Set Free Through God’s Power to Control Human History, the Very Deeds of People
(Isaiah 41:1–29) Listen in silence before Me, O lands beyond
the sea. Bring your strongest arguments. Come now and speak. The court is ready
for your case.
2Who
has stirred up this one from the east,a whom victory meets at
every step? Who, indeed, but the Lord? God has given him victory over many
nations and permitted him to trample kings underfoot and to put entire armies
to the sword. 3He chases them away and goes on safely, though the
paths he treads are new. 4Who has done such mighty deeds, directing
the affairs of generations of mankind as they march by? It is I, the Lord, the
First and Last; I alone am He.
5The
lands beyond the sea watch in fear and wait for word of Cyrus’sb
new campaigns. Remote lands tremble and mobilize for war. 6-7The
craftsmen encourage each other as they rush to make new idols to protect them.
The carver hurries the goldsmith, and the molder helps at the anvil. “Good,”
they say. “It’s coming along fine. Now we can solder on the arms.” Carefully
they join the parts together and then fasten the thing in place so it won’t
fall over!
8But as
for you, O Israel, you are Mine, My chosen ones; for you are Abraham’s family,
and he was My friend. 9I have called you back from the ends of the
earth and said that you must serve but Me alone, for I have chosen you and will
not throw you away. 10Fear not, for I am with you. Do not be
dismayed. I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will help you; I will uphold
you with my victorious right hand.c
11See,
all your angry enemies lie confused and shattered. Anyone opposing you will
die. 12You will look for them in vain—they will all be gone. 13I
am holding you by your right hand—I, the Lord your God—and I say to you, Don’t
be afraid; I am here to help you. 14Despised though you are, fear
not, O Israel; for I will help you. I am the Lord, your Redeemer; I am the Holy
One of Israel. 15You shall be a new and sharp-toothed threshing
instrument to tear all enemies apart, making chaff of mountains. 16You
shall toss them in the air; the wind shall blow them all away; whirlwinds shall
scatter them. And the joy of the Lord shall fill you full; you shall glory in
the God of Israel.
17When
the poor and needy seek water and there is none, and their tongues are parched
from thirst, then I will answer when they cry to Me. I, Israel’s God, will
never forsake them. 18I will open up rivers for them on high
plateaus! I will give them fountains of water in the valleys! In the deserts
will be pools of water, and rivers fed by springs shall flow across the dry,
parched ground. 19I will plant trees—cedars, myrtle, olive trees,
cypress, fir, and pine—on barren land. 20Everyone will see this
miracle and understand that it is God who did it, Israel’s Holy One.
21Can
your idols make such claims as these? Let them come and show what they can do,
says God, the King of Israel. 22Let them try to tell us what
occurred in years gone by or what the future holds. 23Yes, that’s
it! If you are gods, tell what will happen in the days ahead! Or do some mighty
miracle that makes us stare, amazed. 24But no! You are less than
nothing and can do nothing at all. Anyone who chooses you needs to have his
head examined!
25But I
have stirred up Cyrus from the north and east; he will come against the nations
and call on My name, and I will give him victory over kings and princes. He
will tread them as a potter tramples clay.
26Who but I have told you this would happen? Who else predicted this, making you admit that He was right? No one else! None other said one word! 27I was the first to tell Jerusalem, “Look! Look! Help is on the way!” 28Not one of your idols told you this. Not one gave any answer when I asked. 29See, they are all foolish, worthless things; your idols are all as empty as the wind.[1]
Freedom is one of the major cravings of the
human heart.
People want to be free to live, worship, work, and move about as they wish. The
human heart rebels against restraint, bondage, and enslavement. Yet when the
human heart and the experiences of day-to-day life are objectively and honestly
evaluated, one tragic fact jumps to the forefront: we are enslaved to sin
and death. No person can keep from committing sin, and no person can keep
from dying. From the moment we are born, we are doomed to sin, act selfishly,
and commit wicked deeds. And we are doomed to die. Fundamentally, to be human
means to be a sinner doomed to die. As much as we may dislike this truth, we
are all held in bondage to sin and death.
