In my introduction to Isaiah 40-55, I talked about how one of the challenges to teaching on this part of the Bible, is that these chapters divide up into bigger chunks of material than we can comfortably handle all at once. And honestly, I find that kind of stressful. I can feel myself getting stressed because I have to make lots of decisions about what not to teach on. Isaiah 41 is for sure one of those passages. The whole chapter is one big section. So what I'm going to do is fly high over the passage to help you understand the big picture, and the argument as a whole. If you find yourself feeling dissatisfied, and ripped off, and wanting a more detailed explanation, and access to all my notes, you can email me, and I'll happily give you more (in the footnotes at the end).
Our passage today opens with God speaking to the nations and peoples of the world. He summons them to court. God is the plaintiff. He has a case He wants to make. And so he summons the nations-- the peoples-- to the defense. I don't think I've ever taught on the court cases found in the prophets before, but the classic example is Micah 6 (Isaiah 1 is another great example, but it's more tricky).
Now, I can't imagine that court cases in ancient Israel looked a whole lot like Judge Judy, but I think if we think about Judge Judy here, it'll work just fine. Imagine yourself in a courtroom. God is taking the nations to court.
So verse 1:
(1) Be silent before me, coastlands,
while peoples, may they renew their strength!
May they draw near.
Then may they speak.
Together, for the judgment/decision/trial let us draw near. ["for the judgment" is focused]
The prophet here opens by imaginatively calling out to the entire world, all people, as God's representative. The nations are told to silence themselves, and gather strength, and draw near, and then speak. There's something God wants to say to them. Eventually, He will give them an opportunity for them to respond.
Are we all tracking?
Now, let me throw a little wrinkle in here. Eventually, it's going to become obvious that the prophet isn't actually, literally, speaking to all nations here. He's not going on a global prophetic tour. The prophet's actual audience, is God's people stuck in Babylonian exile. God's people are in the peanut gallery in Judge Judy's courtroom, and all of this is like performance art for them. I mean, it's serious. Don't get me wrong. But everything that's being said, is for God's people. There's something God wants his people to hear.
God, through his prophet, begins his court case with an opening question. Verse 2-3:
(2) Who has stirred up from the east?; [QUESTION #1]
Righteousness (=God) is summoning him to His heel/footsteps (=to a position of serving Him).
He is delivering up to him nations (cf. Deut. 28:7; h/t Shalom Paul),
while kings he (mystery guy) conquers/subjugates/drives back.
He (=the mystery guy) makes [them] like dust [with] his sword,
Like scattered stubble [with] his bow.
(3) He pursues them;
He passes through unscathed (HALOT; a good place to see the wider meaning of "shalom"-- he's not doing this "in peace"),
[on] a path with his feet he wasn't going [before].
So there's this mystery dude running wild in the world, 6th century B.C. He's conquering nations. He's driving back kings, pushing back their boundaries. And he's doing all of this without growing weaker. His military is unscathed. He doesn't need to take breaks for his injured soldiers to heal. He doesn't need to stop, and integrate green troops into his army to replace losses. Everything is going great for him, despite the fact that he's traveling places he's never been. This mystery guy is an unbelievably successful general.
And so the question is, who is giving this mystery dude his success? Who summoned him from the east? Who is gifting him one nation, one king, after another? No one is that successful by themselves. It's not possible. Who is doing this?
Verse 4:
(4) Who has accomplished [this],
and [who] has done [this],
summoning the generations from the first/beginning? [QUESTION #2]
I [am] Yahweh.
[The] First/Beginning and the Last, I [am] He.
Yahweh has been in the business of raising up kingdoms, and toppling them, since the beginning. In every generation, every age, Yahweh is the One who decides which kingdom is successful. And so that's what God announces. "I am Yahweh. The First and the Last, I am He."
Again, technically, all of this is addressed to the nations. But the real audience is God's people.
In verse 5-7, Yahweh gives evidence to show that He, and no one else, is responsible for the rise of this mystery dude.
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The nature of the relationship between vs. 1-4 and 5ff. is super thorny, and something I wrestled wit. One could argue that the nations are responding to God's call to "draw near" to Him, by instead drawing near to each other, building idols, and preparing to fight God. It's like when God tells Jonah, "Go," and Jonah goes the opposite way. But I think if we keep verse 21 in mind, where the court language is picked back up, we will avoid over thinking the verbal link of "to draw near." Better to say that the coastlands from verse 1 have seen mystery dude, and are scared. Mystery dude isn't someone that anyone is excited about, except God.
