ISAIAH LESSON 47


     We will begin this lesson in Isaiah 41:14 "Fear not, thou worm
Jacob, [and] ye men of Israel; I will help thee, saith the LORD, and
thy redeemer, the Holy One of Israel."

     "Holy One of Israel" seems to be Isaiah's favorite way of
addressing God. I believe, this is speaking of the lowliness of Jacob,
when it speaks of him as a worm. The Israelites had been near ruin.
God had saved just a remnant. We know that God did not protect them,
because they were a powerful nation. He protected them, because they
were His, and He loved them. The only true help for them, or us, is
the LORD. The "Redeemer" is speaking of the Lord Jesus Christ.

     Isaiah 41:15 "Behold, I will make thee a new sharp threshing
instrument having teeth: thou shalt thresh the mountains, and beat
[them] small, and shalt make the hills as chaff."

     They were not to be on the defensive any more. The "sharp
threshing instrument" with teeth, means they had power to take over
their enemies. The appearance of the Lord Jesus Christ in Israel a few
hundred years from this statement would give new life to the
Israelites. They would be visited by the Son of God. Again, Jerusalem
would be the center of the world's attention. Their power is from God,
not from their own efforts.

     Isaiah 41:16 "Thou shalt fan them, and the wind shall carry them
away, and the whirlwind shall scatter them: and thou shalt rejoice in
the LORD, [and] shalt glory in the Holy One of Israel."

     God's power in the Israelites makes them so strong that just the
air from the fanning drives their enemies away. The Holy One of Israel
is speaking of the Lord Jesus.

     Isaiah 41:17 "[When] the poor and needy seek water, and [there
is] none, [and] their tongue faileth for thirst, I the LORD will hear
them, I the God of Israel will not forsake them."

     God will supply their needs, even if they are in captivity. Jesus
told the woman at the well, if she drank of the water He provided, she
would never thirst again. This is not only physical water that they
thirst for, but the Word of God, which is many times spoken of as
water. They will thirst for God for the years they are in captivity.
God will never be far away from them. He is their very present help in
trouble.

     Isaiah 41:18 "I will open rivers in high places, and fountains in
the midst of the valleys: I will make the wilderness a pool of water,
and the dry land springs of water."

     Where there was no water before, God will make rivers and streams
come forth to quench their thirst. God will provide 4 sources of water
for them: the rivers, fountains, pools, and springs. This is
supernatural care of the Israelites from God.

     Isaiah 41:19 "I will plant in the wilderness the cedar, the
shittah tree, and the myrtle, and the oil tree; I will set in the
desert the fir tree, [and] the pine, and the box tree together:"

     These are all trees to be desired. The myrtle tree grows only two
places in the world. It grows in the middle east, primarily modern
Israel, and in Oregon in the United States. There is abundant life,
where there are trees. We see from this, they can build a home, and
produce oil for their own use, and sell them. The Cedar is wonderful
for building. It has an aroma that wards off bugs. God is helping them
in ways they had never imagined. Even though they are exiled, they are
still God's children and under His protection.

     Isaiah 41:20 "That they may see, and know, and consider, and
understand together, that the hand of the LORD hath done this, and the
Holy One of Israel hath created it."

     The purpose in God providing this for His people is two-fold. It
will keep the Israelites from starvation, but it will, also, show
those living around them that God provides for them. It might even
cause some of them to believe in the God of the Israelites. Notice,
Isaiah has again used the name "Holy One of Israel".

     Isaiah 41:21 "Produce your cause, saith the LORD; bring forth
your strong [reasons], saith the King of Jacob."

     This is a challenge to the false gods. They do not produce
productive trees and water for their people. This is, perhaps, saying
for them to state their case, if they have one.

     Isaiah 41:22 "Let them bring [them] forth, and shew us what shall
happen: let them shew the former things, what they [be], that we may
consider them, and know the latter end of them; or declare us things
for to come."

     We see more of the challenge here. These false gods say they can
tell the future, but God is really the only One who can tell
accurately of the future. The verse is actually saying, to produce the
prophecies made in the past that have come true. Then they will
consider the prophecies for the future.

