I thought I loved Isaiah chapters 1-39, such wonderful variety in peaching! But Isaiah chapters 39 through 66 are going to astound beyond measure! Already have, really.

Let me share a few (three) “snippets” (short quotes) from the concluding Paragraph of Isaiah 45, our current Text.

They (the wicked) “pray unto a god that cannot save.” (Verse 20) I realize that little Clause is self-explanatory, but it strikes me with sadness. Folks, we are so blessed. We serve a God (with a Capital “G”) who can save! Does save! Came to earth to save! And saved (even) me! And will save all who come to Him in faith believing!

Hallelujah!

Verse 22 also is powerful, our “saving” God being the Speaker, the Inviter … “Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.”

Wow!

“Look (by faith) and live!”

This verse has been used of the Holy Spirit to bring thousands (maybe tens of thousands) into the Kingdom of God, to eternal salvation! (Including a teenage British boy on a snowy Sunday in a little Methodist Chapel … Charles Haddon Spurgeon by name!)

Lastly look at Isaiah 45:23, part of it anyway. God vowing: “That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear.” Aren’t you glad, Christian friend, that you have already submitted to him? Thrilled that your knee and your tongue have acquiesced?

Paul loved that Line, that Truth, didn’t he? Quoting it so eloquently in Philippians 2:11 … “Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

Isaiah 45, what a chapter!

Bask in the light and warmth of these three little “snippets” today.

And if you do, that’s called “meditating” in the Word of God.

— Dr. Mike Bagwell

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Our verse today is Isaiah 45:17. Look at this Promise God has given His people, the Jews!

“But Israel shall be saved in the LORD with an everlasting salvation: ye shall not be ashamed nor confounded world without end.” Is this not amazing?

Now, if one understands these words literally (and why not?) … the little Nation of Israel will not perpetually be harassed, attacked, hated!

There is, in her (bright) future, “salvation” in store!

And no more “hurt, reproach, or confusion!”

I believe this Miracle occurs at the end of the Tribulation, when Jesus comes again to earth. Here is Zechariah’s Account, watch Israel fall under “conviction.” God is saying: “And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.” Zechariah 12:10

Subsequently, the same Prophet declares, still quoting God: “In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness.” Sounds like salvation to me! Zechariah 13:1

What I am sharing with you this morning, Paul the Apostle certainly believed. Here he is preaching/teaching in Romans 11:26 … “And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written ….” Almost certainly alluding (if not quoting) Isaiah 45:17.

He likely too has in mind Isaiah 59:20 (a later lesson, Lord willing) … “And the Redeemer shall come to Zion, and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob, saith the LORD.”

Folks, I have found over two dozen times Paul, in his New Testament Corpus, references Isaiah’s great Book, either directly or indirectly! What an interesting (and profitable) Bible Study this would make!

No wonder they call Isaiah the “Evangelist” Prophet!

Again today’s Text … “But Israel shall be saved in the LORD with an everlasting salvation: ye shall not be ashamed nor confounded world without end.”

Praise the Lord!

— Dr. Mike Bagwell

Do not fall into the error of replacing the Nation of Israel with the New Testament Church. This false teaching, nowadays often called “Replacement Theology,” has become more and more popular as America drifts from God. Literal Israel, the people … God has not finished with them yet! Not by any means.

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Watch how this 44th chapter ends, with God as the Speaker! “(The Lord) that saith to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be inhabited; and to the cities of Judah, Ye shall be built, and I will raise up the decayed places thereof: 27 That saith to the deep, Be dry, and I will dry up thy rivers: 28 That saith of Cyrus, He is my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure: even saying to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built; and to the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid.”

A Promise to a City!

Jerusalem, specifically called “the City of God” in Psalm 46:4. An in Psalm 48:1 as well: “Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised in THE CITY OF OUR GOD, in the mountain of his holiness.”

Actually here are three promises in a row, God to His City! With even more to follow!

“Thou shalt be inhabited.” (More than once in her history the city has been “empty,” but not for eternity!)

“Ye shall be built.” (She has been attacked and sacked and left desolate again and again! But such chaos was never her perpetual state.)

Number three gets more Personal: “I (the Lord himself) will raise up the decayed places thereof.”

(I’m thinking of Nehemiah 4:10 … “And Judah said, The strength of the bearers of burdens is decayed, and there is much rubbish; so that we are not able to build the wall.” Decay, here specifically after the returnees of Babylon come back home.

