Page 87 - Isaiah Student Worktext

God gives this promise to His people: He will make us like a ‘threshing sledge with sharp teeth’ and we
shall thresh and winnow so that there will be nothing left of those who oppose us. The result is that we
will rejoice in the Lord and give Him the glory.

The contemporary fulfillment was found in King Cyrus defeat of the Babylonian Empire. But the
ultimate fulfillment is when Christ shall return and finally defeat our greatest enemies, sin and death.

V. 17-20 Now, we return to the challenge to the false gods. First, God tells that He will hear the cries of
the poor and the needy who are failing ‘for thirst’. He will open rivers and fountains and bring pools of
water. He will plant trees in the desert so that people will know that only He could have done this.

Obviously this has an application for God meeting our physical needs. But it also points to the greater
spiritual thirst. Psalm 63: 1 The outpouring of God’s Holy Spirit will be like water poured on a dry and
thirsty land.

V. 21-24 To the false idols: God says I have told you what I have done…now tell me what you have done.
Present your case. Or, declare to us things to come…that will show whether or not you are indeed gods.

In V. 23, God says do something, good or evil, to prove yourselves. The conclusion is this: you are
nothing, your work is nothing and whoever chooses to follow the false gods is an abomination,
something that is hated by God.

We might wonder why God would go to so much trouble to ‘prove’ that false gods were indeed false.
Obviously, He was not trying to convince the false gods who didn’t exist. He went to these lengths to
prove to the people that the gods they fashioned and carved and worshiped were nothing.

V. 25-29 ‘I have raised up one from the north’ is likely the same one who came from the east in V. 2.
Cyrus invaded Babylon from the east, then in his further conquests came into other nations from the
north. The truly amazing part of all this is that what Cyrus did would not come for over 150 years after
this was written. God prophesied the king’s name (Chapter 45) and the directions from which he would
come a century and a half before it happened. There is nothing outside the scope of God’s knowledge.

Again, that is what makes the Bible unique. No other religion can claim this because the gods that they
worship are nothing, their work is nothing.

‘Their molded images are wind and confusion’.

Chapter 42 - Main Idea: The servant of the Lord, Jesus Christ, will
patiently and gently build His kingdom with broken sinners, even as
far as the distant islands.

The world builds kingdoms and empires with brute force and as a
demonstration of their power. God’s kingdom is very different. John 18: 36

V. 1-4 God takes great delight in His Son, called here ‘My Servant’: One who
does the bidding of the Master. This first verse addresses the Trinity: ‘My’

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