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Isaiah 45:9
Verse
Context
God Calls Cyrus
8Drip down, O heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness. Let the earth open up that salvation may sprout and righteousness spring up with it; I, the LORD, have created it. 9Woe to him who quarrels with his Maker— one clay pot among many. Does the clay ask the potter, ‘What are you making?’ Does your work say, ‘He has no hands’? 10Woe to him who says to his father, ‘What have you begotten?’ or to his mother, ‘What have you brought forth?’”
Sermons
Chuck Smith
Jim Cymbala
A.B. SimpsonChuck Smith
Randolph S. Foster
Thomas BostonSummary
Commentary
- Adam Clarke
- Keil-Delitzsch
- Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
- John Gill
- Tyndale
Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
Wo unto him that striveth with his Maker "To unto him that contendeth with the power that formed him" - The prophet answers or prevents the objections and cavils of the unbelieving Jews, disposed to murmur against God, and to arraign the wisdom and justice of his dispensations in regard to them; in permitting them to be oppressed by their enemies, and in promising them deliverance instead of preventing their captivity. St. Paul has borrowed the image, and has applied it to the like purpose with equal force and elegance: "Nay, but, O man! who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus? Hath not the potter power over the clay, out of the same lump to make one vessel to honor, and another to dishonor?" Rom 9:20, Rom 9:21. This is spoken says Kimchi, against the king of Babylon, who insulted the Most High, bringing forth the sacred vessels, drinking out of them, and magnifying himself against God. Or thy work, He hath no hands "And to the workman, Thou hast no hands" - The Syriac renders, as if he had read, ולא היתי פעל ידיך velo hayithi pheal yadeycha, "neither am I the work of thy hands;" the Septuagint, as if they had reads ולא פעלת ואין ודים לך velo phaalta veeyn yaadim lecha, "neither hast thou made me; and thou hast no hands." But the fault seems to be in the transposition of the two pronouns; for ופעלך uphoolcha, read ופעלו uphoolo: and for לו lo, read לך lecha. So Houbigant corrects it; reading also ופעלו uphoolo; which last correction seems not altogether necessary. The Septuagint, in MSS. Pachom. and 1. D. 2 have it thus, και το εργον ουκ εχεις χειρας, which favors the reading here proposed.
Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch Old Testament Commentary
The promise is now continued in the third strophe (Isa 45:9-13), and increases more and more in the distinctness of its terms; but just as in Isa 29:15-21, it opens with a reproof of that pusillanimity (Isa 40:27; cf., Isa 51:13; Isa 49:24; Isa 58:3), which goes so far to complain of the ways of Jehovah. "Woe to him that quarreleth with his Maker - a pot among the pots of earthenware? Can the clay indeed say to him that shapeth it, What makest thou? and thy work, He hath no hands? Woe to him that saith to his father, What begettest thou? and to the woman, What bringest thou forth?" The comparison drawn between a man as the work of God and the clay-work of a potter suggested itself all the more naturally, inasmuch as the same word yootseer was applied to God as Creator, and also to a potter (figulus). The word cheres signifies either a sherd, or fragment of earthenware (Isa 30:14), or an earthenware vessel (Jer 19:1; Pro 26:23). In the passage before us, where the point of comparison is not the fragmentary condition, but the earthen character of the material ()'adâmâh), the latter is intended: the man, who complains of God, is nothing but a vessel of clay, and, more than that, a perishable vessel among many others of the very same kind. (Note: The Septuagint reads shin for sin in both instances, and introduces here the very unsuitable thought already contained in Isa 28:24, "Shall the ploughman plough the land the whole day?") The questions which follow are meant to show the folly of this complaining. Can it possibly occur to the clay to raise a complaint against him who has it in hand, that he has formed it in such and such a manner, or for such and such a purpose (compare Rom 9:20, "Why hast thou made me thus")? To the words "or thy work" we must supply num dicet (shall it say); pō‛al is a manufacture, as in Isa 1:31. The question is addressed to the maker, as those in Isa 7:25 are to the husbandman: Can the thing made by thee, O man, possibly say in a contemptuous tone, "He has no hands?" - a supposition the ridiculous absurdity of which condemns it at once; and yet it is a very suitable analogy to the conduct of the man who complains of God. In Isa 45:10 a woe is denounced upon those who resemble a man who should say to his own father, What children dost thou beget? or to a wife, What dost thou bring forth? (techı̄lı̄n an emphatic, and for the most part pausal, fut. parag., as in Rut 2:8; Rut 3:18). This would be the rudest and most revolting attack upon an inviolably tender and private relation; and yet Israel does this when it makes the hidden providential government of its God the object of expostulation.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
Anticipating the objections which the Jews might raise as to why God permitted their captivity, and when He did restore them, why He did so by a foreign prince, Cyrus, not a Jew (Isa 40:27, &c.), but mainly and ultimately, the objections about to be raised by the Jews against God's sovereign act in adopting the whole Gentile world as His spiritual Israel (Isa 45:8, referring to this catholic diffusion of the Gospel), as if it were an infringement of their nation's privileges; so Paul expressly quotes it (Rom 9:4-8, Rom 9:11-21). Let . . . strive--Not in the Hebrew; rather, in apposition with "him," "A potsherd among the potsherds of the earth!" A creature fragile and worthless as the fragment of an earthen vessel, among others equally so, and yet presuming to strive with his Maker! English Version implies, it is appropriate for man to strive with man, in opposition to Ti2 2:24 [GESENIUS]. thy . . . He--shall thy work say of thee, He . . . ?
