Continuing the thought flow of chapter 43, Isaiah 44 announces good news to an undeserving, unfaithful and destroyed nation (see 43:27-28). In spite of their sins and transgressions (43:27), the Lord promises to come to the aid of His people. Having chosen and created Israel (44:1), He pledges to “help” them (2). His choosing of them (a reminder of His covenant) gives them reason to “Fear not” (2). The Lord will pour out His Spirit on them like water on a thirsty land (3). He will bless their offspring in a way that causes them to flourish (4) draws them back to Himself (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” (5).
Why will the Lord do all this for His undeserving people? Verses 6-8 explain that He is Israel’s Redeemer (6) and is like no other god (7-8). In fact, there is no other god besides Him; he is the “first” and the “last” (6). The Lord issues a challenge: “Who is like me? Let him proclaim it. Let him declare and set it before me” (7). What other god can “declare what is to come, and what will happen? (7). Israel, who is listening to God’s challenge, is comforted: “Fear not, nor be afraid; have I not told you from of old and declared it?” For this reason, Israel serves as God’s “witnesses” (8). They testify that He has declared what will come to past from “of old” (8). The Lord concludes his challenge with a declaration: “Is there a God beside me? There is no Rock; I know not any” (8).
To further underscore the reality that no other god is like the Lord, Isaiah moves to an extended expose of idolatry (9-20). Those who “fashion idols are nothing, and the things they delight in do not profit” (9). Three times in verse 9-12, Isaiah says these those who rely on the man-made gods will be “put to shame” (9, 10, 11).
With unmistakeably irony, Isaiah describes the process of how idols are made (12-20). It takes a team of hard-working craftsmen to create an idol. Ironsmiths have to expend their strength to hammer out its form (12). Carpenters have to find a cedar, cypress or oak tree to cut down (14). In fact, the carpenter has to wait for the ideal tree to be planted and nourished by the rain (14). Then, part of the selected tree become fuel for baking bread or roasting meat (15-16). The other part of the same tree is fashioned into a god that the craftsman worships (15-17). The craftsman, oblivious to the irony of it all, burns part of the tree and worships the other part saying, “Deliver me, for you are my god!” (17).
The flow of verses 9-20 is fascinating. Isaiah “deconstructs” an idol, beginning with the finished produce and working backwards. He starts by talking about the ironsmith putting the plating on the idol (12). Prior to that, the carpenter has fashioned the human form of the idol out of wood (13). Before that, he cut down the tree (cedar, cypress or oak), using some of it for the form of the idol and the rest to make a fire to warm himself and cook his food (14). Before that, he plants the tree that will eventually grow up to be cut down (14). By working backwards, we look behind the shiny object of a crafted idol to see the ironies that went into making it. When idols are deconstructed, they lose their mystery and majesty.
Isaiah says those who create their own gods don’t see the folly of what they are doing: “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” (18). The Lord blinds and hardens those who seek to make their own gods; they think they are doing a profitable thing when they are being put to shame. The one given to idolatry has a “deluded heart” that “has led him astray” (20).
The chapter closes with a final section where the Lord reminds Israel who He is and who they are: “Remember these things, O Jacob, and Israel, for you are my servant” (21). The Lord is the one who has “blotted out” their transgressions and sin, something no idol could do (22). Because He has “redeemed” them, they are called to return to Him (22).
God’s gracious and powerful redemption is cause for all creation to erupt in praise to Him. “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 it in! For the Lord has redeemed Jacob and will be glorified in Israel” (23). Every tree, instead of being used for an idol, is to join in praising the Creator and Redeemer.
The Lord has some final words of declaration. He, the Redeemer and Creator, will frustrate and make foolish the wisdom of those who rely on other gods (24-25). He will confirm His words spoken by His messengers (like Isaiah). He will ensure that His promise to have Jerusalem and the cities of Judah rebuilt will be fulfilled. He will do this by raising up “Cyrus” to serve as his “shepherd”. Cyrus, a king of the Persian empire that is still a century away, will fulfill God’s purpose by seeing that Jerusalem is rebuilt, and the foundation of the Temple is laid (28).
Behold Your God
The Lord alone is God; there is no other. Throughout Isaiah 44, the Lord emphasizes the reality that He alone is God. “I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god” (6). “Is there a God besides me? There is no Rock. I know not any” (8). “I am the Lord, who made all things, who alone stretched out the heavens, who spread out the earth by myself” (24).
The Lord is the Creator of the world, Controller of the future, and the Redeemer of His people. No one is like the Lord. He “alone stretched out the heavens” and “spread out the earth” (24). He alone controls what is to come (the rebuilding of Jerusalem; the rise and responsiveness of Cyrus—26-28). He alone redeems His people, blotting out their sins and calling them back to Himself (6, 22, 24). No wonder He declares, “I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god” (6).
The Lord deserves musical, majestic worship from all He’s created and those He has redeemed. In light of who He is and what He’s done, all creation breaks forth in singing and shouting His praise: “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” (23). As one who has been created and redeemed by the Lord, I want to break forth into whole-hearted, full-bodied praise to Him as well.
Here Am I
The works of my hands will either be an idol or an offering. If what I fashion with my hands is something I look to for deliverance—deliverance from sadness, insecurity, insignificance—it will be a worthless idol and an abomination. Instead, what I make with my hands (hands that have written on them, “The Lord’s”—5) can be offered to God as my sacrifice and service to Him. I look to Him for satisfaction, significance and security, not to what I make or do. May this be true of my sermons, blogs, podcasts and written work; may it be an offering of worship to the Lord to whom I belong (“the Lord’s”—5).
Since I have been redeemed, I want to join all creation in praising my Redeemer. The Lord describes Himself as the Redeemer of Israel (6, 22, 24). He rescues them from exile in Babylon and regathers them in Jerusalem, using Cyrus to accomplish His purposes (28). All creation (heavens, earth, mountains, forests and every tree—23) erupts in singing God’s praises for His work of redemption. As one who has been redeemed from my bondage to sin and brought near to God as part of His chosen people (Eph 2:11-22), I have every reason to join in the song of the redeemed. May my praise erupt in joyful songs and shouts of worship.
Rick and Linda Reed 