Isaiah 44
Sunday School
8/16/2009
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
3. \\#42:1-25\\ Be Comforted by Meeting the Servant
4. \\#43:1-28\\ Be Comforted by Knowing Your God’s Desire
5. \\#44:1-47:15\\ Be Comforted by Knowing A Real God
I. \\#44:1-47:15\\ Be Comforted by Knowing A Real God
A. \\#1-8\\ Future Promise of a great Israel - God continues to comfort
Israel by emphasizing their future. They will be in the land,
multiplied, and greatly blessed by God.
1. \\#1\\ God calls Israel His servant and His chosen.
\\#Is 43:1\\
2. \\#2\\ God reminds them that He has made and formed them "from
the womb," the idea being that before Israel was, God was
creating them.
3. \\#2\\ God promises to "help them."
4. \\#2\\ "Jesurun" - This and the name Jeshurun are used four
times to refer to Israel. It means "upright one" and is a
title to describe what Israel will one day be.
5. \\#3\\ "I will pour water upon him" - The idea of God making
a wetland is again given, but whereas the other references
\\#Is 35:6-7, 41:18\\ refer to the physical land, this passage
refers to God blessing and multiplying the people of God.
6. \\#4\\ "they shall spring up" - The people will spring up in
large numbers.
7. \\#5\\ Isaiah emphasizes with four phrases that the many people
of Israel shall be the Lord’s.
8. \\#6-8\\ God speaks of Himself.
a. \\#6\\ The Lord is the King of Israel, their redeemer, the
Lord of their multitudes, the first and the last. He also
declares His uniqueness - there is no God like Him.
b. \\#7\\ God questions the power of the false gods by again
pointing out that only He is able to prophecy future events.
c. \\#8\\ Despite the judgments that are coming their way,
Israel has no reason to fear for God is with them. They are
witnesses that He has proclaimed all of this before it
happened.
B. \\ #9-20\\ The weakness of false gods - God’s mention of the false
gods moves Him to decry the gods Israel is presently worshipping.
1. \\#9\\ Not only are the false gods "vanity" and of no profit
(use), but God says those that make them are of no profit.
a. The makers of false gods are witnesses to the fact that the
false gods are useless.
b. The false gods can not see nor know or else they would be
ashamed.
2. \\#10-11\\ The one that formed the god "shall be ashamed." What
else could happen to one who makes something useless and then
places great confidence in it?
3. \\#12-14\\ The process of making an idol is elaborated.
4. \\#15-17\\ And with what wood is left, the man makes a fire to
bake his bread. God is mocking those who worship these gods.
5. \\#18-19\\ Yet no one considers such things. It is obvious that
God wants us to consider thoughtfully and logically who we
worship, why we worship, and how.
6. \\#20\\ "He feedeth on ashes" - The "he" is the worshipper.
Whether the tree is overlaid with gold or burnt in the fire, it
is still nothing more than a tree that the worshipper is feeding
upon.
C. \\#44:21-5:4\\ A challenge to Israel - In essence, the challenge is
that Israel would remember and trust Him.
1. \\#21\\ "Remember" - God challenges Israel to remember who they
are. They are God’s servant, formed by His hand, and His servant.
2. \\#21\\ "thou shalt not be forgotten of me" - If they have
forgotten Him, He will never forget them.
3. \\#22\\ "I have blotted out… thy transgressions" - God speaks
of having already forgiven Israel although the remainder of the
verse, "return unto me," makes it clear that they have not yet
repented. God has provided all forgiveness in advance. Those
alive today are enjoying the forgiveness provided 2,000 years
ago and these Jews were being offered the redemption that God
knew He would provide and they, one day, would accept.
4. \\#23\\ Creation is commanded to rejoice and praise the Lord for
the forgiveness God has provided to Israel.
5. \\#4:24-5:4\\ God continues to introduce Himself to His people.
He does this by reminding them of what He has done, is doing,
and by giving them a very specific prophecy of what He will do.
a. \\#24\\ Has done - He is the LORD, their redeemer, the
former of Israel, the Creator of all things, the lone One
who created the heavens and the earth.
b. \\#4:25-26\\ Is Doing
(1) \\#25\\ He is the One who deals with the liars, makes
the false diviners look foolish (mad), and makes the
wise and smart men to fail.
(2) \\#26\\ He provides proof to His messages, performs what
He has promised to Jerusalem, including the message
that He was then giving to them, namely that they shall
be re-inhabited and rebuilt. This is a message that
the modern-day saints are waiting to see fulfilled.
c. \\#4:27-5:4\\ Will do
(1) \\#27\\ "I will dry up thy rivers" - This verse may
refer to God one day…
(a) …drying up the Euphrates River for Israel’s enemy
to cross \\#Rev 16:12\\.
(b) …limiting the amount of drinkable waters during
the tribulation.
Revelation 8:11 And the name of the star is called Wormwood: and the third part
of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they
were made bitter.
Revelation 11:6 These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days
of their prophecy: and have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to
smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will.
(c) …drying up rivers so that the Jews may return to
the land of Israel (after the tribulation)
unhindered.
Isaiah 11:15 And the LORD shall utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian sea;
and with his mighty wind shall he shake his hand over the river, and shall
smite it in the seven streams, and make men go over dryshod.
16 And there shall be an highway for the remnant of his people, which shall be
left, from Assyria; like as it was to Israel in the day that he came up out of
the land of Egypt.
(2) \\#28\\ "That saith of Cyrus" - He will bring a ruler
named Cyrus.
(a) This thought introduces the coming of Cyrus who will
be discussed more in the next chapter.
(b) Cyrus is the Persian king who will rule in 150
years (550BC) (after the Assyrian and Babylonians
fall).
(c) This prophecy, for its detail and accuracy, removes
all doubt as to who is the real God. That is the
very reason God gave it.
(d) "Thou shall be built; and to the temple, Thy
foundation shall be laid" - It is Cyrus that will
allow the Jews to return to the land of Israel and
start rebuilding the temple.
Ezra 1:1 Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the
LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the LORD stirred up the
spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his
kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying,
2 Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, The LORD God of heaven hath given me all the
kingdoms of the earth; and he hath charged me to build him an house at
Jerusalem, which is in Judah.
3 Who is there among you of all his people? his God be with him, and let him go
up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and build the house of the LORD God of
Israel, (he is the God,) which is in Jerusalem.
4 And whosoever remaineth in any place where he sojourneth, let the men of his
place help him with silver, and with gold, and with goods, and with beasts,
beside the freewill offering for the house of God that is in Jerusalem.
(e) For that reason, Cyrus is called the Lord’s
"shepherd," the one who performs God’s pleasure.
(f) \\#5:2\\ "to his anointed, to Cyrus" - And the
Lord’s anointed in the next section.
(g) God is proving His deity by naming the very king
who will allow Israel’s return into the land
before they are removed from the land and 150
years before the king’s birth!
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