Isaiah 41:1–4; 44:28–45:1; Ezra 1:1–4
- The Lord asks the nations who is the one who is righteous, who subdues kings, who decides which nation stands and which nation falls, who has never failed to follow-through with his promises. The Lord’s response to such rhetorical questions is “I, the Lord—with the first of them and with the last—I am he.”
- The Lord has stirred up Cyrus from the east.
- The Wikipedia gives an account of Cyrus:
From Biblical passages, we learn that Cyrus is deemed by the Lord to build a temple for Him at Jerusalem in Judah. The Lord will hand over fallen nations to Cyrus and says that Cyrus, his shepherd, will accomplish the Lord’s wishes in building that temple.
- God controls history.
- The attributes of God displayed through His prediction of Cyrus include omniscient and all powerful.
- Fulfilled prophecy is a good argument for God’s sovereignty and the Bible’s reliability because it proves that events predicted by God’s prophets in the past all come true. It shows that every one of God’s promises will be realized. We therefore can have the confidence to know that the Bible is completely reliable, because every event has either happened or will happen.
Isaiah 41:5–10
- The nations that have witnessed the Lord’s power and authority have learned to respectfully fear God. They also help and strengthen each other so that they will not fall.
- Some threats that returning exiles may have faced in their return to Jerusalem include battles for land, foreign laws and customs, lack of food and shelter, onset of severe illnesses, etc.
- Exiles of God, however, need not fear such a return because they are the chosen people of Israel. God has not rejected Israel and her people, and God will strengthen them, to uphold them with His righteous hand.
- God’s righteous right hand symbolizes God’s power, authority, and absolute just.
Isaiah 41:11–20
- God calms His people’s fears through His promise: “All who rage against you will surely be ashamed and disgraced; those who oppose you will be as nothing and perish. Those who wage war against you will be as nothing at all.” There is no need to fear because God will be there Himself to help, to make them become new and sharp with the ability to crush mountains. And one day, God will redeem Israel’s rejoice in the glory of the Lord.
- God would provide the poor and needy who were parched with thirst with flowing rivers on barren heights, springs within the valleys, and springs in the desert. God will not and will never forsake His people and will always respond to the needs of His people.
“Thirst” can be literally taken, and we can understand that when we are physically thirsty, we can trust the Lord to lead us to flowing rivers and springs to quench such a thirst. “Thirst,” however, can also be metaphorically understood to mean that when we are spiritually thirsty, we can also turn to God. That is, when we feel spiritually attacked and drained, when we feel absolutely beaten, we can turn to God, our father who will never forsake us but who will always be there to help us stand, to strengthen us so that we may overcome whatever difficulties we face.
- Verbs in verse 20 (see, know, consider, understand) stress the importance to witness God’s sovereign power and authority. And upon witnessing, to internalize what we have see and turn that into knowledge. That is, we not only need to think about what we have seen but also to digest all that sensual information and allow that information to become a part of what defines us, a part of who we are. We shouldn’t just know God. We should also live in God.
Isaiah 41:21–29
- God challenges the idols of pagan nations by asking them about their origin and their ability to prophesize what is to come. He also challenges such idols to exhibit its power and authority, forces that would demand respectful fear from the people.
- God calls such idols less than nothing. God also dismisses their works as utterly worthless and deems those who follow such idols to be detestable. God distinguishes Himself from such idols by citing the things He has brought about. No one but God has brought about prophesies of the things to come. And because of such exhibits of power and authority, God is our one true Lord, and the idols are nothing but man-made crafts.
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