Isaiah 42:17

Isaiah 42:17 says, They shall be turned back, they shall be greatly ashamed, that trust in graven images, that say to the molten images, Ye are our gods.  Isaiah said that those who had put their faith in idols would be greatly ashamed.  They may have thought that they were made powerful by putting their faith in these idols, but they would be turned back into defeat.  Idols that people worship will never lead to anything but defeat, since they lead people away from putting their faith in God. 

Verse eighteen adds, Hear, ye deaf; and look, ye blind, that ye may see.  Here, Isaiah was speaking to those Jews in captivity who were just as evil as their captives.  Isaiah asked for those who were spiritually blind to hear the truth of God’s word and see the truth of the uselessness of idols.  Many people who profess to be Christians are just as evil as those who deny God.  In both case, they need to hear God’s word and believe it while acknowledging that He alone has lasting power in the world. 

Verse nineteen continues, Who is blind, but my servant? or deaf, as my messenger that I sent? who is blind as he that is perfect, and blind as the Lord's servant?  Isaiah here makes it very clear that God is now speaking to those who are supposed to be His people, the Jews.  We as followers of Christ need to pray that we are never so spiritually deaf and blind that God has to call us out for our behavior. 

Verse twenty states, Seeing many things, but thou observest not; opening the ears, but he heareth not.  God said that even though they saw many things that He was doing in the world, I believe, that they didn’t observe them as His work and that hearing His word spoken, they didn’t hear it spiritually.  Matthew Henry relates this to the Jews in Jesus’s day who saw many prophesies being fulfilled and heard the truth of God’s word being proclaimed but refused to see or hear that truth.  God’s work can still be seen clearly in the world today and the gospel is being preached, but too often those who claim to be His people refuse to see His works or hear the truth of the gospel.  They attempt to make salvation about their worthiness and not their inability to find salvation on their own. 

Verse twenty-one adds, The Lord is well pleased for his righteousness' sake; he will magnify the law, and make it honourable.  Isaiah said God was well pleased with those who were made righteous by putting their faith in Him.  He also said that God would magnify His law and make it honorable.  We know that we will never be righteous by our own merit, but we can be made righteous by faith in Jesus Christ.  If we put our faith in Him as our Savior and Lord, God will be well pleased with us, and though we cannot be saved by the Law of God, He will still magnify it.  God’s law does not cease to exist when we become Christians, but we are still expected to obey it because it will always be truth. 

Verse twenty-two continues, But this is a people robbed and spoiled; they are all of them snared in holes, and they are hid in prison houses: they are for a prey, and none delivereth; for a spoil, and none saith, Restore.  Isaiah said that those who were supposed to be His people were robbed, spoiled and imprisoned because of their lack of faith in Him and their looking to idols for help.  There was no one to help them since they had basically been forgotten.  If we have put our faith in anyone or anything other than Jesus Christ, there is no one who can deliver us from the power of sin and its death penalty. 

Verse twenty-three says, Who among you will give ear to this? who will hearken and hear for the time to come?  Isaiah said that God asked who would hear His words and obey them.  Not everyone who heard God’s word was going to respond to it in belief, but that didn’t mean that God was not going to continue to have His word proclaimed.  We may witness to many people and very few may believe in Jesus Christ when we do, but that doesn’t mean that we are to stop witnessing. 

Verse twenty-four adds, Who gave Jacob for a spoil, and Israel to the robbers? did not the Lord, he against whom we have sinned? for they would not walk in his ways, neither were they obedient unto his law.  Isaiah said that God had allowed the people of Israel to be defeated because they would not live in obedience to Him.  We call ourselves a Christian nation, but if we do not obey God’s word, we may find ourselves defeated.  Just saying we believe in God while living as though we are no different than the rest of the world is never going to save us. 

