Isaiah 44:9-45:25 "The Redemption of the Servant"



Isaiah 44:9-20 shows idolatry up as the foolishness that it is.



Notice that idolatry is a communal endeavor.

The ironsmith fashions the idol with hammers.

The carpenter shapes it into the figure of a man.

Idolatry doesn't look so bad because everyone's doing it.

So long as everyone is a part of it, it can't be all that bad, right?



Alexander Solzhenitsyn speaks of the Soviet era in a similar way.

Stalin's reign of terror only succeeded because ordinary Russians played along.

Ordinary Russians served as prison guards and informants,

believing that they were serving their country.



Think about the idolatries of our day.

Our culture is immune to the horrors of abortion, pornography, and bloodshed,

because they are part of everyday life.



Idolatry is always a communal effort.

It makes no difference what the idol is.

What do you think will deliver you?

That is the cry of the worshiper: "Deliver me, for you are my god!"

What is going to bring you peace and happiness?

What is going to allow you to master your destiny?

For some it is money-if only we made another $10,000...

For others it is status-if only I had that job...

For many it is a spouse-if only I were married...

And children,

where is your heart set?

Getting a certain toy?

Getting the best grades?

Getting away with something you know is wrong?

No matter how individualistic we are,

idolatry is always a communal event.

If no one else valued what we value,

we might see our idolatry for what it is.

But when everyone else is pursuing the same sorts of idols,

it becomes normal, rational, and as Isaiah says (verses 18-20)



The basic question when dealing with sin (for idolatry is at the root of all sin) is this one:

"Is there not a lie in my right hand?"

What lie am I believing?

Sin claims to bring happiness-but it only brings misery.

Why do you believe it?

When was the last time that sin gave you what it promised?

"A deluded heart has led him astray, and he cannot deliver himself."



Remember these things, O Jacob,

and Israel, for you are my servant;

I formed you; you are my servant;

O Israel, you will not be forgotten by me.



God calls his servant, Israel, to remember what idolatry is.

Remember that idols cannot save you.

But I will not forget you.

I will remember you, my Servant,

and speaking of what he will do first in the restoration from exile,

but then finally in our Lord Jesus Christ,

"I have blotted out your transgressions like a cloud

and your sins like mist;

Return to me, for I have redeemed you."

Remember these things.

Humanity has Alzheimer's.

Worse yet, the people of God have Alzheimer's.

We are forgetful.

We forget the one who formed us.

And Isaiah speaks here both of the first creation,

and also the new creation-when he took Israel out of Egypt,

and created his Servant.

And so Isaiah calls us to remember what God has done,

and to remember what God will do.

Speaking to Israel before they go into exile,

Isaiah declares that God "has done it."

That is how certain your redemption is.

And so Isaiah calls out, (verse 23)



Now, how will Yahweh redeem Israel his Servant?

That is the burden of 44:21-46:2, which consists of five statements,

each beginning "thus says the LORD."



First, verses 24-28 introduce this great redemption in one long sentence.

Thus says Yahweh, your Redeemer, who formed you from the womb: I am Yahweh.

There are ten participles describing Yahweh in verses 24-28.

the four in verse 24 specify Yahweh as the creator

the two in verse 25 reveal Yahweh as the one who mocks idolaters

the three in verses 26-27 reveal Yahweh as the one who does what he says

and the one in verse 28 reveal Yahweh's particular purpose.

This great statement of who Yahweh is comes to its focus in the promise of Cyrus.

God promises that one named Cyrus would be God's instrument in delivering Israel.

He would be the shepherd who would bring Israel back to Jerusalem,

the one who would command the building of the temple.

A shepherd who would build the temple.

This is an echo of Solomon, who was the Son of David who built the first temple.

The second "Thus says the LORD" in verses 45:1-10 speaks to Cyrus.

God promises Cyrus that he will subdue nations before him,

and will level the exalted places and cut through the bars of iron

in order to give to Cyrus "the hoards in secret places."

Yahweh will raise up Cyrus and give him glory and wealth.

Why?

Because Cyrus was wise and righteous?

No.

Because Cyrus believed on the LORD?

No.

"For the sake of my servant Jacob, and Israel my chosen,

I call you by your name, I name you, though you do not know me."

In spite of the fact that Cyrus is-and will remain-a pagan,

Yahweh will equip him as his anointed-his Messiah.

But Cyrus is simply an earthen pot in the hands of the potter (verses 9-10).

God has his purposes with Cyrus, and he will fulfill them.

The third "thus says the LORD" in 45:11-13 explains God's purposes to Israel.

After all, Israel may wonder, why are you going to use this heathen to save Israel?

Wouldn't it make more sense to raise up a Samson or a Gideon?

Why not deliver Israel through a Son of David?

And God's answer is to ask Israel, "will you command me concerning my children

and the work of my hands?"

I am the creator of all things.

I dispose of my creation in the manner that I see fit.

And I have chosen Cyrus.