John Gill Bible Commentary
Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker,.... That contends with him, enters into a controversy, and disputes with him, or litigates a point with him; quarrels with his purposes and decrees; murmurs and repines at his providences, and finds fault with his dispensations: this seems to have respect to the murmurs, quarrels, and contests of the Jews about Christ, the author of righteousness and salvation, when he should appear: let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth; let men strive with men, who are as earthen vessels made of the same mass and lump, and so are upon an equal foot, and a match for each other; but let them not have the insolence and vanity to strive with their Maker, who, as he has made them, can dash them in pieces as a potter's vessel: shall the clay say to him that fashioneth it, what makest thou? yet this might be said with as much propriety and justice as that the Jews should quarrel with God for not sending the Messiah as a temporal prince to rescue them from the Roman yoke; but in a mean and humble manner, in the form of a servant, as a man of sorrows, and acquainted with griefs; and, at last, became obedient to the death of the cross, the way in which he was to be the Saviour of men: or thy work, he hath no hands? or thus, or "thy work say unto thee, he, the potter, hath no hands"; no power nor skill to make me; I can make myself: as weakly, as wickedly, and as foolishly did the Jews, seeing no need of the Saviour sent them, nor of his righteousness and salvation, argue for justification by their own works, and in favour of their self-sufficiency to work out their own salvation. The Targum takes the words to be spoken to idolaters, and paraphrases the former part thus; "woe to him who thinks to contend in judgment against the words of his Creator, and trusts that earthen images shall profit him, which are made out of the dust of the earth, &c.'' and there are many interpreters who think they are spoken against the idolatrous Babylonians, particularly against Belshazzar, as Kimchi; and others, against Astyages, a king of Persia, who was angry with the father and mother of Cyrus, and sought to have slain him as soon as born (q). (q) Vid. Abendana in Miclol Yophi in loc.
Tyndale Open Study Notes
45:9-13 The Lord confronts those who question his right to use a pagan king to achieve his purposes. He, the Creator, is free and sovereign in his activities. He promised to bring his people back to their land, and he would use anyone he chose to accomplish that purpose. 45:9-11 pot . . . its maker . . . baby . . . its father: It is ridiculous for a creature to question the wisdom of its creator.
Isaiah 45:9
God Calls Cyrus
8Drip down, O heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness. Let the earth open up that salvation may sprout and righteousness spring up with it; I, the LORD, have created it. 9Woe to him who quarrels with his Maker— one clay pot among many. Does the clay ask the potter, ‘What are you making?’ Does your work say, ‘He has no hands’? 10Woe to him who says to his father, ‘What have you begotten?’ or to his mother, ‘What have you brought forth?’”
- Scripture
- Sermons
- Commentary
(Through the Bible) Exodus 11-12
By Chuck Smith1.6K56:21EXO 12:13EXO 12:41ISA 45:9MAT 7:14JHN 5:24ACT 4:12In this sermon, the speaker emphasizes the importance of accepting and believing in God's word without questioning or arguing with it. He highlights the humility and submission that comes from recognizing our limited understanding compared to God's wisdom. The speaker also discusses the role of parents in teaching their children about God and His power, using the example of the Passover story. Additionally, he emphasizes that true life and significance begin with a relationship with Jesus Christ, and everything before that is of no value. The sermon concludes with a reference to the apostle Paul's experience of being caught up to the third heaven and the assurance of a future eternal body.
