Isaiah speaks of His anointed servants. In this case it would be Cyrus, the one who would deliver Israel and return them to their land.
Isaiah 44: Israel the LORD's Chosen
1 "But now hear, O Jacob my servant, Israel whom I have chosen!
2 Thus says the LORD who made you, who formed you from the womb and will help you: Fear not, O Jacob my servant, Jeshurun whom I have chosen.
3 For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour my Spirit upon your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants.
4 They shall spring up among the grass like willows by flowing streams.
5 This one will say, 'I am the LORD's,' another will call on the name of Jacob, and another will write on his hand, 'The LORD's,' and name himself by the name of Israel."
Besides Me There Is No God
6 Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts: "I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god.
7 Who is like me? Let him proclaim it. Let him declare and set it before me, since I appointed an ancient people. Let them declare what is to come, and what will happen.
8 Fear not, nor be afraid; have I not told you from of old and declared it? And you are my witnesses! Is there a God besides me? There is no Rock; I know not any."
The Folly of Idolatry
9 All who fashion idols are nothing, and the things they delight in do not profit. Their witnesses neither see nor know, that they may be put to shame.
10 Who fashions a god or casts an idol that is profitable for nothing?
11 Behold, all his companions shall be put to shame, and the craftsmen are only human. Let them all assemble, let them stand forth. They shall be terrified; they shall be put to shame together.
12 The ironsmith takes a cutting tool and works it over the coals. He fashions it with hammers and works it with his strong arm. He becomes hungry, and his strength fails; he drinks no water and is faint.
13 The carpenter stretches a line; he marks it out with a pencil. He shapes it with planes and marks it with a compass. He shapes it into the figure of a man, with the beauty of a man, to dwell in a house.
14 He cuts down cedars, or he chooses a cypress tree or an oak and lets it grow strong among the trees of the forest. He plants a cedar and the rain nourishes it.
15 Then it becomes fuel for a man. He takes a part of it and warms himself; he kindles a fire and bakes bread. Also he makes a god and worships it; he makes it an idol and falls down before it.
16 Half of it he burns in the fire. Over the half he eats meat; he roasts it and is satisfied. Also he warms himself and says, "Aha, I am warm, I have seen the fire!"
17 And the rest of it he makes into a god, his idol, and falls down to it and worships it. He prays to it and says, "Deliver me, for you are my god!"
18 They know not, nor do they discern, for he has shut their eyes, so that they cannot see, and their hearts, so that they cannot understand.
19 No one considers, nor is there knowledge or discernment to say, "Half of it I burned in the fire; I also baked bread on its coals; I roasted meat and have eaten. And shall I make the rest of it an abomination? Shall I fall down before a block of wood?"
20 He feeds on ashes; a deluded heart has led him astray, and he cannot deliver himself or say, "Is there not a lie in my right hand?"
The LORD Redeems Israel
21 Remember these things, O Jacob, and Israel, for you are my servant; I formed you; you are my servant; O Israel, you will not be forgotten by me.
22 I have blotted out your transgressions like a cloud and your sins like mist; return to me, for I have redeemed you.
23 Sing, O heavens, for the LORD has done it; shout, O depths of the earth; break forth into singing, O mountains, O forest, and every tree in it! For the LORD has redeemed Jacob, and will be glorified in Israel.
24 Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, who formed you from the womb: "I am the LORD, who made all things, who alone stretched out the heavens, who spread out the earth by myself,
25 who frustrates the signs of liars and makes fools of diviners, who turns wise men back and makes their knowledge foolish,
26 who confirms the word of his servant and fulfills the counsel of his messengers, who says of Jerusalem, 'She shall be inhabited,' and of the cities of Judah, 'They shall be built, and I will raise up their ruins';
27 who says to the deep, 'Be dry; I will dry up your rivers';
28 who says of Cyrus, 'He is my shepherd, and he shall fulfill all my purpose'; saying of Jerusalem, 'She shall be built,' and of the temple, 'Your foundation shall be laid.'"
