43:1 - Redeemed = "ga'al" = to buy out of slavery
43:2 - Compare with 43:16-17, 44:27
- God will execute a "new exodus" in similar form to the exodus from Egypt
43:3 - God allowed Persia to conquer Ethiopia and Seba (possibly Sheba - 1 Ki 10:1-13) as a reward for releasing Israel from captivity from Babylon
- See also Isa 45:14
43:13-15
- A densely packed collection of God's self-proclaimed names:
- "God"
- "I am (He)" cf.
- "The Lord"
- "Redeemer"
- "Holy One (of Israel)"
- "Creator of Israel"
- "King"
- The Babylonians flee from the Persians - this is God's judgment on Babylon
- Chaldeans
- Semi-nomadic people that lived in Southern Babylon
- Abraham came out of this area (Gen 11:31, Gen 15:7)
- Also known as the "New Babylonians", they ruled Babylonia from 626-539 BC
- They held the Israelites captive under Nebuchadnezzar II from 597-539 BC
43:19-21 - Sound familiar? Isa 41:18-20
43:26 - God invites Israel to the courtroom
- As with "plea bargaining", it is wise for Israel (and us) to plead guilty before God and come to him in honest repentance in order to receive a lesser sentence; in the case with God in fact, the sentence is forgiven (served by Jesus instead)
44:3-5 - Israel will no longer be in fear of identifying with the name of God
- Recall our discussion of the oppression of Israel throughout history
44:28 - Prophecy of the use of Cyrus to deliver Israel from captivity
- In this way, he is an image of the Good Shepherd (Christ) who will ultimately deliver God's people from the captivity of sin
45:1-2
- "His anointed" - same Hebrew word as in Ps 2:2 and Dan 9:25-26 referring to the Messiah
- God uses Cyrus as a type of Messiah to deliver Israel
- Right hand [2]:
- Is 41:13 - God strengthens Cyrus in order to carry out His will
- Luke 20:42-43 - the right hand is a place of authority - God is taking control of that place here
- The right hand is representative of power (Ex 15:6)
- Rev 1:12-20
- Open the double doors... gates
- Conflicting historical accounts:
- Heroditus and Xenophon - city was besieged and entered through the dry riverbed, then opened the gates from the inside
- Babylonian Chronicles and Cyrus Cylinder - following an initial attack, there as an uprising and fleeing of the Babylonian king, Nabonidus, after which the Persians were able to enter the city without battle
- Either way, God provides means for Cyrus to the take the city
45:4-5 - "though you have not known me"
- Cyrus is an example of how God uses and blesses underserving people. Cyrus was not a God-honoring person. God sovereignly chose him and then blessed him with success.
- Not for Cyrus's gain, but so that "they may know ... Me" - for God's own glory and evangelism to the nations
45:8 - God describes the ultimate goal of his evangelism - righteousness and salvation for the entire world
- That righteousness would both "pour down" and "spring up" - permeate everything
- This describes God's future kingdom
- God uses Cyrus, the type of Messiah, to hint at the coming salvation that Jesus Christ, the true Messiah, will bring
45:9-13
- God is justified in using whomever he chooses, including Cyrus who does not know Him, for his purposes
- Four examples
- Potsherd - a broken piece of ceramic material, as at an archaeological site
- Potter can make anything he chooses from the clay
- Handiwork - no hands: an ironic play on words
- Child can't speak back to parents about why they were brought forth
45:14 - cf. 43:3
- Not just a reward to the Persians, but again, God's ultimate desire for them to see Him in it
45:19
- "in vain" = chaos, confusion, emptiness
- Instead, God formed it to be inhabited
- "have not spoken in a dark place"
- And not just inhabited, but for his creation to hear and see Him
- God has not left his creation to its own destructive patterns, but provided a remedy
45:20-22 - "A just God and a savior"
- Emphasizing three distinctions compared to idols
- God has actual power
- Power used justly
- And with the goal of saving his people
- "There is none besides me ... there is no other" - God is unique in this
45:23-25 - "Every knee shall bow, every tongue shall confess"
- Quoted by Paul directly (Rom 14:5-13) and loosely (Phil 2:9-11) with multiple levels of meaning
- Isaiah - Every nation will come to the knowledge that righteousness is only found in God
- Romans - We must each give an account to God for our actions and motivations
- Phil - Jesus is the one who brings about this hope of righteousness for all men
- Those who do not accept God's righteousness will still give an account to Him and ultimately come to the knowledge of it
- "And shall be ashamed" (v. 24) of their incorrect thinking
God's proclamations of his sovereignty:
Isa 43:5-7, 10-13 (cf. Job 42:1-2), 19, 44:6-8, 24-28, 45:5-9, 12-13, 18-19, 22-25
- "Thus says the Lord" - a common phrase used by Isaiah in passages to stress the divine authority of God's word [1]
References:
- J. F. Walvoord, R. B. Zuck; "The Bible Knowledge Commentary"; 1985
- https://www.patheos.com/blogs/christiancrier/2015/06/13/what-does-the-right-hand-symbolize-or-mean-in-the-bible/
- http://www.moellerhaus.com/Persian/Cyrus.html