READ IT! - Introduction to Isaiah 44-50

Readings for this week

Monday: Isaiah 44
Tuesday: Isaiah 45
Wednesday: Isaiah 46
Thursday: Isaiah 47
Friday: Isaiah 48
Saturday: Isaiah 49
Sunday: Isaiah 50

Introduction to Isaiah 44-50

Chapters 44-45 

Isaiah describes Israel “the chosen.” 

“I will pour out my Spirit on your offspring,
and my blessing on your descendants.
They will spring up like grass in a meadow,
like poplar trees by flowing streams.” 

Here, God proclaims his superiority over idols. God describes how carefully the people had crafted their idols, and how stupid they would have to be to mistake their Creator for something they had created themselves. God mocked the idols, pointing out that half of the wood used to make these gods was used for ordinary purposes. 

Isaiah then proclaims that Jerusalem will once again be inhabited. God said He was the one who alone stretched out the heavens and the earth in creation. He alone is the one who has decided that Jerusalem will be inhabited by His people once again. Isaiah says that God has decided to make Cyrus His servant. Cyrus was the Persian Emperor who conquered Babylon seventy years after the Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem. God referred to Cyrus as “my shepherd” who would “accomplish all that I please.” God said that in the future, this emperor named Cyrus would give the command to rebuild Jerusalem and relay the foundations of the Temple of the LORD. 

Chapters 46-47 

Isaiah then describes Babylon’s Fall. First, he mocks the gods of Babylon. Bel-Marduk and Nebo are unable to lift the burden placed upon their people. Bel-Marduk and Nebo fall into captivity along with their worshipers. 

“Disaster will come upon you,
and you will not know how to conjure it away.
A calamity will fall upon you
that you cannot ward off with a ransom;
a catastrophe you cannot foresee
will suddenly come upon you.” 

“Keep on, then, with your magic spells
and with your many sorceries,
which you have labored at since childhood.
Perhaps you will succeed,
perhaps you will cause terror.
All the counsel you have received has only worn you out!
Let your astrologers come forward,
those stargazers who make predictions month by month,
let them save you from what is coming upon you.
Surely they are like stubble;
the fire will burn them up.
They cannot even save themselves
from the power of the flame.” 

Chapter 48 

God declared that these things would take place long beforehand because He knew how stubborn and rebellious Israel was and that they would attribute these wonders to false gods. 

“Listen to me, Jacob,
Israel, whom I have called:
I am he;
I am the first and I am the last.
My own hand laid the foundations of the earth,
and my right hand spread out the heavens;
when I summon them,
they all stand up together.” 

“Leave Babylon,
flee from the Babylonians!
Announce this with shouts of joy
and proclaim it.
Send it out to the ends of the earth;
say, ‘The Lord has redeemed his servant Jacob.’
They did not thirst when he led them through the deserts;
he made water flow for them from the rock;
he split the rock
and water gushed out.” 

Chapters 49-50 

In these passages, the prophet returns to his theme of The Servant. Here, the Servant is described as bringing salvation to more than just Israel, but to the whole world. 

“And now the Lord says—
he who formed me in the womb to be his servant
to bring Jacob back to him
and gather Israel to himself,
for I am honored in the eyes of the Lord
and my God has been my strength—
he says:
‘It is too small a thing for you to be my servant
to restore the tribes of Jacob
and bring back those of Israel I have kept.
I will also make you a light for the Gentiles,
that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.’” 

He then speaks of the restoration of Israel: 

“But Zion said, ‘The Lord has forsaken me,
the Lord has forgotten me.’” 

“Can a mother forget the baby at her breast
and have no compassion on the child she has borne?
Though she may forget,
I will not forget you!
See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands;
your walls are ever before me.” 

The prophet then discusses Israel’s sin and the Servant’s obedience. What Israel could never get right the Servant will fulfill. 

He says to Israel: 

“Because of your sins you were sold;
because of your transgressions your mother was sent away.
When I came, why was there no one?
When I called, why was there no one to answer?
Was my arm too short to deliver you?
Do I lack the strength to rescue you?” 

He says to the Servant: 

“The Sovereign Lord has given me a well-instructed tongue,
to know the word that sustains the weary.
He wakens me morning by morning,
wakens my ear to listen like one being instructed.
The Sovereign Lord has opened my ears;
I have not been rebellious,
I have not turned away.
I offered my back to those who beat me,
my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard;
I did not hide my face
from mocking and spitting.
Because the Sovereign Lord helps me,
I will not be disgraced.” 

Christians, again, associate this description with Jesus, who was mocked and spit upon and beaten. If this passage is talking about Jesus, this is also the only biblical reference we have describing him as a bearded man.