Isa 42:15 | KingComments | STEP | The LORD will destroy the king of the North ( ) – and thus the dominion of islam – as well as the false prophet of His people, the antichrist, together with the ten kings and the beast that reigns over them. To this end He will go forth like a warrior ( ). When His zeal arouses and He utters the battle cry (cf. ; ), the enemies no longer have any chance. He held back for a long time ( ) and did not openly intervene to deliver His oppressed people, be they Israel or the church. This indicates His longsuffering which is so characteristic of the present day in which He has the gospel of His grace proclaimed despite all opposition and slander and apostasy ( ). This present time is coming to an end. God’s silence is not endless. He will utter a shout. It is as if all the restrained anger about the ungodliness of the world and everything that has been done to His people comes out. With the heat of His wrath, He will lay waste “the mountains and hills” as a picture of the hostile powers, and “all their vegetation” as a picture of their prosperity and their works ( ). All sources of blessing will dry up, every refreshment will come to an end. On the other hand, He will show mercy to His people. He will open the eyes of those blinded by sin to their need and make them see His salvation ( ). He will lead them out of misery and bring them on a path of light and blessing, on His own path of righteousness and peace. He will make darkness into light before them. He will free the road from obstacles and make it plain and passable. In the first place this refers to the redemption from the Babylonian exile and the road by which they are led back to Jerusalem from Babylon (cf. ). The people need to understand that it is not Cyrus, but the LORD Who redeems them. Cyrus is but an instrument in His hand. Even more so, in the end time the LORD will act like this for the benefit of His people. Also the description of His actions here is so general, that we can apply it to the whole redeeming work of the Lord Jesus – He is the LORD – that He has done for His heavenly people, the church. The LORD underlines His words with a solemn double declaration, one in a positive and one in a negative sense, in which both declarations reinforce each other: He will do and will not leave them undone. In this way every doubt is excluded. This action of the LORD also has a consequence for the idolaters ( ). When they see what He has done for those who put their trust in Him, they will recoil in terror and the red of shame will come upon their jaws. The foolishness of their idolatry and the uselessness of their idols will be highlighted.

‏ Isaiah 42:15

The LORD Goes Forth

The LORD will destroy the king of the North (Dan 11:45) – and thus the dominion of islam – as well as the false prophet of His people, the antichrist, together with the ten kings and the beast that reigns over them. To this end He will go forth like a warrior (Isa 42:13). When His zeal arouses and He utters the battle cry (cf. Joel 3:16; Jer 25:30), the enemies no longer have any chance.

He held back for a long time (Isa 42:14) and did not openly intervene to deliver His oppressed people, be they Israel or the church. This indicates His longsuffering which is so characteristic of the present day in which He has the gospel of His grace proclaimed despite all opposition and slander and apostasy (2Pet 3:9).

This present time is coming to an end. God’s silence is not endless. He will utter a shout. It is as if all the restrained anger about the ungodliness of the world and everything that has been done to His people comes out. With the heat of His wrath, He will lay waste “the mountains and hills” as a picture of the hostile powers, and “all their vegetation” as a picture of their prosperity and their works (Isa 42:15). All sources of blessing will dry up, every refreshment will come to an end.

On the other hand, He will show mercy to His people. He will open the eyes of those blinded by sin to their need and make them see His salvation (Isa 42:16). He will lead them out of misery and bring them on a path of light and blessing, on His own path of righteousness and peace. He will make darkness into light before them. He will free the road from obstacles and make it plain and passable.

In the first place this refers to the redemption from the Babylonian exile and the road by which they are led back to Jerusalem from Babylon (cf. Isa 43:19). The people need to understand that it is not Cyrus, but the LORD Who redeems them. Cyrus is but an instrument in His hand. Even more so, in the end time the LORD will act like this for the benefit of His people. Also the description of His actions here is so general, that we can apply it to the whole redeeming work of the Lord Jesus – He is the LORD – that He has done for His heavenly people, the church.

The LORD underlines His words with a solemn double declaration, one in a positive and one in a negative sense, in which both declarations reinforce each other: He will do and will not leave them undone. In this way every doubt is excluded.

This action of the LORD also has a consequence for the idolaters (Isa 42:17). When they see what He has done for those who put their trust in Him, they will recoil in terror and the red of shame will come upon their jaws. The foolishness of their idolatry and the uselessness of their idols will be highlighted.