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TH1155: On-Line
Teaching Notes
ISAIAH
Please turn in your Bibles to Isaiah chapter 44, as we continue our study through the Word of God.
ISAIAH 44
VERSES 1-2
1. Notice how God looks upon rebellious, sinful, Israel. He tells them that He has chosen them, made them, formed them and as He looks upon them He calls them Jeshurun or "righteous ones", or "the upright ones". That is the love God has for His people, and His chastening is not to punish them, but to awaken them so that they would return to Him!
VERSES 3-5
1. The primary focus here is Judah's return from their captivity in Babylon. Now understand this, Isaiah is writing this around 712 BC, they went into captivity in 606 BC with the final deportation and the destruction of Jerusalem occurring in 586 BC. That means Isaiah spoke of events that took place in the future, the captivity being some 106 years down the road. How can he speak of these things with such accuracy? The Spirit of God moved him to write these things, for God knows the beginning from the end.
2. Now the reason for their captivity was their idolatry and their refusal to repent and get right with God. The length of time in captivity was based upon their failure to give the land its Sabbath rest. Every 7th year the land was to rest and God said He would provide enough food to assist them during this time. But for 490 years they neglected to obey God's command, and so they owed God 70 years, the length of their captivity.
3. But this passage is ultimately looking towards the kingdom age, when God's Spirit will be poured out on all the people, the land will be bountiful and God will satisfy the thirst of His people. And during that time the people will want to identify themselves with Israel, and the Lord.
VERSE 6
1. A very interesting verse indeed. This verse is spoken in the first person singular, and yet it speaks of Jehovah, the king of Israel, AND His Redeemer, the Jehovah of hosts. You see, one God, manifested in 2 of the 3 persons of the Godhead here. Now the Jehovah witnesses like to tell you the redeemer is not Jesus, but Jehovah, the Almighty God, for Jesus is only a mighty God. Two problems with that. This verse tells us there is no other God's, and that is repeated several times in chapters 44 & 45 of Isaiah. Secondly, in Revelation 1:8 we read "'I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,' says the Lord, 'who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.'" Now if you are still not sure this is speaking of Jesus, look at Revelation 1:17-18. It reads "And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, 'Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last. I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death.'" When did Jehovah die? The Jehovah witnesses can't answer that question because they don't believe Jesus is equal with the Father. But it is very clear in this verse that Jesus was put to death on the cross of Calvary and rose on the third day. He is the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End. He is Jehovah our Redeemer, the second person of the Holy Trinity!
VERSE 7
1. There is no God like Jehovah! Thus, a challenge to these idols, those people and those nations who worship them, to step forward and speak of things that were to come with 100% accuracy, showing that they are going to come to pass. And, of course, they could not do these things, only God can!
VERSE 8
1. The Jehovah witnesses believe Jesus is a god. The Mormon's believe you can become a god. And this has even crept into the church! But God says that He knows of no other God, not even one. And if God doesn't know of any, why do we think otherwise? In fact, for those that think this way, listen to what Jeremiah 10:11 says of them. We read "Thus you shall say to them: 'The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth shall perish from the earth and from under these heavens.'" Don't be foolish thinking you are a god or will become a god, for if you do, you will perish!
VERSES 9-10
1. Here God is speaking of the foolishness of placing ones trust in idols, for they are useless, they will not profit, they can't see or know anything. And for those who put their trust in them, they will be ashamed. Why worship something that will not profit you or help you?
VERSE 11
1. Those that worship these idols and those that make them, when they stand before the true and living God they will be terrified. As Hebrews 12:29 says, "For our God is a consuming fire." And because of that "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God." Hebrews 10:31. You see, outside of Christ we stand in our own righteousness and we will be consumed by the fire of His judgment.
VERSE 12
1. The idol you make is always inferior to its maker, and thus, as the idol maker gets hungry and thirsts and has to stop his work to satisfy those needs, the idol he makes can do nothing!
VERSES 13-17
1. Notice the foolishness of His actions. The idol he makes comes from his own imagination and to make it he cuts down a tree that is living and makes it into a dead idol. Not only that. He cuts down the tree and takes part of it and places it in the fire to warm himself. With another piece of the wood he places it in the oven to cook with. And with the last piece of wood he carves it into an idol to worship. Do you see how foolish their actions are! But why do they do that? Why do they make these idols to worship? The next couple of verses tells us the reason.
