44:1 “Now, listen, Jacob my servant, Israel whom I have chosen!”
Out of all of the nations of the world, God chose Israel to be His servant.
44:2 This is what the Lord, the one who made you, says— the one who formed you in the womb and helps you: “Don’t be afraid, my servant Jacob, Jeshurun, whom I have chosen!
God created Israel to become His special servant. Jacob means “deceiver,” but Jeshurun means “the upright one.” When God is finished with Israel, she will no longer be the deceiver, but she will be the upright one. Jehovah asked Israel not to fear the future, especially that of the Babylonian Captivity.
44:3 For I will pour water on the parched ground and cause streams to flow on the dry land. I will pour my spirit on your offspring and my blessing on your children.
During the Millennial Kingdom, Jehovah will convert the deserts of Israel into lush agricultural centers. He will pour out His Holy Spirit upon all of Israel, upon all of her offspring, and upon all of her children. All of the Jews will become believers.
44:4 They will sprout up like a tree in the grass, like poplars beside channels of water.
During the Millennial Kingdom, anti-Semitism will not be reducing the Jewish population. There will be no more depopulation of Jews by the gentile nations. The Jewish population will greatly increase.
44:5 One will say, ‘I belong to the Lord,’ and another will use the name ‘Jacob.’ One will write on his hand, ‘The Lord’s,’ and use the name ‘Israel.’ ”
All of Israel will be saved during the Millennial Kingdom. All means all. Jewish parents will name their children after Jehovah.
44:6 This is what the Lord, Israel’s king, says, their protector, the Lord who commands armies: “I am the first and I am the last, there is no God but me.
Notice that Jehovah says that He is “the first and the last.” He made this claim three times in the Book of Isaiah. The Lord Jesus Christ made this same claim three times in the Book of Revelation. Therefore, Jesus is Jehovah.
44:7 Who is like me? Let him make his claim! Let him announce it and explain it to me— since I established an ancient people— let them announce future events!
Jehovah’s proof that He is God is because He can predict the future without error. He challenges other so-called gods and idols to do the same.
44:8 Don’t panic! Don’t be afraid! Did I not tell you beforehand and decree it? You are my witnesses! Is there any God but me? There is no other sheltering rock; I know of none.
Even though Judah will be entering into the Babylonian Captivity, Jehovah encouraged her not to panic or to be afraid. Jehovah predicted this captivity 150 years in advance. The Jews were witnesses to this prophecy. They heard and saw Isaiah make these predictions about the future. Since only God can tell the future, then He must be the one true God. There is no one else who can do these things.
Again, these witnesses are not the modern day Jehovah Witnesses. Jehovah was talking to the Jews in Isaiah’s day, not to modern day cults and isms.
44:9 All who form idols are nothing; the things in which they delight are worthless. Their witnesses cannot see; they recognize nothing, so they are put to shame.
Anyone who forms an idol is creating a nothing. Foolish people delight in these idols, but these idols are worthless. These idols cannot see. They cannot recognize anything. It is shameful to delight in idols, because they are nothing.
44:10 Who forms a god and casts an idol that will prove worthless?
Humans do not form a god. God forms humans.
44:11 Look, all his associates will be put to shame; the craftsmen are mere humans. Let them all assemble and take their stand! They will panic and be put to shame.
A craftsman of idols is only human. He cannot possibly create a god.
44:12 A blacksmith works with his tool and forges metal over the coals. He forms it with hammers; he makes it with his strong arm. He gets hungry and loses his energy; he drinks no water and gets tired.
A blacksmith fatigues as he makes his own little god.
44:13 A carpenter takes measurements; he marks out an outline of its form; he scrapes it with chisels, and marks it with a compass. He patterns it after the human form, like a well-built human being, and puts it in a shrine.
God creates man in the image of God, but men create their gods in the image of men.
44:14 He cuts down cedars and acquires a cypress or an oak. He gets trees from the forest; he plants a cedar and the rain makes it grow.
The rain makes the trees grow. The tree has no control over the rain. The carpenter cuts down one of these trees and carves the dead tree into a little god.
44:15 A man uses it to make a fire; he takes some of it and warms himself. Yes, he kindles a fire and bakes bread. Then he makes a god and worships it; he makes an idol and bows down to it.
Wood is good for keeping a man warm and baking bread, but it is foolish to worship this piece of wood.
44:16 Half of it he burns in the fire— over that half he cooks meat; he roasts a meal and fills himself. Yes, he warms himself and says, ‘Ah! I am warm as I look at the fire.’
A carpenter takes half of the tree and makes himself a fire. He cooks his meal.
44:17 With the rest of it he makes a god, his idol; he bows down to it and worships it. He prays to it, saying, ‘Rescue me, for you are my god!’
A carpenter takes the other half of the same tree and worships it. He prays to the wood and asks the wood to deliver him from his enemies. This type of worship is foolishness and superstition. Worshipping idols is like a modern day scientist claiming that nothing exploded into everything. 0 x 0 always equals zero. Atheism is faith and not scientific.
