Isaiah 44:6-9

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 44:6-20

A FURTHER CONTRAST OF GOD WITH IDOLS . The captive Jews, dwelling scattered in a land the inhabitants of which were, one and all, idolaters, and having by hereditary taint an inclination to idolatry, would be easily tempted, during the long and weary period of the Captivity, to put away the worship and even the thought of Jehovah, who had allowed their subjugation, and conform to the religion of their conquerors. Hence the repeated contrasts in these later chapters—specially... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 44:6-28

Jehovah and the images. I. SELF - MANIFESTATION OF JEHOVAH . He is the First and the Last, Alpha and Omega. Existing before the creation, he will endure when it shall have passed away ( Isaiah 48:12 ). It is a thought which strikes us at once by its sublimity, anal, what is better, with its truth. Men sometimes speak of the material world as real, of the world of faith and imagination as dreamy. Not so the greatest prophets and poets. Shakespeare describes the globe and all its... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 44:7

Who, as I, shall call , etc.? i.e. "Who will do (or who can do) as I do—call events into being, declare them, and set them in order beforehand—who can do this for me (or, in my stead)? No one. I have done it, ever since I appointed (or, placed upon earth) the ancient people" that is, the race of men before the Flood (see Job 22:15 ). The claim is that, from the first creation of mankind, God has not only prearranged the events that should happen, but has declared them by the mouth of... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 44:8

Fear ye not (comp. Isaiah 41:10 , Isaiah 41:13 ; Isaiah 43:5 ; Isaiah 43:2 ). Israel need not fear that they will be forgotten or forsaken. God has told them from that time, or, from the beginning ( Isaiah 48:3 , Isaiah 48:7 ), and declared to them, what he is about to do—viz, destroy Babylon, and give them deliverance. He will assuredly do as he has said. Ye are even my witnesses (comp. Isaiah 43:10 , Isaiah 43:12 ). There is no God ; literally, there is no Rock ; ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 44:8

God's witness to his own rights. "There is no God; I know not any." A most striking exclamation. God becomes a witness to his own claims, and the last, the supreme, witness. The thought here so grandly and sublimely expressed is one which occurs also in the sacred book of the Buddhists. In the address of Gotama "Bhagavat," are the following sentences: "Even I was even at first, not any other thing, that which exists, unperceived, supreme; afterwards I am that which is, and he who must... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 44:9

They that make a graven image are … vanity ; rather, are confusion. The word used is tohu , which, together with bohu , describes the primitive chaos in Genesis 1:2 (comp. Isaiah 24:10 ; Isaiah 34:11 ; Isaiah 40:17 , Isaiah 40:23 ; Isaiah 41:29 ; Isaiah 59:4 ). Their delectable things shall not profit. "Their delectable things" are their idols, which are "pets, favourites, treasures." These cannot possibly be of any advantage to them. They are their own witnesses.... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 44:9-18

The irrational and the religions, This passage is interesting, as containing the most pungent and effective sarcasm in holy writ. There are indeed the finest conceivable materials for the sarcastic in the practice of idolatry; i.e. in all those cases in which idolatry has sunk into its lowest stage. Where a statue is understood to be nothing more than the memorial or visible representation of the Divine, the language of the Hebrew prophet would not apply; but where it is regarded, as it... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 44:9-20

The uniqueness of God having been set forth, the prophet now turns to the images and the image-makers, overwhelming them with his scorn and ridicule. The passage may be compared with Jeremiah 10:3-10 and Baruch 6:8-72. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 44:9-20

The utter folly of all kinds of idolatry. Idolatry proper—the actual worship of images—is felt by modern Englishmen to be so extreme a folly that they have a difficulty in believing it to have at any time been, or still anywhere to be, the actual religion of a people. Their inclination is to regard it as a symbolism—coarse and ill-judged, perhaps—but yet a well-meaning symbolism, expressive of the truths of natural religion. But research into the past history of mankind, and investigation of... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Isaiah 44:6

Thus saith the Lord - This commences, as I suppose (see Analysis), the argument to prove that Yahweh is the only true God, and that the idols were vanity. The object is, to show to the Jews, that he who had made to them such promises of protection and deliverance was able to perform what he had pledged himself to do.The King of Israel - (See the notes at Isaiah 41:21).And his Redeemer - (See the notes at Isaiah 43:1).The Lord of hosts - (See the notes at Isaiah 1:9).I am the first - (See the... read more

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