Isaiah 44

CHAPTER 44

Israel the Chosen (44:1–5)

1–5 In this section, God again assures the faithful Israelites that He will help them and bless them; He will pour water—a symbol of both physical and spiritual blessing—on the thirsty land (verse 3). He will pour out His Spirit on their offspring; He will make their descendants flourish like grass (verse 4). These blessings not only will affect the exiles returning from Babylon but they will also be experienced in a spiritual sense by those who put their faith in the coming Messiah, the Servant of the Lord¹⁷² (see Isaiah 32:14–18; 35:1–4; 41:17–20 and comments).

In verse 5, the Lord suggests that many who are not Israelites will say, “I belong to the LORD”; the Lord seems to be saying here that Gentiles also will call themselves by His name (see Isaiah 43:7). Some will write on their hand, “The LORD’S”—a sign that they have acknowledged the Lord as their Master.¹⁷³

The Lord, Not Idols (44:6–23)

6–8 The Lord continues speaking to both Israel and to the nations. In verse 6, He calls Himself Israel’s King. God is Israel’s true Ruler; human kings are merely God’s representatives. But God is not only Ruler; He is also Redeemer (see Isaiah 41:14). He is the first and the last (see Isaiah 41:4); there is no God apart from Him.

In verses 7–8, God challenges all other socalled gods and the people who worship them to show what past events they have foretold (see Isaiah 41:21–24; 43:8–13 and comments). They have foretold nothing, because other gods do not exist.

9–11 Not only are idols nothing, but the people who make them are nothing; they are blind and ignorant (verse 9). Those who worship idols are detestable to God¹⁷⁴ (Isaiah 41:24).

12–20 Here Isaiah describes the folly of idolatry in graphic terms. Both idol and idol maker are equally blind and ignorant (verse 18).

21–23 Having described the senselessness of idolatry, Isaiah, speaking God’s words, tells the Israelites: “Remember these things” (verse 21). “Remember how you used to worship idols and remember how you were warned of the terrible punishment to come—seventy years of exile in Babylon!”

But then, once again, the Lord affirms His love for His people; they are His servants, His own creation. In spite of their past sins, He is ready to redeem them and “sweep away” their offenses. He calls to them: “Return to me” (verse 22). Those who return are forgiven and redeemed; their suffering in exile has brought them to repentance and has opened the way for their return to the land and their restoration as a nation. These words surely encouraged the Israelites of Isaiah’s day to repent and to hope in the Lord—and they certainly did the same for the Jewish exiles in Babylon a century later, when these words from the book of Isaiah were read to them.

Jerusalem to Be Inhabited (44:24–28)

24–28 These verses provide an introduction to the next chapter; they introduce the Speaker—the Lord Himself.

The Lord foils the false prophets¹⁷⁵ (verse 25), but He carries out the words of His true prophets (verse 26); He will restore the ruins of Jerusalem and Judah, as He promised through His prophet Isaiah. Just as He “dried up” the Red Sea, so He will dry up the figurative “waters” blocking His people and He will lead them in a new Exodus to the promised land. And He will do all this by means of His shepherd,¹⁷⁶ Cyrus king of Persia (verse 28). Cyrus himself will say of Jerusalem: “Let it be rebuilt”¹⁷⁷ (see Ezra 1:1–4).