Isaiah 46 Study Notes

46:5-7 The gods of the surrounding nations were divinized portions of the creation; thus, Enlil was the god of war, Inanna the goddess of love, Ea the god of wisdom, etc. But God was not exactly like anything on earth. It is true that the great metaphors of the Bible taught about God’s nature and actions through comparing him to a king, a warrior, a rock, light, a storm, and so forth, but these metaphors throw light on who God is without identifying him with these objects or elements of creation. The idols, on the other hand, were associated with and even identified with the creation. There was nothing transcendent about them. They were human-made objects, a point that Isaiah had already made (see note at 44:12-13).

46:8-9 To remember means to draw strength by contemplating God’s past acts of power.

46:10-11 Cyrus—the king of Persia (45:1), a country east of Israel—was the bird of prey. This is the theme of the prediction. The Lord demonstrates his sovereignty by declaring the end from the beginning.

46:12-13 The hardhearted here are the same as the “transgressors” in v. 8. They are Israelites who refuse to trust the Lord for deliverance.