Isaiah 46:5 - Meaning and Application

The deliverance of Israel through Babylon’s destruction, which is the main subject of these chapters, is pressed here again and promised again. God does this to convict both idolaters, who set themselves up against him, and oppressors, who were enemies of his people.

First, God challenges those who made and worshiped idols, especially many in Israel who wanted images of their own God, like the Babylonians had of theirs. He asks, “To whom will you compare me?” It is absurd to try to represent an infinite, eternal Spirit by any created form. It twists his truth into a lie and turns his glory into shame. No one has ever seen any likeness of him, and no one can see his face and live. So whom can we compare with God? (Isaiah 40:18, Isaiah 40:25). It is just as foolish to make any creature equal with the Creator. He is far above even the noblest creatures, and there is no real comparison between what is infinite and what is limited.

Next, he exposes the folly of those who make idols and then pray to them. They spend heavily on their idols and spare no expense to fit them for their purpose. They pour out gold from the bag. Nothing is too much, even if they hurt their families and weaken their estates. How shameful this is when compared with the stinginess of many who claim to serve God but want a religion that costs them nothing! Some pour out gold to make an idol in the house, while others store up gold in the heart and make it an idol there, for greed is idolatry. It is dangerous, even if it is less obvious than bowing to a carved image. They also weigh out silver, either to make the idol itself, since even the most foolish people knew God should be served with the best they had, or to pay the craftsmen. Sin often becomes very expensive.

They are also greatly concerned about their idols and take a lot of trouble over them. They carry them on their own shoulders instead of hiring others to do it. They transport the idol and set it in its place, more like a dead body than a living God. They put it on a pedestal, and there it stands. They labor to fasten it securely so it will not move. They want to know where to find it, even though they know it cannot move a hand or take a step to help them.

After all that, they still show great respect to these idols, even though they are only the work of their own hands and the product of their own imaginations. When the goldsmith has made what they choose to call a god, they bow down, yes, they worship it. If they make themselves look proud by pretending they can make a god, they humble themselves just as much by bowing before what they know was made from the original. If custom has deceived them into making such gods, they also deceive themselves when they cry out to them, though they know the idols cannot answer, cannot understand a word, and cannot even say yes or no, much less save them from trouble. Should anyone who knows the true and living God make such fools of themselves?

God then appeals to their own reason. “Remember this,” he says, “and show yourselves to be men, not beasts, and not children.” Think clearly. Act with courage. Act for your own good. Do something wise and noble, and refuse to dishonor your own judgment by worshiping idols. Sinners would become saints if only they would act like real human beings, using the powers and abilities God gave them. They have heard these warnings many times. Let them bring them back to mind, think about them again, and turn them over in their hearts. You who rebel against God, consider your ways, remember where you have fallen, repent, and recover yourselves.

God then gives clear proof that he alone is God. “I am God, and there is none like me.” We need to be reminded of this again and again. He points first to sacred history. “Remember the former things of old,” what the God of Israel did for his people at the beginning. Did he not do things no one else could do, and which false gods could not do for their worshipers? If we remember those things, we will admit that he alone is God, and no one else is like him. This is a strong reason to give him glory as the one and only God, and not give that glory to anyone else (Exodus 15:11).

He also points to sacred prophecy. He is God alone because he is the one who declares the end from the beginning (Isaiah 46:10). From the beginning of time, he announced the end of time and the end of all things. From the beginning of a nation, he tells what its end will be. He told Israel what would happen in later days and what their end would be, and he wished they were wise enough to consider it (Deuteronomy 32:20). From the beginning of an event, he declares how it will end. God knows all his works, and when he chooses, he makes them known. Beyond what prophecy reveals, we cannot discover the work God does from beginning to end (Ecclesiastes 3:11). He announces from ancient times things that are not yet done.

