Read Isaiah 44 here (text coming …) or at Bible Gateway.
The Hebrew paragraphs:
44:1-5 {p} Fear not, I have chosen you, will help you/ I will pour My Spirit on your descendants
44:6-20 {s} Beside YHVH there is no God/ the foolishness of idolatry
44:21-23 {s} YHVH has blotted out Israel’s and glorified Himself in him
44:24-28 {p} YHVH alone is Creator, He has established Cyrus to build Jerusalem and the temple
The Strong theme:
44:6-28 {s+s+p} YHVH alone is God who has formed and redeemed Israel His witness, and established Cyrus His shepherd
The Chiastic structure:
What YHVH has done for us and our descendants:
He has chosen us! (vs. 1)
Strong’s H977 בחר bachar, “to choose.” The ancient pictographs are bet + chet + resh.
bet ב = house (house, household, family, in, within)
chet ח = wall (outside, divide, half)
resh ר = head of man (head, first, top, beginning, man)
The cognate words will help us find the Hebrew Root Word parable, two of which are slaughter, and knife. So beyond the house (bet) is the wall (chet), a metaphor for work that is done outside. Slaughtering an animal was a task performed outside the house. Slaughtering (bet + chet) that which is chiefest or choicest (resh) indicates the sacrifice, the firstfruits as a concrete noun; but an examination to determine the choicest, thus to choose as a verb.
He has not only created us, but He has formed us for Himself! (vs. 2).
Strong’s H3335 יצר yatsar, “to form, fashion or frame.” The ancient pictographs are yud + tsadey + resh.
yud י = closed hand (work, throw, worship)
tsadey צ ץ = trail (a man concealed, journey, chase, hunt)
resh ר = head of man (head, first, top, beginning, man)
The parable is of the hand shaping (yud) or working toward a goal or endpoint (tsadey, as in a destination) ensuring excellence (resh). Think of being a workman who is not ashamed of his work (2 Tim 2:15).
He helps us! (vs. 2).
Strong’s H5826 עזר azar, “to help, aid, succor.” The ancient pictographs are ayin + zayin + resh.
ayin ע = eye (watch, know, shade)
zayin ז = mattock (tool, food, cut, nourish)
resh ר = head of man (head, first, top, beginning, man)
The parable is to watch for (ayin) what is necessary (zayin, as a tool is used to accomplish a needed end) for the man (resh).
He pours out His Spirit upon us! (vs. 3).
Strong’s H3332 יצק yatsaq “to pour.” The ancient pictographs are yud + tsadey + quph.
yud י = closed hand (work, throw, worship)
tsadey צ ץ = trail (a man concealed, journey, chase, hunt)
quph ק = sun on the horizon (condense, circle, time)
“A molten metal is poured into a mold to form a cast object or image.” – Ancient Hebrew Lexicon
The parable is of the hand casting (yud, in the sense of throwing) or working toward a goal or endpoint (tsadey, as in a destination) ensuring a completed (quph) work (Psa 138:8).
Please note the Comparison and Contrast being made. YHVH pours out His Spirit upon us, Himself personally working toward His goal. The foolish idol makers pour their molten metal into their forms to make a completed work. God forms and fashions us (yatsar, above) – He is God! – while the idol makers bow down to the form that they have fashioned.
He has redeemed us! (vs. 6)
Strong’s H1350, גאל ga’al , “to redeem, to buy back.” The ancient pictographs are gimel + aleph + lamed.
gimel ג = foot (foot, walk, gather)
aleph א = ox head (strength, power, leader)
lamed ל = shepherd’s staff (teach, yoke, to, bind)
The cognate words will help us find the parable. The most common of them have the meaning of “to roll; round,” with others signifying round objects, or a circle, because to walk (gimel) as authority (aleph) has taught us (lamed) to walk, is to observe the holy days through the circle of the year, year after year. Inherent in the root is the concept of something coming around again for a second time. To redeem, then, is to let someone or something see another day, to return to their life again, to receive a second chance.
“Redemption” is the abstract concept, from the verb “to redeem.” The concrete noun between them is the kinsman-redeemer, the next of kin who redeems his relative if he comes into bondage or if he must sell his inheritance in a time of poverty. The kinsman-redeemer gives their kinsman a second chance. For us, YHVH Himself has stepped in, in Messiah Yeshua, and made Himself our Kinsman-Redeemer.
Leave a Reply