Isaiah 48:9-16

b. PERSPECTIVE

TEXT: Isaiah 48:9-16

9

For my name's sake will I defer mine anger, and for my praise will I refrain for thee, that I cut thee not off.

10

Behold, I have refined thee, but not as silver; I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction.

11

For mine own sake, for mine own sake, will I do it; for how should my name be profaned? and my glory will I not give to another.

12

Hearken unto me, O Jacob, and Israel my called: I am he; I am the first, I also am the last.

13

Yea, my hand hath laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand hath spread out the heavens: when I call unto them, they stand up together.

14

Assemble yourselves, all ye, and hear; who among them hath declared these things? He whom Jehovah loveth shall perform his pleasure on Babylon, and his arm shall be on the Chaldeans.

15

I, even I, have spoken; yea, I have called him; I have brought him, and he shall make his way prosperous.

16

Come ye near unto me, hear ye this; from the beginning I have not spoken in secret; from the time that it was, there am I: and now the Lord Jehovah hath sent me, and his Spirit.

QUERIES

a.

Why would God stop His anger for His own sake?

b.

Does God love Cyrus (the one who shall perform God's pleasure on Babylon)?

c.

Who is the me whom the Lord Jehovah has sent? (Isaiah 48:16)

PARAPHRASE

In order that the faithfulness and mercifulness of My nature may be manifested and praised I am putting a muzzle on My anger and I will not utterly destroy you, Judah. I have put you to the test in the furnace of affliction, like silver is refined, but I have found no silver in you. Therefore, I want you to know that what I am going to do in redeeming you, this new thing I am predicting, is not because you deserve it but because I do not intend for My name to be dishonored. The inviolability of My name is of supreme importance to all men lest they think My absolute sovereignty and glory can belong to another. Listen to Me My chosen people, Israel. I am the Absolute God; I am the only God there isfirst, last, and always. I created the earth and the heavens; they are at My command and when I command, they obey! Get yourselves together, Israel, and decide this; which of the heathen gods has predicted or is able to command the future like I am commanding Cyrus now before he is even born!? Jehovah has chosen Cyrus as the object of His pleasure to execute Jehovah's will upon Babylon; yes, it shall be the arm of Cyrus descending upon the Chaldeans on My behalf. I, the Absolute Sovereign of all creation, have spoken; I have determined that it shall be Cyrus; I will support him in My work, and nothing shall keep him from doing My purpose. Draw near to Me and pay close attention to what I am telling you: From the time I began speaking to man My will has always been clearly made known and not secret like the heathen oracles; My sovereign will has been present in everything that has happened to you and it will continue to be present in what is going to happen through Cyruseven to the coming of the new things of the messianic age. Now, I the Suffering Servant, tell you, Israel, the Lord Jehovah sends Me along with His Holy Spirit.

COMMENTS

Isaiah 48:9-11 JEHOVAH'S GOODNESS: What Jehovah is doing with Judah (Israel), He is doing because of His goodness not theirs. To keep His own absolute goodness and faithfulness and mercifulness inviolate He will act to redeem them from captivity. That which motivates Jehovah is His own graciousnessJudah does not merit redemption. The Hebrew word -'ekhetam is translated refrain but literally means muzzle; it is the same Hebrew word used in Deuteronomy 25:4 concerning the muzzling of an ox when treading out the grain. Jehovah decides by His own sovereign grace to muzzle Himself and not utterly destroy His covenant people. The Lord chose His people in the furnace of affliction. Israel was in the Egyptian furnace when first chosen. Then the Lord submitted them to a refining process through the wilderness, the period of the judges, the period of the monarchy and the divided kingdoms, to see if there was any silver in them. He found none! As good as some of the faithful (like Isaiah, Hezekiah, and some others) remnant may have been, put to the refinement of Jehovah none deserved the approbation, silver. Jeremiah was instructed to find one righteous man in Jerusalem, if he could (Jeremiah 5:1 f). If God refined your community in His crucible today He would not find one righteous man who deserved redemptionno man (except the Man, Very Man, Jesus Christ) deserves redemption. All have sinned and come short of the demand of God. But the Good News is that Jesus Christ did come in the flesh, earned absolute righteousness in the flesh, died as the substitute-sinner for all mankind and arose from the dead victorious over that penalty and offers the grace of God to every man conditioned upon that man's faith and covenant relationship. The whole point of this passage is that the inviolability of the name of Jehovah is absolutely necessary to the redemption of Judah because there is no other basis upon which Judah may be redeemed! If Jehovah's absolute goodness and mercifulness and faithfulness cannot be trusted, then all is lost! If Jehovah cannot and does not keep His word He is no better than the impotent gods of the heathen. The redemption of man rests not in the failing, falling inconsistencies of humanness, but in the never failing consistency and absolute changelessness of God and His Son, Jesus Christ. If Jehovah's name can be profaned and His glory given to any other then there is no Absolute Being and man must have an Absolute Being. If this be the case, the focus of all prophecy and preaching should be the character of God and His Son. The Good News is Who God Is and what He has donenot who man is and what he must do! The Gospel is preaching the person of Christ, not a religious system. Of course, the good news also reveals how man may enter into a covenant with that Person. It is by obedient faith, but not of meritorious works lest any man should boast.

Isaiah 48:12-16 JEHOVAH'S GREATNESS: This chapter is a summation of the section discussing the Power of the Lord's Servant (ch. 44-48). The power of Jehovah is going to be demonstrated through His servant Cyrus (and ultimately through His Servant the Messiah) in order that His name may be vindicated as Absolute Sovereign. This is necessary that once and for all men may realize there are no other gods. Man must trust his eternal life to Jehovah and His sovereign plans and servants. Jehovah is Creator. He made the earth and heavens. Even inanimate creation is His servant. There is nothing made that is uselessJehovah created everything and made it to be His servant and do His bidding. All of creation stands at attention to serve His purpose (cf. Psalms 119:90-91; 1 Corinthians 3:21-23; Hebrews 1:7; Hebrews 1:14, etc.).