Verse twenty-five continues, Therefore he hath poured upon him the fury of his anger, and the strength of battle: and it hath set him on fire round about, yet he knew not; and it burned him, yet he laid it not to heart.  Isaiah said that even though the people of Isreal felt the sting of God’s anger at the way they were living, they still would not turn away from their idols and turn to Him.  God is not necessarily going to send down His fire on us to get us to turn away from sin, but if we do not turn to Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord so that our sins may be forgiven, then one day we will be sent away to everlasting punishment in hell, the lake of fire.  The choice of whether we accept God’s gift of salvation or not is every individual's to make.

Isaiah 42:8

Isaiah 42:8 says, I am the Lord: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.  Isaiah sad that God said that He alone was God and that was His name.  He was the God Who had entered into a covenant relationship with the people of Israel even before they were a people and He is still the same God.  God said He wouldn’t share His glory with anyone else, since He alone was the Creator and Sustainer of everything.  He also said He wouldn’t have the praise that should be coming to Him given to graven images.  We need to worship God alone and give all our praises to Him. 

Verse nine adds, Behold, the former things are come to pass, and new things do I declare: before they spring forth I tell you of them.  God was one day going to do a new work when He sent His only begotten Son Jesus Christ to redeem mankind, but this should not have come as a surprise to the people of Israel.  Even in that day, they were looking for the coming Messiah Who would restore the people to God completely.  The fact that Jesus Christ came, lived, died, and rose again is certainly no surprise to believer today, but until by faith we have our eyes spiritually opened it remains an unknown truth. 

Verse ten continues. Sing unto the Lord a new song, and his praise from the end of the earth, ye that go down to the sea, and all that is therein; the isles, and the inhabitants thereof.  Isaiah said that God called on the whole earth to sing a new song to Him.  I believe this would be the song of redemption by faith in Jesus Christ Who died not just to redeem the people of Israel but to redeem the whole world.  This is the song we as Christians should sing today. 

Verse eleven states, Let the wilderness and the cities thereof lift up their voice, the villages that Kedar doth inhabit: let the inhabitants of the rock sing, let them shout from the top of the mountains.  Isaiah said that God called on everyone to sing praises to Him.  The people everywhere were to sing praises to God, and not just the people of Israel and this is still true today.  People from all over the world are a part of God's kingdom and should be singing praises o Him every day.

Verse twelve adds, Let them give glory unto the Lord, and declare his praise in the islands.  The songs that they sang were to give glory to God, and the songs that we sing, especially as we gather together as the church, should give glory to God. 

Verse thirteen continues, The Lord shall go forth as a mighty man, he shall stir up jealousy like a man of war: he shall cry, yea, roar; he shall prevail against his enemies.  Isaiah said that God would go before them like a mighty man of war and that He would defeat all His enemies.  This has already been accomplished spiritually and there is no one who can defeat us spiritually as followers of Christ as long as we put our faith in God.  In the meantime, we as Christians are to go into the world unafraid to proclaim the gospel, which should turn the world upside down.     

Verse fourteen says, I have long time holden my peace; I have been still, and refrained myself: now will I cry like a travailing woman; I will destroy and devour at once.  For a long time, God had held His peace as the Gentile world failed to acknowledge Him and even fought to destroy His people, but this was going to change.  He was going to devour and destroy them.  I believe this would refer to the second coming of Jesus Christ more than anytime in between.  God continues to hold His peace, to not destroy the evil in the world, but there is coming a day when this will no longer be true. 

Verse fifteen adds, I will make waste mountains and hills, and dry up all their herbs; and I will make the rivers islands, and I will dry up the pools.  This may have happened many times in history in certain places, but I still believe that this refers to when Jesus Christ returns in judgment. 

Verse sixteen continues, And I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not; I will lead them in paths that they have not known: I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight. These things will I do unto them, and not forsake them.  God said that the spiritually blind would be given sight as He led them by a way that they didn’t know before.  This way was salvation through faith in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ to bring forgiveness to all who would accept His gift of salvation.  People still continue to look for a way of salvation but refuse to see that the only way is by faith in Jesus Christ.  They will remain spiritually blind until they accept this gift of salvation, even though they may have heard the gospel proclaimed many times.  When we accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord, our spiritual darkness will be filled with His light, and we can be certain that He will never abandon us. 

