Isaiah 41

Isa 41:1-29.

ADDITIONAL

REASONS

WHY THE

JEWS

SHOULD

PLACE

CONFIDENCE IN

GOD'S

PROMISES OF

DELIVERING

THEM;

HE

WILL

RAISE

UP A

PRINCE AS

THEIR

DELIVERER,

WHEREAS THE

IDOLS

COULD

NOT

DELIVER THE

HEATHEN

NATIONS FROM

THAT

PRINCE.

1.

(Zec 2:13).

God is about to argue the case; therefore let the nations listen in

reverential silence. Compare

Ge 28:16, 17,

as to the spirit in which we ought to behave before God.

before me--rather (turning), "towards me"

[MAURER].

islands--including all regions beyond sea

(Jer 25:22),

maritime regions, not merely isles in the strict sense.

renew . . . strength--Let them gather their strength for the argument;

let them adduce their strongest arguments (compare

Isa 1:18;

Job 9:32).

"Judgment" means here, to decide the point at issue between us.

2. Who--else but God? The fact that God "raiseth up" Cyrus and

qualifies him for becoming the conqueror of the nations and deliverer of

God's people, is a strong argument why they should trust in Him. The

future is here prophetically represented as present or past.

the righteous man--Cyrus; as

Isa 44:28; 45:1-4, 13; 46:11,

"from the East," prove. Called "righteous," not so much on

account of his own equity [HERODOTUS, 3.89], as

because he fulfilled God's righteous will in restoring the Jews

from their unjust captivity. Raised him up in righteousness.

The Septuagint takes the Hebrew as a noun

"righteousness." MAURER translates, "Who raised up

him whom salvation (national and temporal, the gift of God's

'righteousness' to the good,

Isa 32:17;

compare

Isa 45:8; 51:5)

meets at his foot" (that is, wherever he goes). Cyrus is said to come

from the East, because Persia is east of Babylon; but in

Isa 41:25,

from the north, in reference to Media. At the same time the full

sense of righteousness, or righteous, and of the whole

passage, is realized only in Messiah, Cyrus' antitype (Cyrus knew

not God,

Isa 45:4).

He goes forth as the Universal Conqueror of the "nations," in

righteousness making war

(Ps 2:8, 9;

Re 19:11-15; 6:2; 2:26, 27).

"The idols He shall utterly abolish" (compare

Isa 7:23,

with Isa 2:18).

Righteousness was always raised up from the East. Paradise was east of

Eden. The cherubim were at the east of the garden. Abraham was called

from the East. Judea, the birthplace of Messiah, was in the East.

called . . . to . . . foot--called him to

attend His (God's) steps, that is, follow His guidance. In

Ezr 1:2,

Cyrus acknowledges Jehovah as the Giver of his victories. He subdued

the nations from the Euxine to the Red Sea, and even Egypt (says

XENOPHON).

dust--

(Isa 17:13; 29:5;

Ps 18:42).

Persia, Cyrus' country, was famed for the use of the "bow"

(Isa 22:6).

"Before him" means "gave them into his power"

(Jos 10:12).

MAURER translates, "Gave his (the enemy's) sword

to be dust, and his (the enemy's) bow to be as stubble"

(Job 41:26, 29).

3. Cyrus had not visited the regions of the Euphrates and westward

until he visited them for conquest. So the gospel conquests penetrated

regions where the name of God was unknown before.

4. Who--else but God?

calling . . . generations from . . . beginning--The origin and position

of all nations are from God

(De 32:8;

Ac 17:26);

what is true of Cyrus and his conquests is true of all the movements of

history from the first; all are from God.

with the last--that is, the last

(Isa 44:6; 48:12).

5. feared--that they would be subdued.

drew near, and came--together, for mutual defense.

6. Be of good courage--Be not alarmed because of Cyrus, but make new

images to secure the favor of the gods against him.

7. One workman encourages the other to be quick in finishing the idol,

so as to avert the impending danger.

nails--to keep it steady in its place.

