Page 86 - Isaiah Student Worktext

In Chapter 41, God makes His case against the idols of Babylon, and in fact, the idols of any place at any
time.

V. 1 This is God calling the nations of the world to His ‘courtroom’, where their testimony will be heard,
and judgment will be made.

V. 2-4 Here, God declares His power to have orchestrated the events of history. He lays claim to having
raised up leaders (from the east) and having nations ‘given’ to them.

Bible scholars believe that the contemporary fulfillment of this passage was King Cyrus of Persia. He was
raised up from the east, he conquered many other nations and he passed safely through multiple battles
without being wounded.

Cyrus, and many other leaders both before and after him, might claim these victories as their own. God
tells us that He is the One who performed these deeds. Then, He states that He is the first and He is the
last.

Many national leaders claim victories for themselves. Many leaders have done terrible things…does God
lay claim to those as well? He does, as we have seen with Assyria and Babylon, both used by God as a
tool to punish His disobedient people.

In the United States, we study the time of what we call the ‘Revolutionary War’ when the colonies
fought for independence from Great Britain. Great Britain was by far the most powerful nation on earth
at that time, and the U.S. was a disorganized, disunified group of colonies with few resources. Yet,
independence was won. I have often taught that without God, this would never have happened.

V. 5-7 This repeats what has been said before. The idols that God is challenging here were created by
craftsmen, who then ‘fastened it with pegs’ so that the idols would not totter.

V. 8-9 Now attention turns from the nations that have opposed Israel to Israel itself. In V. 8, God speaks
of Abraham His friend. 2 Chronicles 20: 7; James 2: 23 By extension, descendants of Abraham are also
friends of God.

God reminds Israel that He has moved them, He has called them, He has chosen them, and will not cast
them away. But He also reminds Israel that they are His servants.

V. 10 This is a beautiful promise for God’s people. First, we shouldn’t fear because He is with us. He will
provide strength, He will provide help and even when we feel faint and weary, He will uphold us with His
righteous right hand. Any battle or struggle that we go through, this is a wonderful verse to commit to
memory.

V. 11-13 More great promises. All those who have been against us will be ashamed and disgraced.
There is coming a day when we may seek to find those who oppose us and we won’t find them. Then,
again, God tells His people that He will hold us up and will help.

V. 14-16 As if to remind all of God’s people of their lowly status, God refers to Jacob/Israel as a ‘worm’.
This serves to cause us all to remember that without God, we truly are nothing.

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