For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I [am] the LORD; and [there is] none else.
18. The words God himself form a sort of parenthesis, and should be rendered as in R.V., he is God (or the God). Cf. 1Ki 18:39.
he created it not in vain ] lit. not a chaos ( th). The significance of the expression is seen from the contrast which immediately follows.
he formed it to be inhabited ] and therefore the end of His ways cannot be the destruction of the race for whose existence He has prepared the earth. Jehovah’s final purpose must be salvation.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
18 25. The long passage on the mission of Cyrus closes here with the announcement of a salvation as universal as it is eternal ( Isa 45:17). A purpose of universal salvation is in harmony with the character of the God who made the world for man to dwell in ( Isa 45:18) and whose revelation of Himself to Israel bears the signature of absolute veracity ( Isa 45:19).
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
For thus saith the Lord – This verse is designed to induce them to put uuwavering confidence in the true God. For this purpose, the prophet enumerates the great things which God had done in proof that he alone was A mighty, and was worthy of trust.
He hath established it – That is, the earth. The language here is derived from the supposition that the earth is laid upon a foundation, and is made firm. The Septuagint renders this, God who displayed the earth to view, and who, having made it, divided it ( diorisen auten) that is, parcelled it out to be inhabited. This accords well with the scope of the passage.
He created it not in vain – He did not form it to remain a vast desert without inhabitants.
He formed it to be inhabited – By man, and the various tribes of animals. He makes it a convenient habitation for them; adapts its climates, its soil, and its productions, to their nature; and makes it yield abundance for their support. The main idea, I think, in the statement of this general truth, is, that God designed that the earth at large should be inhabited; and that, therefore, he intended that Judea – thru lying waste while the captives were in Babylon – should be re-populated, and again become the happy abode of the returning exiles. So Grotius interprets it. The Jews, from this passage, infer, that the earth shall be inhabited after the resurrection – an idea which has every probability, since there will not be fewer reasons why the earth shall be inhabited then than there are now; nor can there be any reasons why the earth should then exist in vain anymore than now.
And there is none else – (See the note at Isa 45:6).
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Isa 45:18-25
For thus saith the Lord that created the heavens.
How God reveals Himself
The main current of the section may be thus expressed–
I. GODS REVELATION OF HIMSELF IS OPEN AND TRUTHFUL. He has not spoken in secret; and He has not bid men seek Him in vain.
II. GODS REVELATION OF HIMSELF IS IN REFERENCE TO THE HIGHEST PRACTICAL OBJECTS. Seek ye My face; look unto Me, and be ye saved; He is a just God and a Saviour.
III. GODS REVELATION OF HIMSELF IS TO ISSUE IN THE SALVATION OF THE WHOLE EARTH. Every knee shall bow, and every tongue shall confess to Him. (C. Short, M. A.)
The reasonableness of Gods procedure
We have here the repetition of that deep, strong note which Isaiah himself so often sounded to the comfort of men in perplexity or despair, that God is at least reasonable, not working for nothing, nor beginning only to leave off, nor creating in order to destroy. The same God, says our prophet, who formed the earth in order to see it inhabited, must surely be believed to be consistent enough to carry to the end also His spiritual work among men. Our prophets idea of Gods righteousness, therefore, includes the idea of reasonableness; implies rational, as well as moral consistency, practical sense as well as good faith; the conscience of a reasonable plan, and, perhaps, also the power to carry it through. (Prof. G. A. Smith, D. D.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 18. He formed it to be inhabited – “For he formed it to be inhabited”] An ancient MS. has ki before lashebeth; and so the ancient Versions.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
This description of God is here added, either,
1. To detect the vanity of idols, by asserting that none was to be owned as the true God besides that one God who made the heavens and the earth, and the inhabitants thereof. Or,
2. To demonstrate Gods sufficiency to fulfil all these glorious promises made to his church, because he made the world of nothing, and upholds it by the word of his power; and withal to discover Gods goodness to mankind, inasmuch as he did not create the earth in vain, but for the use and comfort of men, that it might be a fit habitation for them; whence it was easy to infer that God would much more be gracious to his own people.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
18. (See on Isa45:12).