Postgraduate Courses
By Jim Cymbala83534:06Christian Life1SA 16:1ISA 45:9MAT 26:69ACT 2:14ROM 8:372CO 12:9In this sermon, the preacher discusses the history of denominations and how they often start with a humble and desperate cry to God. However, as they become established, they tend to prioritize their own rules and regulations over the teachings of the Bible. The preacher emphasizes that God tends to use those who have been wounded and broken, as they can better sympathize with others and reach out to them. He also highlights the importance of relying on the Spirit of Christ during times of difficulty and challenges. The sermon concludes by reminding listeners that whoever God uses, He first wounds, and this is a lesson that Christians should be aware of in their journey of faith.
The Knowledge of God and of Ourselves Mutually Connected. -Nature of the Connection
By John Calvin0EXO 3:6JOB 42:5PSA 111:10PRO 22:4ISA 6:5ISA 45:9John Calvin preaches about the importance of true wisdom, which consists of the knowledge of God and of ourselves, emphasizing how the two are interconnected. He explains how the knowledge of God humbles our pride, unveils our hypocrisy, and reveals our utter helplessness, leading us to seek God and acknowledge our own unworthiness. Calvin illustrates the effects of the knowledge of God through examples of holy patriarchs, angels, and celestial bodies like the sun and moon, showing how encountering God's majesty causes awe and self-awareness of our insignificance.
Even Christ Pleased Not Himself
By A.B. Simpson0JOB 34:29ISA 45:9ISA 63:14MAT 11:28JHN 15:5PHP 2:13COL 2:16HEB 3:14HEB 4:9The preacher delves into the concept of Sabbath rest, explaining that it signifies a period of rest for God's people modeled after the traditional Sabbath, but not limited to a specific day. The rest is a fulfillment of believers' perpetual rest in fellowship with the Father and the Son, contrasting the weekly Sabbath under the Law. This rest is not dependent on special days but on faith in Christ's finished work, offering believers constant fellowship with God and freedom from worldly struggles.
Isaiah 45:9
By Chuck Smith0Striving with GodGod's SovereigntyISA 45:9EZK 7:8Chuck Smith emphasizes that striving against God ultimately harms ourselves, as God desires a better path for our lives and loves us deeply, wanting us to be with Him eternally. He warns that resisting God invites disaster, as Christ is the only answer for our sins, and rejecting Him means rejecting our only hope. Smith highlights that fighting against God is futile, as He has rightful claims over us through creation, redemption, and preservation, reminding us of our weakness in comparison to His power.
Objections to Calvinism - 7. the Heathen World
By Randolph S. Foster0PSA 92:15PSA 145:17ISA 45:9ROM 2:8ROM 4:15ROM 5:13JAS 1:13Randolph S. Foster passionately denounces the Calvinistic view of the heathen world, particularly focusing on the doctrine of reprobation and infant damnation. He argues against the belief that God predestines certain individuals to damnation, emphasizing the revolting nature of such a doctrine and its implications on God's justice and goodness. Foster highlights the inconsistency of this belief with Scripture, reason, and common sense, pointing out the lack of evidence to support it. He challenges the notion that God's sovereignty can be used to justify teachings that contradict His righteous and merciful nature.
The Crook in the Lot - Part 1
By Thomas Boston0JOB 2:10PSA 46:10PSA 62:5PRO 3:5ISA 45:9ROM 8:28PHP 4:6HEB 12:11JAS 4:71PE 5:6Thomas Boston preaches about the importance of recognizing that the crook in our lot is of God's making, designed for various purposes such as trial, correction, prevention of sin, and exercise of grace. He emphasizes the need for Christians to submit to the crook in their lot, understanding that it is part of God's sovereign and beneficial plan for their lives. Boston encourages believers to welcome the discipline of the crook, knowing that it is a means of nurturing their faith, weaning them from the world, and prompting them to seek their ultimate rest in God.