Then next … God dries some kind of floodwaters! Verse 27 of today’s Text: “That saith to the deep, Be dry, and I will dry up thy rivers.”

The “depths” of the Red Sea, way back at the Exodus?

The “depths” of the flooding Jordan River, when they crossed into the land of Canaan forty years later?

The “depths” of the Euphrates River, whose flow was diverted by the Persians in order to conquer Babylon? (An event not yet transpired/actualized when Isaiah first wrote these words!)

Or proverbially, “All of the above?”

God controlling the rivers, again! (“The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will.” Proverbs 21:1)

Wow!

But our Passage continues … “That saith of CYRUS, He is my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure: even saying to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built; and to the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid.” You’ve just read a literary “miracle,” Isaiah 44:28.

God has now called a man’s name, a Persian King (Cyrus) over a hundred years (actually closer to a hundred and sixty years) before he was even born!

And God terms this man, “My shepherd,” a title often given to Kings in the Old Testament.

Cyrus is the King, according to world history, who set the Jews free from (Babylonian) captivity and allowed them to return home to Jerusalem … after Nebuchadnezzar had persecuted them so egregiously.

Yes, the Persians did divert the flow of the Euphrates River in order to attack the (impenetrable) City of Babylon! While the Babylonians were having a wild party, a drunken orgy! (Read Daniel chapter 5 for more information.)

Wow!

And this Cyrus (see Ezra and Nehemiah for Biblical validation) did “perform God’s pleasure” (setting the Jews free) … then helping rebuild the City and the Temple so dear to God’s Heart!

Amazing! I feel like we are standing on “holy ground” this morning! Something in me is “worshipping” my dear Lord!

God’s Word, truly a Miracle Book.

— Dr. Mike Bagwell

Those who will not give the Bible proper “credit” for accurately predicting Cyrus’ reign here (in advance of the fact) … try hard to post-date Isaiah and say he that was writing history instead of prophecy! They claim a protegee of Isaiah (called a “second Isaiah” or even a “third Isaiah”) wrote about this King … long after the events transpired!

They are wrong!

Jesus acknowledged only one Isaiah! And that fact alone is good enough for me. See Matthew 15:7 for one of several examples.

The Bible yet stands!

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Using the literary device now known as “inclusio,” Isaiah 44:1-5 contains some beautiful Material! (Inclusio: both beginning and ending a Passage with an identical verbal “marker.”)

Watch …

“Yet now hear, O Jacob my servant; and Israel, whom I have chosen: 2 Thus saith the LORD that made thee, and formed thee from the womb, which will help thee; Fear not, O Jacob, my servant; and thou, Jesurun, whom I have chosen. 3 For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground: I will pour my spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring: 4 And they shall spring up as among the grass, as willows by the water courses. 5 One shall say, I am the LORD’S; and another shall call himself by the name of Jacob; and another shall subscribe with his hand unto the LORD, and surname himself by the name of Israel.” Isaiah 44:1-5

Verse 1 … “O Jacob my servant, and Israel!”

Verse 5 … “The name of Israel!”

These identical “nominatives of address” define the boundaries of this particular “oracle” (“sermon”) of Isaiah. Thus we are assured we are studying a valid “unit” in our chapter, Isaiah 44.

God’s “choice” looms large here, being mentioned twice. Yet it is NOT individuals being chosen, but a group! In fact, a whole nation! (Israel is God’s chosen People, that population.) In the same sense, the “Church” is a chosen Body in God’s Eyes! Then individuals become part of God’s “Chosen” by believing in His/Jesus’ Name, by being “born again!” We are “accepted” (“chosen”) in the Beloved, in Jesus! (Ephesians 1:6 … “To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.)

But then look! Who (by choice) becomes Israel? Who (plural) are included in this “number?”

It looks to me like “whosoever will!”

Yes indeed, it involves “choice” on the part of the people! “One shall say, I am the LORD’S; and another shall call himself by the name of Jacob; and another shall subscribe with his hand unto the LORD, and surname himself by the name of Israel.” Verse 5, grammatically including the “gentiles” too!

“One,” then “another,” then behold yet “another!”

Wow!