"I have stirred him up in righteousness, and I will make all his ways level;"

God will give a highway in the wilderness to Cyrus.

"He shall build my city and set my exiles free, not for price or reward."

Perhaps if Israel bribed a king, they could free themselves!

No, Cyrus will do this of his own volition-

God will stir his heart.

This is yet another example of the hints and clues that God is giving to Israel

that his purposes for Israel are bigger than Israel.



The fourth "thus says the LORD" in verses 14-17 speaks of the result of Cyrus's actions.

The wealth of Egypt and Cush will flow into Jerusalem and Israel.

But not only their wealth.

They themselves will recognize that God is with Israel,

"and there is no other, no god besides him."

God is raising up Cyrus because God is bringing the Gentiles to faith.

In verses 15-17 Isaiah responds to this truly good news. (Read)

Why does he say that God is hiding himself?

If you think about it, it is truly bizarre that anyone fails to believe in God.

He demonstrates his glory and his goodness in such obvious ways.

Over and over again he is faithful to his people,

and yet idolaters refuse to see it.

Truly, you are a God who hides yourself.

The blind cannot see.

The deaf cannot hear.



The fifth and final "thus says the LORD" in 45:18-46:2 concludes the message

regarding Cyrus and the redemption of Israel, the Servant.

Once again Yahweh is called the creator of the heavens and the earth.

And now he calls the "survivors of the nations" to come together,

-those who carry about their wooden idols,

and keep on praying to a god that cannot save.

He asks them to present their case.

If you want to believe in idols, give some evidence of their power!

But they have never spoken-only Yahweh is a righteous God and a Savior.

And so Yahweh calls out to the nations,

"Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth!

For I am God, and there is no other.

By myself I have sworn; from my mouth has gone out in righteousness

a word that shall not return:

"To me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear allegiance."



Righteousness and strength are found in Yahweh alone.

All his enemies will be ashamed.

But in Yahweh "all the offspring of Israel shall be justified and shall glory."

The gods of Babylon will be humiliated.

Bel will bow down before Yahweh.

(Recall Dagon, the god of the Philistines in 1 Samuel 5.

When the ark of the covenant was placed in the Philistine temple,

Dagon collapsed before Yahweh!)

The gods of Babylon will themselves go into captivity when Cyrus,

the shepherd of God's people, comes to deliver them.

There will come a day when God will judge between Israel and the nations.

And on that day God will vindicate Israel.

He will justify his people.

The return from exile was a picture of that day.

On that day, God declared "not guilty!"

And he brought back his people to Jerusalem.

But all of these "justifications"-from the deliverance from Egypt to the return from exile-

fall short of the glory of God.

Because the people of God keep sinning.

They keep turning back to idolatry.

God alone is the Savior.

He must redeem his people.



Seven hundred years later, a boy sat in the temple, asking questions of the priests and teachers.

You can almost see him wrestling with the scripture

as he begins to understand what God has called him to do.

Because there must be a final day when God justifies the offspring of Israel-

the seed of Abraham.

He raised up Moses and delivered Israel from the hand of Pharaoh.

But that was only the creation of Israel-

it was only the beginning.

He raised up Joshua and brought his people into the Promised Land.

But that did not give the people rest-

their enemies continued to harry them from every side.

He raised up David and established his kingdom.

But that only lasted two generations before the kingdom was divided.

He raised up Cyrus and brought his people back from exile.

But they still lived under foreign domination without a son of David for 600 years.



The day has not yet come when

"In Yahweh all the offspring of Israel shall be justified and shall glory."

And yet his own mother named him "Yahweh saves."

He knows that God is his Father in a unique way-in a way that is true of no other man.



How can a man be justified before God.

How can the Servant of the LORD be declared righteous in the court of heaven.

The servant is blind and deaf.

Israel does not see what God is doing.

Jacob does not hear what God is saying.



Paul quotes 45:23 in Romans 14:11,

when he is calling Christians to recognize

that God alone is the Lord of the conscience.

This is true-and we should certainly recognize it.

But Paul also uses this verse in Philippians 2.

Isaiah is talking about the justification of Israel and the inclusion of the Gentiles.

All nations will be brought under the sway of the kingdom of God.

And that is Paul's point in Philippians 2,

(Read 2:5-11)

All that Isaiah promised about the inclusion of the Gentiles comes true in Jesus.

It is only when Yahweh himself takes the form of a Servant

that justification comes to the Servant.

In the law court of heaven both Israel and the Gentiles stand convicted of sin.

No one is righteous-no not one!

When the divine verdict is declared, only Jesus is left standing.

Jesus alone is declared righteous.

He alone is the justified one.



And that is why only in the LORD all the offspring of Israel shall be justified and shall glory.

Because Jesus Christ is Lord.

All those who have that same mind in them that was in Christ Jesus

will stand in the final day.

Every knee will bow-every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.

Will you bow today?

Or will you wait until the Lord of Glory appears in judgment?

For that day will be too late.