Isaiah 42:1

Isaiah 42:1 says, Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles.  The emphasis here seems to be on the Messiah, Jesus Christ, even though it spoke of Cyrus during that time.  We do know that even though he may have done great things for the people of Israel in his day that Cyrus was not the elect of God, but Jesus Christ is.  What Cyrus was doing mainly benefited the Jews of that day, but what Jesus Christ did on the cross and at His resurrection from the dead benefitted everyone from all ages, including the Gentiles.  That includes all of us who were not born as a Jew. 

Verse two adds, He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street.  Jesus Christ did not come with mighty power but with meekness, which at times disappointed His disciples.  They wanted an immediate earthly victory over Rome, but this was not Jesus’s purpose.  We should not be looking for powerful military victories in the world today as Christians, but we should be looking to reach out to the world with the meekness that Jesus displayed. 

Verse three continues, A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench: he shall bring forth judgment unto truth.   Isaiah said that even though Jesus would be bruised, He would not be broken.  The Jews of that day thought they had broken Jesus forever when He died on the cross, but He was only bruised by death and not defeated. 

Verse four concludes, He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set judgment in the earth: and the isles shall wait for his law.  Isaiah said that Jesus would not be discouraged, and He would set judgment on all the earth, not just Israel.  Though He died on the cross, He was never discouraged by having to die that all who put their faith in Him might live.  We now just need to live by faith in Him and obey His laws.

Verse five states, Thus saith God the Lord, he that created the heavens, and stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein:  Isaiah reminded the people of Israel once more of God’s great power.  He not only created the heavens and the earth, but He created mankind and breathed the breath of life into man, giving all people a spirit to walk on the earth.  This separates us from every other creature on the earth.  Not only did God create people to be spiritual as well as physical beings, He created them to have a personal relationship with Him while at the same time giving them the free will to choose not to. 

Verse six adds, I the Lord have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles;  Matthew Henry says this applies to the Messiah, Jesus Christ, but I believe it is a call to all Christians.  Isaiah said God had called the people of Israel to righteousness through a covenant relationship with Him, and so it is to us.  Jesus Christ, the Messiah, is the new covenant that we put our faith in to be saved.  They were never righteous of their own merit, and neither are we. We become righteous as Christians because of our covenant relationship with God when we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord.  Isaiah said that the Jews in that day because of their covenant relationship with God were then to be a light to the Gentiles, calling them into that same covenant relationship.  We as followers of Christ are mostly Gentiles, and we are to be a light to the rest of the world today. 

Verse seven continue, To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house.  Jesus Christ did come to restore sight to the blind, but I believe this is spiritual sight to those who were spiritually blind and not physical sight.  He also came to set those who were imprisoned free, but again I believe that this was spiritually being a prisoner of sin and not a physical prison.  Jesus did heal physical blindness and at times those who were imprisoned for their faith were set free, but these were always temporary things, and I believe that this refers to the everlasting spiritual sight and freedom from the penalty of sin that we receive when we put our faith in Him.  Until we do, we are spiritually blind and under the power of sin. 

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Isaiah 41:21

Isaiah 41:21 says, Produce your cause, saith the Lord; bring forth your strong reasons, saith the King of Jacob.  Isaiah then said God invited those who proclaimed the power of idols to show the proof of their power.  God had on so many occasions shown His power to the world, and especially to the people of Israel, that He could ask that these other supposed gods do the same.  Whatever idol anyone may be putting their faith in is never going to be able to deliver anything really.  We might profit materially from putting our faith in certain idols, but it will not be because they have any power of their own. 

Verse twenty-two adds, Let them bring them forth, and shew us what shall happen: let them shew the former things, what they be, that we may consider them, and know the latter end of them; or declare us things for to come.  Isaiah said that these false gods needed to show what they had done in the past and what was going to happen in the future.  God had a record of His works in the past, and if people remained true to His promises, they would see evidence of the accuracy of what He said was going to happen in the future come true.  The false gods, the idols, could offer no proof of what they had done in the past, nor could they offer any accurate prediction of what was going to happen in the future.  As followers of Christ, we need to look to Him in all things, from what He has done in the past to what He promises will happen in the future. 

