God’s purposes for His servants 42:10-44:22The section of Isaiah that I have titled "God’s promises to His servants" (Isaiah 41:1 to Isaiah 42:9) sets the stage and introduces themes that Isaiah proceeded to develop in this section. Those themes are the certainty of redemption (Isaiah 42:10 to Isaiah 43:7), the witness to redemption (Isaiah 43:8 to Isaiah 44:20), and the memory of redemption (Isaiah 44:21-22). read more
This chiastic verse reiterates a theme from Deuteronomy, namely, remembering what God has revealed (cf. Deuteronomy 8:2; Deuteronomy 8:11; Deuteronomy 8:18; Deuteronomy 9:7). God called His people to remember the truths about Himself that this section of the book emphasizes: He is the only God who foretells and then creates history, and the idols of the nations are nothing. Bearing these truths in mind would enable Israel to fulfill her purpose in the world, namely, to be the Lord’s servant.... read more
The memory of redemption 44:21-22This brief section is a call to God’s people to embrace God’s promises. It concludes this section of the prophecy (Isaiah 42:10 to Isaiah 44:22) by affirming that God would not abandon the Israelites because of their sins, but would deliver them, and even use them to demonstrate His unique deity. read more
What Israel needed above all was forgiveness and cleansing from her sins (cf. Isaiah 43:25). The Lord had taken the initiative to provide this for His people. He would blow their sin away as quickly and as easily as a wind blows a cloud or mist away."The clouds intervene between heaven and earth as sin and transgressions intervene between God and His people." [Note: Young, 3:183.] "Jehovah has blotted out Israel’s sin, inasmuch as He does not impute it any more, and thus has redeemed Israel."... read more
This verse concludes the thought expressed in the preceding one, thus many translations and commentators regard it as the end of the preceding section. However, it is a hymnic call to praise similar to the one in Isaiah 42:10-13, and it seems to introduce what follows, as that earlier call to praise did. The content of the praise also points ahead to what follows, rather then backward to what has preceded. It provides a very smooth transition.Isaiah again called on all the elements of the... read more
The announcement of redemption 44:23-28The section begins with an announcement of the salvation that God would provide for His chosen people. read more
The Lord prefaced His stunning prediction with a reminder of who was making it. He was Yahweh, Israel’s covenant God who had redeemed her and would yet redeem her. He had brought her into existence by Himself, as He had created all things including the heavens and the earth (cf. Isaiah 40:12-14; Isaiah 40:21-22). The often repeated phrase "Thus says the LORD" in this part of Isaiah engenders confidence in the promises of redemption that follow (cf. Isaiah 45:1; Isaiah 45:11; Isaiah 45:14;... read more
God embarrasses astrologers, diviners, and fortunetellers by controlling history in ways that deviate from past patterns. Ancient and modern prognosticators usually base their predictions on the belief that things will work out in the future as they have in the past. But Yahweh can move future events in entirely new directions. Archaeologists have discovered many predictions of the future of the Assyrian and Babylonian Empires among Babylonian writings, but they are consistently optimistic;... read more
Conversely, Yahweh could bring the predictions that He had revealed to His servant Isaiah (cf. Isaiah 20:3), and His messengers the prophets, to pass. Here he predicted that Jerusalem and the cities of Judah would be rebuilt, after their destruction by the Babylonians. read more
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Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Isaiah 44:1-22
2. The servant of the Lord 41:1-44:22There is an emphasis on the uniqueness of the Lord compared to other gods in this section, a theme that Isaiah introduced earlier (ch. 40 especially). The prophet particularly stressed Yahweh’s ability to control history in this connection. He did this to assure Israel that God loved her and had a future for her beyond the Exile, specifically to serve Him by demonstrating to the world that He is sovereign over history. These emphases become increasingly... read more