Fear not, knowing the promise of the outpoured Spirit.
Isaiah 44:1-4
“But now listen, Jacob, my servant,
Israel, whom I have chosen.
2 This is what the Lord says--
he who made you, who formed you in the womb,
and who will help you:
Do not be afraid, Jacob, my servant,
Jeshurun,[a] whom I have chosen.
3 For I will pour water on the thirsty land,
and streams on the dry ground;
I will pour out my Spirit on your offspring,
and my blessing on your descendants.
4 They will spring up like grass in a meadow,
like poplar trees by flowing streams.
- vs1 - BUT NOW: Though Isaiah 43 ended with a warning of judgment, it does not mean God takes back His promise of hope and restoration. Israel can still know the goodness of the LORD if they will only turn back to Him.
- vs 2 -This is the Lord's promise. His promises are based on the fact that He is our Creator. He formed each of us in the womb (not just at creation). It is He who has helped us. THIS God says "Do not be afraid"
The name Jeshurun means “the upright one.” It is used here as a contrast to the name Jacob, even as Israel is sometimes used as a contrast to Jacob. “The name Jeshurun appears only three more times in the Old Testament: Deuteronomy 32:15, 33:5, 26; and in all cases it is used of Israel… this word bespeaks a wonder of grace, for He calls His deeply sinful people His beloved, His upright one.” - vs 3 - This is a glorious promise to a humble, returning Israel. God will not simply give them His Spirit; He will pour out His Spirit on them as if water was poured over them. This is a freedom in the giving of the Spirit. This is a flow in the giving of the Spirit. This is abundance in the giving of the Spirit. This is an evident giving of the Spirit. God wants to pour His Spirit upon His people! If you experience a few drops, God wants to pour. If you are bone dry, God wants to pour. If you know the pour, God wants to keep pouring! We must learn to stop saying “when” as God pours!
“Without the Spirit of God we can do nothing; we are as ships without wind, or chariots without steeds, like branches without sap, we are withered; like coals without fire, we are useless; as an offering without the sacrificial flame, we are unaccepted. I desire both to feel and to confess this fact whenever I attempt to preach. I do not wish to get away from it, or to conceal it, nor can I, for I am often made to feel it to the deep humbling of my spirit.” (Spurgeon)
When we are thirsty for the outpouring of the Spirit, ask for it and receive it in faith, we can expect to be poured on. God is looking for dry ground to pour out floods upon! - vs 4 - The effect of the poured-out Spirit is life. Life springs up and grows where the Spirit of God is poured out.
Isaiah 44:5
Some will say, ‘I belong to the Lord’;
others will call themselves by the name of Jacob;
still others will write on their hand, ‘The Lord’s,’
and will take the name Israel.
Another effect of the poured-out Spirit is that He identifies us as belonging to the Lord. When the Holy Spirit is poured out on us, we know we belong to the Lord, and we aren’t afraid to say it. The Holy Spirit is an identifying seal upon the believer (Ephesians 1:13).
When the Holy Spirit is poured out on us, we want to take the name of the Lord. We want everyone to know we belong to Him, and He belongs to us.
‘Another shall subscribe his hand unto the Lord.’ This alludes to the custom which still exists, but which was more common in those days, of a servant being marked or tattooed in the hand with his master’s name
Isaiah 44:6-8
“This is what the Lord says--
Israel’s King and Redeemer, the Lord Almighty:
I am the first and I am the last;
apart from me there is no God.
7 Who then is like me? Let him proclaim it.
Let him declare and lay out before me
what has happened since I established my ancient people,
and what is yet to come--
yes, let them foretell what will come.
8 Do not tremble, do not be afraid.
Did I not proclaim this and foretell it long ago?
You are my witnesses. Is there any God besides me?
No, there is no other Rock; I know not one.”
God is proclaiming His glory against the feeble false gods. An idol can never be the First, because an idol needs someone to make him. An idol can never be the Last because they wear out and break. But the Lord GOD of Israel is both the First and the Last; He is completely unique, and besides Him there is no God.
