#1006 Isaiah 44 Cyrus and Reaching for Excuses

 

“But now hear, O Jacob my servant,

Israel whom I have chosen!

2 Thus says the Lord who made you,

who formed you from the womb and will help you:

Fear not, O Jacob my servant,

Jeshurun whom I have chosen.

3 For I will pour water on the thirsty land,

and streams on the dry ground;

I will pour my Spirit upon your offspring,

and my blessing on your descendants.

4 They shall spring up among the grass

like willows by flowing streams.

5 This one will say, ‘I am the Lord's,’

another will call on the name of Jacob,

and another will write on his hand, ‘The Lord's,’

and name himself by the name of Israel.”

Besides Me There Is No God

6 Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel

and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts:

“I am the first and I am the last;

besides me there is no god.

7 Who is like me? Let him proclaim it.

Let him declare and set it before me,

since I appointed an ancient people.

Let them declare what is to come, and what will happen.

8 Fear not, nor be afraid;

have I not told you from of old and declared it?

And you are my witnesses!

Is there a God besides me?

There is no Rock; I know not any.”

The Folly of Idolatry

9 All who fashion idols are nothing, and the things they delight in do not profit. Their witnesses neither see nor know, that they may be put to shame. 10 Who fashions a god or casts an idol that is profitable for nothing? 11 Behold, all his companions shall be put to shame, and the craftsmen are only human. Let them all assemble, let them stand forth. They shall be terrified; they shall be put to shame together.

12 The ironsmith takes a cutting tool and works it over the coals. He fashions it with hammers and works it with his strong arm. He becomes hungry, and his strength fails; he drinks no water and is faint. 13 The carpenter stretches a line; he marks it out with a pencil. He shapes it with planes and marks it with a compass. He shapes it into the figure of a man, with the beauty of a man, to dwell in a house. 14 He cuts down cedars, or he chooses a cypress tree or an oak and lets it grow strong among the trees of the forest. He plants a cedar and the rain nourishes it. 15 Then it becomes fuel for a man. He takes a part of it and warms himself; he kindles a fire and bakes bread. Also he makes a god and worships it; he makes it an idol and falls down before it. 16 Half of it he burns in the fire. Over the half he eats meat; he roasts it and is satisfied. Also he warms himself and says, “Aha, I am warm, I have seen the fire!” 17 And the rest of it he makes into a god, his idol, and falls down to it and worships it. He prays to it and says, “Deliver me, for you are my god!”

18 They know not, nor do they discern, for he has shut their eyes, so that they cannot see, and their hearts, so that they cannot understand. 19 No one considers, nor is there knowledge or discernment to say, “Half of it I burned in the fire; I also baked bread on its coals; I roasted meat and have eaten. And shall I make the rest of it an abomination? Shall I fall down before a block of wood?” 20 He feeds on ashes; a deluded heart has led him astray, and he cannot deliver himself or say, “Is there not a lie in my right hand?”

The Lord Redeems Israel

21 Remember these things, O Jacob,

and Israel, for you are my servant;

I formed you; you are my servant;

O Israel, you will not be forgotten by me.

22 I have blotted out your transgressions like a cloud

and your sins like mist;

return to me, for I have redeemed you.

23 Sing, O heavens, for the Lord has done it;

shout, O depths of the earth;

break forth into singing, O mountains,

O forest, and every tree in it!

For the Lord has redeemed Jacob,

and will be glorified in Israel.

24 Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer,

who formed you from the womb:

“I am the Lord, who made all things,

who alone stretched out the heavens,

who spread out the earth by myself,

25 who frustrates the signs of liars

and makes fools of diviners,

who turns wise men back

and makes their knowledge foolish,

26 who confirms the word of his servant

and fulfills the counsel of his messengers,

who says of Jerusalem, ‘She shall be inhabited,’

and of the cities of Judah, ‘They shall be built,

and I will raise up their ruins’;

27 who says to the deep, ‘Be dry;

I will dry up your rivers’;

28 who says of Cyrus, ‘He is my shepherd,

and he shall fulfill all my purpose’;

saying of Jerusalem, ‘She shall be built,’

and of the temple, ‘Your foundation shall be laid.’” Isaiah 44 ESV

Isaiah 44 

Israel is here called Jeshurun, which means "the upright one." Such only are Israelites indeed, in whom is no guile. Those that serve God he will own. He will help them over difficulties, and in their services. Water is the emblem of the Holy Spirit; as water refreshes, cleanses, and makes the earth fruitful, so do his influences the soul. This gift of the Holy Ghost is the great blessing, the plentiful pouring out of which God kept for the latter days. Where God gives his Spirit, he will give all other blessings. Hereby shall be a great increase of the church; thus it shall be spread to distant places. Was there any other Rock, or Protector, that could defend them? None besides could foretell these things to come, of which God by his prophets gave notice. All was set in order in the Divine predictions, as well as in the Divine purposes. Could any other have done so? Who can compare with Israel's Redeemer and King? - Matthew Henry

1-5. Israel whom I have chosen - Men ponder their place with God, such deep doctrines of Election, but it is the natural fallen state of man to think he knows God by his own means, or was chosen for some great thing in himself. Israel put much on being related to Abraham, having the law with them, yet not following it in Spirit or in the truth that they transgress it. 

