May the Best God Win! - Isaiah 41

Before we begin our study in Isaiah 41 today, I want to take a moment to remind you of a few things that would be beneficial to you as you anticipate our worship service each week.

First, you all know, more or less, where the sermon will be coming from every week.  Not only have you come to expect me to preach from a biblical text every Sunday, but you are also aware that I don’t jump around throughout the Bible week after week trying to surprise you with an unexpected passage of scripture chosen to address some recent event.  Rather, month after month, we walk through entire books of the Bible almost verse by verse.  So none of you are surprised today that the message you are about to hear comes from the 41st chapter of Isaiah.  That’s because the last sermon I preached was from the 40th chapter, and 41 comes immediately after 40.  So it is easy to know where we’ll be studying each Lord’s Day because of this totally predictable behavior on my part.

Secondly, because this is totally predictable, I want to encourage you to spend at least some time during your Bible reading each week in the text you expect me to preach from.  This is particularly important when we study a book from the Old Testament like Isaiah.  In the New Testament, we can spend weeks or months on a few verses as we try to plumb the theological and doctrinal depths of a brief passage written by the apostle Paul.  So reading those relatively brief New Testament texts from which you expect me to teach is not difficult.  Usually just reading a single chapter a couple of times and prayerfully meditating on what is being said is sufficient preparation for Sunday’s anticipated message.

But much of the Old Testament is understood only by reading entire pages and chapters of text, rather than a paragraph or a single chapter.  Today we are looking at chapter 41, but we could easily read four chapters and find ourselves in the same general context in chapter 44 as we see in chapter 41.  The contexts for most Old Testament passages is large.  I can’t take the time here in the pulpit to publicly read four chapters.  Even you, who are accustomed to this kind of teaching and preaching, might find it difficult to listen to four entire chapters of Isaiah.

So, do yourself a favor and read these passages on your own in anticipation of Sunday’s message.  If you are familiar with the text when I begin preaching because you’ve prayed through it and read through it during the week, you will have already begun thinking about the things I’ll be addressing.  Maybe you’ll even get some questions answered during the course of the message.  But if not, you can then ask questions during dinner and I’ll do my best to answer them.

Thirdly, I don’t say this simply because I think is a good idea.  Studying the Scriptures is a large part of what it means to be a disciple of the Lord Jesus.  If we intend to follow Him, we must be about the business of being His students and reading His word.  Every student going to college is required to purchase and actually read books related to their particular field of study.  Our field of study as Christ’s disciples is Christ Himself.  The required reading for all of His students is the Bible.  

We need to break some bad habits.  It is not enough to come to class every week or so and expect me as your instructor to know the material, and fill your spiritual plate and feed you and burp you and make sure your spiritual needs are all met.  I cannot do that.  Each one of us individually has the responsibility as a student of the word of God and as a disciple of Jesus Christ to maintain our own spiritual well-being by taking advantage of the various gifts God has given us for our own edification.  So we must be about the spiritual work of praying and reading and fellowshipping and meditating upon God’s word.  One thing you can do to be a better student is prepare for class by reading the text.

Now, if you would, and I really hope you will, please turn to Isaiah 41.  While you are turning there, let me mention one final thing: It is far better for you to see the text as I read it, than to simply hear me read it to you.  That is one thing everyone in this congregation who can read should automatically do.  Turn to the text and follow along.  Because I really have nothing to say other than what the Bible says.  The entire content of every sermon is specifically written to help you and me understand what God is saying in these pages to His people.  But if you don’t look at the text, you’re missing 50% of what’s being said.  And it wouldn’t hurt to have a pencil for taking notes.

[41:1] Listen to me in silence, O coastlands;

let the peoples renew their strength; let them approach, then let them speak;

let us together draw near for judgment.

[2] Who stirred up one from the east whom victory meets at every step?

He gives up nations before him, so that he tramples kings underfoot;

he makes them like dust with his sword, like driven stubble with his bow.

[3] He pursues them and passes on safely, by paths his feet have not trod.