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(5) They have seen!-- the coastlands-- ["they have seen" is focused]
and they are afraid.
The ends of the earth are trembling;
they have drawn near,
and they have come--
(6) each one, his neighbor, he helps,
while to his brother he says,
"Be strong!,"
(7) and the craftsman causes to be strong the goldsmith--
the one smoothing (HALOT) with a hammer,
the one striking the anvil,
the one saying of the joining/soldering,
"Good, it [is],"
and he strengthens it with nails;
it won't totter,
In verse 5, the prophet says that the coastlands have seen Yahweh's evidence about mystery dude. They know he's wildly successful.
Now, how can you tell that Yahweh is the one stirring up the mystery dude? By the way the entire world is panicking, and doing their best to protect themselves from him. They know this mystery dude is a threat to their existence. And so, in their panic, they prepare in two main ways. First, they draw near to each other, and encourage each other. Second, they build idols. They want to make sure the gods are on their side.
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Here, an illustration would be helpful. Kiddie pool, filled with Lego boats representing the nations. God is dropping a giant rock into the middle of the pool, and the waves are coming hard at the nations, who respond by trying not to drown. You can tell who is responsible, by the way everyone else is panicking.
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But God's words here to them are designed to mock them. We are supposed to be able to see the comical nature of this. The idea in every religion, I think, is that the God and people form a relationship. The God provides for people, and protects them, and blesses them. The God strengthens them. And people respond by obedience, and sacrifice, and worship.
Who is the one who gives strength? The way it's supposed to work, is that the God gives strength to you (this is all from John Goldingay's literary/theological commentary on Isaiah 40-55). But if you stop and look at the idol making process, how does it actually work with idols? The idol doesn't strengthen the craftsman. The craftsman strengthens the idol. He gives it strength by welding it. He looks at it, calls it good. But he feels a little unsettled about it. He has some nagging worries, that maybe his engineering model failed to account for some possibility. So what he does he do? Adds a couple nails for good measure. He's like an engineer, building in redundancies, making sure that the idol will be able to do what it was designed to do.
So, at the end of the day, how do you know you did a good job making your idol?
If you made sure it can't do anything.
Do you get it?
The successfully built idol, is the one that can't move, or do anything. You know you did a good job strengthening the idol, if it's not easily tipped over. That's how you know "you" "strengthened" it right. You made sure it can just sit there.
Starting in verse 8, we see the prophet's true audience directly addressed. I'm just going to read straight through to the end over 20. This is where some of you are going to feel ripped off. But as I read, just try to put yourself in Israel's shoes. You're in Babylonian exile, in a land with enemies, and people who hate you. You have questions about why you're here. You wonder if God's abandoned you. You wonder if Yahweh is stronger than the Babylonian gods. You're scared, and tired, and weak. You're thinking about turning to idols. And this is how Yahweh, your God, encourages you:
(8) while you-- Israel, my servant,
Jacob, whom I have chosen you,
Offspring/Seed of Abraham, my friend--
whom I have seized/taken hold of/strengthened from the ends of the earth,
while from its edges I have called you, [true in Gen. 12, true again in exile]
and I have said to you,
"My servant, you [are] ["my servant" is focused].
I have chosen you,
and I haven't rejected you.
(10) May you not fear,
because with you, I [am]. ["with you" is focused]
May you not be frightened,
because I [am] your God/Elohim.
I will strengthen you (different word, sometimes used in parallel with the first; Isa. 35:3; Job 4:4);
also, I have helped you;
also, I have taken hold of you with the right hand of my righteousness.
(11) LOOK! They will be ashamed,
and they will be humiliated.-- all the ones angry with you.
They will be like nothing (Isaiah 40),
and the men/people of your dispute/lawsuit/strife will be lost/destroyed.
(12) You will seek them,
and you won't find them-- the men/people of your dispute/lawsuit/strife.
They shall be like nothing,
and like nothingness/worthlessness-- the men/people of your war,
(13) because I, Yahweh, your God, am grasping (hiphil form of "strong" word again) your
right hand,
The One saying to you,
"May you not fear!"
I-- I have helped you.
(14) May you not fear-- Worm of Jacob, Men of Israel.
I have helped you, declares Yahweh,
while your redeemer [is] the Holy One of Israel.