Many Scripture prophecies given long ago have not yet been fulfilled, but the fulfillment of some is a pledge that the rest will be fulfilled in due time. This shows that he is God, and no one else is. He alone can say, and make it happen, “My purpose will stand.” Neither heaven nor earth, nor all the powers of hell, can block it, cancel it, or correct it. Since all God’s actions follow his purposes, all his purposes will be completed in his actions. None of his plans will be broken, and none of his designs will fail. This gives deep comfort to those who have placed all their hope in God’s purposes. His purpose will surely stand. If we have come to the point where whatever pleases God also pleases us, nothing can calm our hearts more than this certainty, that God will do all that he wants (Psalm 135:6).

The fulfillment of this prophecy, which concerns the rise of Cyrus and his role in freeing God’s people from captivity, is brought up to prove this truth: the Lord is God, and there is no other (Isaiah 46:11). God, by his wise plan, calls a ravenous bird from the east, a bird of prey, Cyrus. Some say Cyrus had a nose like a hawk’s or eagle’s beak, and they think that may be part of the image here. Others think it points to the eagle on his military standard, with a possible later echo in Matthew 24:28. Cyrus came from the east because God called him, for the Lord rules over armies and over those who command armies. If God gives a man his call, he will also give him success.

Cyrus is the man who will carry out God’s plan, even though he comes from a far country and knows nothing about it. This shows that even people who do not know or care about God’s revealed will can still be used to fulfill the plans of his secret will. Everything God has planned will be carried out exactly on time, by whatever person he chooses. This also shows the heirs of God’s promise that his purpose never changes. He says, in effect, “I have spoken it through my servants the prophets, and what I have spoken is exactly what I have planned.” God may have many plans that are not written in prophecy, but nothing is in his prophecies unless it is already in his purpose.

He will do it, because he never changes his mind. He will bring it to pass, because no creature can stop him. Notice the majesty of his words, spoken with full authority: “I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass. I have planned it, and I will do it.” What God says is done, as soon as it is said. Heaven and earth will pass away sooner than one word of God fail.

This also convicts those who boldly oppose God’s purposes, because they are told not only that God’s plans will be carried out, but that they will be carried out very soon (Isaiah 46:12, Isaiah 46:13). This is addressed to the stubborn-hearted, which may mean the proud and hard Babylonian rulers, who are far from justice, mercy, and compassion. They refuse to let the oppressed go free, even when the oppressed plead with them or when God has already declared what will happen.

It may also mean the broken but unbelieving Jews, who have been under suffering for a long time but are still not softened. Like the complaining Israelites in the wilderness, they think God’s righteousness is far away. That is, they doubt the fulfillment of his promise and the time when he will act for them. By their distrust, they push good things even farther from themselves, just as their fathers could not enter the promised land because they did not believe. This also fits the Jewish nation later, when they rejected the gospel of Christ. Though they pursued righteousness through the law, they did not reach it, because they did not seek it by faith (Romans 9:31, Romans 9:32). They came short because they were stubborn-hearted (Romans 10:3).

To such people, God says that, no matter what they think, whether they are proud or discouraged, his salvation for his people will certainly come. If people will not do them justice, God will. His righteousness will do for them what human justice cannot do. He will place salvation in Zion, meaning he will make Jerusalem a safe and protected place for all who settle there. From there salvation will go out for Israel, his glory. God takes joy in his Israel, and he will be honored in the salvation he works for them. It will greatly bring him glory.

This salvation will be in Zion, because from there the gospel will begin (Isaiah 2:3). The Redeemer comes there (Isaiah 59:20, Romans 11:26), and Zion’s King is the one who has salvation (Zechariah 9:9). It will also be done very soon. This is stressed especially for those who think it is far away: “I am bringing my righteousness near, closer than you think. It may be nearest when your trouble is greatest and your enemies are most cruel. It will not be far off when the time comes for it, Psalm 85:9. The Judge is standing at the door. My salvation will not wait any longer than it takes to be ready, and you to be ready for it. So even if it seems delayed, wait for it. Wait patiently, because the one who is coming will come and will not delay.”