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Texts -- Isaiah 41:5-29 (NET)

Context
41:5 The coastlands see and are afraid ; the whole earth trembles ; they approach and come . 41:6 They help one another ; one says to the other , ‘Be strong !’ 41:7 The craftsman encourages the metalsmith , the one who wields the hammer encourages the one who pounds on the anvil . He approves the quality of the welding , and nails it down so it won’t fall over .”
The Lord Encourages His People
41:8 “You , my servant Israel , Jacob whom I have chosen , offspring of Abraham my friend , 41:9 you whom I am bringing back from the earth’s extremities , and have summoned from the remote regions – I told you, “You are my servant .” I have chosen you and not rejected you. 41:10 Don’t be afraid , for I am with you! Don’t be frightened , for I am your God ! I strengthen you– yes , I help you– yes , I uphold you with my saving right hand ! 41:11 Look , all who were angry at you will be ashamed and humiliated ; your adversaries will be reduced to nothing and perish . 41:12 When you will look for your opponents , you will not find them; your enemies will be reduced to absolutely nothing . 41:13 For I am the Lord your God , the one who takes hold of your right hand , who says to you, ‘Don’t be afraid , I am helping you.’ 41:14 Don’t be afraid , despised insignificant Jacob , men of Israel . I am helping you,” says the Lord , your protector , the Holy One of Israel . 41:15 “Look , I am making you like a sharp threshing sledge , new and double-edged . You will thresh the mountains and crush them; you will make the hills like straw . 41:16 You will winnow them and the wind will blow them away ; the wind will scatter them. You will rejoice in the Lord ; you will boast in the Holy One of Israel . 41:17 The oppressed and the poor look for water , but there is none ; their tongues are parched from thirst . I , the Lord , will respond to their prayers; I, the God of Israel , will not abandon them. 41:18 I will make streams flow down the slopes and produce springs in the middle of the valleys . I will turn the desert into a pool of water and the arid land into springs . 41:19 I will make cedars , acacias , myrtles , and olive trees grow in the wilderness ; I will make evergreens , firs , and cypresses grow together in the desert . 41:20 I will do this so people will observe and recognize , so they will pay attention and understand that the Lord’s power has accomplished this , and that the Holy One of Israel has brought it into being.”
The Lord Challenges the Pagan Gods
41:21 “Present your argument ,” says the Lord . “Produce your evidence ,” says Jacob’s king . 41:22 “Let them produce evidence! Let them tell us what will happen ! Tell us about your earlier predictive oracles, so we may examine them and see how they were fulfilled . Or decree for us some future events! 41:23 Predict how future events will turn out , so we might know you are gods . Yes , do something good or bad , so we might be frightened and in awe . 41:24 Look , you are nothing , and your accomplishments are nonexistent ; the one who chooses to worship you is disgusting . 41:25 I have stirred up one out of the north and he advances , one from the eastern horizon who prays in my name . He steps on rulers as if they were clay , like a potter treading the clay . 41:26 Who decreed this from the beginning , so we could know ? Who announced it ahead of time, so we could say , ‘He’s correct ’? Indeed , none of them decreed it! Indeed , none of them announced it! Indeed , no one heard you say anything ! 41:27 I first decreed to Zion , ‘Look , here’s what will happen!’ I sent a herald to Jerusalem . 41:28 I look , but there is no one , among them there is no one who serves as an adviser , that I might ask questions and receive answers . 41:29 Look , all of them are nothing , their accomplishments are nonexistent ; their metal images lack any real substance .

Pericope

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Hymns

(Note: In "active" or "on" condition, the hymns music will be played automatically when mouse hover on a hymns title)
  • [Isa 41:10] God Will Take Care Of You (crosby)
  • [Isa 41:10] Hear My Call
  • [Isa 41:10] Jesus All The Way
  • [Isa 41:13] Precious Lord, Take My Hand

Sermon Illustrations

Promises From God; Deuteronomy 33:27; Promises Don't Break by Leaning on them; Twelve Promises