(15) LOOK! I have made you into sharp new threshing sledge (2 Sam. 24:22), possessing sharp edges. [a promise of power]
You shall thresh mountains, [see Isaiah 40:4]
and you shall crush [them], [very different image, but same idea as Isaiah 40:31: "strength"]
while the hills, like the chaff you shall make [them].
(16) You shall winnow them,
while the wind shall carry them,
while the storm shall scatter them,
while you shall rejoice/shout in exultation in Yahweh.
In the Holy One of Israel you shall boast.
(17) The needy and the poor [are] seeking water, [a promise of prosperity, instead of need/poverty]
and/while nothing. ["and there is nothing." But it's stark in the Hebrew].
Their tongues, with the thirst, they are parched/dried up.
I, Yahweh, will answer them. (echoes of Exodus 2:23-25?)
The God (Elohim) of Israel-- I will not abandon/forsake them.
(18) I will open on arid places rivers,
while in the midst of the valleys, springs.
I will make the desert into a pool of water,
while the dry land into springs (different word) of water.
(19) I will put in the wilderness, cedar, acacia, and the myrtle, and olive tree.
I will put in the wilderness juniper, elm, and the cypress together/all at once,
(20) so that they will see,
and they will know/acknowledge,
and they will place/put,
and they will understand together/all at once,
that the hand of Yahweh has done this,
while the Holy One of Israel has created it.
Who is Israel, in these verses? Who are you? This is what Yahweh, the God of Israel says: "You are my chosen servant. You are my people. I haven't abandoned you. I'm hanging on to you. So don't fear. Don't despair. The day is coming soon when I will give you power, and prosperity, and all the nations will see that I, Yahweh, have done this. And I will do all of this, again, through the mystery dude from the east."
In verse 21, the courtroom language gets picked up again. So think again about Judge Judy, and put yourself in the peanut gallery. God is again addressing the nations. Or, more specifically maybe, He's addressing the idols that the nations are relying on. But the true audience is still you:
(21) Present your lawsuit, says Yahweh.
Bring forth your evidence, says the King of Jacob.
(22) May they bring [them] forth,
and may they declare to us what is going to happen.
The former/first things-- what they are-- declare [to us], ("what they are" is focused)
that we may set them upon our heart,
and that we may know their end/outcome.
Or, the coming things, tell us!
(23) Declare the things coming later,
that we may know that gods/elohim, you [are]. ("gods" is focused)
What's more, do good (or: "act benevolently), and/or do evil ("act malevolently"),
that we may be afraid,
and that we may see altogether/at the same time.
What does Yahweh say here? If the gods of the Babylonians have true power, if they actually rule the world, if they have authority over Yahweh, then prove it. Do something. Show some evidence. Show us their grand plan. Show us how it all will end. Do something, good or bad, so that we'd have some reason to be scared. Show us that you're a boogey man to be frightened by.
Verse 24:
(24) LOOK! You [are] from/of nothing,
while your work is from/of worthlessness.
A detestable thing/one chooses in you.
(25) I have stirred up [one] from the north,
and he has come.
From the rising of the sun (=from the east), he shall call on my name,
and he shall tread down officials like mortar,
while like the potter, he shall tread clay.
Yahweh is the one who runs the show. He stirred up the mystery dude, who is now described as being from the north. This dude has already doing terrible, violent things to the nations. And it's only going to get worse, because his sponsor, his backer, is Yahweh.
So when the mystery dude draws near, the prophet is asking Israel to view this with faith. This person is at Yahweh's heel, serving Yahweh, doing Yahweh's bidding.
Now, the fact that Yahweh is using mystery dude is going to be hard to swallow for God's people. And so the reason this person isn't simply named here, is to make it easier to accept the prophet's total message (h/t Goldingay). The delay keeps the prophet's hearers/readers from having to make a final decision, and accept the message. It's like when you're a teacher. You can push people a long way. You can leave them uncomfortable and unsettled. But you can do this, without pushing them quite to the point of being forced to fully accept or reject your message. You can leave them a little safe space, but you cracked the door open. And next time you bring it up, you can push a little harder. Do this carefully enough, and people might actually believe Joshua is killing nephilim, or that Left Behind isn't a great approach to Revelation. :) So the prophet's careful here to not name names, because that name is a stretch. But mystery dude is totally stirred up by Yahweh, doing his bidding.