VERSES 18-20
1. Because they have rejected the love of the truth God has sent them a strong delusion to believe a lie, to believe that a dead piece of wood is a god that can interact with man and thus, deserves our worship. The more you reject the truth the more God will make firm your convictions. And as you continue down that road, you can pass the point of spiritual no return. A place where your heart is so hard that there is no salvation for you, because you have made the path you want to travel on, and God has just firmed that conviction of yours. They don't even see the foolishness of their actions.
Let me give you two examples of what I mean. Recently there has formed a Church of Diana in which its followers believe the late humanitarian, Princess Diana, imparts wisdom and guidance not unlike that of the Holy Spirit. The church's founder, Richard Fame, said that Princess Diana dictated to him a book of truths - Diana Speaks! He said "We believe that if anyone reads this book with an open mind, that they will hear the princess speaking to them...If anyone calls upon her, she will come to them through the book." The church has over 7,000 members already! How foolish!
The second example is the story of a former roadblock that became a Hindu god. The story goes "Devotees from as far away as India worship at the San Francisco shrine to the Hindu god Shiva. Although it originally was just a traffic barrier, believers now pray and offer flowers, food and coins there." If you reject the truth of God you will believe all kinds of foolish lies, and we can go on-and-on with the foolish things people worship and do, supposedly intelligent people. And ultimately they are being set up to believe the lie of the antichrist and they will worship him because they rejected the love of the truth from God!
VERSES 21-22
1. God is warning His people who are going into captivity because of their idolatry, not to continue down this foolish path that only leads to destruction. Learn those lessons. God wants His people to know that even though they were going into captivity, He was going to bring them out, in fact He speaks as if He has already done it. Why? Because God's Word is that sure, what He has promised He is able to perform! God chastened Israel just as He chastens us, but He did not forget His people and He will not forget us. God never forsakes His people!
VERSE 23
1. The near fulfillment is their return from their Babylonian captivity. The long term fulfillment is the kingdom age when God sets up His kingdom here on earth, we don't!
VERSES 24-25
1. God humbles the proud showing them the foolishness of their ideas outside of a creator God. Look at the theory of evolution. Nature itself testifies that there is a designer, a creator, a God. Everything shows design, even the simplest cell to a snowflake. And yet the evolutionists teach that life came from non-life, from no information the system kept gaining more information until we have the complex life forms of today. And yet, the evidence does not support their theory. Then why do they do it? Paul said in Romans 1:20-22 "For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools." We, as Christians, need not be ashamed of what God has said in His Word, for science will eventually catch up with what God has said, for God's Word is complete, and when God speaks of scientific things, they are 100% accurate! For those who boast of what they know, God will bring them down and frustrate their ideas.
VERSE 26a-b
1. God speaks to His prophets and they speak forth the Words of God to the people and God brings those words to pass. Prophecy is fulfilled!
VERSES 26c-27
1. When Isaiah wrote this, around 712 BC, the Southern Kingdom of Judah was still in the land, they had not gone into captivity yet. You see, at this point the Assyrians were the world power, not the Babylonians. But in around 106 years, 606 BC, the Babylonians would come and take captive the Southern Kingdom of Judah with their final assault and deportation to Babylon occurring in 586 BC. It is at this point the walls of the city, the city of Jerusalem and the temple were completely destroyed, the land was just a mess. But God is saying that His people will return to Jerusalem, return from their captivity, the city and the walls and the temple will be rebuilt. Who is going to do this? Cyrus, the Persian king, who conquered Babylon in 536 BC, and Ezra, writing during that period of time, wrote in Ezra 1:1-3, "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, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and also put it in writing, saying, Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: All the kingdoms of the earth the LORD God of heaven has given me. And He has commanded me to build Him a house at Jerusalem which is in Judah. Who is among you of all His people? May 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 God), which is in Jerusalem." This Persian king not only let the Jews return, but he gave them the treasures taken during their Babylonian captivity to help them in their quest to rebuild Jerusalem and the temple. And as you read this proclamation it seems like Cyrus is saved, a believer in the true and living God just as some of the other pagan kings were, like Nebuchadnezzar and Darius!