not in vain, he formed it tobe inhabitedTherefore, Judah, lying waste during theBabylonish captivity, shall be peopled again by the exiles. The Jews,from this passage, infer that, after the resurrection, the earthshall be inhabited, for there can be no reason why the earth shouldthen exist in vain any more than now (2Pe3:13).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
For thus saith the Lord, that created the heavens,…. These words, and what follow, are the words of the Son of God, of the Lord the Saviour, in whom Israel is saved with an everlasting salvation; and this is said to assure them of it, as well as to distinguish himself from the gods of the Gentiles, who made not the heavens and the earth, as he had done; for by the Word of the Lord, the essential Word of God, were the heavens made in the beginning; see Ps 33:6:
God himself, that formed the earth, and made it, he hath established it; the Saviour is God himself, truly and properly God, who has all the perfections of deity in him; and this appears as from his creation of the heavens, so from his forming, making and establishing the earth; he made the chaos of the earth out of nothing; he formed that chaos he made into a beautiful order, and prepared, as the last word c signifies, fitted, and furnished it with everything convenient for man and beast:
he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited; the earth indeed was “tohu” when it was first created, Ge 1:2, which word is used of the chaos of the earth first made, here rendered “in vain”; but then it was not created to continue so, nor did it continue so; for though it was first without form, it was soon formed in a beautiful manner, and fitted for the habitation of men and beasts, and especially the former; and more especially for the habitation of the saints, those sons of men, with whom the delights of Christ were from eternity, and whom he foresaw would dwell in the habitable parts of the earth, which was a pleasure to him; and for the sake of them was it made to be inhabited, and not by them with the wicked promiscuously only as now, but when purified, and refined by fire, to be the habitation of the righteous, with Christ at the head of them; as will be the case in the thousand years’ reign:
I am the Lord, there is none else; the one Jehovah with the Father and the Spirit, and there is no other that is the Creator of the heavens and the earth.
c “parsvit eam”, Musculus; “aptavit, instruit”, Gataker; “exaptavit”, Cocceius, Vitringa,
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
The second and last strophe of this prophecy commences with Isa 45:18. By the fulfilment of the promise thus openly proclaimed, those of the heathen who have been saved from the judgment will recognise Jehovah as the only God; and the irresistible will of Jehovah, that all mankind should worship Him, be carried out. The promise cannot remain unfulfilled. “For thus saith Jehovah, the creator of the heavens ( He is the Deity) , the former of the earth, and its finisher; He has established it ( He has not created it a desert, He has formed it to be inhabited) : I am Jehovah, and there is none else. I have not spoken in secret, in a place of the land of darkness; I did not say to the seed of Jacob, Into the desert seek ye me! I Jehovah am speaking righteousness, proclaiming upright things.” The athnach properly divides Isa 45:18 in half. Isa 45:18 describes the speaker, and what He says commences in Isa 45:18. The first parenthesis affirms that Jehovah is God in the fullest and most exclusive sense; the second that He has created the earth for man’s sake, not “as a desert” ( tohu : the lxx, Targum, and Jerome render this with less accuracy, non in vanum ), i.e., not to be and continue to be a desert, but to be inhabited. Even in Gen 1:2, chaos is not described as of God’s creation, because (whatever may be men’s opinions concerning it in other respects) the creative activity of God merely made use of this as a starting-point, and because, although it did not come into existence without God, it was at any rate not desired by God for its own sake. The words of Jehovah commence, then, with the assertion that Jehovah is the absolute One; and from this two thoughts branch off: (1.) The first is, that the prophecy which emanates from Him is an affair of light, no black art, but essentially different from heathen soothsaying. By “a dark place of the earth” we are to understand, according to Psa 139:15, the interior of the earth, and according to Job 10:21, Hades; the intention being to point out the contrast between the prophecies of Jehovah and the heathen cave-oracles and spirit-voices of the necromancists, which seemed to rise up from the interior of the earth (see Isa 65:4; Isa 8:19; Isa 29:4). (2.) The second thought is, that the very same love of Jehovah, which has already been displayed in the creation, attests itself in His relation to Israel, which He has not directed to Himself “into the desert” ( tohu ), just as He did not create the earth a tohu . Meier and Knobel suppose that baqshun , which is written here, according to a well-supported reading, with Koph raphatum (whereas in other cases the dagesh is generally retained, particularly in the imperative of biqqesh ), refers to seeking for disclosures as to the future; but the word would be used for this, as in Isa 8:19. He has not said, “Seek ye me (as in Zep 2:3) into the desert,” i.e., without the prospect of meeting with any return for your pains. On the contrary, He has attached promises to the seeking of Himself, which cannot remain unfulfilled, for He is “one speaking righteousness, declaring things that are right;” i.e., when He promises, He follows out the rule of His purpose and of His plan of salvation, and the impulse of sincere desire for their good, and love which is ever true to itself. The present word of prophecy points to the fulfilment of these promises.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
18. For thus saith Jehovah. This verse tends to confirm the preceding; for the Prophet means that the Jews are fully convinced that the Lord will at length deliver them, though they are oppressed by wretched bondage.
God the maker of the earth. Some think that by “the earth” is here meant Judea, but I consider it to be an argument from the less to the greater, as we said formerly on the twelfth verse, that, since the providence of God extends universally to the creatures, much more does it relate to those whom he has adopted to be his sons; for of them he has a special care. In short, the Prophet’s argument is this. “Since God created the earth, that men might have an abode and habitation in it, much more did he create it, that there might be a residence for his Church; for he takes a deeper concern about his Church than about all the rest.” If, therefore, he founded the earth, if he gave to it a shape and a fixed use, that men might be nourished by the fruits which it should produce, he has undoubtedly assigned to his children the first place and the highest rank of honor. This is not always visible to our eyes, and therefore our hearts ought to be encouraged and upheld by hope, that we may stand unmoved against all temptations.
