The Hebrew word stranslated ast "islands" and can be translated in various ways but the idea is probably best expressed as “distant lands.” Here, God is calling to all nations – even the “distant lands” – to keep silence before Him. Why? Because they are coming to God’s courtroom: Let us come near together for judgment.
Isaiah 40:31 has just promised that those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength. But here, God advises the people – those in the distant lands, who do not know Him – to renew their strength as they come into His courtroom. If you are going to contest with God, you had better be prepared!
God will allow the idol worshippers of all the world come before Him and justify their idolatry. They will have the opportunity to speak, though they must enter His courtroom in silence, out of respect of His majesty.
Isaiah 41:2-4 “Who has stirred up one from the east, calling him in righteousness to his service[a]? He hands nations over to him and subdues kings before him......Who has done this and carried it through, calling forth the generations from the beginning? I, the Lord—with the first of them and with the last--I am he.”
God questions the idolaters from the distant lands, and asks them who authored this important event in human history – who raised up the one from the east?
Commentators warmly debate the identity of this one from the east. Most believe him to be either Abraham, the patriarch of the Jewish people and the father of the faithful, or Cyrus, the king who joined the Medes and the Persians into a fighting force which conquered Babylon – which, prophetically, is the broad time context Isaiah speaks to.
Wolf speaks for those who believe Cyrus is spoken of: “Born east of Babylon in what is now Iran, Cyrus would move through country after country, conquering every king in his path. Shortly after 550 B.C., Cyrus was able to unify the Medes and the Persians and to defeat the powerful kingdom of Lydia in Asia Minor. Then he turned south to conquer Babylon (539 B.C.).”
One of the strongest arguments for Cyrus's identity is that he is named specifically in Isaiah 44:28. This allusion to him in chapter 41 would serve to set the stage for the coming revelation of his name. This mention creates a sense of expectation of the great drama of naming a world leader who wouldn't enter the world scene for at least 150 years. God stands outside of time, so He could easily tell Isaiah about people and things that would happen well into the future. (Frist5 conclusion)
It’s a tough call, and either answer can be correct according to the context. On balance, it is best to see the one from the east as Abraham, because of the word of the LORD later in the chapter, in Isaiah 41:22: Let them bring forth and show us what will happen; let them show the former things, what they were. God appeals to idols and their worshippers, and asks them to tell both the future and the past. Since Cyrus is mentioned in Isaiah 41:25 (I have raised up one from the north… from the rising of the sun), he is the figure that shows God’s knowledge of the future. Abraham is the figure that shows God’s knowledge of the past. Past and future – with the present sandwiched in-between – all belong to the LORD our God. (Enduring Word conclusion)
As God invites those in distant lands to come and reason with Him, He shows them His greatness over all creation, and over all history. They must ask themselves, “Who is in control of the course of human events?” Who has performed and done it, calling the generations from the beginning?
Here, the LORD God of Israel declares that He has performed and done it, calling the generations from the beginning. He lifts up and puts down kings and nations. He is the first and He is the last; He is the “bookend” both before and after the saga of human history, starting the story, ending the story, and keeping the whole story together.
This means that there absolutely is a plan of God for human history, and He directs the path of human events toward His designed fulfillment. Our lives are not given over to blind fate, to random meaninglessness, or to endless cycles with no resolution. Instead, the LORD God who is the first and the last directs all of human history and even our individual lives.
Isaiah 41: 5-7 The islands have seen it and fear; the ends of the earth tremble. They approach and come forward; they help each other and say to their companions, “Be strong!” The metalworker encourages the goldsmith, and the one who smooths with the hammer spurs on the one who strikes the anvil. One says of the welding, “It is good.” The other nails down the idol so it will not topple.
The people let the fear drive them away from the true God. Instead of surrendering to this God of glory and majesty and power, they turned from God, and to each other and made for themselves gods, idols of gold!
Isaiah 41: 8-10 “But you, Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, you descendants of Abraham my friend, I took you from the ends of the earth, from its farthest corners I called you. I said, ‘You are my servant’; I have chosen you and have not rejected you. "
In contrast to the God-rejecting and idol-making people in distant lands, Israel – remember the name means, “Governed by God” – Israel is the servant of the LORD. A servant of God would never make God into his own image, his own idea of what God should be. Servants don’t tell their masters what to do, or what to be. Servants know who the master is and who the servant is.
Lest Israel become proud, God pops their swelling quickly. If they are Israel – “Governed by God” – then they are also Jacob – “Conniving, untrustworthy con-man.” They are only the servant of God because He has chosen them. Israel stood in this place because of their family relationship to Abraham. Since Abraham was the friend of God, so his descendants had a special place before God also.