Our “Maker” and “Former” (like the Potter and his clay) … will also be our “Helper!” (As in “My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth.” Psalm 121:2) Our Text, verse 2 … “Thus saith the LORD that made thee, and formed thee from the womb, which will help thee; Fear not, O Jacob, my servant; and thou, Jesurun (meaning ‘upright’), whom I have chosen.”

Precious!

Then our Paragraph depicts God as the Sender of the rain, what a blessing. “For I (the Lord) will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground.” (Verse 3 of our Text today) And as we shall soon see, in Isaiah 35:1, that some day “the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose,” a miracle only possible through abundant moisture, rainfall. God, the gracious Meteorologist!

But then immediately God prepares to “pour out” Something Else! (Using the same verb as pertained to the rain and the floods! Translated “overflow” once in the King James Version!) Yes … “I will pour my spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring.”

Wow!

This Pericope has just gone “Millennial,” I believe!

Bright days ahead for God’s people!

And the Result of the Holy Spirit’s copious Outflow/Overflow … “And they shall spring up as among the grass, as willows by the water courses. 5 One shall say, I am the LORD’S; and another shall call himself by the name of Jacob; and another shall subscribe with his hand unto the LORD, and surname himself by the name of Israel.” Isaiah 44:4-5

Growth … both physically and spiritually!

Sounds a lot like Psalm 1 … “And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of waters!”  (Willows by the waters!)

Nobody will be “ashamed” of Israel then!

Antisemitism, what was that?

“I belong to the Lord,” testifies many a person!

“And I to Israel, God’s chosen People,” claims many others!

“Israel” … defined, “prince with God,” or “prince of God,” or (as says Dr. G. Campbell Morgan) “princed (ruled) by God!”

What a Revival that will be. The greatest (I think) this world will have ever seen! When Jesus comes again!

What a Preacher, Isaiah!

What a God, our dear Lord!

— Dr. Mike Bagwell

Oh, this too. “And another shall subscribe WITH HIS HAND unto the LORD, and surname himself by the name of Israel.” Verse 5 … people so “in love” with the Lord that they literally “mark” their hands “THE LORD’S PROPERTY!” (Much like a bond-slave voluntarily brands himself as belonging to his Master! See Exodus 21:6, for an example, repeated in Deuteronomy 15:17.)

Dedication!

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Our Paragraph today is “filled” with Nuggets, Quotes … from Almighty God Himself! One scholar says that God is here “Self-Identifying!”

Let me show you what he means …

God to His people, to Israel … “That ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me. I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no saviour. I have declared, and have saved, and I have shewed, when there was no strange god among you:.” Most of Isaiah 43:10-12, beautiful Portion of Scripture! (Can you tell this Speech is set in the context of idol-hatred? A god who has been “formed?” That’s an idol! Our God was never formed. He is the Creator! He is eternal! “Strange gods” … those pesky wooden and stone and metal idols again!)

I LOVE it when God talks!

Even in the New Testament, those Bibles that place all Jesus’ Words in red print … so interesting!

Again, later in our chapter … “Therefore ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, that I am God. Yea, before the day was I am he; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand: I will work, and who shall let it?” Verses 12 and 13, where “let” means “to turn back.” God … before daylight! (“Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.” Psalm 121:4) God is so great He could never be thwarted!

There’s even more. “Thus saith the LORD, your redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; For your sake I have sent to Babylon, and have brought down all their nobles, and the Chaldeans, whose cry is in the ships.” God “brought down” (defeated) Babylon … for the “sake” of the Israelites! (An Action that was not yet accomplished when Isaiah penned these words. Thus, “Bible prophecy!”) Here God again acknowledges Himself as “Redeemer,” actually “Kinsman-Redeemer!”

This is thrilling!

Verse 15 still continues the Theme: “I am the LORD, your Holy One, the creator of Israel, your King.” (There are a lot of “I AM” Statements in these verses!)

But them, suddenly, God seems “hurt, offended, grieved:” Read with me verses 21 and 22 … “This people have I formed for myself; they shall shew forth my praise. But thou hast not called upon me, O Jacob; but thou hast been weary of me, O Israel.”

Oh that we would acknowledge and adore His Love and Grace and Mercy and Power and Attention!

And when we do that … it’s called WORSHIP! (In our Text here, “showing forth His praise!”)

And God is “hungry” (according to Jesus) for such true worship! John 4:23, spoken to a woman by a well side … “But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father SEEKETH SUCH to worship him.”

Oh, let’s worship Him today!

— Dr. Mike Bagwell

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