Verse twenty-three continues, Shew the things that are to come hereafter, that we may know that ye are gods: yea, do good, or do evil, that we may be dismayed, and behold it together.  Isaiah continued to challenge these idols to show what was going to happen in the future, whether it was bad or good.  If they were all-powerful, this would be no problem.  God had foretold both good and bad things that were going to happen to the people of Israel and they always came to pass, as would anything that He foretold of the future then.  We can be thankful that God’s promise of the coming Messiah happened as He said it would, even if He didn’t come as people wanted Him to come.  We today can be certain of His coming again, even if we don’t know the time. 

Verse twenty-four concludes, Behold, ye are of nothing, and your work of nought: an abomination is he that chooseth you.  Isaiah then said that God pronounced these idols to be nothing and those who worshipped them to be an abomination.  As Christians, we have to acknowledge that anything of this world that we begin to put more faith in than we do in God is without power and if we trust in them instead of God, we are an abomination in our profession to be His people.

Verse twenty-five states, I have raised up one from the north, and he shall come: from the rising of the sun shall he call upon my name: and he shall come upon princes as upon morter, and as the potter treadeth clay.  Isaiah said God had raised up one from the north and he was coming.  This was a reference to Cyrus who ruled over the Medes to the north and the Persians to the east according to Matthew Henry but was also a prophesy that would culminate with the coming of Jesus Christ as the forever Redeemer.  When Cyrus came to power, he would release the people of Israel to return and rebuild the temple in the name of God.  Of course, Jesus didn’t come to bring an earthly victory over the world at that time, but He came to bring a spiritual victory for all time.

Verse twenty-six adds, Who hath declared from the beginning, that we may know? and beforetime, that we may say, He is righteous? yea, there is none that sheweth, yea, there is none that declareth, yea, there is none that heareth your words.  Isaiah said God asked who there was who could show what they had done in the past and was righteous enough to redeem people, and the answer was that God alone could make this claim.  God alone knows what is going to happen in the future, and all we need to know as Christians is that He is already victorious over sin and death and that Jesus Christ will one day return to claim those who have put their faith in Him.

Verse twenty-seven continues, The first shall say to Zion, Behold, behold them: and I will give to Jerusalem one that bringeth good tidings.  Isaiah said that God Himself was the One Who would deliver Zion from captivity.  This applied to their deliverance from Babylon in that day but also refers to God’s deliverance of all people for all time who will put their faith in His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, Who lived without sin, died and rose again to claim everlasting victory over sin and death. 

Verse twenty-eight says. For I beheld, and there was no man; even among them, and there was no counsellor, that, when I asked of them, could answer a word.  Isaiah said that there was no one among the counselors of men who could give God an answer about what was going to happen in the future.  The Jews were not the only ones freed from captivity by Cyrus, but none of their gods saw that it was going to happen.  The Jews were not the only ones freed from the captivity of sin when Jesus Christ came, lived, died and rose again for them to be given a way to redemption if they would accept it, and they nor anyone else understood how it would happen.  God had told them, but they didn’t believe or understand, and the gods of no other nation were capable of telling anyone what God was going to do. This is still true today.  There is only one true God.

Verse twenty-nine adds, Behold, they are all vanity; their works are nothing: their molten images are wind and confusion.  All these false gods were said to be a vanity, or nothing.  Idols always have been and always will be nothing.  They are without any power or any ability to give or sustain life, but the one true God can and does do both.

 

Isaiah 41:14

Isaiah 41:14 says, Fear not, thou worm Jacob, and ye men of Israel; I will help thee, saith the Lord, and thy redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.  God referred to the people of Israel, the descendants of Jacob, as worms.  They had become a powerless nation, but God told them not to fear because He would help them, I believe once they repented and turned to Hi again.  The song, At The Cross, had a line in it that said, “Would He devote that sacred head for such a worm as I,” and it was changed to “such sinners such as I,” because it was said that people didn’t want to think of themselves as worms, but this seems a Biblical concept to me.  We should never think more highly of ourselves than God thinks of us, and even if we are compared to a worm in our strength, we as followers of Christ are still protected by God’s powerful hand. 

