Isaiah 44

This chapter belongs to the prophecies of comfort and restoration that begin in Isaiah 40. In Isaiah 43, God redeems Israel and calls the people "my witnesses." Isaiah 44 continues that message with a promise that God will pour out His Spirit and a satire on idolatry, and it concludes with the prophecy concerning Cyrus.

Outline

• Verses 1–5 God tells Jacob His servant, and Jeshurun whom He has chosen, not to fear. As water is poured on dry ground, He will pour His Spirit and blessing on their offspring, who will confess, "I am the LORD's."
• Verses 6–8 God declares that He is the first and the last and that there is no other god besides Him. Israel is His witness.
• Verses 9–20 The passage satirizes the process by which the ironsmith and the carpenter make an idol. With part of a single piece of wood a man kindles a fire to bake bread and roast meat, and from the rest he makes a god and bows down to it. Such a person is portrayed as one who feeds on ashes.
• Verses 21–23 God calls His people to return, for He has blotted out their transgressions like a cloud and a mist. The heavens and the earth are then summoned to sing.
• Verses 24–28 The Creator, who alone made the heavens and the earth, frustrates the omens of diviners. He declares that Jerusalem and the cities of Judah will be rebuilt and that Cyrus, as "my shepherd," will lay the foundation of the temple.

Key Verses

• Isaiah 44:3 "I will pour my spirit upon thy seed" — the promise that God will pour out His Spirit. The New Korean Revised Version renders the phrase with the Korean word for "spirit" (yeong) rather than the older rendering (sin).
• Isaiah 44:6 "I am the first, and I am the last" — a declaration that there is only one God. Similar language appears in the Book of Revelation.
• Isaiah 44:22 "I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions" — forgiveness that wipes away sin is joined with an invitation to return.

People and Places

• Jacob — Here the name refers not to the patriarch as an individual but to his descendants, the people of Israel.
• Jeshurun (KJV "Jesurun") — A poetic name for Israel, also found in Deuteronomy.
• Cyrus — King of Persia. After overthrowing Babylon, he permitted the exiles of Judah to return.
• Jerusalem — Mentioned as the city that will again be inhabited and where the temple will be rebuilt.

Points for Reflection

• The name of Cyrus and the question of authorship: The chapter mentions by name a king who lived long after Isaiah's ministry. Conservative evangelical tradition understands this as predictive prophecy by Isaiah. Historical-critical scholarship frequently attributes chapters 40–55 to a prophet writing near the end of the Exile. Cyrus's decree permitting the return appears in Ezra 1.
• Connections with the New Testament: Christians read verse 3 as a promise of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and sometimes interpret it in connection with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. The phrase "the first and the last" in verse 6 reappears on the lips of Christ in Revelation 1:17 and 22:13, and for this reason it is frequently cited in discussions of the deity of Christ.
• The satire on idolatry and its application: The text targets images made by human hands. Extending it to modern forms of idolatry, such as wealth or fame, is a homiletical application and should be distinguished from what the text itself directly says.