Wisdom 13:15, 16,

gives a similar picture of the folly of idolatry.

8. Contrast between the idolatrous nations whom God will destroy by

Cyrus, and Israel whom God will deliver by the same man for their

forefathers' sake.

servant--so termed as being chosen by God to worship Him themselves,

and to lead other peoples to do the same

(Isa 45:4).

Jacob . . . chosen--

(Ps 135:4).

my friend--literally, "loving me."

9. Abraham, the father of the Jews, taken from the remote Ur of the

Chaldees. Others take it of Israel, called out of Egypt

(De 4:37;

Ho 11:1).

from the chief men--literally, "the elbows"; so the joints; hence

the root which joins the tree to the earth; figuratively, those of

ancient and noble stock. But the parallel clause "ends of the earth"

favors GESENIUS, who translates,

"the extremities of the earth"; so

JEROME.

10. be not dismayed--literally, anxiously to look at one another in dismay.

right hand of my righteousness--that is, My right hand prepared in

accordance with My righteousness (faithfulness to My promises) to uphold

thee.

11. ashamed--put to the shame of defeat (compare

Isa 54:17;

Ro 9:33).

12. seek . . . and . . . not find--said of one so utterly put out of

the way that not a trace of him can be found

(Ps 37:36).

thing of naught--shall utterly perish.

13.

(De 33:26, 29).

14. worm--in a state of contempt and affliction, whom all loathe and

tread on, the very expression which Messiah, on the cross, applies to

Himself

(Ps 22:6),

so completely are the Lord and His people identified and assimilated.

God's people are as 'worms' in humble thoughts of themselves, and in

their enemies' haughty thoughts of them; worms, but not vipers, or of

the serpent's seed." [HENRY].

men--The parallelism requires the word "men" here to have

associated with it the idea of fewness or feebleness.

LOWTH translates, "Ye mortals of Israel."

The Septuagint, "altogether diminutive."

MAURER supports English Version, which the

Hebrew text best accords with.

the Lord--in general.

and thy redeemer--in particular; a still stronger reason why He should

"help" them.

15. God will make Israel to destroy their enemies as the Eastern

corn-drag

(Isa 28:27, 28)

bruises out the grain with its teeth, and gives the chaff to the winds

to scatter.

teeth--serrated, so as to cut up the straw for fodder and separate

the grain from the chaff.

mountains . . . hills--kingdoms more or less powerful that were hostile

to Israel

(Isa 2:14).

16. fan--winnowed (compare

Mt 3:12).

whirlwind . . . scatter them--

(Job 27:21; 30:22).

17. poor and needy--primarily, the exiles in Babylon.

water--figuratively, refreshment, prosperity after their affliction.

The language is so constructed as only very partially to apply to the

local and temporary event of the restoration from Babylon; but fully to

be realized in the waters of life and of the Spirit, under the Gospel

(Isa 30:25; 44:3;

Joh 7:37-39; 4:14).

God wrought no miracles that we read of, in any wilderness, during the

return from Babylon.

faileth--rather, "is rigid" or parched

[HORSLEY].

18. Alluding to the waters with which Israel was miraculously supplied

in the desert after having come out of Egypt.

high places--bare of trees, barren, and unwatered

(Jer 4:11; 14:6).

"High places . . . valleys" spiritually express that in

all circumstances, whether elevated or depressed,

God's people will have refreshment for their souls, however little to

be expected it might seem.

19.

(Isa 32:15; 55:13).

shittah--rather, the "acacia," or Egyptian thorn, from which the gum

Arabic is obtained [LOWTH].

oil tree--the olive.

fir tree--rather, the "cypress": grateful by its shade.

pine--GESENIUS translates, "the holm."

box tree--not the shrub used for bordering flower beds, but

[GESENIUS]

a kind of cedar, remarkable for the smallness of its cones, and the

upward direction of its branches.

20. consider--literally, "lay it (to heart)"; turn (their

attention) to it. "They" refers to all lands

(Isa 41:1;

Ps 64:9; 40:3).

