isaiah 44:1-14
Isa 44:1
Yet now hear, O Jacob my servant; and Israel, whom I have
chosen:
This verse is directed to the remnant of true believers
among Judah at that time being called Jacob.
Israel is the true body of believers which the Lord had chosen through
grace. This would be to the entire
body of believers. He declares that he has chosen them and that they did not
choose him. Even through Israel had
gone through some tough times because of their rebellion, God reminds them that
he will be faithful to his promises to Abraham concerning the remnant among them
chosen by grace.
Isa 44:2
Thus saith the LORD that made thee, and formed thee from
the womb, which will help thee; Fear not, O Jacob, my servant; and thou,
Jesurun, whom I have chosen.
Here the LORD declares that he was the one who formed
them from the womb and made them.
This would refer to Abraham who is the progenitor of Israel, both the physical
and spiritual Israel which is the true believers.
Even in times of judgment, God has promised to help them which means he
always had compassion within judgment.
God reassures them that they have nothing to fear because he is still
their God and will be with them.
Jesurun is another name for the people of Israel and means “Upright ones” which
would be those who are the remnant according to grace.
But Jeshurun waxed fat, and
kicked: thou art waxen fat, thou art grown thick, thou art covered
with fatness; then he forsook
God which made him, and lightly
esteemed the Rock of his salvation. (Deuteronomy 32:15)
Isa 44:3
For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and
floods upon the dry ground: I will pour my spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing
upon thine offspring:
The allusion here is that of a person who is taking a
bath and an attendant comes in and pours water upon the bather.
Those who are thirsting after the true gospel will have the pure water of
the gospel poured upon them.
Blessed
are they which do hunger and
thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. (Matthew 5:6)
A person only knows their need for the gospel when God has opened their
eyes to the fact that they are sinners and need a savior.
This could never happen when a person is in a state of spiritual death.
The dry ground will be flooded with the true gospel.
Then God promises that the true gospel will be perpetuated throughout
Israel unto the future generations and also to the Gentile nations throughout
the world. Then in addition to the
gospel, God promises that he will grant blessings to the offspring.
A blessing is an intervention by God in the life of someone.
These blessings will include both the temporal and everlasting.
Isa 44:4
And they shall spring up as among the grass, as
willows by the water courses.
Those that are as spiritually barren as the ground is dry
will experience a great rejuvenation as they become spiritually alive.
Just as grass revives when the rain comes, those whom the LORD has chosen
for salvation will become alive as the brown grass turns into the green grass.
Then they shall become well-watered like the trees which are planted by
the rivers or tributaries of rivers where the water flows freely and the trees
gather their sustenance from it.
And he shall be like a tree
planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his
leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. (Psalm 1:3)
Isa 44:5
One shall say, I am the LORD'S; and another shall
call himself by the name of Jacob; and another shall subscribe with
his hand unto the LORD, and surname himself by the name of Israel.
When one receives the grace of God in salvation, they
will make a public profession of their faith because it is a personal thing
which surpasses any type of religion.
This person may live in a different part of the world but they call
themselves by the name of Jacob which is a synonym for the body of believers.
Then another subscribes with his hand which means that he is willing to
join his hand in the hand of the LORD and be led and guided as a child is led
around by their parents.
And said, Verily I say unto you, Except
ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the
kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 18:3)
Then no matter what their name is or their nationality, they will be
surnamed by the name of Israel, and that would be the eternal Israel or the body
of believers. Our surname would be
Christian.
Isa 44:6
Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer
the LORD of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside
me there is no God.
Then God makes another declaration to the elect within
Israel that he alone is the King of Israel and he is also the redeemer as the
LORD of hosts who would be in charge of all the armies of earth and those of
Heaven in the spiritual realm. God
had shown his authority by rerouting the Assyrians back to Nineveh after he
destroyed 185,000 of their army. He
also commands the hosts of all the angels in Heaven and even the fallen angels
cannot act on their own and are subject to the LORD.
Then the LORD declares that he is the first and last.
I am Alpha and Omega, the
beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is
to come, the Almighty. (Revelation 1:8)
In other words, he was the first to create the world and he will be the
last God because beside him there is no other God.
The false gods are nothing more than the imagination of man and there are
no deities behind the idols.
Isa 44:7
And who, as I, shall call, and shall declare it, and set
it in order for me, since I appointed the ancient people? and the things that
are coming, and shall come, let them shew unto them.
Which one of the false deities can declare that they can
be like God as he called people into existence even before they were born such
as Cyrus and then declare the things which are spoken that they will come to
pass in the order which God had determined his plan to be.
Since God was the one who appointed the ancient people, that is, he chose
certain people to be his representatives down here and to fulfill his plans such
as Moses and Joshua while empowering them through his Spirit.
Let the idols show to their people the things that are coming and 99%
fulfillment means they are still false because all of God’s declarations came to
pass at 100%. Let these false
religions and their idols match the perfection of God and see if they can
accomplish what God has.
Isa 44:8
Fear ye not, neither be afraid: have not I told thee from
that time, and have declared it? ye are even my witnesses. Is
there a God beside me? yea, there is no God; I know not any.
Then God encourages them not to be in fear or even having
the slightest fear because everything the LORD did, he did after he notified the
people of what he was going to do so there were no surprises or confusion.
The people of Israel were witnesses to the things which God had
accomplished among them. There was
the exodus from Egypt, the crossing of Jordan, the destruction of the 185,000
and eventually there would come a time when the saved remnant in Israel would
see the Messiah and would begin to spread the true word of God among the
nations. Then he asks them the
question is there any God beside him?
Then he answers that question straightly, no there is no God beside the
true God of Israel and God states that he does not know of any and for someone
to make that declaration who is omniscient, their declaration needs to be
heeded.
