Isaiah 45:20 - Exposition

Assemble yourselves and come … ye … escaped of the nations . The prophet reverts to the main idea of the section, which is the conversion of the Gentiles, and calls on all "the escaped of the nation"— i.e. all who have survived the judgments of the time—to "assemble and come," to consider the claims of Jehovah to be the only true God, to "look to him ( Isaiah 45:22 ) and be saved." The great judgments through which the heathen will be brought to God have been frequently mentioned ( Isaiah 24:1-23 ; Isaiah 26:20 , Isaiah 26:21 ; Isaiah 27:1-7 ; Isaiah 30:27-33 ; Isaiah 34:1-10 ; Isaiah 40:24 ; Isaiah 41:11 , Isaiah 41:12 , Isaiah 41:25 ; Isaiah 42:13-15 , etc.). They must not be regarded as limited to the time of Cyrus, but rather as continuing into the Messianic period, and indeed nearly to its close (see especially Isaiah 34:1-17 .). Each one of them constitutes a call to the nations, and is followed by a conversion to a greater or less extent. They have no knowledge that set up the wood of their graven image ; rather, who lift up (or, carry) the wood of their graven image (comp. Isaiah 46:7 , "They bear him upon the shoulder," where the same verb is used). It was a practice of the idolatrous heathen to carry the images of their gods in processions, generally exposed to view upon their shoulders, but sometimes partially concealed in shrines, or "arks". There would be still among the "escaped" some who would so act.