Jehoshaphat knew that Abraham was the friend of God (2 Chronicles 20:7). James knew that Abraham was the friend of God (James 2:23). We are also the friends of God, not because of our relation to Abraham, but because of our relation to the Son of God, Jesus. You are My friends if you do whatever I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you. (John 15:14-15)
Isaiah 41:10 So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."
This is both a command and a promise. Israel is commanded to fear not. Fear, worry, and anxiety are often sin. When the God who rules over the nations as described in Isaiah 41:2-4, the God who chose us and loves us as described in Isaiah 41:8-9, when that God tell us fear not, we must take it seriously! But there is also a promise. We fear not, because the LORD has told us, I am with you. What more do we need? If God is for us, who can be against us? (Romans 8:31)
“Every truthful man feels that he has a right to be believed. He speaks upon the honor of an honest man, and if you say, ‘I cannot believe you,’ and even begin to lament that you have no faith in him, the reflection is not upon yourself, but on the person whom you cannot believe. And shall it ever come to this, that God’s own children shall say that they cannot believe their God? Oh, sin of sins! It takes away the very Godhead from God, for if God be not true, he is not a God; and if he be not fit to be believed, neither is he fit to be adored, for a God whom you cannot trust you cannot worship.” (Spurgeon)
Isaiah 41:11 “All who rage against you will surely be ashamed and disgraced; those who oppose you will be as nothing and perish.
God will deal with our enemies if we keep our trust in Him. He knows how to make our adversaries – whether they be men or devils – ashamed and disgraced. This is, in part, an outworking of God’s promise to Abraham in Genesis 12:3: I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you. God has always crushed anti-Semitic nations and movements, and in the reign of the Messiah, He will crush them completely.
Isaiah 41:13-14 For I am the Lord your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.
Do not be afraid, you worm Jacob, little Israel, do not fear, for I myself will help you,” declares the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel."
These verses are a reminder of the account in Exodus:
Exodus 20:2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.".
Exodus 6:6 “Therefore, say to the Israelites: ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. I will free you from being slaves to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment.
Exodus 15:13 In your unfailing love you will lead the people you have redeemed. In your strength you will guide them to your holy dwelling.
These verses also hint at a second exodus that will come in the future when the Israelites return from exile in Babylon.
Isaiah 41:21-24 “Present your case,” says the Lord. “Set forth your arguments,” says Jacob’s King.“ Tell us, you idols, what is going to happen. Tell us what the former things were, so that we may consider them and know their final outcome. Or declare to us the things to come, tell us what the future holds, so we may know that you are gods. Do something, whether good or bad, so that we will be dismayed and filled with fear. But you are less than nothing and your works are utterly worthless; whoever chooses you is detestable.
Isaiah returns to the trial scene of verse 1, asking the idols to give information about the future. The Lord has just prophesied the return from an exile that hadn't even happened yet. He then entreated the lifeless idols to produce future knowledge. He invites these idols and their worshippers to come and present your case. “Let’s hear your side of the story.” Bring forth your strong reasons. “Let’s hear your best arguments.”
No one speaks up in defense. So God pronounces judgment. Jumping to verses 28 and 29, we read:
"I look but there is no one— no one among the gods to give counsel, no one to give answer when I ask them. See, they are all false! Their deeds amount to nothing; their images are but wind and confusion."
Isaiah 41:25 “I have stirred up one from the north, and he comes—one from the rising sun who calls on my name...."
In contrast to the idols who can tell nothing of the future, the LORD knows. He knows that He will bring Cyrus from the north to conquer the Babylonians, who conquered Judah and Jerusalem and took them captive. God would use Cyrus to allow the Jews in exile to return (Ezra 1).
“Cyrus had the greatest respect for Jehovah, as we can read in his proclamation concerning the freeing of Israel in Ezra one. In it he states correctly that Jehovah had given him all the kingdoms of the earth.” (Bultema)
“The ‘north’ is included because the Persians conquered the lands north of Babylon before invading her borders.” (Wolf)
APPLICATION: While we may not bow to idols made of wood or gold, we aren't immune to the lure of idolatry. Idols can be anything we trust besides the Lord. When we place our hope in our logic, abilities, bank accounts, jobs or even people, we can set something up as an idol in our hearts. Isaiah ends the chapter with this conclusion, "Behold, they are all a delusion; their works are nothing; their metal images are empty wind." (Isaiah 41:29)
These stern warnings cause us to consider where we have elevated anything above its station in our lives. God's gifts are to be used and celebrated, but not trusted above Him as the true source of security in our lives.