[4] Who has performed and done this, calling the generations from the beginning?

I, the LORD, the first, and with the last; I am he.

[5] The coastlands have seen and are afraid;

the ends of the earth tremble; they have drawn near and come.

[6] Everyone helps his neighbor and says to his brother, “Be strong!”

[7] The craftsman strengthens the goldsmith, and he who smooths with the hammer him who strikes the anvil, saying of the soldering, “It is good”; and they strengthen it with nails so that it cannot be moved.

[8] But you, Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, the offspring of Abraham, my friend;

[9] you whom I took from the ends of the earth, and called from its farthest corners, saying to you, “You are my servant, I have chosen you and not cast you off”;

[10] fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God;

I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

[11] Behold, all who are incensed against you shall be put to shame and confounded;

those who strive against you shall be as nothing and shall perish.

[12] You shall seek those who contend with you, but you shall not find them;

those who war against you shall be as nothing at all.

[13] For I, the LORD your God, hold your right hand;

it is I who say to you, “Fear not, I am the one who helps you.”

[14] Fear not, you worm Jacob, you men of Israel!

I am the one who helps you, declares the LORD; your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.

[15] Behold, I make of you a threshing sledge, new, sharp, and having teeth;

you shall thresh the mountains and crush them, and you shall make the hills like chaff;

[16] you shall winnow them, and the wind shall carry them away, and the tempest shall scatter them.

And you shall rejoice in the LORD; in the Holy One of Israel you shall glory.

[17] When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none,

and their tongue is parched with thirst, I the LORD will answer them;

I the God of Israel will not forsake them.

[18] I will open rivers on the bare heights, and fountains in the midst of the valleys.

I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water.

[19] I will put in the wilderness the cedar, the acacia, the myrtle, and the olive.

I will set in the desert the cypress, the plane and the pine together,

[20] that they may see and know, may consider and understand together,

that the hand of the LORD has done this, the Holy One of Israel has created it.

  

[21] Set forth your case, says the LORD; bring your proofs, says the King of Jacob.

[22] Let them bring them, and tell us what is to happen.

Tell us the former things, what they are, that we may consider them,

that we may know their outcome; or declare to us the things to come.

[23] Tell us what is to come hereafter, that we may know that you are gods;

do good, or do harm, that we may be dismayed and terrified.

[24] Behold, you are nothing, and your work is less than nothing;

an abomination is he who chooses you.

[25] I stirred up one from the north, and he has come, from the rising of the sun, and he shall call upon my name; he shall trample on rulers as on mortar, as the potter treads clay.

[26] Who declared it from the beginning, that we might know, and beforehand, that we might say, “He is right”?

There was none who declared it, none who proclaimed, none who heard your words.

[27] I was the first to say to Zion, “Behold, here they are!” and I give to Jerusalem a herald of good news.

[28] But when I look, there is no one; among these there is no counselor who, when I ask, gives an answer.

[29] Behold, they are all a delusion; their works are nothing;

their metal images are empty wind.  (Isaiah 41 ESV) 

================================================

Verse 1:  Listen to me in silence, O coastlands; let the peoples renew their strength; let them approach, then let them speak; let us together draw near for judgment.

It is difficult to know exactly what Isaiah is saying here, but it seems to be built directly upon what was just spoken in chapter 40:31 to the people of Israel - “They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength.”  Here in verse 1, the Lord addresses the coastlands.  This is a word Isaiah uses to refer to Gentile nations everywhere.  In essence, God is calling the world to court and He says,“You be quiet and listen while I speak.  Then gather your strength and we’ll talk and see what’s what.”  Once God has spoken, then they will be invited to make their determination together regarding who God is and what He has done, and who they are and what their gods have done.  We’ll see whose God grants strength and whose doesn’t.

Verses 2-4:  [2] Who stirred up one from the east whom victory meets at every step?  He gives up nations before him, so that he tramples kings underfoot; he makes them like dust with his sword, like driven stubble with his bow.  [3] He pursues them and passes on safely, by paths his feet have not trod.  [4] Who has performed and done this, calling the generations from the beginning?  I, the LORD, the first, and with the last; I am he.