But there is wonderful news: God can free us from sin and from death. We can live righteously and godly in this present life, and we can inherit eternal life, but only by the power of God. This is the important message of this Scripture:
Set Free Through God’s Power to Control Human History, the Very Deeds of People.
God’s Power To Execute Judgment Upon All Who Defy Him
(Isaiah41:1-7) Listen in silence before me, O
lands beyond the sea. Bring your strongest arguments. Come now and speak. The
court is ready for your case.
2Who has stirred up this one from
the east,a
whom victory meets at every step? Who, indeed, but the Lord? God has given him
victory over many nations and permitted him to trample kings underfoot and to
put entire armies to the sword. 3He chases them away and goes on
safely, though the paths he treads are new. 4Who has done such
mighty deeds, directing the affairs of generations of mankind as they march by?
It is I, the Lord, the First and Last; I alone am He.
5The lands beyond the sea watch in fear and wait for word of Cyrus’sb new campaigns. Remote lands tremble and mobilize for war. 6-7The craftsmen encourage each other as they rush to make new idols to protect them. The carver hurries the goldsmith, and the molder helps at the anvil. “Good,” they say. “It’s coming along fine. Now we can solder on the arms.” Carefully they join the parts together and then fasten the thing in place so it won’t fall over![2]
God’s Power To Execute Judgment Upon All Who Defy Him
God has the power to execute
judgment on the wicked, and history is rapidly moving toward that climactic day
when that point in time arrives, the struggle between light and darkness, good
and evil, righteousness and wickedness, faith and unbelief will be over. Only
the Lord and those who truly believe and follow Him will survive the final and
terrifying day of judgment.
But note: God does not always wait to execute judgment on the wicked. Sometimes, His hand of judgment begins to fall even as acts of wickedness (sin, evil, unrighteousness) are being committed. This was the case in Isaiah’s day and in succeeding generations. Sadly, people and nations were living in a cesspool of immorality, unrighteousness, lawlessness, and violence. The people were steeped in idolatry and false worship. Despite that, God still loved the world, every individual, and every nation. Thus He inspired Isaiah to issue another prophecy, a warning of coming judgment. All the people and nations needed to know this fact: God has the power to execute judgment upon all who defy Him.
a. God issued a summons for the nations of the earth to gather for a trial (v. 1). Attendance at the trial was compulsory, not optional. The summons was issued to all the islands, to all people and nations from the most distant corner of the earth. They were instructed to approach the Lord in reverence and silence, for they were being summoned to face the judgment of God because of their terrible, destructive, and wicked behavior.
b. God asked the people and the
nations two key questions (vv. 2–4). Keep in mind that God
was giving Isaiah insight into the future day when judgment would be executed
against the Babylonian Empire.
1)
God’s
first question directly addresses the issue of judgment: Who has the power to
raise up a ruler to execute judgment on the nations? Note that the ruler to be
raised up would come from the east (v. 2).
He would conquer nations, subduing king after king and defeating numerous
armies with his sword and bow. This is a clear prediction of Cyrus, king of Persia
(559–530 b.c.).
In a compelling demonstration of
the prophecy’s accuracy, Isaiah revealed that the name of the king would be
Cyrus even though it was years before this king appeared on the scene of human
history (Is. 44:28; 45:1). In an earlier prophecy, Isaiah had revealed
that the agent of God’s wrath on Babylon would be the Median Empire, which is
another prophecy predicting the rise of Cyrus (Is. 13:17–18).
The point being stressed here is
God’s power. It was His power alone that raised up Cyrus to execute judgment on
the wicked nations who had defied Him and persecuted His people. Cyrus would
destroy these nations, pursuing their kings as well as their citizens, killing
some and capturing others, until all the people were subjected and made a part of
the great Persian Empire. Cyrus and Persia would be unscathed and unstoppable,
all because God was using Cyrus as His agent of judgment.