Resources/Books

Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

  • 30:6 David had evidently become self-confident and had forgotten his complete dependence on the Lord (cf. John 15:5). Prosperity often tempts us with a false sense of our security (cf. Prov. 1:32; Jer. 22:21), and David slipp...
  • 72:1-4 This prayer for the ability to rule justly and righteously is similar to Solomon's request for wisdom that he voiced at the beginning of his reign (1 Kings 3:9). His references to the mountains and hills are probably m...
  • 22:22-23 Note the chiastic structure in these four lines that unifies the thought of the passage: violence, litigation, litigation, violence. God will avenge the poor on those who oppress them.22:24-25 The writer gave a reaso...
  • The title of this book of the Bible, as is true of the other prophetical books, comes from its writer. The book claims to have come from Isaiah (1:1; 2:1; 7:3; 13:1; 20:2; 37:2, 6, 21; 38:1, 4, 21; 39:3, 5, 8), and Jesus Chri...
  • Occasional time references scattered throughout the book indicate that Isaiah arranged his prophecies in a basically chronological order (cf. 6:1; 7:1; 14:28; 20:1; 36:1; 37:38). However, they are not completely chronological...
  • I. Introduction chs. 1-5A. Israel's condition and God's solution ch. 11. The title of the book 1:12. Israel's condition 1:2-93. God's solution 1:10-204. Israel's response 1:21-31B. The problem with Israel chs. 2-41. God's des...
  • This is the third and last of Isaiah's introductory oracles. The first one (ch. 1) introduced the book as a whole by presenting major themes with which the prophet proceeded to deal in chapters 2-66. The second chiastic one (...
  • The Lord proceeded to give Isaiah specific instructions about what He wanted him to do and what the prophet could expect regarding his ministry (vv. 9-10), his historic-political situation (vv. 11-12), and his nation's surviv...
  • In contrast to the preceding chapter, this one is full of joy and rejoicing. There God turned the world into a desert; here He transforms that desert into a garden.339References to "be glad"and "gladness"begin and end the poe...
  • Chapters 36-39 conclude the section of the book dealing with the issue of trust by giving historical proof that Yahweh will protect those who trust in Him. In these chapters, King Hezekiah represents the people of Judah.344Th...
  • The events in these chapters predate those in chapters 36-37 by a few months. Isaiah placed them here, out of chronological order, to make them a historical prologue to chapters 40-66, which focus on the Exile and the return ...
  • 39:1 The phrase "At that time"(cf. 38:1) anticipates a specially significant event and ties it to what preceded in chapter 38. As this verse explains, the events that follow happened after Hezekiah had recovered from his illn...
  • These chapters particularly address the questions of whether God could deliver and whether He wanted to deliver the Israelites that the coming exile raised in the minds of Isaiah's contemporaries."We emerge in 40:1 in a diffe...
  • The first strophe of this poem (vv. 1-2) sets the tone for the rest of the chapter and for the rest of the book. It is an introduction to an introduction. In spite of affliction that lay ahead for the Judahites, God's ultimat...
  • The preceding section answered the question that the people of Isaiah's day had about God's desire to deliver them. Yes, He wantedto deliver them. This section answered their question about whether He could save them. Yes, He...
  • The Lord, through His prophet, assured fearful Israel in this segment. Israel need not fear the nations (vv. 1-7) because Yahweh remained committed to His people and would use them to accomplish His purposes in the world (vv....
  • How is it clear that Yahweh and not the idols directs world history? Yahweh alone can predict the future and then bring it to pass (41:21-29). Since Yahweh is the God of Israel, does He have any regard for the Gentile nations...
  • The section of Isaiah that I have titled "God's promises to His servants"(41:1-42:9) sets the stage and introduces themes that Isaiah proceeded to develop in this section. Those themes are the certainty of redemption (42:10-4...
  • God had not forgotten nor was He unable to deliver His people. Their redemption was certain."This vision of what God will accomplish through his Servant is so exciting that Isaiah breaks into the ecstatic hymn of praise (vv. ...
  • Isaiah continued to show that Yahweh was both willing and able to deliver His people, a theme begun in 42:10. He confronted the gods, again (cf. 41:21-29), but this time he challenged them to bring forth witnesses to their de...
  • Isaiah began this section of the book dealing with God's grace to Israel (chs. 40-48) by glorifying God as the incomparable Lord of His servant Israel (ch. 40). Then he explained God's promises to (41:1-42:9) and His purposes...
  • The section begins with an announcement of the salvation that God would provide for His chosen people.44:23 This verse concludes the thought expressed in the preceding one, so many translations and commentators regard it as t...