This courtroom scene begins with a question.  God asks the nations (and their gods) who it was that raised up the man who destroys nations.  This is a reference to the future coming of Cyrus, king of the Medes and the Persians.  God is asking them a question about something that hasn’t even happened yet, as though it had already happened.  That is a very important point which we need to understand when we’re comparing gods.  Which ones know the future?

In this second half of the book of Isaiah, the focus of his prophecies turns from the immediate threat of the Assyrians to the distant future threat of Babylon and the conquest of Cyrus and the Medes and the Persians over Babylon.  Notice how God describes this man who won’t even be born for another 150 years: He meets victory at every step, he tramples kings under foot, his sword pulverizes his enemies into dust, the nations are like worthless stubble before him.  He is a conquering king and he defeats all his enemies while he himself is unscathed.

How does this happen?  Where does this superpower which doesn’t even exist yet come from?  How can this be?  God answers His own question:  [4] “I the LORD, the first, and with the last; I am he.  I am the One who will raise up this invincible army that will rule the world.”  “I am the One who has raised up every generation and every nation from the beginning of the world!  Who else could it possibly be?”

All of this is about the future of Israel and the Gentile nations.  God is holding this court and making these statements before the Gentiles and their dead idols.  

Verses 5-7:  [5] The coastlands have seen and are afraid; the ends of the earth tremble; they have drawn near and come. [6] Everyone helps his neighbor and says to his brother, “Be strong!” [7] The craftsman strengthens the goldsmith, and he who smooths with the hammer him who strikes the anvil, saying of the soldering, “It is good”; and they strengthen it with nails so that it cannot be moved.

Now God speaks of the nations again, and of their future response to this future threat, as though it has already happened.  The world is terrified of Cyrus.  So in their fear, they decide the best recourse they have against him is to make more gods.  They gather together in pep rallies to encourage each other:  “Be strong!  Yes, this is a good image you’ve made!  It doesn’t even fall over!”  This is the Gentile preparation for war against the armies of Cyrus: Good luck charms.

Verses 8-20:  Now, God turns His attention from the nations and speaks to Israel beginning in verse 8 and going all the way to verse 20.  In these verses He states repeatedly that Israel has nothing to fear in regard to Cyrus, and the reason for that is because of who God is, and the fact that He is NOT like the gods of the Gentiles.  

The God who is responsible for raising up this unassailable King Cyrus with his invincible armies that will walk all over the nations of the Gentiles, . . . the God who has brought that king to power is also the God who has chosen Israel as His own possession out of all the nations of the earth.  In effect God is saying, “Cyrus and the Medes are mine, and you are mine.  Everything is mine.  But I am your God!  For that very reason, you, Israel, have nothing to fear.”

[10] Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God;

[13] For I, the LORD your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, “Fear not, I am the one who helps you.”

[14] Fear not, you worm Jacob, you men of Israel!  I am the one who helps you, declares the LORD; your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.

Things will get very, VERY scary!.  What is coming is a world war.  Cyrus will be unstoppable, unbeatable, a great and conquering king.  He will conquer the world.  But God is the God OVER the Medes and the Persians.  “I will help you, I will strengthen you, I will sustain you.  Behold your God!  What do you have to fear from men?  It is I who will keep you for Myself!”

[16d] And you shall rejoice in the LORD; in the Holy One of Israel you shall glory.

Then in verses 17 through 20, God speaks to them in words that are reminiscent of the days of Moses when Israel wandered in the wilderness.  When they are thirsty and parched and in need of water, God will supply for them as He always has.  Even when they were in the wasteland of the Saudi Arabian peninsula where there is nothing but sand and rock and sun, God supplied food and water for His people who numbered 3 million, for 40 years.  They need to remember God’s faithfulness in the past, and be confident of His faithfulness to them in the future.  If they will wait upon the Lord, and rely upon Him, they will renew their strength and He will sustain them even in the worst of circumstances.

