Commentary - Isaiah 46:8-11

Bird's-eye view

In this potent passage from Isaiah, the Lord delivers a broadside against the twin follies of idolatry and forgetfulness. Having just mocked the Babylonian idols, Bel and Nebo, as little more than baggage loaded onto weary beasts (Isa. 46:1-2), God now turns to His own people. He calls them back from their spiritual amnesia and rebellion, commanding them to remember who He is. This is no sentimental appeal. It is a summons to recall His absolute uniqueness, His exhaustive sovereignty over history, and the unshakeable certainty of His declared purposes. The argument is simple and devastating: the gods of the nations are manufactured burdens, but the God of Israel is the one who manufactures history itself. He doesn't predict the future as some sort of cosmic fortune teller; He declares it because He has already written it. This section is a bedrock passage for understanding the nature of divine sovereignty and the basis of our confidence in God's promises.

The movement of the text is from a command to remember (v. 8), to the basis of that remembrance, God’s unique identity and power (v. 9), to the ultimate demonstration of that power in His absolute decree over all things from beginning to end (v. 10), and finally to a specific, concrete example of that decree in action, the calling of Cyrus (v. 11). It is a movement from the general responsibility of man to the particular and absolute authority of God. God is not asking them to remember a set of abstract doctrines, but to remember Him, the one who acts, speaks, and accomplishes all His good pleasure.

Outline

Clause-by-Clause Commentary

v. 8 “Remember this, and be assured; Cause it to return to your heart, you transgressors.”

The first word is a command: “Remember.” This is not a gentle suggestion. The great disease of God’s people is a spiritual Alzheimer’s. We forget who He is, what He has done, and what He has promised. The antidote is remembrance. But what is the “this” we are to remember? It is the whole contrast God has been drawing between Himself and the useless idols. Remember that Bel bows down and Nebo stoops. Remember that you did not carry God, but He has carried you from the womb (Isa. 46:3). This is the fundamental truth that must be gripped.

Then He says, “and be assured.” The King James says “shew yourselves men.” The Hebrew word has to do with being firm, established, or steadfast. In a world of flimsy, man-made gods, the people of God are to be solid. Stand up straight. Put some steel in your spine. This is a call to theological manliness, to leave behind the vacillating affections that characterize idolatry.

Next, “Cause it to return to your heart.” This is not just an intellectual exercise. The truth must be driven from the head down into the heart, the seat of the will and affections. We are to preach to ourselves. We are to take these truths and drive them home. The heart is where the real battle is fought, and God is commanding us to bring the truth right into the command center.

Finally, notice who He is talking to: “you transgressors.” He is not speaking to the choirboys here. He is speaking to rebels, to those who have broken covenant. This is grace. God does not wait for them to clean themselves up before He calls them back. He calls them in their sin, and the call itself is the means of their restoration. The way back from transgression is to remember who God is.

v. 9 “Remember the former things long past, For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is no one like Me,”

Again, the command is to “Remember.” This time, He specifies what to remember: “the former things long past.” This refers to God’s mighty acts in history. Remember the Exodus. Remember the plagues on Egypt. Remember the parting of the Red Sea. Remember the conquest of Canaan. History is not a random series of events; it is the autobiography of God. Look back at His track record. Has He ever failed? The idols have no history, no track record, other than a history of being manufactured and then needing to be carried around.

The reason for this remembrance is the central claim of all Scripture: “For I am God, and there is no other.” This is the great assertion. The word for God here is El, signifying His power and might. He is the Mighty One. And He is utterly unique. There are no competitors. There is God, and then there is everything else. The line between the Creator and the creature is infinitely vast. The idols of Babylon are on the wrong side of that line.