  • This section develops the ideas that preceded by unfolding the characteristics of Yahweh that His people needed to appreciate in view of the shocking news that their new Moses would be Cyrus. It opens with an emphasis on God ...
  • This section of Isaiah on "The Lord's redemption of His servant [Israel]"(44:23-47:15) has included an announcement of redemption (44:23-28), the identification of the instrument of redemption, Cyrus (45:1-13), and a reminder...
  • This chapter climaxes Isaiah's arguments for Yahweh's superiority over pagan idols. The prophet was led to use the Israelites' exile in Babylon to prove his point. Isaiah had demonstrated God's trustworthiness (chs. 7-39) and...
  • In a sense verses 12-22 are the second verse of the song of which verses 1-11 are the first verse. God was making much the same point though with a slightly different emphasis.48:12 This segment opens like the first one (cf. ...
  • In the previous section (chs. 40-48), Isaiah revealed that God would redeem His servant Israel from Babylonian captivity by using one of His servants, Cyrus. Israel's sin had resulted in her going into the furnace of Babylon ...
  • Isaiah now announced more about the work of the Servant (cf. 42:5-9). He will enable people around the world to return to God, similarly to how the Israelites would return to Jerusalem after the Exile. The response to God's s...
  • God next called His people to prepare to receive the salvation that He would provide for them. They would have to lay hold of it by faith for it to benefit them.52:1 God called Israel to awake and to be strong (in the strengt...
  • Expositors have called this chapter the holy of holies of Isaiah. It is also the middle chapter in part two of the book (chs. 40-66). Most of the approximately 80 references to Isaiah in the New Testament come from this chapt...
  • This pericope repeats and refocuses the invitation just extended (vv. 1-3). The offer continues to be to come to God, but the focus shifts from receiving satisfaction to resting in faith and from salvation's freeness to its t...
  • These chapters introduce the main subject of this section of the book, which grows out of what Isaiah revealed previously. If salvation depends on God's grace, do God's servants have any responsibility other than receiving th...
  • Now the relationship of the nations to Israel becomes even clearer. The Gentiles will come to Israel because of her God, will submit themselves to Israel because of what the Lord will do for her, and will serve the Lord with ...
  • These two chapters begin with an introduction of the Servant (Messiah) and His mission. That the Servant of the Servant Songs is the same person as the Anointed One (Messiah) of chapter 11 is clear from what Isaiah wrote abou...
  • Isaiah next appealed to God, on behalf of the nation, to have pity on Israel. The prophet was speaking for the faithful remnant after the exile who found little evidence that God was among them then as He had been during the ...
  • The Lord proceeded to explain that even though He would destroy the ungodly, He would also spare the truly godly among His people (cf. Gen. 18:23-25).65:8 Yahweh promised not to destroy the whole nation (cluster of grapes) bu...
  • This pericope concludes the sections on the culmination of Israel's future (65:17-66:24), Israel's future transformation (chs. 56-66), Israel's hope (chs. 40-66), and the whole book, Yahweh's salvation. As 56:1-8, it clarifie...
  • Alexander, Joseph Addison. Commentary on the Prophecies of Isaiah. 1846, 1847. Revised ed. 2 vols. in 1. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1971.Allen, Kenneth W. "The Rebuilding and Destruction of Babylon."Bibliotheca...
  • This scathing exposé of the folly of idolatry resembles several polemics in Isaiah (cf. Isa. 40:18-20; 41:6-7; 44:9-20; 46:5-7). Verses 12-16 appear again in 51:15-19."Why did so easy a target as idolatry need so many at...
  • This section of the Book of Jeremiah is a collection of prophecies that focus on the hope that lay before the Israelites. To this point in the book the emphasis has been mainly on judgment to come, though we have seen occasio...
  • 30:4 This oracle concerns all the Israelites, those of both the Northern and Southern Kingdoms.30:5-6 A time of great terror, dread, and unrest was coming. Men would behave as though they were in labor; they would hold themse...
  • 31:15 The Lord described the Israelite mothers, under the figure of Rachel, weeping for their children who had died because of the Assyrian invasion.404Rachel was the mother of Joseph, the father of Ephraim and Manasseh, and ...
  • This chapter on Egypt contains three separate prophecies that Jeremiah delivered about the fate of that nation. Their purpose seems to have been to discourage King Jehoiakim (609-598 B.C.) and the pro-Egyptian party in Judah ...
  • "The setting of the Mesopotamian dream-visions--which occurred in both the Assyrian period and the Babylonian period . . . --consisted of four elements: (1) the date, (2) the place of reception, (3) the recipient, and (4) the...
  • 3:1 The whole image that the king built was gold. The head of the image that Nebuchadnezzar had seen in his dream was also gold."Daniel had told him that he was the head of gold (2:38) but that he would be followed by another...