2) God’s second question has to do with the issue of sovereignty: Who has the power to control the affairs of mankind, the behavior of nations and people down through history (v. 4)? Today, we can look back through history and see that the prophecy concerning Cyrus actually took place. What God predicted happened. Cyrus conquered Babylon and all the nations within the Babylonian Empire, carrying out God’s judgment upon the nations of that day and time. From a historical perspective, it is evident that God controlled the affairs of the human race from Isaiah’s day to the day of the Persian Empire, a period of more than 160 years. Yet it was not only during that brief period that God exercised His power and sovereignty over the affairs of the human race. God is sovereign over the entire world at all times. He controls the affairs of all nations through all generations of history.
c. So far in this passage, the one who executes judgment and controls the affairs of the human race has not been identified. But now the answers to the two questions are given, and they are given by God Himself. He alone, the Lord, has this power (v. 4b). He is the First and the Last. By First is meant that He preceded all the generations of people and nations on earth and, in fact, brought them into being. By Last is meant that He will still be existing and overseeing the last generation of human history. He is the eternal God, the Lord of history (Is. 44:6; He. 13:8; Re. 1:8; 2:8; 21:6; 22:13).
d. In descriptive language, God
states the twofold purpose of the coming judgment (vv.
5–7). These two purposes reveal the true heart of God. Even when He has to
execute judgment against the wicked, God’s heart is full of compassion and
love, not vengeance.
In executing judgment, God’s
first purpose is to strike fear in people to arouse them to repent. When people are stricken with
fear, they sometimes turn away from their sins and back to the Lord, crying out
for His help. Isaiah predicted that when the nations and islands, the very ends
of the earth, saw the hand of God’s judgment being executed through Cyrus, they
would fear and tremble under the weight of the judgment.
God’s second purpose for executing judgment is to show that the people trusted in one another and in their false gods (vv. 6–7) rather than in the Lord. Isaiah predicted that the nations would run to one another to seek help and to form alliances against the Persians. They would encourage one another to be strong, to turn to their idols and false gods for help. They would even build new and better idols, hoping to secure their favor as they opposed the Persian war machine. Of course, their idols and false gods were of no use when the Persians attacked. Keep in mind that God’s purpose was to execute judgment against the people and nations because of their wickedness and their false worship. Once the wicked hearts and idolatry of the people were exposed, there was hope that they would turn back to the Lord in repentance.
Thought
1. God alone
can execute judgment against all the wicked people and nations of this earth.
He alone has the power to oversee and control all nations in addition to all
the leaders and citizens of all generations. God dwells in pure holiness and
perfection, possessing all knowledge and all power. In view of that, He knows
the truth about every nation, every leader, and every citizen. God knows the
heart and behavior of us all, whether good or bad, righteous or wicked. As
He warned the generations of Isaiah’s time, so He warns all generations,
including ours today: the Day of Judgment is coming. We must all
give an account of what we have done and are doing. If we live good, righteous
lives, we will be rewarded. But if we live sinful, wicked lives, we will face
the hand of God’s judgment and be doomed to eternal separation from Him. Listen
to God’s warning to the wicked of the earth:
V “For
the Son of man shall come in the glory of His Father with His angels; and then He
shall reward every man according to his works” (Mt. 16:27).
V “And
then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the
tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the
clouds of heaven with power and great glory” (Mt. 24:30).
V “When
the Son of man shall come in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then
shall He sit upon the throne of His glory: And before Him shall be gathered all
nations: and He shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: And He shall
set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left.… Then shall He say
also unto them on the left hand, Depart from Me, ye cursed, into everlasting
fire, prepared for the devil and his angels” (Mt. 25:31–33, 41).
