←Isaiah 44→BSB

In This Chapter 4 people 9 places 71 terms

People

Israel 10 Jacob (Patriarch) 9 Cyrus 2 Jeshurun (Israel)

Places

    Key Terms

    Knowledge 8 Strength 7 To Redeem (Liberate) 6 Have Insight 4 Forgive (Wipe Out) 4 Blessing (Act) 3 Sin 3 Fear 2 Understanding (Awareness) 2 Abomination 2 Rebellion (Offense) 2 Counsel 2 Fear (State) Awe (State) Fear (Terror) Fear (Reverence) Fear (Awe) Fearful Respect Respect (Among People) Bless (Approval) Bless (Favor) Blessing (Content) Blessed Bless (Request Favor) Perceive Intention (Evil) Understanding Abomination (Act) Forgive Forgive (Remove Guilt) Forgive (Grant Pardon) Spare (Release) Hand Over Forgiveness (Remove Guilt) Forgiveness (Pardon) Have Mercy To Cover (Forgive) Cover (Figurative) Forgiving Rebel (Act) Be Rebellious Rebel (Against Authority) Rebellion Rebelliousness To Sin Guilt (State) Transgression Sin (Act) Sin (Incur Guilt) Guilty (Responsible) Guilt (Consequence) Guiltiness Trespass (Sin) Sinful Sin (Offense) To Stand Guilty Sin (Guilty) Sin (Wrongdoing) Guilty Considered Guilty Guilty Of Sin Previously Sin Against Redeem To Redeem (Deliver) Redemption (Right) To Redeem (Substitute) Let Be Redeemed Redemption (Deliverance) Practice Divination

    The LORD Has Chosen Israel

    ⓘ The promise of salvation extended the usefulness of...

    The promise of salvation extended the usefulness of sinful Israel to another generation (44:3). The past was bleak (see 43:22–28), but the future would be a glorious new era transformed by the Spirit.
    1But now listen, O Jacob My servant,Israel, whom I have chosen.2This is the word of the LORD, your Maker,who formed you from the womb and who will help you:“Do not be afraid, O Jacob My servant,Jeshurun,† whom I have chosen.3For I will pour water on the thirsty land,and currents on the dry ground.I will pour out My Spirit on your descendants,and My blessing on your offspring.4They will sprout among the grasslike willows† by flowing streams.5One will say, ‘I belong to the LORD,’another will call himself by the name of Jacob,and still another will write on his hand, ‘The LORD’s,’and will take the name of Israel.”
    ⓘ This passage uses the form of a trial...

    This passage uses the form of a trial speech to press God’s argument that disgrace comes to all who trust in idols and false gods.
    6Thus says the LORD,the King and Redeemer of Israel, the LORD of Hosts:
    “I am the first and I am the last,and there is no God but Me.7Who then is like Me?Let him say so!Let him declare his case before Me,since I established an ancient people.Let him foretell the things to come,and what is to take place.8Do not tremble or fear.Have I not told you and declared it long ago?You are My witnesses!Is there any God but Me?There is no other Rock;I know not one.”
    9All makers of idols are nothing,and the things they treasure are worthless.Their witnesses fail to see or comprehend,so they are put to shame.10Who fashions a god or casts an idolwhich profits him nothing?11Behold, all his companions will be put to shame,for the craftsmen themselves are only human.Let them all assemble and take their stand;they will all be brought to terror and shame.
    12The blacksmith takes a tooland labors over the coals;he fashions an idol with hammersand forges it with his strong arms.Yet he grows hungry and loses his strength;he fails to drink water and grows faint.13The woodworker extends a measuring line;he marks it out with a stylus;he shapes it with chiselsand outlines it with a compass.He fashions it in the likeness of man,like man in all his glory,that it may dwell in a shrine.14He cuts down cedarsor retrieves a cypress† or oak.He lets it grow strong among the trees of the forest.He plants a laurel, and the rain makes it grow.
    ⓘ he uses part of the wood to make...

    he uses part of the wood to make a fire . . . he takes the rest of it and makes himself a god to worship: This description of the process of making an idol drips with sarcasm and ridicule at the stupidity of the foolish idol worshipers (see also 44:19).
    15It serves as fuel for man.He takes some of it to warm himself,and he kindles a fireand bakes his bread.He also fashions it into a god and worships it;he makes an idol and bows down to it.16He burns half of it in the fire,and he roasts meat on that half.He eats the roast and is satisfied.Indeed, he warms himself and says,“Ah! I am warm; I see the fire.”17From the rest he makes a god, his graven image.He bows down to it and worships;he prays to it and says,“Save me, for you are my god.”
    ⓘ Their minds are shut: Idol worshipers cannot see...

    Their minds are shut: Idol worshipers cannot see the irony in using one part of a log to warm themselves and another part of the same log to be their god.
    18They do not comprehend or discern,for He has shut their eyes so they cannot seeand closed their minds so they cannot understand.19And no one considers in his heart,no one has the knowledge or insight to say,“I burned half of it in the fire,and I baked bread on its coals;I roasted meat and I ate.Shall I make something detestable with the rest of it?Shall I bow down to a block of wood?”20He feeds on ashes.His deluded heart has led him astray,and he cannot deliver himself or say,“Is not this thing in my right hand a lie?”

    Jerusalem to Be Restored

    ⓘ The Lord promised to forgive Israel’s sins.

    The Lord promised to forgive Israel’s sins.
    21Remember these things, O Jacob,for you are My servant, O Israel.I have made you, and you are My servant;O Israel, I will never forget you.22I have blotted out your transgressions like a cloud,and your sins like a mist.Return to Me, for I have redeemed you.23Sing for joy, O heavens, for the LORD has done this;shout aloud, O depths of the earth.Break forth in song, O mountains,you forests and all your trees.For the LORD has redeemed Jacob,and revealed His glory in Israel.
    ⓘ The Lord alone is sovereign over history. He...

    The Lord alone is sovereign over history. He raised up Cyrus of Persia to execute judgment on Babylon and restore Israel to the Holy Land.
    24Thus says the LORD,your Redeemer who formed you from the womb:
    “I am the LORD,who has made all things,who alone stretched out the heavens,who by Myself spread out the earth,25who foils the signs of false prophetsand makes fools of diviners,who confounds the wiseand turns their knowledge into nonsense,26who confirms the message of His servantand fulfills the counsel of His messengers,who says of Jerusalem,‘She will be inhabited,’and of the cities of Judah,‘They will be rebuilt, and I will restore their ruins,’27who says to the depths of the sea,‘Be dry, and I will dry up your currents,’28who says of Cyrus,‘My shepherd will fulfill all that I desire,’who says of Jerusalem,‘She will be rebuilt,’and of the temple,‘Let its foundation be laid.’”