  • A promise of future restoration immediately follows this gloomy revelation of judgment. It provided encouragement to Hosea's audience by assuring a glorious and secure future for Israel.1:10 Despite the judgment promised, Yah...
  • 1:3 The expression "for three transgressions [Heb. pesha'im, rebellions, i.e., against the universal Sovereign; cf. Gen. 9:5-17] and for four"is one of Amos' trademarks (cf. vv. 6, 9, 11, 13; 2:1, 4, 6). It means for numerous...
  • This pericope is also chiastic (Bethel, Gilgal, Beersheba, Gilgal, Bethel).5:4-5 Yahweh invited the Israelites to seek Him so they might live. Even though national judgment and death were inevitable, individuals could still l...
  • The rest of the book is quite different from what has preceded because of its positive message. As is true of other eighth-century prophets to Israel and Judah, Amos included hope in his prophecy (cf. Isa. 40-66; Hos. 1:10-2:...
  • 2:18 Habakkuk, like other prophets, saw through the folly of idolatry and exposed it (cf. Isa. 41:7; 44:9-20; 45:16, 20; 46:1-2, 6-7; Jer. 10:8-16). An idol carved by human hands cannot help its maker because anyone who creat...
  • 1:7 Zechariah received another revelation from the Lord three months after his previous one in Darius' second year, 520 B.C.35"On the same day (24 Shebat), five months earlier, the rebuilding of the temple had been resumed (c...
  • 4:6 The angel announced a word of explanation from Yahweh that Zechariah was to pass on to Zerubbabel, the descendant of David who was the leader of the first group of returnees from exile.88He was to tell him, "not by might ...
  • This part of Zechariah contains two undated oracles that are almost entirely eschatological. They expand the eschatological vision in chapters 1-8 and modify its generally optimistic view with emphasis on Israel's purificatio...
  • The first four verses of this poem deal with the north and the last four with the south. The first two verses and the last two speak of salvation, and the middle four speak of judgment. The passage begins and ends with a refe...
  • Even though Jesus enjoyed less shelter than the animals and birds (v. 20), He was not the subject of nature. It was subject to Him.8:23-25 It is difficult to know how much Matthew may have intended with his comment that the d...
  • The Triumphal Entry happened on Monday. The cursing of the fig tree took place on Tuesday, and the disciples' mention of its withering followed on Wednesday (cf. Mark 11:1-14).78021:18-19 Jesus passed the lone fig tree somewh...
  • Mark may have intended this sentence to introduce the ministry of John the Baptist since that is what follows immediately. It could also refer to the inception of Jesus' public ministry and therefore be a title of the Gospel'...
  • This miracle followed the feeding of the 5,000 by just a few hours. Both miracles were important parts of Jesus' discipleship training program for the Twelve.6:45 The feeding of the 5,000 evidently happened on the northeast s...
  • This section brings the parallel stories of John's birth and Jesus' birth together. The two sons had their own identities and individual greatness, but Jesus was superior. John began his ministry of exalting Jesus in his moth...
  • In contrast to most people, the inhabitants of Jesus' hometown did not praise Him. When Jesus began to speak of God extending salvation to the Gentiles, a particular interest of Luke's, the Jews there opposed Him violently. P...
  • 6:66 Jesus lost many of His followers because of the Bread of Life discourse (cf. v. 60). His explanation to them following the discourse did not change their minds. He had made no concessions. They had understood Him correct...
  • Jesus proceeded to expound further on some of the themes that He had introduced in His teaching on the vine and the branches (vv. 1-8). The subject moves generally from the believing disciple's relationship with God to his or...
  • 3:15-16 Paul now turned to the objection that when God gave the Law He terminated justification by faith alone. He reminded his readers, with a human analogy, that even wills and contracts made between human beings remained i...
  • The writer next emphasized the future glory that the Son will experience to heighten his readers' appreciation for Him and for their own future with Him. He did this by reflecting on Psalm 8. He wanted his readers to apprecia...
  • 2:19 James refuted the argument of the objector stated in verse 18. Genuine faith does not alwaysresult in good works. The demons believe that what God has revealed about Himself is true. The Shema(Deut. 6:4) was and is the p...
  • 17:7 The angel promised to interpret these revelations that were so baffling to John, particularly the mystery concerning the woman and the beast. More information about the beast follows in verses 7-14 and more about the wom...

Expositions Of Holy Scripture (Maclaren)

  • He is near that justifieth Me; who will contend with Me? let us stand together: who is Mine adversary? let him come near to Me. 9. Behold, the Lord God will help Me; who is he that shall condemn Me? lo, they all shall wax old...
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