[20c&d] the hand of the LORD has done this, the Holy One of Israel has created it.

Verses 21-24:  Now we return to the courtroom scene and God turns His attention back to the Gentiles, to the coastlands, to those who are making little gods as fast as they can to defend them from the juggernaut of Cyrus’s armies.  Now it is their turn to make their case and speak and judge the situation.  So God calls them and says, “Bring out your gods so they can now have their say!”

[21] Set forth your case, says the LORD; bring your proofs, says the King of Jacob.

[22] Let them bring them, and tell us what is to happen.  Tell us the former things, what they are, that we may consider them, that we may know their outcome; or declare to us the things to come.

[23] Tell us what is to come hereafter, that we may know that you are gods; do good, or do harm, that we may be dismayed and terrified.

This is divine ridicule.  This is the sarcasm of God.  “OK, now that you’ve had a chance to gain your strength and build your case, step up to the podium and let’s hear what your gods, whom you have to carry because they can’t walk by themselves, and who don’t have mouths, and whose ears don’t work, . . . let them tell us what will take place in the future.”

“No, let’s make it easy for them.  Instead of telling us the future, let’s have your wood and gold gods that have to be strengthened with nails so they don’t fall over, . . . let’s have them simply tell us what has already happened!  Can they even do that?  

Can they do anything?  Bring out your gods and have them do ANYTHING.  Good, bad or indifferent. It doesn’t matter.  Let’s just see them do something so that we may be dismayed and terrified.

I have a friend in South Carolina named Bill, who used to watch Saturday Night Live many years ago.  There was one particular skit which featured the Fearful Family.  What made this skit so funny was that this family was  afraid of absolutely everything.  Whenever there was a knock at the door, the whole family would simultaneously begin to tremble, their eyes would become big, and their hair would stick up in the air and shake.

Bill and I adopted this ridiculous hair-raising motion to express our supposed fear of things that weren’t fearful at all.  And it was hilarious.  That’s kinda how I see God acting before these idols, as though He is supposed to be frightened and dismayed and terrified by them.  It is so ludicrous that it makes us laugh!  And I think that is the point.  God’s disdain for these so-called gods makes us laugh at those who trust in them.  But it really isn’t a laughing matter.  God’s assessment of idols and of those who worship them is in the next verse, verse 24.

[24] Behold, you are nothing, and your work is less than nothing; an abomination is he who chooses you.

Godless men choose to worship that which is no god at all.  They may have an idol, but they are still godless.  This is also testimony to the truth that none seek after the real God.  Men never freely choose to follow their Creator.  Their wills are so warped and the reasonings of their minds are so futile that they cannot grasp the truth of their own idolatry.  Their gods can’t predict the future, they can’t explain the past, they can’t do good or evil, they can’t hear, they can’t speak, they can’t see, they can’t do anything!  But men choose to worship the thing created rather than the Creator.  That, beloved, is abominable in the sight of God.

“Abomination” isn’t a word we hear very often.  Most people have heard of the Abominable Snowman, but no one sure why he is called that or what it was that caused him to be abominable.  But we have this general idea that it isn’t good.  When the brothers of Joseph sat down to eat with him, Joseph and the Egyptians ate separately from Joseph’s brothers because the Egyptians could not eat with the Hebrews, for that is an abomination to the Egyptians.  (Genesis 43:32b ESV).  Every shepherd was "an abomination" unto the Egyptians (Gen. 46:34). 

An abomination is anything that is vile, or loathsome, or disgusting.  In Deuteronomy 7:25, Moses instructs Israel in their mission to go into the Promised Land and take it over and he tells the people:  

25 The carved images of their gods you shall burn with fire. You shall not covet the silver or the gold that is on them or take it for yourselves, lest you be ensnared by it, for it is an abomination to the Lord your God. 26 And you shall not bring an abominable thing into your house and become devoted to destruction like it. You shall utterly detest and abhor it, for it is devoted to destruction.