He repeats it for emphasis, lest we miss the point. “I am God, and there is no one like Me.” He is incomparable. You cannot set Him in a lineup with other deities for a comparison. To what will you liken God? (Isa. 40:18). The answer is nothing. He is in a category all by Himself. This is the foundation of all true worship and the death of all idolatry.

v. 10 “Declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times things which have not been done, Saying, ‘My counsel will be established, And I will accomplish all My good pleasure’,”

Here we get to the heart of what makes God, God. How do we know He is God and there is no other? Because He is the one “Declaring the end from the beginning.” This is not prediction; it is publication. God is not a skilled meteorologist forecasting the future. He is the author of the story, telling us how it will end because He is the one writing it. He knows the end from the beginning because He decreed the end in the beginning.

He declares “from ancient times things which have not been done.” He speaks of future events with the same certainty as past events because for Him, they are all part of one settled plan. This is the ultimate taunt to the pagan gods. Isaiah elsewhere challenges them: “Tell us what is to come hereafter, that we may know that you are gods” (Isa. 41:23). They are silent, because they are nothing.

And what is it that He says? “My counsel will be established.” The word for counsel refers to a plan, a purpose, a decree. God has a plan for history, down to the last detail, and that plan will stand. It is not subject to revision by a committee of men or angels. It is not a rough draft. It is established.

And not only will His plan be established, but He says, “I will accomplish all My good pleasure.” Whatever God is pleased to do, He does. His will is never frustrated. His purposes are never thwarted. This is the bedrock of Christian confidence. Our God is not in heaven wringing His hands, hoping things will turn out all right. He is in heaven, and He does whatever He pleases (Ps. 115:3). This is either the most terrifying news in the world or the most comforting. If you are His enemy, it is terrifying. If you are His child through Christ, it is the sweetest comfort imaginable.

v. 11 “Calling a bird of prey from the east, The man of My counsel from a far country. Truly I have spoken; truly I will bring it to pass. I have formed it, surely I will do it.”

God now moves from the general principle to a specific, concrete proof. He is “Calling a bird of prey from the east.” This is a direct reference to Cyrus the Persian, whom God would raise up to conquer Babylon and release His people from exile. Cyrus is God’s instrument, His tool. He may think he is acting on his own initiative, but he is a man summoned by God’s counsel. He is coming from a “far country,” but he is not outside the reach of God’s sovereign call.

The final two couplets of this verse are a divine exclamation point on the whole matter. “Truly I have spoken; truly I will bring it to pass.” There is no gap between God’s speaking and God’s doing. His word is creative. When He speaks, reality rearranges itself to conform. What He prophesies, He performs.

And again, “I have formed it, surely I will do it.” The word for “formed” is the same word used for a potter shaping clay. God has shaped the future. He has designed it, planned it, molded it. And because He has formed it, He will most certainly do it. The plan in the divine mind and the execution in human history are seamlessly connected. This is our God. He is not a celestial suggestion box. He is the sovereign Lord of heaven and earth, and His counsel shall stand.

Application

So what do we do with a passage like this? First, we obey the central command: remember. We are to actively fight against spiritual forgetfulness. We must rehearse the character and works of God. When we are tempted to fear, or to despair, or to flirt with the idols of our age, be they security, comfort, or approval, we must bring to mind the fact that our God declares the end from the beginning. He is not surprised by the morning headlines, because He wrote them.

Second, we must rest in His absolute sovereignty. The doctrine of God’s exhaustive decree is not some dusty theological relic for academics to argue about. It is a practical, pastoral, and precious truth. It means that nothing in your life is random. It means that your sufferings have a purpose. It means that the promises of God in Christ are as certain as God Himself. He who planned your redemption in eternity past will most certainly bring it to its glorious completion in the future.

Finally, this passage should lead us to worship. This is who our God is. He is not a slightly more powerful version of us. He is utterly other, incomparable, and absolutely in control. This should humble us to the dust, and at the same time, lift our hearts in praise. The God who orchestrates the rise and fall of empires is the same God who has carried us from birth, and has promised to carry us all the way home. Therefore, let us remember this, show ourselves men, and trust Him.