And another will write on his hand -

15For neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything. What counts is a new creation. 16 Peace and mercy to all who walk by this rule, even to the Israel of God. 17From now on let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus.… Galatians 6: 15-17

6-8. I am the first and I am the last - Alpha and Omega, He created the universe and all the materials that they make into idols, and so none of what they worship was before Him. 

“As first he does not derive his being from any other, but is self-existing; as last he remains supreme at the End.” (Motyer)

There is no rock - There is no other foundation for philosophy, Theology, nothing else to build hope or reality upon, all else is in created time and space. He is what holds this up and from outside time and space, He governs the universe, declares the end from the beginning. This is a firm foundation, the sovereignty of the Creator.

9-20. All who fashion idols are nothing - This is a great problem in Israel, for the idols appeal to our flesh, and though we may see such figurines now as superstitious, yet we hold ideals that are equal to idolatry. If God has called a thing sin, and called us sinners, Christ being with Him from the beginning, and the Holy Spirit, for they are the One Triune God, then there is no dispensation but in the mind of men, that calls good evil, and what God has called evil, men now call good. Their is a form of idolatry in the church today that says "my god is a god of love, and therefore I will not speak of God's wrath." We claim the God of the Bible, but we have no desire for Him once we read it, and we segregate the Son from the Father, forgetting that the Son has been eternally existing with the Father. When they saw the wickedness in Noah's time they were in agreement to the flood, they were in agreement to the destruction of Sodom, and in agreement to the sacrifice of the Son, to whom the Spirit of God always points. There is no other Christ but imposters.

…25But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: ‘They hated Me without reason.’ 26When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father— the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father— He will testify about Me. 27And you also must testify, because you have been with Me from the beginning.… John 15: 25-27

They know not, nor do they discern, for He has shut their eyes - Seeing the idol was the same piece of wood that you also cook your food on, that it had to be shaped by you, it was not God who you sought, and so He has given you over to what you want, which was never Him. Men can see their limits, and see their ability to err and yet God has said what will come without err, but men look upon the law and choose to walk away, where there is only darkness, no discernment. Is God somehow unfair in this, no, you didn't want God, you hated the truth, being left in the lie is punishment, but it is the lie that you wanted. The wages of sin is death, and all have sinned and come short of the glory of God, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Repent and be saved. Fair, according to Scripture, would be that all men receive according to their work, the wages expressed above. Grace is that God can reach into the heart of a man, convict Him of sin, cause those who hate and reject His word, to now hunger and thirst after righteousness. He can save you from not wanting to be saved. He can save you from the delusion of thinking yourself good, and from your unbelief. I didn't want Him, but now I do.

“And such passages as these are added in such cases to give an account of the prodigious madness of sinners herein; because, as they wilfully shut their own eyes, and harden their own hearts, so God judicially blinds and hardens them, and gives them up to believe lies, and then it is no wonder if they fall into such dotages.” (Poole)

…7in order that in the coming ages He might display the surpassing riches of His grace, demonstrated by His kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not from yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9not by works, so that no one can boast.… Ephesians 2: 7-9

21-28. For I have redeemed you - He created, formed them in the womb, set them apart as a people, redeemed them, and what have the idols done but led them astray. Return to me, turn away from sin and delusion, the things that keep you from the truth. Turn away from self, and the folly of trusting the idols of the mind. In other words, repent and be saved.

Who frustrates the signs of liars - Some translations have it as babblers, like those who think they speak in tongues or get new revelation. They think they are saying something, call themselves prophets, but it is dribble and a lie. When Israel or the Church brings in these things, they are not from God, and are merely pagan practice. They are not trusting in the sure word of prophecy, the Holy Scriptures, but instead they want a crystal ball, and a promise of earthly comfort in their sin. 