Verse fifteen adds, Behold, I will make thee a new sharp threshing instrument having teeth: thou shalt thresh the mountains, and beat them small, and shalt make the hills as chaff.  Isaiah said God was going to make Israel a powerful nation once again, saying they would be like a threshing machine with teeth and would thresh the mountains and the hills, making their enemies seem like chaff.  Still, they would only be an instrument in God’s hand when they lived by faith in Him.  We will never be more than an instrument in God’s hand as Christians, but He has already given us the power to defeat any spiritual enemy that we encounter. 

Verse sixteen continues, Thou shalt fan them, and the wind shall carry them away, and the whirlwind shall scatter them: and thou shalt rejoice in the Lord, and shalt glory in the Holy One of Israel.  Isaiah said that God was going to scatter the enemies of Israel like chaff being scattered in the wind.  As followers of Christ, no  matter how powerful our enemies may seem the are but chaff in the wind as long as we are living in obedience to God and relying on His power to keep us safe. 

Verse seventeen states, When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue faileth for thirst, I the Lord will hear them, I the God of Israel will not forsake them.  Isaiah said that when the poor and needy sought water and couldn’t find any, that God said He would provide it for them.  As Christians, if we find ourselves spiritually thirsty and unable to find relief, God has already given us Living Water to quench our spiritual thirst.  We can never quench it without relying on Him. 

Verse eighteen adds, I will open rivers in high places, and fountains in the midst of the valleys: I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water.  Isaiah said God was going to give the people of Israel who were thirsty an unlimited supply of water.  We as Christians, if we are spiritually dry and thirsty, already have an unlimited supply of Living Water, so we simply need to turn to God and begin to drink our fill. 

Verse nineteen continues. I will plant in the wilderness the cedar, the shittah tree, and the myrtle, and the oil tree; I will set in the desert the fir tree, and the pine, and the box tree together:  Isaiah said God was going to cause the wilderness to be filled with trees once again.  The world may seem a desolate place for us at times, spiritually if not physically, but once we start living by faith in God, He will cause our lives to flourish spiritually once more.  God will always meet our needs, even if we seem to be surrounded by a wilderness of sin.  

Verse twenty concludes, That they may see, and know, and consider, and understand together, that the hand of the Lord hath done this, and the Holy One of Israel hath created it.  Isaiah said that when God did this that the people of Israel would understand that He was the One responsible for their blessings.  As Christians, no matter how blessed we may be materially, we need to realize that all our blessings come from God and give Him the credit and praise Him for all that He has blessed us with.  This is true if we have more than we need or if we are barely having our needs met.  In either case, we need to give God the glory and praise.

 

Isaiah 41:10

Isaiah 41:10 says, Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.  Isaiah told the people of Israel to not be dismayed at their current situation because God was with them.  No matter how bad things may look for us in the world as follower of Christ today, we should never be dismayed, because God is with us and He has already claimed the victory. 

Verse eleven adds, Behold, all they that were incensed against thee shall be ashamed and confounded: they shall be as nothing; and they that strive with thee shall perish.  Isaiah said that God had proclaimed that those who opposed Israel were going to be put to shame, no matter how powerful they thought they were.  This will always be true, when Jesus Christ returns if not before.  We may not always see this happen in our particular situation, but it is already an accomplished fact.

Verse twelve continues, Thou shalt seek them, and shalt not find them, even them that contended with thee: they that war against thee shall be as nothing, and as a thing of nought.  Isaiah said that even if the people of Israel sought these enemies, they wouldn’t find them, because God had reduced them to nothing.  We don’t need to go out looking for enemies to fight today as followers of Christ but just need to acknowledge that all our enemies are nothing from a spiritual perspective.

Verse thirteen concludes, For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee.  Isaiah said that they didn’t need to fear because God was holding their right hand.  As Christians, we don’t need to be afraid of the powers of the world, because God is holding us in His mighty hand.  There is no power that can defeat God, so if we are living by faith in Him, we are spiritually safe forever, no matter what happens in our life.

