Isaiah · chapter 41 of 66
Updated on
Isaiah 41 presents a trial between the Lord and the nations with their idols: only he announced what would happen and raised up someone from the east. To Israel, his servant, a descendant of Abraham, he says not to fear because he is with him and upholds him with his right hand. He promises to turn the desert into a place of water and challenges the idols to prove they are gods.
Isaiah 41 continues the book of comfort begun in chapter 40. After presenting an incomparable God, the prophet shows him in a courtroom against the nations and their idols, and comforts Israel with one of the most quoted promises in the whole book. The chapter also opens the theme of the Lord's servant, which will develop in the following chapters.
The chapter begins with a call to the distant coastlands and the peoples to present themselves before the Lord for judgment. He asks who stirred up from the east the one whom victory meets at every step, who hands over nations and subdues kings. He answers that it is the Lord, the first and with the last. The coastlands see and fear, but the idol makers encourage one another, and the craftsman fastens the idol with nails so that it will not move.
Then the Lord addresses Israel: you, my servant, Jacob whom I chose, offspring of Abraham my friend, whom I took from the ends of the earth. Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God who strengthens you, helps you and upholds you with my righteous right hand. Those who rage against you will be put to shame. Though Israel is like a worm, the Lord will help him: he is his Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, and will make him a new threshing sledge that threshes the mountains.
The poor and needy seek water and find none, but the Lord will answer: he will open rivers on the bare heights and fountains in the valleys, make the wilderness a pool, and plant cedar, acacia, myrtle and olive. Then all will see and know that the hand of the Lord has done this.
The Lord challenges the idols to present their case, to announce what is going to happen and to do good or harm. But they are nothing and their work is nothing. He, by contrast, has stirred up one from the north and the east who will call on his name. No one had announced it, and only the Lord gave Zion the news first. The idols are wind and emptiness.
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
The Lord presents himself as the one who called the generations from the beginning: he is the first and is with the last. Against freshly made idols, his presence spans all of history.
The Lord calls Israel his servant, Jacob whom he chose, offspring of Abraham his friend, and reminds him that he has not cast him off. His choice comes before the people's merit, and friendship with Abraham is the root.
Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, help you and uphold you. It is one of the most beloved promises of the book: the reason not to fear is the presence of the Lord.
The Lord promises to open rivers on the bare heights and turn the wilderness into pools of water. His answer to the poor and needy is to change what is dry into a place of provision.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: The distant coastlands and the peoples, to come forward for judgment. — Isaiah 41:1
Answer: As the first and with the last. — Isaiah 41:4
Answer: His friend. — Isaiah 41:8
Answer: That he is with Israel, is his God and strengthens, helps and upholds him with his right hand. — Isaiah 41:10
Answer: As a worm, whom the Lord, his Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, helps. — Isaiah 41:14
Answer: To present their case, announce what is going to happen and do good or harm. — Isaiah 41:21-23
Isaiah 41:10 is a promise for those who live with fear. It does not say danger disappears, but that the Lord is present, strengthens, helps and upholds. In a Sunday school class you can write this verse next to each person's current worries and pray that God replace fear with trust in his presence.
The chapter also confronts whatever takes God's place. The idols in the text were manufactured objects that had to be fastened with nails, and today they may be work, money or recognition. In a small group you can ask what things promise security but cannot hold us up, and recognize that only the Lord, who announces what is to come, is worthy of trust.
Isaiah 41 showed the Lord as judge of the idols and sustainer of his servant Israel. Chapter 42 will present the Lord's servant in a more personal picture, the one who will bring justice to the nations with gentleness.
The text does not name him in this chapter. Many interpreters link him with Cyrus, king of Persia, whom Isaiah names explicitly in 44:28 and 45:1. Others understand him more generally as the conqueror God raises up.
In this chapter the servant is Israel, the chosen people, descended from Jacob and Abraham. In the following chapters the title is also applied to an individual figure, whom the New Testament relates to Jesus.
It is an image of weakness and smallness, not an insult. The Lord says that even though Israel is weak, it has a Redeemer who helps it. The contrast stresses that its strength does not come from itself.