Verse 26:
(26) Who has declared [this] from the beginning,
that we would know,
and from beforehand,
that we would say, "Righteous."?
Who?
Only Yahweh, right? Yahweh sent this prophet, and this prophet's words are coming into effect.
What's more, there was/is no one declaring!
What's more, there was/is no one telling!
What's more, there was/is no one hearing your words!
First to Zion: "LOOK! Here they are!, [=the message of Isaiah 40:1-11]
and to Jerusalem, a bringer of good news, I give!", [Isaiah 40:9]
(27) and I look,
and there is no one,
and from these, and there is no advisor/counselor,
that I may ask them,
and they may bring back a word.
(29) LOOK! All of them [are] a deception.
Nothing, their works are.
Wind/spirit ("ruach") and emptiness, their molten images (Jer. 10:14; 51:17; Isaiah 48:5) are.
So that's our passage, very lightly covered. What do we do with it?
There are times in life when God's people worry that they've blown it, permanently, through their rebellion against God. We deliberately break our covenant with God, sometimes for quite long periods of time. Perhaps we tested the limits of God's patience, and He became angry with us, and punished us. Whether you call that punishment "discipline," or "correction," or just "punishment," I guess I don't get hung up on the word. But there have certainly been times in my life, when I've experienced that. So you go through that experience. You find yourself far from God, far from home. And you wonder if it's over, between you and God. Like a marriage that just totally falls apart, and can't be fixed. Will God take you back, or is He done with you?
That's the backdrop for these verses. The verses are for people who are tired, and weak, and poor. People who question whether or not God is done with them. People who, in desperation and despair, find themselves thinking about picking a different God.
Would that be a good decision? Is that a good plan B, after plan A hopelessly fell apart because of my own rebellion?
My guess is that the way we'd strengthen each other (Isaiah 41:6), in that situation, is by pointing to Jesus' parable of the firstborn. We'd tell each other, "Remember the Father welcoming the prodigal son home."
Maybe consider this the OT version of that story.
What Yahweh says, speaking again to a people who are tired, and scared, and thinking about an idolatrous plan B, goes something like this: "You are still my chosen servant. You are the descendant of Abraham, my very good friend. [On this side of the cross and resurrection, I can imagine God also saying, "You are the brother of my beloved son Jesus."] I'm not done with you. I haven't abandoned you. I've taken hold of you with my righteousness. I'm committed to you. And in the very near future, I will give you strength and victory over your enemies. I will remove the obstacles keeping you in exile. I will bless you so greatly, give you so much favor and prosperity, that everyone will know that I, Yahweh, run the show. So don't despair. Don't be afraid. Just wait upon me-- not an idol-- ME!, because my help is on its way."
Yahweh doesn't simply tell you this, and expect you to believe him. He gives you evidence, building his case, for you. How can you know that this is true?
Because Yahweh told you ahead of time how this would all play out. It's not that God predicts the future, and knows what's going to happen. There's not some timeline that exists, independently of God, that God is following here. The idea is that God decides what will happen next, and He stirs people up to accomplish his purposes. God knows what's happening with the mystery dude, because at every step, God is leading him, and giving him incredible victory. And all of its going to end with God bringing his people home-- through mystery dude.
So I guess what I would say, is that the next time you blow it with God so badly that you think your relationship with God is permanently damaged, these are verses that you can pull out and read as God's gift to you. Your failure is not the end of your story. Exile far from home, far from God, isn't your end. You are still God's chosen servant. He still has plans for you. You're still one of Abraham's kids.
Translation:
(1) Be silent before me, coastlands,[1]
while peoples,[2] may they renew their strength!
May they draw near.
Then may they speak.[3]
Together, for the judgment/decision[4]/trial let us draw near. ["for the judgment" is focused]
(2) Who has[5] stirred up from the east?;[6]
Righteousness (=God)[7] is summoning him to His heel/footsteps (=to a position of serving Him).[8]
He is delivering up to him nations (cf. Deut. 28:7; h/t Shalom Paul),
while kings he conquers/subjugates/drives back.[9]
He (=the mystery guy) makes [them] like dust [with] his sword,[10]
Like scattered stubble [with] his bow.
(3) He pursues[11] them;[12]
He passes through unscathed (HALOT; a good place to see the wider meaning of "shalom"-- he's not doing this "in peace"),[13]
[on] a path with his feet he wasn't going [before].[14]
(4) Who has accomplished [this],
and [who] has done [this],
summoning the generations from the first/beginning?[15]
I [am] Yahweh.
