ISAIAH LESSON 17
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PREDICTIONS OF HOPE
Isaiah 41:1–42:9
Memorize God’s Word for the week: Isaiah 41:10.
Discuss review questions from the previous lesson.
DAY 1: ISAIAH 41:1-7—ISRAEL’S DELIVERANCE FROM BABYLON
Note: Verse 7 refers to constructing an idol.
1. Verse 1 gives us a picture of a courtroom. Who is the judge?
2. What does the man referred to in the second and third part of verse 2 and in verse 3 do?
3. To whom does this passage refer? (See also 45:1, 13.)
4. According to 41:4, God brings about this man’s success. What can you learn about God from this one
verse?
DAY 2: ISAIAH 41:8-16—GOD’S PROMISES OF HELP TO ISRAEL
5. How did the Lord identify “Israel” and “Jacob,” according to 41:8-9?
6. What was God’s relationship like with Abraham, the “father” of Israel?
7. What did God say He would do for His servant (Isaiah 41:10, 13, 14)?
8. Compare the description of Israel in Isaiah 41:14 with the description in 41:15-16. What do you
think accounts for the difference?
DAY 3: ISAIAH 41:17-20—GOD’S ABILITY TO TRANSFORM HOPELESS LIVES
9. What did God promise to the poor and needy?
10. How is this care consistent with what we have previously seen about God during our study of Isaiah?
11. For what purpose did God say He would help the poor and needy?
12. Why do you think God placed such emphasis on the need to be aware of His hand at work?
Unless otherwise noted, all Scriptures are taken from the Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, ESV®. Copyright© 2001
by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
ISAIA
HOME STUDY QUESTIONS FOR LESSON 17 2 H
DAY 4: ISAIAH 41:21-29—GOD’S CHALLENGE
13. What did God challenge the idols and their worshipers to do?
14. The words in Isaiah 41:25 refer to an event that was still more than 100 years away from fulfillment
(see 41:2-4). Why might God have revealed so far in advance what He was going to do?
15. Why do you think God reminded Israel that no one else had predicted Cyrus’s rise to power (41:26-27)?
16. What is God’s evaluation of “gods,” idols, false prophets, and idol worshipers?
DAY 5: ISAIAH 42:1-9—HOPE FOR THE NATIONS
17. Who is the servant referred to in 42:1-9? (See Matthew 12:15-21.)
18. In the first four verses, we see that God used “justice” three times to describe the mission of the
Servant of the Lord. How would you define the word justice, and why do you think God emphasized it?
19. From Isaiah 42:5-9, what are some additional aspects of this servant’s ministry?
20. On the basis of 42:1-9, how would you describe God’s attitude and intentions toward the nations (the
non-Jewish world)?
DAY 6: PARTICIPATE IN CLASS
APPLY what you have learned. God promised, “When the poor and needy seek water, and there
is none, and their tongue is parched with thirst, I the LORD will answer them” (41:17). This verse
implies that they were asking God to supply what they were needing and longing for. We can help
ask God for these needs. Whom do you know who is poor and needy, thirsty and longing—
whether physically, emotionally, or spiritually? Intercede with God for that person and ask Him to
do what He said He would do.
ISAIAH 3 COMMENTARY FOR LESSON 17
DAY 7: PREDICTIONS OF HOPE
Isaiah 41:1–42:9
HOPE FOR DELIVERANCE (ISAIAH 41:1-7) God called the Gentile nations to “draw near for judg-
ment.” He challenged them to listen to Him and renew their strength (see also 40:31). He affirmed
His sovereignty over history, a theme repeated often in the book of Isaiah. God would raise up a
conquering ruler, “one from the east.” Isaiah 41:25 reveals that God will divinely enable this con-
queror: “I stirred up one from the north … and he shall call upon my name; he shall trample on
rulers as on mortar.” Subsequent passages identify this ruler as Cyrus (see 44:28; 45:1, 13). Isaiah
prophe-sied this long before Cyrus was even born. Cyrus became king of Persia in 559 BC, more
than 100 years after Isaiah’s death.
By 550 BC, Cyrus occupied the Medes’ capital of Ecbatana, then marched his armies north and west
to defeat Croesus, the king of Lydia in Asia Minor. In 539 BC, Cyrus came down from the north to
conquer the Babylonian Empire’s main city, Babylon. So, this Persian king fits the descriptions of
“one from the east” and one coming “from the rising of the sun” and “from the north” (41:2, 25).
Calling Cyrus “my shepherd” (44:28) and His “anointed” (45:1), God promised that Cyrus would
rebuild Jerusalem and the temple. God “[would give] up nations before him, so that he tramples
kings underfoot” (41:2) and release His people from captivity.
Once again, God pointed out the futility of making and then worshiping false gods (41:7; compare
40:18-20). He said craftsmen and goldsmiths should secure their idols to prevent them from toppling.
God wanted His people to grasp the irony of the situation—that idols could neither protect them-
selves nor the people who had constructed them.
HOPE FOR ISRAEL’S RESTORATION (ISAIAH 41:8-29) As Abraham’s descendants, the Israelites en-
joyed a special relationship with God, who encouraged them: “I am with you; ... I am your God; ... I
will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” God would not reject the very people He had
chosen, even though their sin would lead to exile. They should not fear, since He would help them.