So all Israel (Judah) is commanded to assemble itself and hear the sovereign challenge of Jehovah about His servant's work. Which of the heathen gods or false prophets has ever told Israel all that Jehovah is now telling her about His redemptive plan, the use of Cyrus, and the coming of the Messiah-Servant? None! They do not because they cannot! They are not gods but pieces of wood and stone. He whom Jehovah loveth is undoubtedly referring (in context) to Cyrus. Of course, Jehovah loves Cyrus, but not in the same way He loves a believer simply because Cyrus (being an unbeliever) will not allow God to love him in a covenant relationship. The word love (Heb. aehevo from ahav) here probably means simply that Jehovah has chosen Cyrus to be the object of His care and providence to serve Him in conquering Babylon and freeing the Jewish exiles. At one time Nebuchadnezzar was chosen to be the recipient of the special favor of Jehovah (cf. Jeremiah 27:5 f); at another time Alexander the Great was given dominion (Daniel 7:6 f). The emphasis here is not on Cyrus but on the sovereignty of Jehovah. Jehovah has spoken! Jehovah has called Cyrus! Jehovah will bring (sustain) Cyrus and Jehovah shall make Cyrus prosper in what Jehovah wants, but Cyrus will not prosper when Jehovah does not want him to prosper!

The intent of it all is that Judah might see things from Jehovah's perspective! This is the whole point of revelation; man must see (or understand) what is from the perspective of Who Made What Is! Man must see that all of creation stands at attention and serves the eternal purpose of God which is the redemption of creation. The coming captivity of Judah, the coming conquest of Babylon by a Persian emperor yet unborn (Cyrus), the far distant coming of a Messiah-Servantall must be seen by man, not through human perspective (carnal, limited, temporal), but through divine perspective which is eternal, righteous, true, pure and glorious. God calls Judah, Come near unto me, and pay close attention to what I am about to say. However much of His will God has deemed necessary for man to know and obey at any time, God has not been secretive about it. It was never God's business to keep His will as secret as He possibly could. He has always desired to reveal as much of His will as He possibly could. The only hindrance to revelation has been man's spiritual rebellion. God's revelation of Himself in Jesus Christ is hindered by man's unwillingness to want that revelation. We would know His will more fully if we were more willing to do His will (John 7:17; John 13:17). God spoke plainly and openly through His messengers from the very beginning. Often times He spoke more plainly than the people wanted Him to speak (cf. Isaiah 30:9-11; Amos 9:10-15; Micah 2:6-11, etc.). Jehovah's presence was apparent in every prophecy made by any prophet of His. Now it should be apparent to Judah that Jehovah's presence and will is being expressed in the prophecy concerning Cyrus.

The last half of Isaiah 48:16 presents a problem for commentators. Keil and Delitzsch say the me who is sent by the Lord Jehovah is the One unequalled servant of Jehovah (the Messiah); Edward J. Young calls Him the Servant par excellence (the Messiah); Leupold believes the me is the prophet Isaiah. Of course, it is unusual to have such a sudden transition from the speaking of Jehovah directly to the speaking of the Messiah. But it is not altogether unparalleled. Certainly Isaiah 61:1 f are the words of the Messiah. It appears that Isaiah ch. 49 is also a dissertation by the Messiah Himself. Keil and Delitzsch cite Zechariah 4:9 as another example of such transition. It would appear that the context supports the messianic view. Jehovah has been emphasizing the new thing He is going to do as a consequence of Cyrus-' return of the exiles. That new thing can only be the messianic age. It is therefore altogether appropriate that the Unequaled Servant speak here of His commission or sending. In this text is emphasized also the unique companionship of the Spirit the Messiah will have in His mission (cf. Isaiah 42:1 f; Isaiah 61:1 f). The Suffering Servant (Messiah) did not come alone. The Holy Spirit was with Him; in fact, He was the Holy Spirit in the flesh (cf. John 14:15-17). From this point on (and of chapter 48) more and more emphasis is put on the program of the coming unequalled Servant. The work of Cyrus and the restoration of Israel to Palestine was simply a preparatory step for His coming. There is going to have to be centuries of repentance and sanctification in a remnant of Israel in preparation for His coming. Cyrus and the restoration was just the beginning of it all. From Isaiah 48:16 a to 16b the reader has been transported over a span of more than 600 years. But such telescoping of history is not unusual in the writings of the prophets (see Shortened Perspective, in Minor Prophets, by Butler, pub. College Press, pg. 32; comments on Joel 2:27-28, pg. 184-188).

Jehovah wants Israel to see her destiny from His perspective, not from the limited human perspective. Jehovah knows everything from beginning to end. He created everything. He is absolute Sovereign. When He says His people will be taken captive, released by a pagan emperor (yet unborn), and that His Servant will come to bring them everlasting victory and peace, Israel should see His day (cf. John 8:56-59; John 12:41; 1 Peter 1:10-12) by faith.

QUIZ

1.

What was the basis upon which Jehovah acted to redeem Judah?

2.

Why must Jehovah do things for the sake of His name?

3.

Why emphasize here that Jehovah is Creator?

4.

What hinders man from knowing God's revelation of Himself?

5.

Why should man need to see everything from the perspective of divine revelation?

6.

Why the transition from Jehovah's speaking to the Servant's speaking in Isaiah 48:16?