VERSE 28
1. God calls Cyrus, this Persian king, by name some 125 years before he was even born. Now in chapter 45 we are going to continue this same thought regarding this man named Cyrus, who was going to defeat the Babylonians and let God's people return home. Remember the chapter and verse divisions were placed much later in the Bible, and so the text was continual, and the end of chapter 44 flows right into chapter 45.
ISAIAH 45
VERSES 1-2
1. God has anointed and strengthened Cyrus for the work he was to do, defeat Babylon and let God's people go. Now that was not an easy task, for Babylon was a mighty fortress, it was impregnable, or so they thought. In fact, the night the city fell, their king was throwing a party, people were drunk, and they not only were mocking what the Persians were trying to do, but they were mocking the true and living God. They felt very secure. Why? Because the city itself, some 15 miles square, was enclosed by a massive wall that extended some 350 feet into the air. Then, about every 100 feet or so were watch towers that extended another 100 feet into the air. The walls themselves were 88 feet thick and you could have chariot races 6 abreast on the top of thesewalls. Then there was a moat and a smaller inner wall. Also the Euphrates River ran through the middle of the city supplying the people with plenty of water, and they boasted of having enough grain to keep the people fed for 20 years in case they could not leave the city because of the enemy surrounding them. Also, to prevent anyone from entering through the River, they had gates that went down into the river bed that would be closed at night.
That is why Belshazzar, the king of Babylon had his party, it was in defiance of the army that surrounded them, for he truly believed they could not enter the city. And that night, Belshazzar saw the hand writing on the wall that basically said he has come up short and the time is up for his kingdom. And that very night, maybe because the soldiers were drunk, the gates were not closed, and Cyrus had the Euphrates River upstream diverted so they could walk right into the city of Babylon, just as God had said, opening the gates for them to enter through.
VERSES 3-5
1. When Cyrus entered the city he was shown the scroll of Isaiah, probably by Daniel. And he was so impressed that the God of Israel called him by name and laid out the plan of his capture of Babylon, that he made the proclamation found in Ezra chapter 1, and let God's people return home. And it seems that God used this event in Cyrus' life to bring Cyrus into a relationship with the true and living God. I truly think he became a believer!
VERSES 6-7
1. Some Bibles have "calamity" as "evil" and that is not correct. God does not create evil but calamity for those who refuse to honor Him.
VERSE 8
1. The near fulfillment was the return of the Jews from their captivity. The complete fulfillment is seen in the kingdom age.
VERSE 9
1. The foolishness of striving against God. Each of us, like all the people of the world, are like a broken piece of pottery because of sin. And as we continue to strive we remain in that broken condition. But as we turn to Him, the master potter takes that broken piece of pottery and fashions into something to bring Him honor. Now we as Christians can also strive with God and wrestle with Him, but that too is foolish. You see, if you could actually win in your fight with God, you would lose! It is when we surrender to Him, lose in a sense, that we then win! God knows what is best for our lives. And just as a lump of clay, we should be silent as God molds and shapes our lives and not strive against what He is trying to do. It is as Paul said in Romans 9:20, "But indeed, O man, who are you to reply against God? Will the thing formed say to him who formed it, 'Why have you made me like this?'"
VERSE 10
1. The foolishness of arguing with your parents for bringing you into this world. Now verses 9 & 10 are important to keep in mind as we come to verse 11, otherwise you will come up with an un-scriptural doctrine that many in the health, wealth and prosperity movement and in the name it claim it or positive confession movement have adopted.
VERSE 11
1. You see, they say we are to "command" things from God. They think that is what the Bible is teaching. No it is not! The thought here is this, and it flows from verses 9 & 10, who are we to tell God what to do or not to do or to command him to do something or not do something. He is the Sovereign Lord, not us. You see, that is the whole context of these verses, which many neglect to look at so they then can come up with their own doctrines. But Peter tells us in II Peter 1:20, "knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation."