In a word, as long as the earth shall endure, so long shall the Church of God exist; so long as the sun and moon shall last, it shall not fail. Afterwards the Prophet will use a still stronger argument. “If the covenant which God made with Noah, as to the settled order of this world, is stable, much more the covenant which he hath made concerning the Church must be stable. (Isa 54:9; Gen 9:9.) The world is fading and corruptible; but the Church, that is, the kingdom of Christ, shall be eternal; and therefore it is reasonable to believe that the promises which relate to the Church shall undoubtedly be more stable and permanent than all the rest.
He did not create it empty. As it is the principal ornament of the earth that it is the abode of inhabitants, he adds, that it was not created in order that, by being empty, it might be waste and desolate. If it be objected, on the other hand, that the earth was “empty and void” when it was created, as appears from that passage in which Moses employs the same word that is here used by the Prophet, תהו, ( tohu,) which means “shapeless and empty,” the answer is easy. The Prophet does not speak of the commencement of the creation, but of God’s purpose by which the earth was set apart for the use and habitation of men; and therefore, there is nothing here that is contrary to what is said by Moses, for Isaiah contemplates the end and use.
He formed it to be inhabited. This statement indeed extends to all mankind, because the earth was appointed to all, that they might dwell in it; for how comes it that God nourishes us and supplies us with everything that is necessary, and even supports wicked men, but because he intended that his decree should stand, by which he gave the earth to be inhabited by men? In any other point of view, it is strange that he bears with so many sins and crimes, and does not entirely destroy mankind; but he has regard to his own purpose, and not to our merit. Hence kingdoms and commonwealths are sustained, and hence ranks of society and forms of government are preserved even amidst barbarians and infidels; for, although God often reduces some countries to desolation on account of the sins of men, and sprinkles them, as it were, with “saltness,” (Psa 107:34, (209)) that they may become barren, and may never again be able to support their inhabitants, yet he always adds this alleviation, “that the earth may be inhabited;” for this is his inviolable decree. Yet we must bear in remembrance what I have already said, that, so long as the earth shall be inhabited, it is impossible that God shall not support his worshippers who call upon him. Besides, from this passage all good men ought to derive the highest consolation, that, although they are despised by the world and are few and feeble, and although, on the other hand, wicked men surpass them in numbers, and power, and influence, while they are despised so as to be reckoned of less value than “the offscourings of the world,” (1Co 4:13,) yet they are precious in the sight of God, because he reckons them in the number of his children, and will never suffer them to perish.
I am Jehovah. When he repeats that he is God, this is not intended merely to assert his essence, but to distinguish him from all idols, and to keep the Jews in the pure faith; for even superstitious men acknowledge that there is one God, but conceive of him according to their fancy; and therefore we must acknowledge God, who revealed himself to the fathers, and who spoke by Moses. Thus, he does not speak merely of God’s eternal essence, as some think, but of all the offices which belong to him alone, that no part of them may be ascribed to creatures.
(209) It may be necessary to remind the reader, that, in the passage alluded to, the word commonly rendered “barrenness” literally means “saltness.” On this point our author’s version and commentary, and the editor’s instructive note, may be consulted with advantage. See Com. on the Psalms, vol. 4, p. 260. — Ed.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
HOW GOD REVEALS HIMSELF
Isa. 45:18-25 For thus saith the Lord that created the heavens, &c.
In Isa. 45:17, the promise is made that Israel shall be saved in the Lord with an everlasting salvation. This gives the drift of the whole passage, Isa. 45:18-25. In Isa. 45:18-19, the words of Jehovah begin with the assertion that He is the absolute One; and from this two thoughts branch off
1. That the prophecy is a revelation of light, no black art.
2. That the love of Jehovah, displayed in creation, attests itself in relation to Israel. Isa. 45:20-21 declare that the salvation of Israel becomes the salvation of the heathen world. In accordance with this holy and benevolent will, the cry is uttered, Look unto Me, &c. (Isa. 45:22); Jehovah will not rest till His object has been accomplished (Isa. 45:23); but this bending of the knee will not be forced (Isa. 45:24); the reference of Isa. 45:25 is to the Israel of God out of all the human race. There are three leading ideas that are to be gathered out of the passage.
I. Gods revelation of Himself is open and truthful (Isa. 45:19). In Isa. 45:15 we read, Verily Thou art a God that hidest Thyself, and Isa. 45:19 seems to answer the exclamation. Both declarations are true; God cannot wholly conceal nor wholly reveal Himself. A man even is always greater than his greatest work.
1. Gods speech in nature is in no secret place. The sun is a mighty word of God; but it can tell us only by feeble suggestion of the Sun of Righteousness; and yet the pure mind can see and hear far more of God in nature than the keenest scientific analyst (P. D. 485, 1526, 2545).