44:18 They do not comprehend or understand, for their eyes are blind and cannot see; their minds do not discern.
Idol worshipers are spiritually blind. They cannot see the truth. If God leaves every man alone, then all men would worship dead wood and lifeless stone.
44:19 No one thinks to himself, nor do they comprehend or understand and say to themselves: ‘I burned half of it in the fire— yes, I baked bread over the coals; I roasted meat and ate it. With the rest of it should I make a disgusting idol? Should I bow down to dry wood?’
When a man is totally depraved and evil, then he will take a part of a tree to build a fire, another part to cook his meal, and then he will worship the third part as a god.
44:20 He feeds on ashes; his deceived mind misleads him. He cannot rescue himself, nor does he say, ‘Is this not a false god I hold in my right hand?’
When a man worships the wood from a tree, then he is feeding himself ashes. His mind is so totally depraved and evil, that he is easily deceived, He cannot rid himself from this kind of thought life.
44:21 Remember these things, O Jacob, O Israel, for you are my servant. I formed you to be my servant; O Israel, I will not forget you!
Israel was chosen to become the servant of Jehovah. She was to bring the Messiah into the world, write the Scriptures, preserve the Scriptures, and become priests to all of the nations. Jehovah asked Israel to remember this lesson about idolatry. God formed Israel. Israel does not form gods. Israel was created and chosen to worship and serve Jehovah, not idols made of metal, stone, and wood..
44:22 I remove the guilt of your rebellious deeds as if they were a cloud, the guilt of your sins as if they were a cloud. Come back to me, for I protect you.”
Even though Israel was worshiping demons in the form of idols. Jehovah would still remove the guilt of Israel. Jehovah asked Israel to return to Him, so that He could protect her from the satanic Gentile nations.
44:23 Shout for joy, O sky, for the Lord intervenes; shout out, you subterranean regions of the earth. O mountains, give a joyful shout; you too, O forest and all your trees! For the Lord protects Jacob; he reveals his splendor through Israel.
When Adam and Eve fell, the entire universe fell under the curse as well. When Christ returns, the curse will be removed from all of creation.
44:24 This is what the Lord, your protector, says, the one who formed you in the womb: “I am the Lord, who made everything, who alone stretched out the sky, who fashioned the earth all by myself,
In Hebrew, verses 24-28 translates as one long sentence. Jehovah was the one who was protecting Israel. He was the one who formed Israel. Jehovah made everything in the universe. He stretched out the sky like a tent. He fashioned the earth all by Himself. Every star, tree, cave, waterfall, flower, butterfly, and microscopic life was created personally by God.
44:25 who frustrates the omens of the empty talkers and humiliates the omen readers, who overturns the counsel of the wise men and makes their advice seem foolish,
Jehovah frustrates the signs of the occultists. Satan attempts to imitate God by uttering prophecies, but his prophecies do not come true 100% of the time. Satan does possess a demonic army. They can gather information and speculate as to what may happen. For example, demons may observe people talking about assassinating John F. Kennedy. This information is passed on to occultists (such as Jeanne Dixon). Jeanne Dixon claimed that she was a prophetess. She predicted the assassination of John F. Kennedy. Either she was lucky, or she received her information from human conspirators or demonic sources.
44:26 who fulfills the oracles of his prophetic servants and brings to pass the announcements of his messengers, who says about Jerusalem, ‘She will be inhabited,’ and about the towns of Judah, ‘They will be rebuilt, her ruins I will raise up,’
Jehovah gives His prophets predictions of the future which will be fulfilled 100% of the time.
44:27 who says to the deep sea, ‘Be dry! I will dry up your sea currents,’
Jehovah proved that He was God by dividing the Red Sea. This was a miracle which was observed and documented by actual eye witnesses. Many liberals ignore the historical documentations written by eye witnesses and reject these written historical documents because of their biased worldview. These documents disagree with their world view, so they place their faith in their human speculations rather than in the actual eyewitness historical reports which are currently available to them in written form.
44:28 who commissions Cyrus, the one I appointed as shepherd to carry out all my wishes and to decree concerning Jerusalem, ‘She will be rebuilt,’ and concerning the temple, ‘It will be reconstructed.’ ”
To prove that Jehovah is God, Isaiah predicted the exact name of Cyrus 150 years in advance. Cyrus was the Persian King who brought down the Babylonian Empire. He would also make a decree to rebuild Jerusalem and the temple.
It is important to note that the Jewish historian Josephus (about 75-80 A.D.) recorded that Daniel showed Isaiah 44:24-28 to Cyrus after he conquered Babylon. It was this passage which motivated Cyrus to allow the Jews to return to Jerusalem and rebuild their city and temple. Cyrus must have been impressed that his name had been written in the Scriptures at least 150 years in advance. This is the power of Bible prophecy. No other religious or secular book in the world can predict the future in advance.