The effect on the Gentiles of God's open interposition hereafter in

behalf of Israel shall be, they shall seek Israel's God

(Isa 2:3;

Zec 8:21-23).

21. A new challenge to the idolaters (see

Isa 41:1, 7)

to say, can their idols predict future events as Jehovah can

(Isa 41:22-25,

&c.)?

your strong reasons--the reasons for idol-worship which you think

especially strong.

22. what shall happen--"Let them

bring near and declare future contingencies"

[HORSLEY].

former things . . . the latter end of them--show what

former predictions the idols have given, that we may compare the event

("latter end") with them; or give new prophecies ("declare things to

come")

(Isa 42:9),

[MAURER]. BARNES explains it

more reconditely, "Let them foretell the entire series of

events, showing, in their order, the things which shall

first occur, as well as those which shall finally

happen"; the false prophets tried to predict isolated events, having no

mutual dependency; not a long series of events mutually and

orderly connected, and stretching far into futurity. They did not even

try to do this. None but God can do it

(Isa 46:10; 44:7, 8).

"Or . . . things to come" will, in this view, mean, Let them,

if they cannot predict the series, even predict plainly any

detached events.

23. do good . . . evil--give any proof at all of your power, either

to reward your friends or punish your enemies

(Ps 115:2-8).

that we may be dismayed, and behold it

together--MAURER translates,

"That we (Jehovah and the idols) may look one another in the face

(that is, encounter one another,

2Ki 14:8, 11),

and see" our respective powers by a trial. HORSLEY

translates, "Then the moment we behold, we shall be dismayed." "We"

thus, and in English Version, refers to Jehovah and His

worshippers.

24. of nothing--(See on

Isa 40:17).

The Hebrew text is here corrupt; so English Version

treats it.

abomination--abstract for concrete: not merely abominable, but the

essence of whatever is so

(De 18:12).

chooseth you--as an object of worship.

25. raised up--in purpose: not fulfilled till a hundred fifty years

afterwards.

north--In

Isa 41:2,

"from the East"; both are true: see the note there.

call . . . my name--acknowledge Me as God, and attribute his success

to Me; this he did in the proclamation

(Ezr 1:2).

This does not necessarily imply that Cyrus renounced idolatry, but

hearing of Isaiah's prophecy given a hundred fifty years before, so

fully realized in his own acts, he recognized God as the true God, but

retained his idol (so Naaman,

2Ki 5:1-27;

compare

2Ki 17:33, 41;

Da 3:28; 4:1-3, 34-37).

princes--the Babylonian satraps or governors of provinces.

mortar--"mire"; He shall tread them under foot as dirt

(Isa 10:6).

26. Who--of the idolatrous soothsayers? When this prophecy shall be

fulfilled, all shall see that God foretold as to Cyrus, which none of

the soothsayers have.

beforetime--before the event occurred.

He is righteous--rather, "It is true"; it was a true prophecy, as the

event shows. "He is righteous," in English Version, must be

interpreted, The fulfilment of the idol's words proves that

he is faithful.

showeth, &c.--rather, "there was none (of the soothsayers) that

showed . . . declared--no one has heard your words"

foretelling the event.

27. Rather, "I first will give to Zion and to Jerusalem the

messenger of good tidings, Behold, behold them!" The clause, "Behold

. . . them" (the wished-for event is now present) is

inserted in the middle of the sentence as a detached exclamation, by an

elegant transposition, the language being framed abruptly, as one would

speak in putting vividly as it were, before the eyes of others, some

joyous event which he had just learned [LUDOVICUS

DE DIEU] (compare

Isa 40:9).

None of the idols had foretold these events. Jehovah was the "first" to

do so (see

Isa 41:4).

28. no counsellor--no one of the idolatrous soothsayers who could

inform

(Nu 24:14)

those who consulted them what would take place. Compare

"counsel of His messenger"

(Isa 44:26).

when I asked--that is, challenged them, in this chapter.

29. confusion--"emptiness" [BARNES].