CHAPTER 41
SCRIPTURE: CHAPTER 41, VS 1-7
1 Keep silence before me, O islands; and let the people renew their strength: let them come near; then let them speak: let us come near together to judgment.
2 Who raised up the righteous man from the east, called him to his foot, gave the nations before him, and made him rule over kings? he gave them as the dust to his sword, and as driven stubble to his bow.
3 He pursued them, and passed safely; even by the way that he had not gone with his feet.
4 Who hath wrought and done it, calling the generations from the beginning? I the Lord, the first, and with the last; I am he.
5 The isles saw it, and feared; the ends of the earth were afraid, drew near, and came.
6 They helped every one his neighbour; and every one said to his brother, Be of good courage.
7 So the carpenter encouraged the goldsmith, and he that smootheth with the hammer him that smote the anvil, saying, It is ready for the sodering: and he fastened it with nails, that it should not be moved.
APPLICATION: CHAPTER 41, VS 1-7
1 Islands are people trying to live alone, without God’s strength and help. God says, “keep silent,” don’t ridicule My children who want to come to Me. 2-4 The Lord has helped righteous men all through history…..those who turn to Him to become righteous. 5 The isles (those alone, without God) were afraid, but those who were to turn to God did turn to Him, because of the miracles. 6-7 Those who turn to the Lord feel the Love of God for each other, and work together to build His Kingdom—each with his own assignment and talents given by The Lord.
SCRIPTURE: CHAPTER 41, VS 8-10
8 But thou, Israel, art my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham my friend.
9 Thou whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, and called thee from the chief men thereof, and said unto thee, Thou art my servant; I have chosen thee, and not cast thee away.
10 Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.
APPLICATION: CHAPTER 41, VS 8-10
We are the recipients of all these beautiful promises through Jesus, if we have accepted Him as our Lord and Savior, and are living for Him. We have been grafted in as the seed of Abraham, according to Romans chapter 11.
SCRIPTURE: CHAPTER 41, VS 11-13
11 Behold, all they that were incensed against thee shall be ashamed and confounded: they shall be as nothing; and they that strive with thee shall perish.
12 Thou shalt seek them, and shalt not find them, even them that contended with thee: they that war against thee shall be as nothing, and as a thing of nought.
13 For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee.”
APPLICATION: CHAPTER 41, VS 11-13
Those who are “incensed against thee” is our former self, with its sinful ways. God will help us diminish our sinful ways and they will be “as nothing”, as we go to Him for forgiveness each time we stray, and cling to Him, allowing Him to change us on the inside. This is how He will be able to help us, and hold our right hand.
SCRIPTURE: CHAPTER 41, VS 14
Fear not, thou worm Jacob, and ye men of Israel; I will help thee, saith the Lord, and thy redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.
APPLICATION: CHAPTER 41, VS 14
The Lord calls us worms—that is what we are of ourselves-nothing without the strength of Our Lord.
Realizing this causes us to cling to Him for everything, and be willing to be used by Him for the benefit of the Kingdom of God and for His Glory.
SCRIPTURE: CHAPTER 41, VS 15
15 Behold, I will make thee a new sharp threshing instrument having teeth: thou shalt thresh the mountains, and beat them small, and shalt make the hills as chaff.
APPLICATION: CHAPTER 41, VS 15
The threshing instrument is the Word of God in our spirits by the Holy Spirit. We will beat down the mountains of this material world in our lives, and our flesh and make smooth our path with the strength of Our Lord Jesus Christ.
SCRIPTURE: CHAPTER 41, VS 16
16 Thou shalt fan them, and the wind shall carry them away, and the whirlwind shall scatter them: and thou shalt rejoice in the Lord, and shalt glory in the Holy One of Israel.
APPLICATION: CHAPTER 41, VS 16
Our problems, fears, enemies, etc will “blow in the wind” as we see the Glory of God in Jesus in this life. This is done by keeping our hearts and minds only on Him, applying it to everything in our lives.
SCRIPTURE: CHAPTER 41, VS 17
When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue faileth for thirst, I the Lord will hear them, I the God of Israel will not forsake them.
APPLICATION: CHAPTER 41, VS 17
God will give our thirsty souls His Living Water, as Jesus told us in John 7:38, “He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.”
SCRIPTURE: CHAPTER 41, VS 18
18 I will open rivers in high places, and fountains in the midst of the valleys: I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water.
APPLICATION: CHAPTER 41, VS 18
“Rivers in high places and fountains in the valleys” All people, whether they have high or low positions in this world, will be offered His Living Water. Jesus is our “pool in the wilderness and spring on dry land”. All we need to do is drink it!!! Also, the high places and valleys can pertain to our emotions. No matter how we feel, He is there. Sometimes we don’t feel so close to Him, but He reassures us that even when we’re down, He is there.