2. God spoke in no secret place when He spoke amid the peaks of Sinai, and on the heights of Calvary. The laws proclaimed to Moses, and shown to be honourable and glorious in the death of Christ, are the offspring of the Eternal Mind; Calvary is the Divine commentary upon Sinai.
And all really Divine revelation is truthful. The command, Seek ye my face, accounts for the religious nature of man. Not in the grandest of Gods works can we rest content, and realise the joy for which we have been created. Seek ye my face in righteousness of life; this is the Divine law of seeking; and all who thus seek after God shall as surely find Him as the new-born child finds the nutriment of its mothers bosom.
II. Gods revelation of Himself is in reference to the highest practical objects.Look unto Me, and be ye saved; He is a just God and a Saviour. God gives us such a knowledge of Himself as avails for the great practical ends of life, but not such as to satisfy speculation (H. E. I. 22292244).
We know far more of what electricity can do than of what it is. We do not know what God is absolutely; but we know what He can do for us; He is a just God and a Saviour; i.e., there is nothing incompatible in this. As a just Being, He is a God of law; but as a Saviour, He does not cease to be a God of law; by law He condemns, and by law also He saves. Grace is the work of a mightier law than even condemnation.
Note the two elements of the faith which is essential to salvation.
1. Look unto Me; lift up your eyes to the Infinite Strength which is reaching down to help you; that is the active element. And be ye saved; accept the Divine method of salvation; that is the passive, trustful element.
III. Gods revelation of Himself is to issue in the salvation of the whole earth (Isa. 45:23).This has been the inspired assurance of prophets and apostles even in the darkest ages of the world (Php. 2:9-11; Rev. 15:3-4). The ruling idea of these and like passages is not merely that evil shall be conquered at the last and goodness triumphant; but that this final issue of things shall come about through men coming to know God in Christ, coming to worship and love Him as the supreme goodness and beauty. The worship of the gods of this world, now so fervent, will be gradually abolished; and life, as it reaches towards the higher developments in this world, will not only be a higher morality, but a clearer knowledge, and a more passionate and enraptured sense of God.Charles Short, M.A., Christian World Pulpit, vol. xv. pp. 120122.
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
(18) He hath established it . . .i.e., prepared it (see Deu. 32:6; Gen. 42:16) for human habitation. It was not a tohu or chaos (Gen. 1:2; Isa. 24:10), but the scene of human action. We note the grandeur of the prophets thoughts of creation.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
18, 19. In substance, God repeats the great things he has done to encourage the true Israel, and all who become such, to trust him and forget forever the absurd idol system they countenanced.
I am the Lord there is none else Still rings, as it were, the never-ending refrain. From this oft-recurring idea there branch two others. (1) Prophecy coming from God is a thing of light true knowledge; no black art, no voice from the secret, dark place, so necessary to idol prophets. (2) God’s love, shown in creating all things and ruling all affairs, attests itself also toward all his true people. Obeying God’s order to seek unto him, Israel has not to seek in vain, nor long to seek, as do idolaters. God is a real Being, not nonentity, like base, dumb idols.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
So Yahweh Calls Men Around The World To Repent ( Isa 45:18-25 ).
God then points out that He did not create the world to be empty, but to be inhabited. It was not just Jerusalem that He wanted to be inhabited with His own (Isa 44:26), it was the world. Nor did He proclaim His word in secret, as in a secret society. His words were not empty of meaning, like stilted phrases of a cult. His world was intended for all, and so were His words, that all might live in it and know righteousness, and what is right. Thus He calls on such inhabitants of the world as have turned from their useless idols, to come together to consider things. Was it not He Who had told them about these happenings from the beginning? So let those at the ends of the earth turn to Yahweh, and let them recognise His sovereignty. For He alone provides strength and reality.
Isa 45:18
‘For thus says Yahweh who created the heavens,
He is God.
Who formed the earth and made it.
He established it.
He did not create it a waste, He formed it to be inhabited.
“I am Yahweh and there is none else.”’
The rather complicated structure of the verse is in order to stress Yahweh’s design and purpose in creation. He ‘created’, then He ‘fashioned’, then He ‘made’ it what it became, then He established it. Thus His purpose was not to leave it empty and a waste (tohu – compare Gen 1:2). He wanted it to be designed and inhabited and established. It was not created in order to be a ‘waste’, it was created for a specific purpose resulting from what God would do with the ‘waste’. Indeed He made it for man to live in, He made it for all men, and He wanted them to live in it as His people. (For ‘be inhabited’ compare Isa 44:26). And who did this? It was Yahweh, the One Who is God (Psa 96:5). It was Yahweh and no other. The implication therefore is that all should look to Him
This does not mean that the creation was not originally created ‘empty’ before light came and gave it substance. Gen 1:2 says that it was precisely created in that way, as Isaiah is well aware (that is why he mentions it). It means that that was only the very first stage in the process of creation. After that would come His forming process, the final stage of which was man. Into the darkness He brought light. Into the emptiness He brought electromagnetic waves. So the world owes all to His activity in design.