Isaiah 41:1

Isaiah 41:1 says, Keep silence before me, O islands; and let the people renew their strength: let them come near; then let them speak: let us come near together to judgment.  Matthew Henry says this chapter was intended to both convict the idolaters and to comfort those who had remained true to God.  He also said that even though it was intended to convict the Babylonians and to comfort the Israelites in that day that it also applies to people of the world today.  God will convict those who are sinning of their sin, whether they acknowledge this conviction or not, and He will comfort those who put their faith in Him, no matter what is going on in the world.  There was nothing that either group of people could say that would diminish the power of God, so they were called on to stay silent before Him.  There is no need to question God’s authority, because He has already won the victory.   

Verse two adds, Who raised up the righteous man from the east, called him to his foot, gave the nations before him, and made him rule over kings? he gave them as the dust to his sword, and as driven stubble to his bow.  Isaiah said that God asked who had done for the people who worshipped false God’s what He had done for the righteous man, or those who put their faith in Him, since no one of their own merit is righteous.  God had given the people of Israel power over the other people around them as long as they put their faith in and were obedient to Him.  As followers of Christ, He has likewise given us victory over sin and death, not because of our own merit, but because of His mercy. 

Verse three continues, He pursued them, and passed safely; even by the way that he had not gone with his feet.  I believe that Isaiah was saying that God provided a way for victory even when the people of Israel saw no way.  At times, it may seem that the world is about to overpower us and we can see no way to overcome it, but God will always make a way, even when we don’t see one. 

Verse four states, Who hath wrought and done it, calling the generations from the beginning? I the Lord, the first, and with the last; I am he.  Isaiah said that when people asked Who had delivered the people from generation to generation that the answer was God Himself had done this.  This was true from the beginning and will be true to the end.  God always has and always will provide a way for salvation if people only accept His gift. 

Verse five adds, The isles saw it, and feared; the ends of the earth were afraid, drew near, and came.  Matthew Henry says this referred to the Gentiles seeing the power of God and coming to Him even when the people of Israel were still rejecting Him.  I do know that the people of Israel as a nation still reject Jesus as the Messiah or Christ today, which is the reason that we as Gentiles who have accepted Him as our Savior and Lord are tasked with sharing the gospel with the world. 

Verse six continues, They helped every one his neighbour; and every one said to his brother, Be of good courage.  Isaiah said that those who put their faith in God helped and encouraged one another.  This should be true of Christians today.  We need to help and encourage those in need, not just our fellow believers but also anyone that God gives us a chance to help.  It is not enough to say that we will pray for them if we are unwilling to be used by God to actually help and encourage others. 

Verse seven concludes, So the carpenter encouraged the goldsmith, and he that smootheth with the hammer him that smote the anvil, saying, It is ready for the sodering: and he fastened it with nails, that it should not be moved.  People of different professions helped and encouraged one another.  We as followers of Christ should never be self-centered and have no concern for other people who work around us.  When it comes to work in the church especially, we all need each other and no one job is more important in God’s eyes than any other. 

Verse eight says, But thou, Israel, art my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham my friend.  God then had a message for His chosen people, whom He had made a covenant with through both Abraham and Jacob, which applied to all who accepted it.  As Christians, we have entered into a covenant relationship with God, which is a continuation of the one He made with Abraham that was fulfilled when Jesus Christ came.  We are not God’s people by birth as the people of Israel who lived up to the covenant relationship with God were called to be, but we are a part of His people by our rebirth spiritually as Christians, and we should always be ready to hear God’s word to us. 

Verse nine adds, Thou whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, and called thee from the chief men thereof, and said unto thee, Thou art my servant; I have chosen thee, and not cast thee away.  Isaiah said the people of Israel were God’s people by His action of calling them and choosing to reach out to the world through them. Likewise, we are a part of God’s people as Christians because He has reached out to us and called us to put our faith in His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, Who lived, died, and rose again so that we might have an everlasting relationship with God if we put our faith in Him.