Isaiah 45: Cyrus, God's Instrument
1 Thus says the LORD to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have grasped, to subdue nations before him and to loose the belts of kings, to open doors before him that gates may not be closed:
2 "I will go before you and level the exalted places, I will break in pieces the doors of bronze and cut through the bars of iron,
3 I will give you the treasures of darkness and the hoards in secret places, that you may know that it is I, the LORD, the God of Israel, who call you by your name.
4 For the sake of my servant Jacob, and Israel my chosen, I call you by your name, I name you, though you do not know me.
5 I am the LORD, and there is no other, besides me there is no God; I equip you, though you do not know me,
6 that people may know, from the rising of the sun and from the west, that there is none besides me; I am the LORD, and there is no other.
7 I form light and create darkness, I make well-being and create calamity, I am the LORD, who does all these things.
8 "Shower, O heavens, from above, and let the clouds rain down righteousness; let the earth open, that salvation and righteousness may bear fruit; let the earth cause them both to sprout; I the LORD have created it.
9 "Woe to him who strives with him who formed him, a pot among earthen pots! Does the clay say to him who forms it, 'What are you making?' or 'Your work has no handles'?
10 Woe to him who says to a father, 'What are you begetting?' or to a woman, 'With what are you in labor?'"
11 Thus says the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, and the one who formed him: "Ask me of things to come; will you command me concerning my children and the work of my hands?
12 I made the earth and created man on it; it was my hands that stretched out the heavens, and I commanded all their host.
13 I have stirred him up in righteousness, and I will make all his ways level; he shall build my city and set my exiles free, not for price or reward," says the LORD of hosts.
The LORD, the Only Savior
14 Thus says the LORD: "The wealth of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush, and the Sabeans, men of stature, shall come over to you and be yours; they shall follow you; they shall come over in chains and bow down to you. They will plead with you, saying: 'Surely God is in you, and there is no other, no god besides him.'"
15 Truly, you are a God who hides himself, O God of Israel, the Savior.
16 All of them are put to shame and confounded; the makers of idols go in confusion together.
17 But Israel is saved by the LORD with everlasting salvation; you shall not be put to shame or confounded to all eternity.
18 For thus says the LORD, who created the heavens (he is God!), who formed the earth and made it (he established it; he did not create it empty, he formed it to be inhabited!): "I am the LORD, and there is no other.
19 I did not speak in secret, in a land of darkness; I did not say to the offspring of Jacob, 'Seek me in vain.' I the LORD speak the truth; I declare what is right.
20 "Assemble yourselves and come; draw near together, you survivors of the nations! They have no knowledge who carry about their wooden idols, and keep on praying to a god that cannot save.
21 Declare and present your case; let them take counsel together! Who told this long ago? Who declared it of old? Was it not I, the LORD? And there is no other god besides me, a righteous God and a Savior; there is none besides me.
22 "Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other.
23 By myself I have sworn; from my mouth has gone out in righteousness a word that shall not return: 'To me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear allegiance.'
24 "Only in the LORD, it shall be said of me, are righteousness and strength; to him shall come and be ashamed all who were incensed against him.
25 In the LORD all the offspring of Israel shall be justified and shall glory."
Things to think about…
Isaiah again prophesies future blessing upon Judah, Isa 44:1-5. They will return and be blessed with outward blessing upon the and with abundant water, vs 3,4, but also that they will call upon the name of the Lord, vs 5. Pray that we may see a fulfillment of this prophecy in our day with modern day Jews. Pray for the ministry of One for Israel that we support as a church.
Isaiah again reminds them that the Lord is the first and the last, he is the One who delivers them, He is their Redeemer and their Rock. It is one thing to know this in the head and even be born of blood into a family. But in the Lord’s family we are only known by being born of the Spirit, John 1:3, 3:8.
Isaiah uses human logic and reasoning in condemning the making and then the bowing down to an idol, Isa 44:9-20. He describes in detail how a man plants and chops down a tree, say a cyrpus tree, then uses some of the wood to roast his meat and some to send off to a carpenter to make into an image that he will later bow down to. The idea of it is absurd and yet this is exactly what is done with any man made image. We consider idols of wood and stone today, especially in the west of being ridiculous. We say, ‘how can this be a god’? Yet isn’t this exactly what we do when we exalt anything in this world and life aside from the Lord a greater place than they deserve. We want our spare time, we wat our freedom, we want entertainment at all costs. These too are absurd because they do not redeem, they do not satisfy the soul, only the flesh. They are here today and burned up tomorrow like the wood idols Isaiah describes.