Isa 45:19
“I have not spoken in secret, in a place of the land of darkness.
I did not say to the seed of Jacob, ‘Seek me in emptiness (tohu).’
I, Yahweh, speak righteousness. I declare the things that are right.”
In the same way that the world was made in order to be inhabited, so were Yahweh’s words spoken in order to have effect. He has not spoken in secret, or in some place in a land of darkness where nothing can be seen and men can meet in secret. It was not to some secret society. Nor did He tell His people, the seed of Jacob, to seek Him in what was empty and barren, in the kind of empty words which often accompany rituals, or even in an empty land. Rather He speaks righteousness, and declares the things that are right. His message is not empty or turgid but positive and demanding and full of content. And it is all about righteousness and goodness and truth, that which all men in their inner hearts all men long for.
Alternately ‘the land of darkness’ may refer to the countries to which exiles have been taken away from ‘the land of light’, from Israel. Then we would remove the comma and read ‘I have not spoken in secret in a place of the land of darkness’, the idea being that He has spoken openly there, not with empty phrases but about righteousness.
Isa 45:20
“Assemble yourselves together, and come,
Draw near together, you who have escaped of the nations,
They have no knowledge who carry the wood of their graven image,
And pray to a god who cannot save.”
Those who have escaped of the nations are invited to, as it were, assemble themselves and to come and draw near to consider a verdict. The impression given is that these escapees have escaped from idolatry, for they are contrasted with those who have no knowledge, being idolaters. Idolatrous people are derided, for they look to a god who cannot save. Alternately they may be being called on to now recognise and face up to the folly of idolatry.
These words could be referring to faithful Israel among the worldwide exiles who have returned to purity of religion, or it may have in mind Gentiles who have been attracted by the faith of the dispersed of Israel, or those who have been disillusioned about the gods by what has come on the earth, or indeed all who have escaped the judgments which have come on the earth and are seeking answers. In other words those whose hearts might be open to truth.
They are contrasted with those who carry around wooden graven images at their religious festivals (see Isa 46:1), who are without sense and spiritual awareness, praying to a god who cannot save, and they are called to a positive response, to consider the facts.
The gods who cannot save are in striking contrast with the One Who calls on the whole world to be saved if they will but look (Isa 45:22). And the gods who have to be carried about on carts (compare Isa 46:1-2) are in striking contrast to the God Who is over heaven and earth and created all things (Isa 45:18).
Isa 45:21
“Declare and bring it forth,
Yes, let them take counsel together,
Who has shown this from ancient time?
Who has declared it of old?
Have not I, Yahweh?
And there is no God else beside me,
A righteous God and a saviour,
There is none beside me.”
The appeal continues to those who are disillusioned with idolatry. They are to declare and bring forth what they now think. Then he calls on them to gather in solemn court and speak to each other and discuss matters together and to recognise Who has shown ‘this’ from ancient time, and declared it of old. ‘This’ may be the fact of their exile experiences and their intended purifying effects, or more likely Isaiah’s and other more ancient prophecies concerning all the events and judgments which have disillusioned men. In view of the reference to ancient time the latter is probably more likely.
And Who has shown it from ancient times? Why, none other than Yahweh of course, the One beside Whom there is no other (repeated twice). The One Who is righteous and Who can deliver. Note again the stress on righteousness. This is central to the appeal. And it is further stressed that not only is He righteous but also a Saviour. He does not leave those who seek Him in unrighteousness.
We should note that God is righteous because He is the source and arbiter of righteousness. All is measured by His standards, and He is holy. He is the perfect standard of what right is. (That is why to sin is to come short of the glory of God – Rom 3:23). And His righteousness is revealed in the salvation which He brings to His repentant people through the blood of offerings. And because He is righteous He expects righteousness from all who would worship Him.
Isa 45:22
“Look to me and be saved all the ends of the earth, for I am God and there is none else.”
So the call goes out to the ends of the earth to look to the only God for deliverance. All these wondering people must now turn to Him. In Him is salvation. The non-mention of the name Yahweh would suggest that the call is intended to include all nations as ‘all the ends of the earth’ suggests. It is a universal cry. But the call can only go out through His Servant, for there is no one else to take it. This is to be the Servant’s present task. It may well be that Isaiah was in touch with many exiles and was able to get his writings through to them.
Isa 45:23
“By myself have I sworn,
The word is gone forth from my mouth in righteousness and will not return,
That to me every knee will bow, every tongue will swear.”
‘Only in Yahweh,’ one will say to me, ‘is righteousness and strength.’
Even to him will men come,
And all who were incensed against him will be ashamed.
In Yahweh will all the seed of Israel be put in the right, and will glory.’
