Woe to him who quarrels with his Maker—one clay pot among many. Does the clay ask the potter, ‘What are you making?’ Does your work say, ‘He has no hands’? Woe to him who says to his father, ‘What have you begotten?’ or to his mother, ‘What have you brought forth?’” Thus says the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, and its Maker: “How dare you question Me concerning My sons, or instruct Me about the work of My hands? It is I who made the earth and created man upon it. It was My hands that stretched out the heavens, and I ordained all their host. I will raise up Cyrus in righteousness, and I will make all his ways straight. He will rebuild My city and set My exiles free, but not for payment or reward, says the LORD of Hosts.”
This is what the LORD says: “The products of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush, along with the Sabeans, men of stature, will come over to you and will be yours; they will trudge behind you; they will come over in chains and bow down to you. They will confess to you: ‘God is indeed with you, and there is no other; there is no other God.’”
Truly You are a God who hides Himself, O God of Israel, the Savior. They will all be put to shame and humiliated; the makers of idols will go away together in disgrace. But Israel will be saved by the LORD with an everlasting salvation; you will not be put to shame or humiliated, to ages everlasting.
For thus says the LORD, who created the heavens—He is God; He formed the earth and fashioned it; He established it; He did not create it to be empty, but formed it to be inhabited: “I am the LORD, and there is no other. i have not spoken in secret, from a place in a land of darkness. I did not say to the descendants of Jacob, ‘Seek Me in a wasteland.’ I, the LORD, speak the truth; I say what is right.
Come, gather together, and draw near, you fugitives from the nations. Ignorant are those who carry idols of wood and pray to a god that cannot save. Speak up and present your case—yes, let them take counsel together. Who foretold this long ago? Who announced it from ancient times? Was it not I, the LORD? There is no other God but Me, a righteous God and Savior; there is none but Me. Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other. By Myself I have sworn; truth has gone out from My mouth, a word that will not be revoked: Every knee will bow before Me, every tongue will swear allegiance. Surely they will say of Me, ‘In the LORD alone are righteousness and strength.’” All who rage against Him will come to Him and be put to shame. In the LORD all descendants of Israel will be justified and will exult.”
God continues to affirm his calling for Cyrus the Persian ruler. But God is also angry with those who are criticizing Him for using someone like Cyrus. “Woe to him who quarrels with his Maker—one clay pot among many. Does the clay ask the potter, ‘What are you making?’ Does your work say, ‘He has no hands’?” “I will raise up Cyrus in righteousness, and I will make all his ways straight. He will rebuild My city and set My exiles free, but, not for payment or reward, says the LORD of Hosts.”
God is predicting that He will reward Cyrus by giving him the products of Egypt, the merchandise of Cush (Ethiopia) and the Sabeans as captives. This victory will be so complete that Egyptians, Cushites, and Sabeans will all testify that there is no God apart from the God of Israel. Those persisting in trusting in idols will hide themselves while Israel will be delivered. Many people believe that the deliverance referred to here actually took place at the end of World War II when the nation of Israel came into being.
Finally, God reaffirms his supremacy. “Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other. By Myself I have sworn; truth has gone out from My mouth, a word that will not be revoked: Every knee will bow before Me, every tongue will swear allegiance. Surely they will say of Me, ‘In the LORD alone are righteousness and strength.’” All who rage against Him will come to Him and be put to shame. In the LORD all descendants of Israel will be justified and will exult.”
APPLICATION: During the last half of the nineteenth century, the poem “Invictus” by William Ernest Henley was very popular, being recited by untold numbers of students on school programs, etc. Look at these words:
Out of the night that covers me, Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be For my unconquerable soul.
In the fell clutch of circumstance I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance My head is bloody, but unbowed.
Beyond this place of wrath and tears Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.
It matters not how strait the gate, How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul.
While this poem was once very popular, in fact, it’s a theological disaster! Basically, the writer is asserting that he can control his own fate and he is “the captain” of his soul. Henley essentially made an idol of himself and then became a congregation of one. This thinking fell apart in the trenches of World War I; however, these days, there are many people who tend to copy Mr. Henley, focusing exclusively on themselves and trying to improve themselves so that they will find themselves more suitable as objects of worship.
In Isaiah’s time, there were those who rejected God, preferring to worship the work of their own hands. Given the fact that the God of Israel was the only God who had ever successfully defended or delivered His people, such idolatry made no sense.
God has the final word on all of this when He says, “There is no other God but Me, a righteous God and Savior; there is none but Me. Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other. By Myself I have sworn; truth has gone out from My mouth, a word that will not be revoked: Every knee will bow before Me, every tongue will swear allegiance. Surely they will say of Me, ‘In the LORD alone are righteousness and strength.’” All who rage against Him will come to Him and be put to shame. In the LORD all descendants of Israel will be justified and will exult.”
PRAYER; Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, help everyone who reads these words to turn to You, the Only True God, as Savior and Lord. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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