[The] First/Beginning and the Last, I [am] He.[16]
(5) They have seen!-- the coastlands-- ["they have seen" is focused][17]
and they are afraid.
The ends of the earth are trembling;
they have drawn near,
and they have come--
(6) each one, his neighbor, he helps,[18]
while to his brother he says,
"Be strong!,"[19]
(7) and the craftsman causes to be strong[20] the goldsmith--[21]
the one smoothing (HALOT) with a hammer,
the one striking the anvil,
the one saying of the joining/soldering,
"Good, it [is],"[22]
and he strengthens[23] it with nails;[24]
it won't totter,
(8) while you-- Israel, my servant,[25]
Jacob, whom I have chosen you,
Offspring/Seed of Abraham, my friend--
whom[26] I have seized/taken hold of/strengthened[27] from the ends of the earth,
while from its edges I have called you,
and I have said to you,
"My servant, you [are] ["my servant" is focused].[28]
I have chosen you,
and I haven't rejected you.
(10) May you not fear,
because with you, I [am]. ["with you" is focused]
May you not be frightened,
because I [am] your God/Elohim.
I will strengthen you (different word, sometimes used in parallel with the first; Isa. 35:3; Job 4:4);
also, I have helped you;
also, I have taken hold of you with the right hand of my righteousness.[29]
(11) LOOK! They will be ashamed,
and they will be humiliated[30].-- all the ones angry with you.
They will be like nothing (Isaiah 40),
and the men/people of your dispute/lawsuit/strife will be lost/destroyed.
(12) You will seek them,
and you won't find them-- the men/people of your dispute/lawsuit/strife.
They shall be like nothing,
and like nothingness/worthlessness-- the men/people of your war,[31]
(13) because I, Yahweh, your God, am grasping (hiphil form of "strong" word again) your right hand,
The One saying to you,
"May you not fear!"
I-- I[32] have[33] helped you.
(14) May you not fear-- Worm of Jacob, Men of Israel.
I have helped you, declares Yahweh,
while your redeemer [is] the Holy One of Israel.
(15) LOOK! I have made you into sharp new threshing sledge (2 Sam. 24:22), possessing[34] sharp edges.[35]
You shall thresh mountains,[36] [see Isaiah 40:4][37]
and you shall crush [them], [very different image, but same idea as Isaiah 40:31: "strength"]
while the hills, like the chaff you shall make [them].
(16) You shall winnow them,
while the wind shall carry them,
while the storm shall scatter them,
while you shall rejoice/shout in exultation in Yahweh.[38]
In the Holy One of Israel you shall boast.
(17) The needy and the poor [are] seeking water,[39]
and/while nothing. ["and there is nothing." But it's stark in the Hebrew].
Their tongues, with the thirst, they are parched/dried up.
I, Yahweh, will answer them. (echoes of Exodus 2:23-25?)
The God (Elohim) of Israel-- I will not abandon/forsake them.
(18) I will open on arid places[40] rivers,[41]
while in the midst of the valleys, springs.
I will make the desert into a pool of water,
while the dry land into springs (different word) of water.
(19) I will put in the wilderness, cedar, acacia, and the myrtle, and olive tree.
I will put in the wilderness juniper, elm, and the cypress together/all at once,
(20) so that they will see,
and they will know/acknowledge,
and they will place/put,
and they will understand together/all at once,
that the hand of Yahweh has done this,
while the Holy One of Israel has created it.
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Bonus quote:
Shalom M. Paul, Isaiah 40–66: Translation and Commentary, Eerdmans Critical Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, UK: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2012), 162, nicely sums up how God and the idols contrast in this passage. Could easily build a sermon around these contrasts:
"There is good reason, however, to leave these verses in place, since the fellowship of the idol craftsmen and their maintenance of the idols are juxtaposed here with God’s consolation of His people and His ever-“helping hand” (vv. 8ff.). Below are some of the poignant points of contrast:
1. As against each one of the craftsmen “helping” the other (v. 6), God declares three times that He will “help” (???) Israel (vv. 10, 13, 14).
2. As against each of the craftsmen “strengthening” the other (vv. 6–7), God reiterates that He will “strengthen” (???) Israel (vv. 9, 13).
