1. Outline:
III. Grace: Motive and Means for Servanthood 40 – 55
A. Introduction 40
B. Grace: Motive for Servanthood 41 – 48
C. Grace: Means of Servanthood 49 – 55
Part B. answers first question raised by Hezekiah’s failure to glorify Yahweh: what can motivate them to a life of trust? Grace!
Part C. answers the next question: How can Yahweh extend that grace? The gracious gift of the Servant.
2. Chapter 40 functions as an introduction to both parts answering three preliminary questions asked by those in exile.
a. Does God want to deliver us? (1 – 11)
b. Can God deliver us? (12 – 26)
c. Will God deliver us? (27 – 31)
3. Chapters 41 – 46 Grace: Motive for Servanthood
a. Far from casting off Israel, Yahweh will use them as his witnesses to prove that he is God.
b. Yahweh’s case against the gods is stated several times in chapters 41 – 46: 41:21-29; 43:8-13; 44:6-9; 45:20 – 46:7.
c. All predicated on the inability of the idol-gods to predict the future specifically.
i. As expressions of cosmic forces they are unable to do anything different than they have in the past.
ii. The best that can be done is omenology: interpreting “signs” which are linked to what happened in the past.
d. The idol-gods cannot provide evidence that they have ever made specific predictions that have come true, but Yahweh can: the testimony of his people.
i. He alone is transcendent: holy.
ii. He alone deserves to be called divine.
e. The argument raises some question about the predictive nature of these statements themselves (espec. Cyrus); if they are not themselves predictive of the exile, but written during the exile, what becomes of the argument?
a. If Babylon’s gods are discredited, Babylon’s pride is not only false but self- destructive (47).
b. If God’s promises of return are indeed valid, Israel should listen to Yahweh and not allow himself to become acculturated to the Empire (48).