Not only are idols an abomination to God, but here in Isaiah 41:24, we read an abomination is he who chooses you.  The idolator is as much of an abomination as the idols they create and worship.  In other words, men become like the things they worship.  Idolators become as spiritually blind and deaf and powerless as the gods they bow to.

The purpose this dialog between God and the people of Judah, because all of this is being directed to the people of Judah through Isaiah, is to instruct them and warn them regarding their own idolatry.  Even though they may be the descendants of Abraham, because they engage in this ridiculous worship of idols, they too are abominable in God’s sight.  How terrifying is it to be loathsome to a holy God.  

To be loathsome and repulsive to God is the greatest danger a soul can experience.  But that is the condition of every person who does not acknowledge Jesus Christ as their Creator and Judge and Redeemer and God.  Anyone who trusts in anything other than, or in addition to the Holy One of Israel to save them from the wrath to come, is an abomination in the sight of God.

Finally, in verses 25-29, we read God’s final word in this courtroom scene where the gods of the Gentiles are being called out and judged.  Once again, God answers His original question:

[25] I stirred up one from the north, and he has come, from the rising of the sun, and he shall call upon my name; he shall trample on rulers as on mortar, as the potter treads clay.

 [26] Who declared it from the beginning, that we might know, and beforehand, that we might say, “He is right”?  There was none who declared it, none who proclaimed, none who heard your words.

 [27] I was the first to say to Zion, “Behold, here they are!” and I give to Jerusalem a herald of good news.

 [28] But when I look, there is no one; among these there is no counselor who, when I ask, gives an answer.

 [29] Behold, they are all a delusion; their works are nothing; their metal images are empty wind.

The day is coming when every word that God has spoken will be understood by all men everywhere to be absolutely and infallibly true.  Israel preferred the idols of the Gentiles over God’s revelation to them.  In fact, we read that at one point in their history, their neglect of the Scriptures was so complete, the scrolls of the Law of Moses were lost in the Temple.

Today is no different.  There are multitudes who have foolishly spent their entire lives in the Temple of God (so to speak), speaking to multitudes of pseudo-worshipers week after week, making careers of disproving the existence of God and of minimizing and ridiculing the Word of God.  They have made idols of their own intellect and their own imagination.  They worship worship.  They idolize religion.  And while they give the impression that they are pious and holy, in actuality they have done everything in their power to persuade themselves and those souls under their watchcare that the God of the Bible is no god at all, and the Bible is nothing special.  

“The Bible is full of holes; The Bible is full of errors; The Bible may possibly contain the word of God but it isn’t actually the word of God; The Bible is unreliable; The Bible can’t be taken literally; The Bible is ancient and irrelevant; The Bible was written to an unenlightened people who lived in a primitive and superstitious age (unlike us today); The Bible is simply a book like every other book written by men and filled with fictitious stories and fables and myths and legends; SURELY you can’t really believe the Bible is the Word of God!  SURELY you can’t really believe in the God of the Bible!”  

One day, all men everywhere will discover their mental and emotional and psychological idols of rebellion which they have created in their own hearts are nothing but empty wind, just like the metal objects the Gentiles created in the days of Isaiah.  The day is coming when God’s word will suddenly be found to be everything they said it isn’t.  These people, if left alone long enough, would eventually bow down to sightless, breathless, mindless, hollow, soul-less, inanimate objects of their own making, and worship them as gods.  Men are as idolatrous today as the nations were when Isaiah first penned these words.  Man hasn’t changed.  And neither has God or His word.  

So, the message from God to His people is do not fear them.  Do not be intimidated by the Gentiles or their gods.  When Cyrus and the armies of the Medes and the Persians come, or when Satan himself rises up against you, remember that it is God who has raised them up.  He knows all about all of them even before they know about themselves.  And those who wait upon Him and trust in Him, God will carry them as though on eagle’s wings, through every storm, every heartache, every calamity, every diaster, every attack and every onslaught of every enemy, always.  

[13] For I, the LORD your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, “Fear not, I am the one who helps you.”