Old Testament Commentary - Isaiah 44

by Don R. Hender


Scriptural Text [& Editorial]
Commentary & Explanation
Footnotes ~ References ~ JST
           CHAPTER 44            

The Lord's Spirit shall be poured out on the seed of Israel—Idols of wood are as fuel for a fire—The Lord shall gather, bless, and redeem Israel, and rebuild Jerusalem.

  1 YET now hear, O Jacob my aservant; and Israel, whom I have chosen:
  2 Thus saith the LORD that made thee, and aformed thee from the womb, which will help thee; Fear not, O Jacob, my servant; and thou, bJesurun, whom I have chosen.
  3 For I will pour water upon ahim that is bthirsty, and floods upon the dry ground: I will pour my cspirit 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 aLORD's; and another shall call himself by the bname of Jacob; and another shall subscribe with his hand unto the LORD, and surname himself by the name of Israel.
  6 Thus saith the LORD the aKing of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I am the bfirst, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God.
  7 And who, as I, shall call, and shall declare it, and set it in order for me, since I appointed the ancient people? and the things that are coming, and shall come, let them shew unto them.
  8 aFear ye not, neither be afraid: have not I told thee from that time, and have declared it? ye are even my witnesses. Is there a God beside me? yea, there is no bGod; I know not any.
  9 ¶ They that make a graven aimage are all of them vanity; and their bdelectable things shall not profit; and they are their own witnessesa; they csee not, nor know; that they may be ashamed.
  10 Who hath formed a god, or molten a graven aimage that is profitable for nothing?
  11 Behold, all his afellows shall be ashamed: and the workmen, they are of men: let them all be gathered together, let them stand up; yet they shall fear, and they shall be ashamed together.
 9a they are their own witnesses This is the thing about the false vanity of the wickedness of man. They consider themselves justified by the belief in their own corrupt desires of their evil natures. The do call evil good and good evil and they from the very house tops (D&C 1:3 & Luke 12:3), as it were, broadcast their own sins shouting them out shamelessly before the world to hear them condemning themselves by their own mouths, witnessing as it were against themselves. Such are the sodomites of today, those who are the murderers of babies from the womb, and all who declared their sinful natures, which they do glory in before God.
  12 The asmith with the tongs both worketh in the coals, and fashioneth it with hammers, and worketh it with the strength of his arms: yea, he is hungry, and his strength faileth: he drinketh no water, and is faint.
  13 The carpenter stretcheth out his rule; he marketh it out with a line; he fitteth it with planes, and he marketh it out with the compass, and maketh it after the figure of a man, according to the beauty of a man; that it may remain in the house.
  14 He heweth him down cedars, and taketh the cypress and the oak, which he strengtheneth for himself among the trees of the forest: he planteth an ash, and the rain doth nourish it.
  15 Then shall it be for a man to burn: for he will take thereof, and warm himself; yea, he kindleth it, and baketh bread; yea, he maketh a god, and worshippeth it; he maketh it a graven image, and falleth down thereto.
  16 He burneth part thereof in the fire; with part thereof he eateth flesh; he roasteth roast, and is satisfied: yea, he warmeth himself, and saith, Aha, I am warm, I have seen the fire:
  17 And the residue thereof he maketh a god, even his graven image: he falleth down unto it, and worshippeth it, and prayeth unto it, and saith, Deliver me; for thou art my god.
  18 They have not aknown nor understood: for he hath bshut their eyes, that they cannot see; and their chearts, that they cannot understand.
  19 And none considereth in his heart, neither is there knowledge nor understanding to say, I have burned part of it in the fire; yea, also I have baked bread upon the coals thereof; I have roasted flesh, and eaten it: and shall I make the residue thereof an abomination? shall I fall down to the astock of a tree?
  20 He feedeth on ashes: a adeceived heart hath turned him aside, that he cannot deliver his soul, nor say, Is there not a blie in my right hand?
  21 ¶ Remember athese, O Jacob and Israel; for thou art my bservant: I have formed thee; thou art my servant: O Israel, thou shalt not be cforgotten of me.
  22 I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy atransgressions, and, as a cloud, thy sins: return unto me; for I have redeemed thee.
  23 aSing, O ye heavens; for the LORD hath done it: shout, ye lower parts of the earth: break forth into bsinging, ye mountains, O forest, and every tree therein: for the LORD hath credeemed Jacob, and glorified himself in Israel.
  24 Thus saith the LORD, thy aredeemer, and he that bformed thee from the womb, I am the LORD that cmaketh all things; that stretcheth forth the heavens alone; that spreadeth abroad the earth by myselfa;
  25 That frustrateth the tokens of the liars, and maketh diviners mad; that turneth awise men backward, and maketh their knowledge foolish;
  26 That confirmeth the word of his servant, and performeth the counsel of his messengers; 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 adry up thy rivers:
  28 That saith of aCyrus, He is my bshepherd, and shall perform all my cpleasure: even saying to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be dbuilt; and to the etemple, Thy foundation shall be laid.
 24a that stretcheth forth the heavens alone; that preadeth abroad the earth by myself; While it is under the direction, supervision, and authorization of God the Father of Spirits, and by that power from him as confirmed upon The Son, it is by the single hand of Jehovah, The Son, that all things are done, for without him there was nothing that was not created by him in terms of this temporal creation of the second estate which includes the whole of the universe and all things that in it is. And whether by other's help and aid, He, Jehovah, stands as the sole creator, the sole God of it all, the whole of temporal creation. He is its God and we are his work; and beside him there is no other God of it, though he does operate under the supervision and direction of his Father and our Father of our spirit. He created it, he is responsable for it, and he alone doeth redeem it. There is no one else, there is no other way by which men may be so redeemed and saved but by and through him.