak them out of being.  Again, one day I will know for sure.

Verse thirteen continues, I have raised him up in righteousness, and I will direct all his ways: he shall build my city, and he shall let go my captives, not for price nor reward, saith the Lord of hosts.  This could refer to Cyrus being made righteous by God and freeing the people of Israel to return and rebuild Jerusalem, but I believe it refers to Jesús Christ, the righteous One, Who came to set all the captives of sin free if they will only accept Him as their Savior and Lord.  

Verse fourteen states, Thus saith the Lord, The labour of Egypt, and merchandise of Ethiopia and of the Sabeans, men of stature, shall come over unto thee, and they shall be thine: they shall come after thee; in chains they shall come over, and they shall fall down unto thee, they shall make supplication unto thee, saying, Surely God is in thee; and there is none else, there is no God.  God then said that the people of Egypt and the merchandise of Ethiopia would come to Israel asking for help from their God, who they would acknowledge as the only true God.  Even when being released to return and rebuild Jerusalem, the people of Israel were poor and weak, but God promised them that He would provide for their needs.  When we come to Jesus Christ, we are spiritually poor and weak, but He will provide all that we need to live strong spiritual lives under the power and leadership of the Holy Spirit.  Cyrus was the earthly provider of their needs, but God was the One Who was directing him.  We may have people helping us materially as Christians, but we need to recognize that God is the One ultimately responsible and give the honor and praise to Him. 

Verse fifteen adds, Verily thou art a God that hidest thyself, O God of Israel, the Saviour.  God was referred to as a God Who hid Himself.  Matthew Henry says this refers to the fact that when people of God turn away from Him, He hides Himself from them.  I believe that it means  when the people of God turn away from Him, they just don’t see Him anymore, but He is still very much present if they only repent and return to Him.  Also, even though God reveals Himself through His creation, the truth of Who He is remains hidden until we accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord. 

Verse sixteen continues, They shall be ashamed, and also confounded, all of them: they shall go to confusion together that are makers of idols.  God said that those who didn’t see God would go away  ashamed and confounded by the lack of power on the part of their gods.  Even if they don’t do so in this lifetime, there is coming a day when all who refuse to acknowledge God for Who He is, the only God Who exists, are going to go away in shame and confusion over how they could have been so wrong. 

Isaiah 45:5

 Isaiah 45:5 says, I am the Lord, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me:  God proclaimed Himself to be the only true God.  He didn’t do this just to exalt Himself, but He did it so that Cyrus and all those who heard Him would know the truth.  There are no other gods.  Matthew Henry says this is so that when he became rich and powerful, Cyrus, who had grown up worshipping idols, would remember that he was just a man and that there is but one God.  When we proclaim ourselves to be followers of Christ, we don’t do it to exalt ourselves, but we do so that the rest of the world might know God and exalt Him. 

Verse six adds, That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the Lord, and there is none else.  God said there was no other real God from the rising of the sun to the setting of the sun, or in other words, anywhere in the world.  This will never change. 

Verse seven continues, I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the Lord do all these things.  God said He made light and darkness.  He then said he made peace and evil.  I do not believe this means that God created evil in and of itself, but that He created evil between those who engage in evil and Himself, just as He created peace between those who put their faith in Him by accepting Jesus Christ as their Savior and Himself.  

Verse eight states, Drop down, ye heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness: let the earth open, and let them bring forth salvation, and let righteousness spring up together; I the Lord have created it.  God called on righteousness to drop down from above and let the earth bring forth salvation because God had created it in goodness.  Righteousness can only come from above, because there is none righteous here in the world of their own merit.  The righteousness that came down from above, Jesus Christ, brings salvation to all who put their faith in Him.  Matthew Henry points to the reformation as the fulfillment of this prophesy, but I believe it refers to the coming of Jesus Christ, even if the world might have improved for a time during the reformation. 

Verse nine adds, Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker! Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth. Shall the clay say to him that fashioneth it, What makest thou? or thy work, He hath no hands?  God then pronounced woe on those who would strive with Him.  He once more equated it to the clay telling the potter what it would be made into.  It is not ours to question what God has called us to do, but it is our responsibility to do what He calls us to do knowing that He alone knows what is best.  If we start to attempt to tell God what is best for us, then we may find our lives filled with woe. 

Verse ten continues, Woe unto him that saith unto his father, What begettest thou? or to the woman, What hast thou brought forth?  Then, God pronounces woe on children who attempt to blame their parents of their faults, or that is my understanding, and even from a greater perspective, for people to try to blame God for their failures.  We are never going to be in a position to blame God for anything.  He always has and always will know what is best for us, but that begins by acknowledging that He knows what is best for us even when we don’t.