V “The
Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the
unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished” (2 Pe. 2:9).
V “But
the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store,
reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men” (2
Pe. 3:7).
V “And
Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the
Lord cometh with ten thousands of His saints, To execute judgment upon all, and
to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which
they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him” (Jude
1:14–15).
V “Behold,
He cometh with clouds, and every eye shall see Him, and they also which pierced Him: and all kindreds
of the earth shall wail because of Him. Even so, Amen” (Re.
1:7).
V “And I
saw a great white throne, and Him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and
the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the
dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another
book was opened, which is the book of
life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the
books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it,
and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were
judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into
the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written
in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire” (Re.
20:11–15).
V “I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings” (Je. 17:10).
Thought
2. The
motivation for God’s judgment must always be remembered. Judging us from a
heart of love and compassion, He seeks to save us from harming ourselves and
others. Our sinful behavior is what causes so much of the destruction of life
and property and the pollution of the environment in the world. An honest
evaluation of the devastation we cause reveals that our hearts are wicked,
selfish, and greedy, and it should strike fear in us. Exposing the truth of our
sinful hearts and behavior should arouse us to repent. It is for this reason
that God disciplines and judges us when we commit evil. Repentance is our
only hope to escape God’s judgment:
V “Repent
ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the
times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord” (Ac.
3:19).
V “For
godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the
sorrow of the world worketh death” (2 Co. 7:10).
V “For
if I have boasted anything to him of you, I am not ashamed; but as we spake all
things to you in truth, even so, our boasting, which I made before Titus, is found a truth” (2 Co. 7:14).
V “But
the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store,
reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.
But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years and
a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as
some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any
should perish, but that all should come to repentance. But the day of the Lord
will come as a thief in the night; in the which, the heavens shall pass away
with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth
also and the works that are therein shall be burned up” (2
Pe. 3:7–10).
V “Because
sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of
the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil. Though a sinner does evil a
hundred times, and his days be
prolonged, yet surely I know that it shall be well with them that fear God,
which fear before him: But it shall not be well with the wicked, neither shall
he prolong his days, which are as a shadow; because he
feareth not before God” (Ecc. 8:11–13).
V “And
now, because ye have done all these works, saith the Lord, and I spake unto
you, rising up early and speaking, but ye heard not; and I called you, but ye
answered not; Therefore will I do unto this
house, which is called by My name, wherein ye trust, and unto the place which I
gave to you and to your fathers, as I have done to Shiloh. And I will cast you
out of my sight, as I have cast out all your brethren, even the whole seed of Ephraim. Therefore pray not thou for this people,
neither lift up cry nor prayer for them, neither make intercession to Me: for I
will not hear thee” (Je. 7:13–16).
V “But
if the wicked will turn from all his sins that he hath committed, and keep all My
statutes, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live, he shall
not die” (Eze. 18:21).
V “Cast away from you all your transgressions, whereby ye have transgressed; and make you a new heart and a new spirit: for why will ye die, O house of Israel?” (Eze. 18:31).[3]
a 41:2
this one from the east.
Doubtless Cyrus the Great of Persia; see 44:28.
b 41:5
Cyrus’s, implied from 45:1.
c 41:10
with my victorious right hand,
or “with the right hand of my righteousness.”
[1] Taylor, Kenneth Nathaniel. 1997. The Living Bible,
Paraphrased. Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House.
a 41:2
this one from the east.
Doubtless Cyrus the Great of Persia; see 44:28.
b 41:5
Cyrus’s, implied from 45:1.
[2] Taylor, Kenneth Nathaniel. 1997. The Living Bible,
Paraphrased. Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House.
[3] Leadership Ministries Worldwide. 2005. Isaiah: Chapters 36–66. Vol. II. The Preacher’s Outline & Sermon Bible. Chattanooga, TN: Leadership Ministries Worldwide.
https://my.bible.com/bible/116/ISA.41.NLT
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