Notice the continued emphasis on righteousness. It lies at the root of this whole section. God is calling the nations to righteousness. And that righteousness can only result in every knee bowing to Him, and every tongue swearing fealty to His name. The fact that they can be ‘saved’ signifies that righteousness can be made available to them through forgiveness (compare Isa 44:22). It proclaims that they can both be ‘put in the right’ and then ‘made right’. Righteousness became almost parallel in meaning with deliverance and salvation precisely because Israel came to recognise that God’s salvation would produce righteousness, and a people acceptable to God. It would be a righteous deliverance. Full deliverance must involve righteousness, for before Yahweh, the righteous One, there can be no true deliverance without it. To walk rightly is to have been freed from all unrighteousness.
A mighty word which will accomplish its purpose has now gone out from Yahweh, and He has guaranteed its fulfilment by an oath (compare Gen 22:16-18). He will bring it about buy His sovereign power. And the fulfilment of it is that ‘to Me every knee will bow, every tongue will swear.’ It is a word that has gone out in righteousness, so that its results will be righteous. Thus the submission will be on the basis of righteousness. Those accounted righteous will submit in order to serve, the unrighteous in order to fear the consequences. Those who refuse His righteousness will be ashamed (Note here how it is to be part of the Servant’s activity to make many accounted righteous, because He will bear their iniquities (Isa 53:11)). And it is a submission that is certain for everyone. Every knee will have bow. All nations round about might in the future be bowing to Cyrus, but one day he will be replaced. In that day every knee will bow to Yahweh and every tongue swear fealty. The whole world will own Yahweh as King, whether for blessing or for judgment. (In Php 2:5-11 this is applied to Jesus Christ by Paul as the One to Whom all would bow).
Indeed in that day men will say, ‘Only in Yahweh is righteousness and strength.’ They will know that there is nowhere else to look. They will know that there is no other name in heaven and earth whereby men can be saved. He alone will be able to provide men with righteousness. He alone will be able to give them strength. He alone will be able to vindicate them.
But there will be those who will still be antagonistic towards Him. They too will have to come and bow the knee, but for them it will be to hear the sentence of judgment. They will be ashamed before Him. They will weep and gnash their teeth as sentence goes against them.
In that day all the true seed of Israel, those taken within the protection of Israel, will have been put in the right (Isa 53:10), and they will be able to glory, and cry ‘glory to the Righteous One’ (Isa 24:16). They will be justified and will glory. These represent those are the faithful in Israel, and all those who unite with the faithful in Israel through the cross (Eph 2:12-22).
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Isa 45:18-21. For thus saith the Lord The Almighty here renews his discourse to the proselytes of the nations, to confirm them in their belief of the true religion, and to eradicate all the prejudices of idolatry from their minds. A preface suitable to the scope of the discourse is prefixed, consisting of two articles; the first, in this verse, claiming to God the glory of creating this earth with a wise and gracious design: The second, in Isa 45:19 wherein God, first, opposes his predictions, and the manner of them, to the manner in which the ministers and prophets of the false gods delivered their prophesies, I have not spoken in secret, &c. Secondly, declares that they who sought him, should not do so in vain; and thirdly, that his promises were righteous and true; and should never fail those who confided in them: After which, we have in the 20th and 21st verses, the conviction of the proselytes; those who are escaped of the nations; where the truth of God and the vanity of idols are set forth, from the mighty work which God had done for the deliverance of his church, and from his prediction of that work. We may read the second clause of Isa 45:19. I said not to the seed of Jacob, in vain, seek me. The beginning of the 21st verse would be more clearly rendered thus, Come forth, and produce your arguments; nay, let them take counsel together, &c. See ch. Isa 41:21 and Vitringa.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
It is blessed to observe, when God is at anytime proposing mercies to his people, how the Lord introduceth his gracious promise with the declaration of his own glorious character, lest the greatness of the blessing proposed should overwhelm the mind and excite fear, as if the promise were too great to be believed. In this place, to encourage the seed of Jacob, who are always supposed to be a praying people, against any apprehension, and lest their conscious sense of sin should keep them back from the throne of grace; Jehovah takes to himself his own glorious distinction of character. He that originally created all things, will create grace in the heart of his people; and the prayer that he awakens in grace, he will hear, and answer in mercy. The Prophet, under the spirit of prophecy, describes the Lord Jesus Christ in the days of his flesh, as proving this blessed truth; Psa 27:8 ; Heb 5:7-9 . Reader! never lose sight of this in all your approaches to the throne.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Isa 45:18 For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I [am] the LORD; and [there is] none else.
Ver. 18. He created it not in vain. ] Therefore never think that he will forsake it, or not take care of his Church therein, for whose sake he made it at first, and still upholdeth it “by the word of his power.” Heb 1:3 Now, if God created not the earth in vain, much less the heavens – wherein he hath showed his greater skill Heb 11:10 See Trapp on “ Heb 11:10 “ – but that his people might there inhabit for ever. And here it is that they shall be “saved in the Lord with an everlasting salvation”; yea, they “shall not be ashamed or confounded, world without end.” Isa 45:17
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Isa 45:18-19
18For thus says the LORD, who created the heavens
(He is the God who formed the earth and made it,
He established it and did not create it a waste place,
But formed it to be inhabited),
I am the LORD, and there is none else.