SCRIPTURE: CHAPTER 41, VS 19-20
19 I will plant in the wilderness the cedar, the shittah tree, and the myrtle, and the oil tree; I will set in the desert the fir tree, and the pine, and the box tree together:
20 That they may see, and know, and consider, and understand together, that the hand of the Lord hath done this, and the Holy One of Israel hath created it.
APPLICATION: CHAPTER 41, VS 19-20
All different people will live side-by-side in Jesus’ love and tape the same water from His Spirit, and together we will learn to understand Him better, as He reveals some things to some, and other things to others.
SCRIPTURE: CHAPTER 41, VS 21-24
21 Produce your cause, saith the Lord; bring forth your strong reasons, saith the King of Jacob.
22 Let them bring them forth, and shew us what shall happen: let them shew the former things, what they be, that we may consider them, and know the latter end of them; or declare us things for to come.
23 Shew the things that are to come hereafter, that we may know that ye are gods: yea, do good, or do evil, that we may be dismayed, and behold it together.
24 Behold, ye are of nothing, and your work of nought: an abomination is he that chooseth you.
APPLICATION: CHAPTER 41, VS 21-24
21-24– God is speaking to Satan–telling him to prove his worth and power as the god of this earth. God is still in control, even though Satan has gained a certain amount of control through his people, but God challenges him to prove he is the god of this earth, knowing he will fail.
SCRIPTURE: CHAPTER 41, VS 25
I have raised up one from the north, and he shall come: from the rising of the sun shall he call upon my name: and he shall come upon princes as upon morter, and as the potter treadeth clay.
APPLICATION: CHAPTER 41, VS 25
Jesus is the One raised up from the north, and calling on the name of the Father. He treads the princes of this world (satan’s forces) under His feet as clay. A potter only treads the worthless clay under his feet. That is what He will do with satan, who is His creature who turned against God. We are His created creatures also, but we were created in His image, and are saved. He would never trample us underfoot. Instead, He molds us, creating a masterwork out of each of us in a unique way for each of us. He is the Potter, and we are the clay but satan is the enemy.
SCRIPTURE: CHAPTER 41, VS 26
Who hath declared from the beginning, that we may know? And beforetime, that we may say, He is righteous? Yea, there is none that sheweth, yea, there is none that declareth, yea, there is none that heareth your words.
APPLICATION: CHAPTER 41, VS 26
The word for “heareth” means to totally understand, to give one’s entire attention to. There are many predictions in the Old Testament that point the way to Jesus, but none mention Him by name, so reading carnally, it would be difficult at that time, especially, to believe He was the One, especially since so many false messiahs had come before. There is a reason why the Word is written mysteriously, and sometimes symbolically. It is the same reason Jesus spoke in parables when He was on earth, so only the people with the Holy Spirit directing them, would understand what He was saying, or what is written. So it is today.
SCRIPTURE: CHAPTER 41, VS 17
The first shall say to Zion, Behold, behold them: and I will give to Jerusalem one that bringeth good tidings.
APPLICATION: CHAPTER 41, VS 27
God says, “behold My Words”, and when we do that, He does, indeed, give us the “one that bringeth good tidings”. Jesus is the only one with those good tidings.
SCRIPTURE: CHAPTER 41, VS 28-29
8 For I beheld, and there was no man; even among them, and there was no counsellor, that, when I asked of them, could answer a word.
29 Behold, they are all vanity; their works are nothing: their molten images are wind and confusion.
APPLICATION: CHAPTER 41, VS 28-29
For when we read God’s Word with our minds, we cannot answer wisely, because we’re then speaking of ourselves, and not of the wisdom of the Holy Spirit. Jesus speaks of this in Luke 8:16, when He speaks of the lighted candle put out for the world to see. The light is the Holy Spirit. We are the stand. He lights up God’s Truths, nothing is hidden to our spirits once we receive Christ. All truths will be revealed to us in God’s time and His way, some to one member, some to another, and together we receive all the Truth. That is why oneness in the Body is so important, because none of us receives the Whole Truth. “Take heed therefore how ye hear” (Luke 8:18) We must listen in the spirit and not with our minds; if we do, we will be given more, if not, we will lose the light, as satan steals the word from us. “And these are they by the way side, where the Word is sown; but when they have heard, satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the Word that was sown in their hearts.” (Mark 4:15). Matthew 13:12 “For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.”
END OF CHAPTER 41