Isaiah 41
I. (1-39) Condemnation
A. Chapters 1-12 - Prophecies against Israel and Judah
B. Chapters 13-23 - Prophecies against the Nations
C. Chapters 24-27 - Prophecies of the Day of the Lord
D. Chapters 28-35 - Prophecies of Judgment and Blessing
E. Chapters 36-39 - Historical accounts
II. (40-66) Consolation
A. Chapters 40-48 - Israel’s God
1. \\#40:1-31\\ Be Comforted by Meeting Your God
2. \\#41:1-29\\ Be Comforted by Meeting Your Protector - The
fulfillment of this chapter is difficult to determine. Most
relate it to the Persians rule and Israel’s return to the
promised land during that time; however, the chapter is not
directed to Israel but to the "islands." I believe the term
"islands" may be a term to describe the Gentile world. I see
the chapter as an endtime prophecy of God protecting and
empowering Israel to defeat their enemies.
I. \\#41:1-29\\ Be Comforted by Meeting Your Protector
A. \\#Is 41:1-9\\ The World’s Condition
1. \\#1\\ A command is given to the islands.
(a) Note that God is not speaking to or about Israel but to the
islands.
(1) Some assume this is a reference to the small
islands in the Mediterranean Sea near Israel.
However, no purpose for singling out those islands is
given in the text and those who make that assumption
typically switch to make Israel the receiver of the
message, soon forgetting the islands all together.
(2) My thought is that the term "island" may be a term to
describe the Gentile world, for even continents are
islands.
1. The words "islands" and "isles" are used 33 times
in the Old Testament.
2. Some are clearly a reference to local islands
\\#Jer 2:10, Eze 27:3\\.
3. However, some are not:
i. God calls the Gentile lands (continents)
islands.
Genesis 10:5 By these were the isles of the Gentiles divided in their lands;
every one after his tongue, after their families, in their nations.
ii. God refers to the whole world as many islands.
Psalms 97:1 The LORD reigneth; let the earth rejoice; let the multitude of
isles be glad thereof.
iii. How can a mere island be "beyond" the sea. God
is speaking of lands (continents) on the other
side of the sea.
Jeremiah 25:22 And all the kings of Tyrus, and all the kings of Zidon, and the
kings of the isles which are beyond the sea,
iv. Isles here refers to the whole world.
Zephaniah 2:11 The LORD will be terrible unto them: for he will famish all the
gods of the earth; and men shall worship him, every one from his place, even
all the isles of the heathen.
4. The words isles or islands is used 15 times in the
book of Isaiah.
i. 7 times in Isaiah 40-42.
ii. I believe at least 6 of those could be a
reference to the Gentile continents.
(3) The idea of the passage is that while other nations are
making gods to protect them, the Jews have a God who
is their Protector. This contrast will best be seen
at the end of the tribulation and as the millennium
begins.
(b) The command has three parts:
(1) "Keep silence before me"
i. "keep silence" - All wicked nations have ranted
their reasons for wicked and rebellious behavior.
God tells them to stop.
ii. "before me" - The Lord begins to speak in the first
person and will continue to do so consistently to
chapter 53 (and occasionally afterward). In these
chapters, the Lord repeatedly commands the people
to listen to Him.
(2) "renew their strength" - If they are to continue their
wicked reasoning, they need to re-group and strengthen
their illogical reasoning.
(3) "Let them speak" - Lastly, they will be afforded an
opportunity before God to give their new arguments.
(c) "let us come near together to judgment" - However, this is
not just a debate. It is a means to the end. The idea is
there is a rendering going to be given by God on the
inhabitants of these islands. If the arguments they have
presented so far has not been successful, it is highly
unlikely that anything new they come with would fair any
better.
2. \\#2-4\\ A question is asked of the islands.
(a) \\#2\\ The question is who raised the righteous man from
the east?
(1) This righteous man is obviously a conqueror to whom one
either submits or by whom one is conquered.
(2) The term "righteous" does not have to apply to the man
(king) so much as to his mission. He will be on a
God-appointed mission.
(3) While most commentators want to relate this conquest
to Israel (making the righteous man Cyrus, king of
Persia, a land which is east of Israel), there is no
reason to so limit his identity for the message is not
directed to Israel but to the ambiguous islands. In
addition, while Cyrus did conquer additional kingdoms
during his reign, Israel was not one of them. Israel
was already a conquered nation and became Cyrus’ by
default. The Jews looked upon Cyrus with favor
because he allowed them to return to their land and
worship Jehovah.
(4) This king is very powerful, collecting his enemies as
if they were dust.
(5) It could be that the islands are the Gentile nations
who will be assimilated into a conqueror’s dominion.
The conqueror could be the anti-Christ, who will
gather the nations of the entire world. (My own belief
is that the anti-Christ will headquarter himself in
Babylon which is east of Israel). God may be
describing the anti-Christ’s rise to power.