VERSES 12-13
1. This should shame some of those Christians that are in the ministry for the money and not out of a desire to serve the Lord. Cyrus, this pagan king, would be directed by God and will assist in the work of the rebuilding of Jerusalem by letting God's people return home from Babylon, taking with them the treasures of Babylon. He did not do this for a reward. He was not looking for some kind of payment from God. And for those Christians who will only do something for money and more money in their service to the Lord, they should be ashamed of themselves. If you can't do it out of a right heart, then don't do it at all!
VERSE 14
1. In the kingdom age other nations will serve Israel, not in physical chains, but they will be in subjection to them because God is with them and they too love the Lord. This is not a slave/master relationship, but done out of love, willingly.
VERSES 15-16
1. God hides Himself only from those who don't want to see Him. If you seek Him, you will find Him for He loves you more than you ever will know. And if you don't turn to the true and living God, you will turn to some kind of idol to worship, and when the Lord returns or you die and stand before Him, you will be ashamed!
VERSE 17
1. Those that put their trust in the Lord will not be ashamed, and Israel, as a nation will also be saved.
VERSE 18
1. God did not create the earth "to be a worthless waste; he formed it to be inhabited" as The Amplified Bible translates this verse. Now some go to Genesis 1:2, which says "The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.", and they see a gap between Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 1:2, when God created the heavens and the earth and then it was put into a deep freeze forthousands or maybe even millions of years, no one knows. The reason they say that is because it speaks of "the earth being without form, and void." And with that some have speculated that there was a pre-Adamic race of angelic beings in which Satan was over and when they sinned, God put the earth into a deep freeze. Now if you hold onto that view, fine. I don't at this time and thus, I teach it the way I feel that God has shown me.
Now that phrase "without form and void" which is TOHU WAW BOHU in the Hebrew, has been suggested by those who hold onto the gap theory to mean "ruined and desolate". And so they say there has been some cataclysmic judgment upon the earth by God that left it in a ruined and desolate condition.
The word TOHU or "without form" has various shades of meaning in the Scriptures, (vanity, confused, empty, pale, nothing, etc.). So it depends on the context for the correct translation. The King James scholars translated it :"Without form". Also, the word BOHU or "void" does not mean desolation, but is simply speaking of "emptiness." In other words, when the earth was initially created, the earth had no inhabitants, it was "void".
Henry M. Morris says this: "The essential meaning, therefore, is: 'In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth [or space and matter], and the matter so created was at first unformed and uninhabited.'" Thus, at this point only the basic matter components were put forth, the earth was not formed into a sphere as yet, but it would be shortly. Proverbs 8:27 seems to support that thought, we read "When He prepared the heavens, I was there, When He drew a circle on the face of the deep." It is kind of like a master potter with his clay, it is without formand void until He takes that clay and shapes it into a vessel of His desire, and I see God taking the elements and shaping them together into a sphere that we call earth. Again, I personally don't believe in the gap theory, and that does not mean that I am right or wrong, we will find out and at that point it won't matter. But I can't teach something that I don't believe in, and right now I don't hold onto the view that the gap theory is correct.
VERSE 19
1. When Jesus walked this earth He did not do miracles in secret, but in the open for all to see. He taught the people out in the open. You see, God does not hide Himself unless people don't want to see Him.
VERSES 20-21
1. Over and over God is saying that He alone is God, there is no other. Who has spoken of Cyrus being raised up and defeating Babylon, then letting the Jews return home? No one but God!
VERSE 22
1. God is calling all people, not just Israel, to stop following after worthless idols and turn to Him to be saved! As Jesus said in John 14:6, "...'I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.'"
VERSE 23
1. God puts His name on the line and tells us the things that will come to pass. If they don't, it discredits who He is. But they all will come to pass. And one day, every knee will bow before Jesus and confess that He is Lord. You can do it now and enter eternity with Him or wait until you die, and you still will bow your knee before Him, but you will be cast into outer darkness, eternally separated from Him. As Paul said in Philippians 2:9-11, "Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."
VERSES 24-25
1. There is coming a day when those who have rejected God will be ashamed of their foolish mistake and it will terrify them as they stand in their righteousness, naked before God. For those that come to God, they will stand clothed in the righteousness of Christ and enter into eternity with Him. As Paul points out in I Corinthians 1:30-31, "But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God; and righteousness and sanctification and redemption; that, as it is written, 'He who glories, let him glory in the LORD.'" Praise the Lord!