19I have not spoken in secret,
In some dark land;
I did not say to the offspring of Jacob,
‘Seek Me in a waste place’;
I, the LORD, speak righteousness,
Declaring things that are upright.
Isa 45:18 He established it and did not create it a waste place This is an allusion to Gen 1:2. It could be translated without form (BDB 1062). God always had a purpose for creation. That purpose is that it would be inhabited. There was a development in God’s creation. This does not prove some kind of destruction between Gen 1:1-2 (i.e., the Gap Theory). See full note at Gen 1:1-2 online.
But formed it to be inhabited) This is used by the rabbis to stress that everyone should marry (cf. Gen 1:28; Gen 9:1; Gen 9:7).
Isa 45:19 YHWH has asserted over and over in this section of Isaiah that He is the God who hears and acts; Who knows the future and sets its course! This theological assertion is a primary evidence of His existence! The other evidence is the existence of Israel and her return to the Promised Land.
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
That created = the Creator of. Note how these expressions are heaped together to impress us with the fact that the One Who created all ought to be able to tell us, better than ignorant man, how He created it.
That formed = The Former of. Hebrew. yazar = to fashion.
made = the Maker of.
He created. It did not come of itself by evolution (see App-5and App-8). Reference to Pentateuch Gen 1:1).
in vain = tohu. The same word as in Gen 1:2 (“without form”). Therefore it must have become tohu : which is exactly what Gen 1:2 declares (see note there). In Gen 1:1 we have “the world that then was” (compare 2Pe 3:6); and in Isa 45:2 we have the ruin into which it fell. We are not told how, when, or why, or how long it lasted. When geologists have settled how many years they require, they may place them between Gen 1:1-2. In Gen 1:2-31; Gen 2:1-4, we have “the heavens and the earth which are now” of 2Pe 3:7. Both are set in contrast with the “new heavens and the new earth” of 2Pe 3:13.
[Conversion Note: The following comment is found in some Companion Bible text on the Internet but not in my original book.]
“why” God destroyed “the world that then was” may be better understood from Rev 12:4 (see note there), where Satan rebelled against God and drew a third part of God’s children with him.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Isa 45:18-19
Isa 45:18-19
“For thus saith Jehovah that created the heavens, the God that formed the earth and made it, that established it and created it not for a waste, that formed it to be inhabited: I am Jehovah, and there is none else. I have not spoken in secret, in a place in the land of darkness; I said not unto the seed of Jacob, Seek ye me in vain: I Jehovah speak righteousness, I declare things that are right.”
Here is the heavenly answer to the objection of the unbelieving leadership of captive Israel to the effect that “God was a God who hid himself’ (Isa 45:15). The revelation of God through his Holy Word is altogether sufficient for mortal men, as this passage flatly declares. Furthermore, God’s oracles are not dim and equivocal pronouncements such as the Delphic oracle to Croesus; but they are plain, truthful, and enlightening.
These two verses set forth the two great witnesses of God’s love and concern for fallen mankind. The very manner in which the earth itself has been created, and made so wonderfully suitable for human habitation (in Isa 45:18) are exactly the very same grounds of Paul’s appeal in Antioch of Pisidia (Act 14:17) to the effect that the fruitful seasons of the earth were evidence that “God has not left himself without witness.”
Isa 45:19 appeals to the revelation of God’s Word that idols are nothing and that only Jehovah is the One and Only True God; and besides him, there is no other.
Isa 45:18-19 COHERENCE: Isaiah continues the theme of purpose-fulness. God made the world for order and purpose. He did not intend it to be perverted and turned into chaos by rebellion and sin. But man made waste of Gods creation when he believed Satan and disobeyed God. This is Isaiahs message in Isa 45:18. The implication is that God will, through the work begun by Cyrus and the returned exiles, proceed to restore order and purpose to His creation. Restoration of order is the message of Romans 1-8; it is the message of Heb 2:5-18. Man once had dominion over an ordered, purposeful, paradise; he forfeited it by sin and his paradise became a futility (cf. Rom 8:20); Christs meritorious work paid the redemptive price for man and his planet and one day this redemption will be consummated (Heb 2:5-18), and man redeemed by covenant relationship to his Maker will once again have dominion over Paradise. This is the ultimate purpose of Jehovah and the goal of the work of Cyrus and the returned exiles! The coherent reunion of man with his Maker and man with his surroundings is the goal of God. Man in oneness with his God and with his fellow man is what Jesus fervently prayed for and died for (cf. Joh 17:1 ff). Only God could accomplish that. And He would accomplish it through things unsearchable and inscrutable to the wisdom of men-the gospel of the cross (cf. 1Co 1:10-31). All the philosophies and political schemes of men put together will never accomplish what God can do through the foolishness of the message of the cross of Christ-that is, reunite man in a divine coherence with his Maker!