(b) \\#3\\ The man is described as:
(1) \\#2\\ God has called him to foot (stand) and gave the
nations to him to conquer.
(2) \\#3\\ This king pursues his conquest, moving without
any real opposition and traveling a path he has not
traveled before.
(c) \\#4\\ The question of verse 2 is answered. Whichever
conquering power this is, God is the one who has given
dominion to it.
3. \\#5-7\\ The Preparations
(a) \\#5-6\\ The power of this conquering king causes the
inhabitants of the islands to band together. Whether this
is to resist him or to join with him, the text does not
say.
(b) \\#7\\ The power of this conquering king seems to cause
those on the islands to make new idols, perhaps images of
this new king, so that he can be properly worshipped. It
is also possible that the islands are joining together to
resist this conquering king and making new gods to help
them in that battle. If these islands are resisting the
conquering king, by making new gods, it is obvious that
they are not turning to Jehovah.
(c) \\#8-9\\ However, Israel is the Lord’s.
(1) Note in \\#8\\ that the Lord now speaks to Israel in
the first person to emphasize that it is the Lord that
is speaking. God will speak in this manner through
much of the remainder of this Book.
(2) Israel is magnified as the servant of God.
i. They have been chosen by God.
ii. They have been chosen from all the earth.
iii. They will not be cast away.
B. \\#Is 41:10-20\\ Israel’s Protection - When this king comes
against Israel, Israel will not need to fear for the Lord will be
their Protector. The extent of this enemy’s demise and the fact
that Israel helps in that defeat rules out any past attacker on
Israel, especially Cyrus. The prophecy better fits an endtime
fulfillment.
1. \\#10\\ The Lord will strengthen and uphold Israel.
2. \\#11\\ Everyone that has come against Israel will end up in
shame and defeat.
3. \\#12\\ There will be nothing left of the attacking nations.
4. \\#13\\ God repeats His promise to hold Israel in the protection
of His hand.
5. \\#14\\ Although Israel is nothing more than a worm in their
defense abilities before their enemy, yet God will protect them.
6. \\#15\\ God will take this worm, Israel, and give them "new
sharp threshing… teeth."
(a) With these teeth, they will be able to thresh the mountains
into chaff.
(b) These verses give the impression that Israel will be at
least a part of the defeat of these enemies.
(c) \\#Is 9:4-5, 11:14, 19:17, Joel 3:8, Obad 1:17-18\\ and
others.
(d) This does not contradict what the Revelation teaches. The
Lord Himself shall destroy the anti-Christ and the army he
brings to Jerusalem, but some of his forces will remain
scattered throughout the world. God will use Israel to
defeat them.
7. \\#16\\ Once they have destroyed their enemies, they will fan
them into the wind.
8. \\#17-19\\ The Lord replenishes the dry ground with water and
the barren ground with a variety of trees. This sounds like the
millennium.
9. \\#20\\ This display of His power is to be proof to the world
that He is the One and the Only God.
C. \\#Is 41:21-29\\ God’s Challenge to the False Gods
1. \\#21\\ "Produce your cause" - The Lord does not state to whom He
is speaking. It could be that He is speaking to the modern-day
Israel, challenging them to reconsider who they worship.
However, since this is the same challenge the Lord issued to
the islands \\#1\\, it would seem logical that He is again
speaking to them.
2. \\#22-23\\ "Let them… shew us what shall happen" - Let those
who would worship false gods show us the future. Fulfilled
prophecy has always been the main proof God uses to demonstrate
His reality. \\#Is 42:9, 43:9, 48:3\\
3. \\#24\\ God tells the false gods (and those who worship them)
that they are nothing but an abomination.
4. \\#25\\ "I have raised up one from the north, and he shall…
call upon my name" - God is speaking of raising up someone from
the north to be a great conqueror.
(a) Some say this is Christ. There is a belief that Jesus will
come from the north when He returns to the earth but I do
not see the evidence for it \\See 2Topic "200118"\\.
(b) Others again refer to this being Cyrus, King of Persia.
(c) I see no reason why it can’t be Babylon. Both Kings
Nebuchadnezzar and Cyrus had some relationship with God
through the prophet Daniel who was captive in Babylon in
those days.
5. \\#26\\ The emphasis here is not WHO this will be but that God
is telling the heathen it is going in advance. The fact that it
happened twice and we can take our pick of which king God is
referring to is not the main point. The ability to prophecy the
future demonstrates His deity.
6. \\#27\\ "the first…to Zion" - The verse is unclear but most
think Isaiah is speaking of himself as being the first to say
to Zion and Jerusalem that good tidings are coming to them.
7. \\#28-29\\ As Isaiah looked over the counselors and "prophets,"
he concludes they are vain.
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