41:1 “Listen to me in silence, you coastlands! Let the nations find renewed strength! Let them approach and then speak; let us come together for debate!
In verses 1-8, Isaiah made a prophecy of the near future. The coastlands were the Gentile nations around the Mediterranean Sea. Jehovah called all of these nations into court to debate against Him. This debate will be about the false idols of Babylon.
41:2 Who stirs up this one from the east? Who officially commissions him for service? He hands nations over to him, and enables him to subdue kings. He makes them like dust with his sword, like windblown straw with his bow.
The answer is Jehovah. Jehovah was going to call a king from the east to defeat all of these coast-land nations. Isaiah would predict his exact name of this eastern king in Isaiah 44:28 and 45:1. His name would be Cyrus the Great. His eastern kingdom would be Persia.
41:3 He pursues them and passes by unharmed; he advances with great speed.
Cyrus would travel at great speed and conquer these Mediterranean nations.
41:4 Who acts and carries out decrees? Who summons the successive generations from the beginning? I, the Lord, am present at the very beginning, and at the very end—I am the one.
Jehovah can do what no idol, person, or nation can do. He can predict the future in advance.
41:5 The coastlands see and are afraid; the whole earth trembles; they approach and come.
As Cyrus marches, the Mediterranean nations would tremble.
41:6 They help one another; one says to the other, ‘Be strong!’
These Gentile nations would make alliances against Cyrus, but it would do them no good.
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.”
When these Gentile nations begin to fear the march of Cyrus, then their craftsmen would begin to make and sell more idols. These Gentle nations would falsely believe that their man-made idols would actually save them from Cyrus. Isaiah made this prophecy 150 years in advance.
41:8 “You, my servant Israel, Jacob whom I have chosen, offspring of Abraham my friend,
In verses 8-20, Isaiah made a prediction about the distant future. He looked forward to the Great Tribulation.
Israel is the servant of Jehovah, but she is a poor servant (because of her unbelief and idolatry). Later, Jehovah would send a better Servant to Israel. This better Servant would be the Messiah.
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.
Jehovah chose Israel to become His servant. He made unconditional promises to her through the Abrahamic and Davidic covenants. Even when Israel sinned, God would still keep His promise and use Israel to bring in the Messiah into the world. God would eventually scatter Israel into all of the nations of the world, but God has never rejected Israel. God will bring Israel back into her land, just as He promised.
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!
Israel, do be not afraid when the Great Tribulation comes. Jehovah will keep His covenantal promises.
41:11 Look, all who were angry at you will be ashamed and humiliated; your adversaries will be reduced to nothing and perish.
During the Great Tribulation, all of the Gentiles nations will follow the Antichrist and attack Israel. This will be a violation of the Abrahamic Covenant. All of these Gentile nations will be humiliated by Jehovah. He will reduce them to nothing. They will all perish. None of these nations will survive. None of these nations will enter into the Millennial Kingdom. Divine mass genocide will be the final fate of liberalism.
41:12 When you will look for your opponents, you will not find them; your enemies will be reduced to absolutely nothing.
Those who attack Israel will violate the Abrahamic Covenant and be destroyed. They will not be present in the Millennial Kingdom. When Israel looks around for her enemies, they will no longer exist. The enemies of Israel will be divinely purged out of this world.
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.’
Jehovah is the covenant-keeping-promise-keeping God who will take Israel by the hand and guide her through the anti-Semitic Gentile attacks of the Great Tribulation.
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.
The Gentiles of the Great Tribulation may think that little Israel is insignificant, but Israel will be placed under divine protection.
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.
At the end of the Great Tribulation. Jehovah will turn Israel into a smashing iron threshing hammer. The Gentile nations who attack Israel will be like straw to be threshed.
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.
Israel will shred the Gentile nations like straw. The wind will blow the Gentile chaff away. Then, all of Israel will rejoice in Jehovah. This future rejoicing has not taken place yet, but it will be fulfilled during the Millennial Kingdom.
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.
The "oppressed and the poor" will be the believing Jewish Remnant of the future Great Tribulation. They will not take the mark of the beast, so they will have no means of purchasing food or water. Therefore, Jehovah will supernaturally provide them with food and water, just as He provided Moses and the Israelites with manna from heaven and water from rocks during the wilderness wanderings.
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.
Israel will be supernaturally fed and watered during the Great Tribulation. They will be supernaturally blessed during the Millennial Kingdom.
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.
During the Millennial Kingdom, the deserts of Israel will blossom into Eden-like gardens and forests.
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.”
During the Millennial Kingdom, people will observe the Great Tribulation conditions followed by the Millennial Kingdom conditions. They will observe Jehovah’s power first-hand.
41:21 “Present your argument,” says the Lord. “Produce your evidence,” says Jacob’s king.
In verse 21-24, Jehovah returns back to his court case. He asked the false gods of Babylon to prove that they were really gods.
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!
Jehovah made an exact prediction of Cyrus the Great. God asked the Babylonian gods to make some kind of prediction of the future so that they could prove that they were really gods and not just wood, stone, and metal.
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.
Jehovah asked the Babylonian gods to make some kind of prediction, either good or bad.
41:24 Look, you are nothing, and your accomplishments are nonexistent; the one who chooses to worship you is disgusting.
Jehovah is the Judge of the Universe. He proved his point by predicting the future without error. Since the Babylonian idols could not predict the future, since they could not even speak to defend themselves, then they were nothing. They were not gods at all. They dd not even exist. Anyone who worshipped these Babylonian gods were not only foolish, but they were disgusting as well. There was a demonic influence behind these idols, but they were actually from the east and were nothing.
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.
Since these ancient Gentile nations would not and could not predict the future, then Jehovah would predict the future. He would raise up a king from the north and from the east to destroy Babylon.
How can Jehovah raise up one king from both the north and the east? One of Cyrus's parents was a Mede from the north.The other parent was a Persian from the east. Cyrus conquered all of the nations of the Babylonian Empire. He allowed the Jews to return back to her land and rebuild her temple. This paradox is an example of the detail of Biblical prophecy. The Oracles of Delphi (nor the oracles of the other Gentile nations) could not make prophecies with any detail. They could only make vague prophecies which were mixed with half-truths.
Cyrus was not a believer, but he did use the name of Jehovah when he issued his decrees to rebuild Jerusalem. Cyrus saw Jehovah as one of many gods, but not as the one true God.
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!
Jehovah was the only God who prophesied the coming of Cyrus. No prophet from Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, or any other nation could predict the future. Jehovah announced this prophecy to the Gentile nations to prove that He is the one true God.
41:27 I first decreed to Zion, ‘Look, here’s what will happen!’ I sent a herald to Jerusalem.
Jehovah sent this prophecy about Cyrus to Jerusalem first.
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.
There were no idols among the Gentiles who could give any advice to Jehovah.
41:29 Look, all of them are nothing, their accomplishments are nonexistent; their metal images lack any real substance.
All idols were nothing. They had accomplished nothing. They were only made of metal, stone, and wood. There was no life in them. The Gentiles needed to quit worshiping man-made created idols and turn to Jehovah.