Who turns wise men back - Many men with high IQ's, brilliant in the sciences, yet deny the very God who gave them such talent, and try to study what He has made without honoring Him as the Maker. The more light, the harder and heavier become their models to hold. When they see the error, sadly the masses that follow them do not, and still worship at the altars of the disproven. Planned Parenthood was founded by a racist who thought black people inferior and wanted to control their numbers. Darwin believed this as well, yet the masses honor and protect their legacies.

Who says of Jerusalem, she shall be inhabited - He is speaking to people before the Babylonian captivity, and has already told them that this is to come. If God's word holds true, as it did with the predictions of Assyria, then Jerusalem will be destroyed and Judah taken captive to Babylon. This continues His case against Israel and the nations for following idols and false prophets, but also gives hope. Which of the idols could predict this?

And I will raise up their ruins - They will come back from the captivity, which is more than a hundred years away, and then they will be captives in Babylon for some seventy years.

I will dry up your rivers - The Persians will divert the Euphrates into the marsh which will make it passable and allow access to the city gates. In Daniel 5 we read of the Babylonians at that time, making merry and festive, thinking themselves prepared for siege based upon supplies to wait it out, but they were overtaken easily.

Cyrus was now reduced to great perplexity, as time went on and he made no progress against the place. In this distress either some one made the suggestion to him, or he bethought himself of a plan, which he proceeded to put in execution. He placed a portion of his army at the point where the river enters the city, and another body at the back of the place where it issues forth, with orders to march into the town by the bed of the stream, as soon as the water became shallow enough: he then himself drew off with the unwarlike portion of his host, and made for the place where Nitocrisnote dug the basin for the river, where he did exactly what she had done formerly: he turned the Euphrates by a canal into the basin, which was then a marsh, on which the river sank to such an extent that the natural bed of the stream became fordable.

Hereupon the Persians who had been left for the purpose at Babylon by the, river-side, entered the stream, which had now sunk so as to reach about midway up a man's thigh, and thus got into the town. Had the Babylonians been apprised of what Cyrus was about, or had they noticed their danger, they would never have allowed the Persians to enter the city, but would have destroyed them utterly; for they would have made fast all the street gates which gave access to the river, and mounting upon the walls along both sides of the stream, would so have caught the enemy, as it were, in a trap. But, as it was, the Persians came upon them by surprise and so took the city. Owing to the vast size of the place, the inhabitants of the central parts (as the residents at Babylon declare) long after the outer portions of the town were taken, knew nothing of what had chanced, but as they were engaged in a festival, continued dancing and reveling until they learnt about the capture. Such, then, were the circumstances of the first taking of Babylon. Herodotus

Who says of Cyrus - Cyrus will not take Babylon till some 200 years after this prophecy, so again, which of your idols can declare this? Most will say they just don't believe it, and the same problem will occur in reference to Isaiah's prophecies about the Messiah, for they are too crisp. There was a long standing argument that those parts of Isaiah were written during or after the time of Messiah, for it would be impossible for him to so accurately detail Jesus, Who would not come for more than 700 years after the writing of this. They dated the copies of Isaiah to around this time, but then they found the Dead Sea Scrolls which had copies that are dated at the very least a hundred to 200 years before the time of Christ. Why is it that you don't believe?

 

The prophet alluded to the king who would bring about Israel’s release from captivity in Isaiah 41:2, but in this passage, amazingly, he mentions him by name. “Cyrus, whom God here designeth by his proper name two hundred years before he was born, that this might be an undeniable evidence of the certainty and exactness of God’s foreknowledge, and a convincing argument, and so most fit to conclude this dispute between God and idols.” (Poole)

i. “This great passage, with its two explicit references to Cyrus, has attracted much scholarly discussion. For many modern scholars it represents the strongest argument for ‘Deutero-Isaiah,’ for they cannot conceive of supernatural predictive prophecy of such detail.” (Grogan)

ii. Some believe that Isaiah wrote much of this, but someone after the events were fulfilled just wrote in the name Cyrus. This doesn’t hold true, because the whole section is carefully written to dramatically reveal the name of Cyrus. Just the name couldn’t have been written in later. - Enduring Word

Your foundation shall be laid - Israel would be able to return because of a decree from Cyrus that would allow them to rebuild the temple. Ezra 1

Trapp on Who says to the deep, “Be dry!” “That will put it into the heart of Cyrus to dry up the Euphrates, and so to take Babylon.”

ii. “Foundations: interestingly, as Ezra records (3:10-13; 5:16), in the days of Cyrus the rebuilding of the temple did not progress beyond the laying of the foundations.” (Motyer)

…19We also have the word of the prophets as confirmed beyond doubt. And you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. 20Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture comes from one’s own interpretation. 21For no such prophecy was ever brought forth by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.… 2 Peter 1: 19-21

Peter gives the best explanation above.