3. Contrary to the idol craftsman “saying” to his fellow worker: “Be strong!” (v. 6), and “It is good!” (i.e., the riveting) (v. 7), God “says” (???) to Israel, “You are My servant.”
4. The connection between the two units is also evident in the nations’ frightened reaction to the prophetic announcement (??????????, v. 5), as opposed to the threefold repetition of God’s emphatic message to His people, “Do not fear (?? ????)!” (v. 10); “Have no fear (?? ????)!” (v. 13); “Fear not (?? ????)!” (v. 14).
5. See also the recurring terms: ??? (vv. 2, 10); ?????? ???? (vv. 5, 9).
6. As opposed to the idol, which the craftsmen declare “good” (??? ???), God simply “is” (??? ???)."
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This is my first time trying to add my typical sermon endnotes on to sermoncentral. Not sure how well this will format, or if people will find it helpful. But here they are:
[1] The prophet here opens by imaginatively calling out to the entire world, all people, as God's representative. They are told to silence themselves, and gather strength, and draw near, and then speak. There's something God wants to say to them, and there's going to be an opportunity for them to respond. Now, everyone agrees that the prophet here isn't actually, literally speaking to all the nations. He's actually speaking to God's people in exile.
[2] Goldingay notes that the combination of these two, coastlands and peoples, is a way of speaking about all the nations of the world. Everyone is included.
[3] Like how in a lawsuit, you are given time to prepare yourself. Shalom Paul: "For the adverb ?? prior to an imperfect verb, indicating a logical sequence, see Job 3:13: “I would be asleep, then (??) I would be at rest.”[3]
[4] This one works like Greek. Position 1, topical frame, is "together," and focused is position 2, "for the judgment." Important to catch the link to Isaiah 40:27 here?
[5] qatal.
[6] And so it begins with a question. Often the best way to suck people in, and bring them to a place where they are open to new truth despite themselves. Focus begins on God-- God is doing something. And God is doing something, through this mystery person from the east.
[7] h/t Goldingay, who cites a scholar noting several places where God is simply called "Right"/"Righteousness." Against KJV, which labels this unknown one "the righteous man." Mystery man is a lot of things, but my guess is that he will never be called "the righteous one."
[8] Paul notes close parallels at 1 Samuel 25:42; Hab. 3:5. Cyrus is also described as called/summoned in Isaiah 45:3, 4; 46:11; 48:15; h/t Paul. The Hebrew in here is quite difficult. Many people (NRSV) divide up the sentences differently than the Masoretes, "Who has stirred up a victor from the east?" But I think the Masoretes understood it here.
[9] HALOT. A Dead Sea Scroll has here instead a similar looking verb that means "to bring down." DSS: 1QIsaa: ????? (“to bring down”)[9] MT: ???????
[10] Here, the prophet transitions from speaking about God to this mystery person. From a human perspective, which is also a true perspective here, this mystery person is doing a lot of work. Goldingay talks about how have to resist the urge to say "either God or this person is working." Both are true.
[11] yiqtol. imperfective.
[12] Paul says the lack of waw ("and") between this line and the next is a way to "indicate expeditiously performed actions." Heightens the quickness of all of this, basically.
[13] Idea is that normally in war, have attrition. Need to stop to integrate new troops to replace the dead, and to let injured soldiers heal. Not so here.
[14] Hard going anywhere the first time normally-- make mistakes, fighting unfamiliar terrain, but not for mystery guy.
[15] The prophet's hearers know their biblical history, and how God has been active in the past. What the prophet is saying is that God continues to be active, summoning each generation. God is the God of history, and history continues.
[16] In what follows, it's indirectly argued that no one else called this into being. Everyone else is terrified, working toegether, doing their best to fight this as a united front.
[17] assuming Robert Holmstedt is right regarding normal word order. So the coastlands were summoned to draw near for judgment. And now the prophet says, the coastlands see/know the truth of what's been said. They know this mystery man from the east is running wild, that he's a threat, to all of them. And it's obvious that the coastlands (and their gods) aren't behind this by their reaction. You don't panic, unless it's a threat. Unless it's not part of your plan.
[18] They "help" each other, while Yahweh "helps" his people (Isaiah 41:10, 13, 14; h/t Paul).
[19] This warm, encouraging scene, is almost touching. Loving their neighbor as themselves. Encouraging, strengthening. Like a picture of the church. Everyone working together for a common mission.
[20] Piel form of the same verb in qal form from the line before. Jumps out in Hebrew.