Jesus takes the same title of the First and the Last in Revelation 1:17 and 22:13. If the LORD is the First and the Last according to Isaiah 44:6, and if Jesus is the First and the Last according to Revelation 1:17 and 22:13, since there cannot be two firsts or two lasts, Jesus must be the LORD God!
Because God is the First and the Last, He lives outside our time-domain, and can proclaim things before they happen. He can proclaim the things that are coming and shall come. This shows God really is who He says He is, watching and directing the parade of human and cosmic history as it makes its course down His appointed path.
When we really know who God is, and His great wisdom and authority over all things, it erases all fear in our lives.
Since God is the only God, He is the only solid ground to build our life upon.
Isaiah 44:9-20
vs 19 No one stops to think,
no one has the knowledge or understanding to say,
“Half of it I used for fuel;
I even baked bread over its coals,
I roasted meat and I ate.
Shall I make a detestable thing from what is left?
Shall I bow down to a block of wood?”
Isaiah will brilliantly show the foolishness of idol makers. A simple look at how idols are made shows how silly it is to regard them as gods, so the idol makers themselves are their own witnesses against themselves.
Isaiah 44:21-23
Remember these things, Jacob, for you, Israel, are my servant....Return to me, for I have redeemed you.....
As Israel remembers the foolishness of making and worshipping idols, it should inspire greater trust and confidence in God. When we think about the alternatives to following the LORD, it should make us follow Him all the more closely.
God gives His people many more reasons to trust and love Him: I have formed you… you are My servant… you will not be forgotten by Me… I have blotted out, like a thick cloud, your transgressions… I have redeemed you. Any one of these would be reason enough, but combined, they are overwhelming.
Isaiah 44:24-28
vs 24 "This is what the Lord says - your Redeemer, who formed you in the womb; I am the Lord, the Maker of all things, who stretches out the heavenes, who spreads out the earth by myself.....
vs 28 "who says of Cyrus, He is my sphepherd and will accomplish all that I please; he will say of jerusalme, "Let it be rebuilt," and of the temple, "Let its foundaions be laid."
God proves He is who He claims to be by announcing the name of a deliverer for Israel’s Babylonian exiles – and Isaiah wrote this more than 200 years before Cyrus fulfilled this prophecy – by name!
Some believe that Isaiah wrote much of this, but someone after the events were fulfilled just wrote in the name Cyrus. This doesn’t hold true, because the whole section is carefully written to dramatically reveal the name of Cyrus. Just the name couldn’t have been written in later.
“Josephus in his Antiquities relates that when Cyrus came across his name mentioned in this place in Isaiah 220 years before he lived, he was seized by a holy desire to fulfill what was written of him.” (Bultema)
Cyrus was a special instrument in God’s hand, for God’s work. He would do the work of the LORD and open the door for the work of rebuilding Jerusalem and the temple after the Babylonians destroyed them.
The royal proclamations of Cyrus fulfilling this prophecy are found in Ezra 1:2 and 2 Chronicles 36:23.
The specific work commissioned by Cyrus is described in detail, including drying up the waters and laying the foundation for the temple (Your foundation shall be laid). “Foundations: interestingly, as Ezra records (3:10-13; 5:16), in the days of Cyrus the rebuilding of the temple did not progress beyond the laying of the foundations.” (Motyer)
First5: Consider that an idol is anything that displaces God as our source of happiness, fulfillment or security. Food, drinks and entertainment can be good things, even blessings from God! But if we depend on them for happiness, calm, security or fulfillment more than God? Seeking identity in people, work or appearance before our identity in Christ is problematic. These blessings become idols when taken too far. When we turn everyday things into ultimate things, we create idols. Just as the Israelites misused the wood from their fires, (Isaiah 44:13-17) we too can misuse our tools, blessings and needs from everyday life. Despite our attempts, idols can't replace a God who forgives, reconciles and offers ultimate peace. (Romans 5:10-11) And when we kick idols out, we make room for God to move in.