Isa 44:9
They that make a graven image are all of them
vanity; and their delectable things shall not profit; and they are their
own witnesses; they see not, nor know; that they may be ashamed.
Those who produce graven images are vain and futile
because they represent nothing but air.
This verse was also meant as a warning to Judah when they are captives in
Babylon to resist the temptation of getting involved in the false religions of
Babylon. The delectable things will
not profit because they will be enticements to worship false gods such as temple
prostitutes or great feasts. Those
who fashion the false gods are witnesses against themselves because they are the
ones who made the idols. They know
that these idols cannot see nor can they know anything since they have no brains
and are nothing more than molded plaster or carved wood overlaid with gold or
silver. They would be ashamed
because they know these idols will deliver nothing and not give any relief or
comfort to those who worship them.
The makers of these idols would be ashamed because they partook in a false
religion and have done nothing but deceived the buyers.
Isa 44:10
Who hath formed a god, or molten a graven image that
is profitable for nothing?
Then the question is asked who hath formed a god?
In other words, just because a person has a likeness or image of what
they think a god should look like, does that mean there is some kind of deity
behind that image? No human can
ever create a god since God has already told them there is no other gods.
The molten graven image was created out of wood and then overlaid with
plaster or sometimes silver or gold.
They were not made totally out of precious metals but normally like
jewelry of today, they are just wood overlaid with metal to give the appearance
of being all precious metal. Then
God tells them plainly, these idols are profitable for nothing, that is, they
are totally useless and have no ability to give any spiritual benefit.
Isa 44:11
Behold, all his fellows shall be ashamed: and the
workmen, they are of men: let them all be gathered together, let them
stand up; yet they shall fear, and they shall be ashamed together.
All those who join themselves to idols will be ashamed
which conveys the fact that the people will feel shame or humiliation.
Those who fashion the idols are only mere men and have no ability to
fashion a god which can bring help to one of their adherents.
How can a sinful man create a god with supernatural powers?
Then God tells them to gather themselves together as one big group such
as Demetrius did against Paul in Ephesus.
Wherefore if Demetrius, and the
craftsmen which are with him, have a matter against any man, the law is open,
and there are deputies: let them implead one another. (Acts 19:38)
Let them gather and stand up together and plead their case for their
false gods. They will not prevail
and they will fear when they come in contact with the true gospel as Demetrius
and his group did. They will be
confronted with the true gospel and find that their false gods are but nothing
and they will be in shame for their actions as having false gods which are
totally impotent.
Isa 44:12
The smith with the tongs both worketh in the coals, and
fashioneth it with hammers, and worketh it with the strength of his arms: yea,
he is hungry, and his strength faileth: he drinketh no water, and is faint.
Then the LORD gives details on how the false gods are
fashioned. First they get the wood
from the forest which is the basic material for the idol.
The smith then works with the tongs as some idols were made out of iron.
He takes the iron and puts it in the coals to soften it and make it
malleable and then he takes it out of the coals and fashions it with the hammer.
Normally the blacksmith is a very strong person having worked with metals
for many years and as a result, they become strengthened.
Then even though he may show strength,
eventually he will become hungry and thirsty because he is only a man and not a
god. If he does not eat and drink,
then he will lose his strength to make these false idols.
Isa 44:13
The carpenter stretcheth out his rule; he marketh
it out with a line; he fitteth it with planes, and he marketh it out with the
compass, and maketh it after the figure of a man, according to the beauty of a
man; that it may remain in the house.
Then when a full idol is being fashioned in the size of a
man, the carpenter will take out his rule and will mark all the places he has to
cut or fashion. He will probably
use a piece of chalk to mark the places he needs to work on just like a tailor
will mark up a pair of pants or a suit to fit it to the person buying it.
The compass was used to make circles which would be for fashioning the
head or shoulders so it would take on the appearance of a man.
It was made according to the beauty of a man, that is, since there are no
such things as these gods like Marduk who was the chief god of the Babylonians,
they would fashion the gods after their own likeness because that is all they
know and then they might embellish the idol with some other additions like wings
or something else which may give an hint of deity.
Then most of these idols were fashioned for the purpose of keeping them
in the temples or even some were made for the house.
Laban had house gods which he accused Jacob of taking.
With whomsoever thou findest thy
gods, let him not live: before our brethren discern thou what
is thine with me, and take
it to thee. For Jacob knew not
that Rachel had stolen them. (Genesis 31:32)
Isa 44:14
He heweth him down cedars, and taketh the cypress and the
oak, which he strengtheneth for himself among the trees of the forest: he
planteth an ash, and the rain doth nourish it.
Then Isaiah tells the people how the wood for the idols
originates. He speaks about three
different types of trees which are used in the preparation of the base of the
idols. The idol maker cares about
the trees and makes sure they are growing properly as he will nurture them.
The ash was also a tree which as used in the preparation for idol making.
Then the rains come and nourishes the roots of those trees and causes
them to grow strong enough to make idols when the time for harvesting has come.
Now Isaiah is not giving these people all these details so they can start
their own idol farm, he is doing so to teach them that the idols are all
fashioned from the start by men and have absolutely no spiritual value except to
get the people in trouble who make them and worship them.
He wants them to know that idols are not of divine origin but are the
imaginations of man. The city of
Ephesus was probably one of the most idolatrous cities Paul ever visited and
that shows what can happen when people do not know the origin of the false gods.
And when the townclerk had
appeased the people, he said, Ye
men of Ephesus, what man is there that knoweth not how that the city of the
Ephesians is a worshipper of the great goddess Diana, and of the
image which fell down from
Jupiter? (Acts 19:35)