The Lord confirms His love of Israel by speaking of Cyrus, the servant of the Lord who would be used to bring Israel back after captivity, Isa 44:28. The prophesy is over 160years before the events happened. Cyrus is a type of Christ. Israel’s Messiah would come and bless the land with salvation on a cross. He will return and replenish the land. “saying of Jerusalem, 'She shall be built,' and of the temple, 'Your foundation shall be laid.' “. These will be perfectly fulfilled at our Lord’s return.
The Lord chooses and raises up the Persian king Cyrus, Isa 45:1. Even though Cyrus does not the know the Lord “, though you do not know me”, Isa 45:4, 6, he is the one who is formed like a pot in the Potter’s hands, Isa 45:9. Some struggle with this and especially Isa 45:7 “I form light and create darkness, I make well-being and create calamity, I am the LORD, who does all these things”. Our Lord is sovereign and while he ordains the instrument and use of evil Satan is the one whose heart uses it against the Lord’s ways and will. The comfort for the believer is that all of it has a purpose, Rom 8:28. Even the tough stuff has a purpose in the outworking of tough times and events.
Just as the Lord would raise up Cyrus and bring him to the throne in 538BC so the Lord also uses the wealth of the nations, Isa 45:14, shall be used as a blessing for the Lord’s people. Israel is saved only by the Lord who calls them, vs 17. This is not hidden knowledge. Isaiah says this is very well known, vs 19.
As such the Lord says through Isaiah, that the nations should turn from their idols who cannot save, vs 20. He asks them to come and declare their case, vs 21. In a way that was given to Job, they are asked who was there of old, was it not the Lord. He then challenges the nations to “turn and be saved”, Isa 45:22. At this Isaiah says of all the earth “'To me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear allegiance.'”, Isa 45:23. This verse is quoted by Paul to the Romans, Rom 14:11 and the Philippians Phil 2:11,12. As such Isaiah rightly says “Only in the Lord are there righteousness and strength”. Peter says it this way to the Jews that condemned Jesus that “there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.", Acts 4:12. This is true for the Jew as well as the Gentile.
Vision Point for cell groups
CBC’s Vision :- To be a growing biblical church community, significantly influencing our city and beyond, through intentional outreach, fulfilling our mission.
For Cell Groups.
Reading was from Isaiah 35 Title “The best of returns”
1. Israel is described in this chapter as a land that will blossom abundantly, vss 1, 2 and will be a place where there are streams in the desert and will be well watered, vss 6,7. Israel is a dry land at present. Discuss when and how is this abundance is going to occur?
2. Isaiah speaks of the “Way of Holiness”, Isa 35:8 and the unclean will not pass over it. What does Isiah mean here?
3. Isaiah speaks of a time when the ransomed of the Lord shall return, Isa 35:9, 10. The ancient Jews knew what return was by their return from slavery in Egypt. But this would be a different return. What return is meant here? See also Rom 11:26.
4. Pray for each other, our church and the prayer points.
Prayer Points
1. Growth, conversions, joy in the Word and Spirit to remain and increase.
2. New families as they settle into church.
4. Church finances to meet our expenses and to put a roof over our café.
5. Our City and Country – Pray for revival over our city and the leadership of our country even through these challenging times.
6. Position:- Youth and Young Adults Coordinator. Recharge started back last week.
7. Sunday’s message “There’s a comforting thought” – Isa 40 – Jay.
Praise Points.
1. Praise the Lord for all the kids going to Sunday School. Thankyou Maddison.
2. More new folk joining CBC – Praise God.
3. First Café roof drawings have been completed.
3. Great start to Kids@church.
4. Unity, peace and grace at CBC.
5. Visitors over the holiday period.
Announcements
1. Members meeting Sunday 28th Feb after the morning service.
2. Seeking Youth and Young Adults Coordinator – 2 days per week.
3. Church bank details bsb:- 704 913 and Acc number:- 4000 4388 1