Although the ways and means by which God does this may not be fully understood, the fact that He is going to do it is no secret! This is what the prophet says in Isa 45:19. Jehovah makes every possible effort to reveal Himself. He wants men to trust Him and love Him and obey Him. He is not like the pagan gods and their devotees whose one aim seems to be to conceal. Those who worshiped idols and practiced sorcery found themselves being told their gods could only be discovered by secret rituals and then only a select few could know the rituals. Most Gentiles understood clearly that their gods were simply creatures of mythology and fantasy. Most were skeptical of any reality connected with religion. Jehovah is not like that! When He speaks He speaks truth. When He acts, what He does is right and real. He spoke in revelation to man. In many and various ways God spoke of old to our fathers by the prophets . . . (Heb 1:1). There was no dearth of communication from Jehovah, both in word and deed, even to the day of Isaiah. He declared His purposefulness and faithfulness over and over. Now, Isaiah is calling upon his contemporaries to believe Jehovah is speaking again, openly, plainly and purposefully.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
that created: Isa 42:5, Jer 10:12, Jer 51:15
he created: Isa 45:12, Gen 1:28, Gen 9:1, Psa 115:16, Eze 36:10-12
I am: Isa 45:5, Isa 45:6
Reciprocal: Gen 1:1 – God Gen 2:1 – Thus Deu 4:35 – none else Deu 32:39 – even I 2Sa 7:22 – none Psa 28:5 – operation Psa 93:1 – world Isa 45:21 – and there is Isa 46:9 – I am God Isa 48:13 – hand Isa 51:16 – plant Joe 2:27 – that I Zec 12:1 – which Mar 12:32 – for Joh 1:3 – General Act 14:15 – which Act 17:24 – that made Heb 1:2 – by whom
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Isa 45:18. Thus saith the Lord Hebrew, Jehovah; that created the heavens, &c. This description of God is here added, 1st, To detect the vanity of idols, by asserting that none was to be owned as the true God, besides that one Jehovah who made the heavens and the earth, and the inhabitants thereof. 2d, To demonstrate Gods sufficiency to fulfil all these glorious promises made to his church, because he created the world, and upholds it by the word of his power. And, 3d, To manifest his goodness to mankind, inasmuch as he did not create the earth in vain, but for the use and comfort of men, that it might be a fit habitation for them: whence it was easy to infer that he would much more be gracious to his own people.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Isa 45:18-25. Yahweh will Deliver All who Look to Him.Yahweh created the earth to be, not desolate, but a dwelling-place for man. Nor has He concealed Himself in some remote mysterious shrine, like the oracles of some heathen deities. He has declared the truth when He has been inquired of. Even now the end of the conquests of Cyrus is not that the earth, apart from the land of Israel, shall become a desolation instead of a dwelling-place. The survivors are bidden approach. They have proved the impotence of their portable gods. But Yahweh long ago predicted these events; the issue has demonstrated His control of history. With surprising grace He invites all men to turn to Him for deliverance. Yea, He has proclaimed, and His word cannot but fulfil itself, that every man shall swear allegiance to Him. He is the only source of victory and strength. His opponents shall be discomfited, but Israel shall boast of her triumph through Him.
Isa 45:19. a place of: delete.in vain: read mg.
Isa 45:21. bring forth: i.e. perhaps, your witnesses.
Isa 45:23. The word, once uttered, becomes almost a personality, certainly a force, which will not return until it has fulfilled itself (cf. Isa 55:11). Read the first mg. rendering, substituting truth for righteousness.
Isa 45:24. unto me: read, to Jacob.righteousness: victory.even . . . ashamed: read, for his sake shall be confounded and ashamed all they that were incensed against him.
Fuente: Peake’s Commentary on the Bible
45:18 For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be {u} inhabited: I [am] the LORD; and [there is] none else.
(u) That is, of men, but chiefly of his Church.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Again the Lord affirmed (cf. Isa 45:1; Isa 45:14) that He created the heavens, and there is no other God beside Him (cf. Exo 20:1-3; Deu 6:4). These affirmations indicate that what follows substantiates what has gone before. God is trustworthy, and will not embarrass or humiliate His worshippers, because He is the almighty Creator. Isaiah’s elaboration on this statement stresses that God’s creative activity was for the welfare of His creatures.
Some readers of this verse have understood the statement that "God did not create the earth waste" (Heb. tohu) as clarifying the creation process. When God created the heavens and the earth, did He create them unformed and then form them, or does the waste condition of Gen 1:2 describe the universe before Creation? I think this verse means that God’s intention in Creation was not to create something permanently without form but to create an environment for His creatures that He suitably formed for their habitation. Thus this verse says nothing about the steps God may have taken in creating the cosmos. It rather explains His purpose in creating the cosmos.