     Isaiah 41:23 "Shew the things that are to come hereafter, that we
may know that ye [are] gods: yea, do good, or do evil, that we may be
dismayed, and behold [it] together."

     We see in this, that the idols they worshipped could not do good
or evil, because they are nothings. Isaiah, is saying in this, why
don't you prove to us that you are a god? If we could only see
something you had done good or bad, you might have an argument. An
idol cannot produce anything, so it is obvious they are not to be
worshipped.

     Isaiah 41:24 "Behold, ye [are] of nothing, and your work of
nought: an abomination [is he that] chooseth you."

     "Abomination" means revolting sin. In this case, a revolting
sinner chooses to worship false gods. Notice, also, the word chooseth.
This means this is of his own free will.

     Isaiah 41:25 "I have raised up [one] from the north, and he shall
come: from the rising of the sun shall he call upon my name: and he
shall come upon princes as [upon] mortar, and as the potter treadeth
clay."

     God has chosen Cyrus to come and destroy them. The fact that
Jehovah has raised up Cyrus, is proof He is God. The princes Cyrus
overcomes, will be like mortar in his hands. He will be able to form
them into whatever he wishes. Cyrus will call upon the name of God to
help him in his battles.

     Isaiah 41:26 "Who hath declared from the beginning, that we may
know? and beforetime, that we may say, [He is] righteous? yea, [there
is] none that sheweth, yea, [there is] none that declareth, yea,
[there is] none that heareth your words."

     The idol gods were not even able to prophesy the coming of Cyrus.
God's plans were made from the beginning, and no one but God knows
when and where things will happen. God honors His Word. What He says,
He does.

     Isaiah 41:27 "The first [shall say] to Zion, Behold, behold them:
and I will give to Jerusalem one that bringeth good tidings."

     The First is definitely God. Zion, Jerusalem, or the church
belongs to God. God takes care of His own. He promises deliverance
from the enemy, and He brings it about. He may use someone like Cyrus
to carry it out, but it is actually God who is the Deliverer. The good
tiding is that God will deliver them from bondage.

     Isaiah 41:28 "For I beheld, and [there was] no man; even among
them, and [there was] no counsellor, that, when I asked of them, could
answer a word."

     These false gods and their prophets are like the prophets of Baal
at mount Carmel. They have no power at all. God will destroy them and
save His people.

     Isaiah 41:29 "Behold, they [are] all vanity; their works [are]
nothing: their molten images [are] wind and confusion."

     Just as the prophets of Baal at Mount Carmel could do nothing,
these false gods can do nothing here. They are really figments of
man's imaginations, which come to nothing. These molten images are
man's creation. God is the Creator of man. He is not a creation of
anything else. He is CREATOR GOD.

                          Isaiah 47 Questions


1.  What was Jacob called in verse 14?
2.  What special name for God is a favorite with Isaiah?
3.  Why had God protected the remnant of Israelites?
4.  Who is the "Redeemer"?
5.  What encouragement does verse 15 give them?
6.  What did the statement "new sharp threshing instrument" tell us?
7.  What would give new life to the Israelites?
8.  Their power is from God, not ________ _______ __________.
9.  Thou shalt glory in the ________ ______ of Israel.
10. These Israelites are so strengthened by the Lord, that just the
    ____ from the _________ drives their enemies away.
11. Quote Isaiah chapter 41 verse 17.
12. What wonderful promise did Jesus make the woman at the well?
13. What is many times spoken of as water?
14. What 4 sources of water did God provide for them?
15. What trees did He promise to plant in the wilderness for them?
16. In what 2 places does the myrtle grow?
17. Why has God done this?
18. What is verse 21?
19. Who is the only One who can accurately tell the future?
20. Why can these idols do no good, or evil?
21. What would be something they would have room to argue about, if
    they could do it?
22. What does "abomination" mean?
23. Who chooses to worship false gods?
24. Who had God raised up to overcome them?
25. What will the defeated princes be like in Cyrus' hands?
26. What will Cyrus do for help?
27. Who is the First in verse 27?
28. What is Zion?
29. What is the good tiding of verse 27?
30. Who are the false gods like?
31. Their molten images are ________ and ___________.
32. God is not part of the creation, He is the ___________.