Isaiah 44:1-8

B. POWER OF THE LORD'S SERVANT Chapter S 44-49
1. SOVEREIGN OVER ALL GODS, CHAPTER 44
a. SHOWS FAVOR TO THE FAITHFUL

TEXT: Isaiah 44:1-8

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1 Yet now hear, O Jacob my servant; and Israel, whom I have chosen:

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thus saith Jehovah that made thee, and formed thee from the womb, who will help thee: Fear not, O Jacob my servant; and thou, Jeshurun, whom I have chosen.

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For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and streams upon the dry ground; I will pour my Spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring:

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and they shall spring up among the grass, as willows by the watercourses.

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One shall say, I am Jehovah'S; and another shall call himself by the name of Jacob; and another shall subscribe with his hand unto Jehovah, and surname himself by the name of Israel.

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Thus saith Jehovah, the King of Israel, and his Redeemer, Jehovah of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and besides me there is no God.

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And who, as I, shall call and shall declare it, and set it in order for me, since I established the ancient people? and the things that are coming, and that shall come to pass, let them declare.

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Fear ye not, neither be afraid: have I not declared unto thee of old, and showed it? and ye are my witnesses. Is there a God besides me? yea, there is no Rock; I know not any.

QUERIES

a.

Who is Jeshurun?

b.

When is this promise of the Spirit to be fulfilled?

c.

Why the different names in verse five?

PARAPHRASE

Although chastisement is sure to come to you, O Jacob my servant, I want you to know I called you Israel because I have chosen you for something better which will surely result from your chastening if you will listen and obey Me. First of all, remember, I, Jehovah, created you as a nation; your birth as a people was My doing. Surely you know I will help you. Do not be afraid Jacob my servant, Jeshurun, my chosen, for your offspring who are faithful and the messianic seed among you will have My Spirit poured out upon them and they will spring up and grow a harvest like the dry ground produces when streams of water are poured upon it. They will thrive like the abundant grass and trees that grow by the river banks. One by one they will proclaim that they belong to Jehovah. Some will bear witness that they belong to Jehovah by writing it down, counting it an honor to be called Jehovah'S. Secondly, need I remind you that I am the King of Israel; I am Israel's Redeemer; I am Jehovah, Lord of all the heavenly hosts; I am before all that begins and after all that endsFirst and Last; there is no other God besides Me. If there is any man or god like Me, let him stand forth and declare it and prove his claim by ordering the course of history like I have from the very beginning. If there is anyone like Me let him prove it by predicting what will happen in the future. No, Israel, you have nothing to fear from these others who claim they are gods and have omnipotent power. I have proved to you long ago that I am the only God there is haven-'t I? By the prophecies I have declared and their fulfillments which you have experienced, you are witnesses to the fact that I am the only God. Is there any other God? No! None that I know about! There is no other Rock!

COMMENTS

Isaiah 44:1-5 INVIGORATES: Although the chastening judgment of Jehovah is predicted with absolute certainty (chapter 43) upon Israel, still Israel is the chosen of the Lord. They were not even a nation when God chose them. He took them as nomadic sheepherders and formed them as an instrument of His from nothing! God molded them from useless clay into a vessel for His purpose (cf. Romans 9:19 f). They should surely know that God desired with all His heart to help them and favor them. But God could not help them become the vessel they were chosen to be because they did not want to be that vessel! The Lord knew, and predicted through His prophet here, there would be a remnant formed from the chastening captivity which would believe and surrender to its chosen purpose. This remnant, even now being formed by Isaiah's preaching, need not fear the impending judgment. God's purpose will survive through this remnant called Jeshurun (the name means: right, upright, esteemed, righteous). The prophet suddenly makes a dramatic shortening of perspective in verse three. From the promise of help to the remnant of Israel formed from the chastening captivity Isaiah focuses his prophetic telescope down on the time when God will pour my Spirit upon thy seed. and thine offspring. God's redemptive purpose will be accomplished ultimately in the seed and offspring of Israel. What is this pouring out of the Spirit? Is it the special, miraculous Spirit on the apostles at Pentecost (cf. Joel 2:28 f; Acts 2:14 f), or is it the promise of the Holy Spirit to all obedient believers (Isaiah 32:14; Acts 2:38-39)? Isaiah could be making a general prophecy in which both were intended since without the miraculous revelation of the gospel covenant terms of salvation through the Spirit to the apostles there could have been no indwelling presence of the Spirit. Whatever the case, we feel certain Isaiah's prophecy of the Spirit here is intended to be fulfilled in the new covenant believer. Christ is the seed and offspring (cf. Galatians 3:15-29) and Christians are offspring by being in Him. So, Isaiah has skipped from the Captivity to the New Covenant without any mention of the centuries between. Keil and Delitzsch think the threefold zeh (demonstrative pronoun) (one. another. another) indicates verse five is speaking of the heathen (cf. Psalms 87:4-5). Gentiles will take pride in belonging to Jehovah. They will confess their allegiance orally and yiketov (from kathav, to subscribe) in writing. The emphatic willingness of the Gentile to allow himself to be surnamed Israel is an astounding prophecy in view of the contempt most of the heathen world had for the Hebrew and his God. Nothing short of conversion and rebirth could fulfill this prophecy!

Isaiah 44:6-8 INFORMS: Man thinks in terms of beginnings and endings. Timelessness is outside man's experience. God condescends to man's limited experience and calls Himself, the first, and the last. When time began, God was already there; when time shall end, God will still be there. Many heathen people claimed such eternal existence for their gods, but they could not prove it. Jehovah demonstrated His eternal deity, not only in the things He made (cf. Romans 1:18 f), but also in the predictions and revelations He gave through His prophets. Jehovah challenged and defeated scores of false prophets and false priests (scoffers of the days of Noah; magicians of Pharaoh in Moses-' day; false prophets of Baal in the days of Elijah; the witch of Endor in King Saul's day; the false prophet Hananiah in Jeremiah's day). None of these were able to meet the challenge of Jehovah. In every instance Jehovah demonstrated that only He has absolute knowledge and power. Now, Isaiah is emphatically reminding his generation that as the Lord's servant the power of Almighty God is available to them in the supernatural revelation of Jehovah through His prophets. He knows their future and their destinythey do not need to be afraidthey simply need to trust Him. Has He not from of old proven His omniscience? And are they not witnesses to it? There is no other god they need to fear.

QUIZ

1.

Who is the seed and offspring of verse three?

2.

Why is the prediction of verse five such an astounding one?

3.

When had God proved He was the only God?

4.

Why should Israel not be afraid?