[21] The idol makers understanding they have a key role here. The success of the nations depends on them. lol.
[22] A blasphemous/mocking/ironic echo of Genesis 1?
[23] A third occurrence of the verb, this time again in piel form. Becoming a theme.
[24] So they felt good about the welding job, but just to be sure, they doubly strengthen it. Add a few nails for good measure, as a fail-safe redundancy. Whole thing is mocking-- the hope, with idols, is that they will strengthen you. But people have to strengthen idols.
[25] All of this is being done for the true audience to all of this-- the "you" of Israel my servant.
[26] A delightful ambiguity here. They, Israel, are like their father Abraham-- called from the ends of the earth, taken hold of and strengthened.
[27] hiphil form of the same stem.
[28] Make a BIG DEAL about this language here. Who is God's servant (42:1?), his chosen one (42:1), who God has taken hold of (41:10, cf. 42:6)? Israel is (49:3). And what God is trying to do, is create a servant who isn't blind or deaf (42:18), who acknowledges Yahweh for who He is, and who can accomplish God's purposes on earth, who will a source of a covenant with the nations (42:6), who will be a light to Gentiles (42:6), and who will understand (42:25) that their current suffering is due to God's angry punishment (42:25), and not due to his powerlessness or his abandoning them. And what we see by Isaiah 49, maybe, is Israel understands this. Or, at least, a group within Israel understands this, and is acting within Israel to gather all of Israel to God (49:5), and is then called to extend this invitation to the Gentiles as well (49:6). However we hear the servant language's connection to Jesus, we at some point need to understand that we can understand our calling to be Yahweh's servant, in light of Yahweh's calling of Israel. His purposes, his goals.
[29] "Righteousness" = acting rightly toward people in the context of existing relationships/commitments. One acts rightly toward one's spouse, or kids, or coworkers, or boss, within the context of relationship. When God does good to his people, He is acting "rightly/righteously." Here, his hand is personified (?)/imaged (?) as actually consisting of righteousness. God's righteousness reaches out, and takes hold of you.
[30] This feels focused through being fronted here. Partly it feels focused because it's in parallel with the first LOOK! sentence.
[31] Same idea as Isaiah 7. The people who seem like a big deal-- in this case Babylonians-- are nothing, as were Aram and Ephraim, two smoldering sticks from a fire (7:4), whose only heads are Rezin and Remaliah's son (7:9).
[32] The pronoun "I" is included here, I think focused.
[33] Several of these qatal "Have done X verbs," it could be argued, are performative speech acts. "I hereby help you." But I think the idea is that God is at work helping them through this unnamed person.
[34] literally, "owner of sharp edges."
[35] A very different image, but the idea is the same as Isaiah 40:27ff: God will give his people strength.
[36] The object of their violence here isn't directly described, nor is it the focus. Strength over mountains (a metaphor, perhaps like Jesus' words about moving mountains); a new type of power.
[37] So in Isaiah 40:4, divine beings working for Yahweh are summoned to flatten mountains and hills, which represented obstacles to Yahweh and Israel's return. Here, Israel is told that it will be the one threshing mountains. Every interpreter has to decide how far they will press the image-- how literally they will read it. God will make his people like a combine (to try to update the imagery), that leaves only chaff behind. Israel will conquer every obstacle, flattening them. This should not be read as a nationalistic call to take up arms and revolt against Babylon. Nothing else in Isaiah 40-55 points in that direction. I prefer to be cautious, given that context, and say that this is a way to an empowering to conquer obstacles that keep you from leaving exile, and coming home.
[38] And so what you do rejoice in, when you find yourself becoming empowered, laying waste to obstacles (Luke 10:17, to adapt this in charismatic directions), becoming more than conquerors through Him who strengthens you? You rejoice, boast, in Yahweh, the Holy/Committed One of Israel.
[39] An echo of Exodus. God sees the suffering of his people in Babylon, the way He saw it when they were in Egypt. He will answer them, the way He answered them then.
[40] DCH here says it's not about "barren heights," but just barren places, fwiw.
[41] I think everything that follows here is metaphorical. God will replace the dryness with water, as a symbol of prosperity, everywhere, in ways impossible for human beings. Saudi Arabia drawing water from deep for grain, but depleted aquifers, as an illustration? The two halves (vs. 14-16, 17-20) combine to leave us with impressions of power and prosperity.