Those who opposed His people would perish or be disgraced. God’s help would so strengthen Israel
that her enemies would become like chaff that the wind blows away. In response, Israel would
“rejoice in the LORD” and glory in the “Holy One of Israel.”
Promising not to forsake them when they were “poor and needy,” God said He would make rivers flow
and place springs and various kinds of trees in the desert. God would do these wonderful things so they
would “see and know” and “consider and understand” that He had given these blessings.
In Isaiah 41:21, God calls the nations’ idols, or “gods,” before Him. He challenges them to accurate-
ly predict the future or to “do good, or do harm.” But the gods do not respond, so God declares
them to be “nothing” and their work “less than nothing.” In contrast, God can foretell the future:
through Cyrus, God would bring good tidings to Jerusalem (see 45:13). No idol could have given
counsel or foretold the emergence of Persian power under Cyrus. Idolatry’s impotence stands in
direct contrast to Jacob’s omnipotent King, who announced that good news would come to Zion.
In 586 BC, the Babylonians captured Judah’s King Zedekiah, blinded him, and took him into exile.
But even after losing their earthly king and being taken into captivity, God’s people would not be left
without a ruler. About 40 years later, Cyrus conquered Babylon, and all the prophecies about him
were fulfilled. After his victory over Babylon, Cyrus publicly said, “The LORD, the God of heaven,
has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and He has charged me to build him a house at Jerusa-
lem, which is in Judah” (Ezra 1:2). He released the Israelites and allowed them to return and rebuild
Jerusalem and the temple.
In 520-515 BC, Jerusalem was restored, and the temple was rebuilt under Zerubbabel and Jeshua
(see Ezra 1–6). Nehemiah led the rebuilding of the city walls in 445 BC (see Nehemiah
COMMENTARY FOR LESSON 17 4 ISAIAH
1–12).
But, Zion’s restoration with justice would still await final, complete fulfillment.
THINK ABOUT the test of a false prophet. “When a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if the word
does not come to pass or come true, that is a word that the LORD has not spoken” (Deuteron-omy 18:22).
Isaiah’s prophecies did come true, but not all do. Jesus’s followers can recognize false teachers by the
fruit their lives produce (see Matthew 7:15, 20). The apostles cautioned the early church to test the
teachings they heard (see 1 John 2:22- 25; 4:1-2) . By studying God’s Word, we can follow Paul’s
admonition not to despise prophecies but to test them (see 1 Thessalonians 5:19-22).
HOPE FOR THE GENTILE WORLD (ISAIAH 42:1-9) Chapter 42 contains the first of a series of Servant
Songs describing the ideal servant. Israel, identified in chapter 41 as God’s servant, needed deliver-
ance and reassurance that God had not forgotten His people. But the servant of chapter 42 is not in
exile and has no such needs. Not only has God chosen this servant, but God delights in Him and
promises to empower Him with His Spirit. God calls Him to bring justice to nations. Previously, God
had promised a ruler on David’s throne who would establish a kingdom of justice and righteousness
that extends universally and endures forever (see 9:7). This servant will not bring justice by brutal
force, which could hurt the weak or struggling. His justice would extend to all people who walk on
the earth.
Then the Lord addressed the servant directly, calling Him in righteousness and promising to sustain
Him. The nations of the earth would know this servant by His fulfillment of God’s covenant promis-
es to Israel (see 2 Samuel 7:12-16). The servant would be a “light for the nations, to open the eyes
that are blind, to bring out ... from the prison those who sit in darkness” (Isaiah 42:6-7).
THINK ABOUT God’s justice. It is mentioned three times in just a short passage here in Isaiah 42. People
who suffer under unjust regimes and corrupt legal systems rejoice when a just leader comes to power and
compels police, judges, and government offices to rule fairly. Fair dealings benefit eve-ry level of society,
but especially those without the money or influence to buy or curry favor. What a boon for them to have a
leader who is tireless in the pursuit of justice for all!
As this “light for the nations” would extend to distant lands, people would place their hope in the
servant sent by God. This servant emerged in the person of Jesus Christ. Both Simeon (see Luke
2:25-32) and the apostle John (see John 1:3-9) recognized Him as that light. Since Jesus’s time,
people groups from distant lands in every generation have placed their hope in Christ and walked
in His light. One day, He will return and establish the ultimate justice on the earth, just as Isaiah
pre-dicted.
PERSONALIZE this lesson God considered Abraham His friend (see 41:8), and Jesus called His disciples His
friends (see John 15:14). While the idea of being God’s friend is attractive to many Christians, others shy away from
it. To some, the idea of being God’s friend can seem overly casual and inappropriate. Others feel unworthy of such
an honor. Still others are intimidated by the possibility of such closeness with God Himself. Choose one of these
responses to being God’s friend. What would you say to a person who thought that way?
REVIEW: PREDICTIONS OF HOPE
21. Compare Israel as God’s servant with the servant described in Isaiah 42:1-5. What similarities
and differences do you see?