Signs of the Times
By A.W. Pink0Repentance and SalvationTrue EvangelismISA 44:20ISA 45:9ISA 60:2MAT 1:21MAT 9:12MRK 1:15LUK 13:3ROM 3:20EPH 5:11HEB 5:9A.W. Pink addresses the alarming state of modern evangelism, asserting that much of it is superficial and misleading, failing to convey the true nature of the Gospel. He emphasizes that genuine conversion requires a deep understanding of sin and repentance, rather than a mere acceptance of Christ as Savior without acknowledging His Lordship. Pink warns that many who believe they are saved are actually deceived, as they have not truly repented or surrendered to Christ. He calls for a return to preaching the seriousness of sin and the necessity of a transformed life in Christ, urging believers to reject the false messages prevalent in contemporary evangelism. The sermon serves as a wake-up call to the church to uphold the integrity of the Gospel amidst a culture of compromise.
Godliness, Maturity and Spiritual Depth
By K.P. Yohannan0Spiritual GrowthForgivenessPSA 103:12ISA 45:9ROM 8:12CO 5:17EPH 2:8PHP 1:6COL 3:13HEB 4:16JAS 1:41JN 1:9K.P. Yohannan emphasizes the importance of understanding and accepting God's forgiveness for all sins, past, present, and future, which can be difficult for many to believe. He encourages believers to live in a state of forgiveness towards themselves and others, reminding them that spiritual maturity and depth come from God's work within us rather than mere knowledge. Patience with oneself is crucial, as growth in Christ's image takes time, and we should not be discouraged by our shortcomings. Yohannan illustrates this with the example of Jesus' patient response to Peter after his denial, highlighting that God sees our potential beyond our failures. Ultimately, we must accept God's grace and allow Him to mold us into who He wants us to be.
- Adam Clarke
- Keil-Delitzsch
- Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
- John Gill
- Tyndale
Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
Wo unto him that striveth with his Maker "To unto him that contendeth with the power that formed him" - The prophet answers or prevents the objections and cavils of the unbelieving Jews, disposed to murmur against God, and to arraign the wisdom and justice of his dispensations in regard to them; in permitting them to be oppressed by their enemies, and in promising them deliverance instead of preventing their captivity. St. Paul has borrowed the image, and has applied it to the like purpose with equal force and elegance: "Nay, but, O man! who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus? Hath not the potter power over the clay, out of the same lump to make one vessel to honor, and another to dishonor?" Rom 9:20, Rom 9:21. This is spoken says Kimchi, against the king of Babylon, who insulted the Most High, bringing forth the sacred vessels, drinking out of them, and magnifying himself against God. Or thy work, He hath no hands "And to the workman, Thou hast no hands" - The Syriac renders, as if he had read, ולא היתי פעל ידיך velo hayithi pheal yadeycha, "neither am I the work of thy hands;" the Septuagint, as if they had reads ולא פעלת ואין ודים לך velo phaalta veeyn yaadim lecha, "neither hast thou made me; and thou hast no hands." But the fault seems to be in the transposition of the two pronouns; for ופעלך uphoolcha, read ופעלו uphoolo: and for לו lo, read לך lecha. So Houbigant corrects it; reading also ופעלו uphoolo; which last correction seems not altogether necessary. The Septuagint, in MSS. Pachom. and 1. D. 2 have it thus, και το εργον ουκ εχεις χειρας, which favors the reading here proposed.
Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch Old Testament Commentary
The promise is now continued in the third strophe (Isa 45:9-13), and increases more and more in the distinctness of its terms; but just as in Isa 29:15-21, it opens with a reproof of that pusillanimity (Isa 40:27; cf., Isa 51:13; Isa 49:24; Isa 58:3), which goes so far to complain of the ways of Jehovah. "Woe to him that quarreleth with his Maker - a pot among the pots of earthenware? Can the clay indeed say to him that shapeth it, What makest thou? and thy work, He hath no hands? Woe to him that saith to his father, What begettest thou? and to the woman, What bringest thou forth?" The comparison drawn between a man as the work of God and the clay-work of a potter suggested itself all the more naturally, inasmuch as the same word yootseer was applied to God as Creator, and also to a potter (figulus). The word cheres signifies either a sherd, or fragment of earthenware (Isa 30:14), or an earthenware vessel (Jer 19:1; Pro 26:23). In the passage before us, where the point of comparison is not the fragmentary condition, but the earthen character of the material ()'adâmâh), the latter is intended: the man, who complains of God, is nothing but a vessel of clay, and, more than that, a perishable vessel among many others of the very same kind. (Note: The Septuagint reads shin for sin in both instances, and introduces here the very unsuitable thought already contained in Isa 28:24, "Shall the ploughman plough the land the whole day?") The questions which follow are meant to show the folly of this complaining. Can it possibly occur to the clay to raise a complaint against him who has it in hand, that he has formed it in such and such a manner, or for such and such a purpose (compare Rom 9:20, "Why hast thou made me thus")? To the words "or thy work" we must supply num dicet (shall it say); pō‛al is a manufacture, as in Isa 1:31. The question is addressed to the maker, as those in Isa 7:25 are to the husbandman: Can the thing made by thee, O man, possibly say in a contemptuous tone, "He has no hands?" - a supposition the ridiculous absurdity of which condemns it at once; and yet it is a very suitable analogy to the conduct of the man who complains of God. In Isa 45:10 a woe is denounced upon those who resemble a man who should say to his own father, What children dost thou beget? or to a wife, What dost thou bring forth? (techı̄lı̄n an emphatic, and for the most part pausal, fut. parag., as in Rut 2:8; Rut 3:18). This would be the rudest and most revolting attack upon an inviolably tender and private relation; and yet Israel does this when it makes the hidden providential government of its God the object of expostulation.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
Anticipating the objections which the Jews might raise as to why God permitted their captivity, and when He did restore them, why He did so by a foreign prince, Cyrus, not a Jew (Isa 40:27, &c.), but mainly and ultimately, the objections about to be raised by the Jews against God's sovereign act in adopting the whole Gentile world as His spiritual Israel (Isa 45:8, referring to this catholic diffusion of the Gospel), as if it were an infringement of their nation's privileges; so Paul expressly quotes it (Rom 9:4-8, Rom 9:11-21). Let . . . strive--Not in the Hebrew; rather, in apposition with "him," "A potsherd among the potsherds of the earth!" A creature fragile and worthless as the fragment of an earthen vessel, among others equally so, and yet presuming to strive with his Maker! English Version implies, it is appropriate for man to strive with man, in opposition to Ti2 2:24 [GESENIUS]. thy . . . He--shall thy work say of thee, He . . . ?
John Gill Bible Commentary
Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker,.... That contends with him, enters into a controversy, and disputes with him, or litigates a point with him; quarrels with his purposes and decrees; murmurs and repines at his providences, and finds fault with his dispensations: this seems to have respect to the murmurs, quarrels, and contests of the Jews about Christ, the author of righteousness and salvation, when he should appear: let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth; let men strive with men, who are as earthen vessels made of the same mass and lump, and so are upon an equal foot, and a match for each other; but let them not have the insolence and vanity to strive with their Maker, who, as he has made them, can dash them in pieces as a potter's vessel: shall the clay say to him that fashioneth it, what makest thou? yet this might be said with as much propriety and justice as that the Jews should quarrel with God for not sending the Messiah as a temporal prince to rescue them from the Roman yoke; but in a mean and humble manner, in the form of a servant, as a man of sorrows, and acquainted with griefs; and, at last, became obedient to the death of the cross, the way in which he was to be the Saviour of men: or thy work, he hath no hands? or thus, or "thy work say unto thee, he, the potter, hath no hands"; no power nor skill to make me; I can make myself: as weakly, as wickedly, and as foolishly did the Jews, seeing no need of the Saviour sent them, nor of his righteousness and salvation, argue for justification by their own works, and in favour of their self-sufficiency to work out their own salvation. The Targum takes the words to be spoken to idolaters, and paraphrases the former part thus; "woe to him who thinks to contend in judgment against the words of his Creator, and trusts that earthen images shall profit him, which are made out of the dust of the earth, &c.'' and there are many interpreters who think they are spoken against the idolatrous Babylonians, particularly against Belshazzar, as Kimchi; and others, against Astyages, a king of Persia, who was angry with the father and mother of Cyrus, and sought to have slain him as soon as born (q). (q) Vid. Abendana in Miclol Yophi in loc.
Tyndale Open Study Notes
45:9-13 The Lord confronts those who question his right to use a pagan king to achieve his purposes. He, the Creator, is free and sovereign in his activities. He promised to bring his people back to their land, and he would use anyone he chose to accomplish that purpose. 45:9-11 pot . . . its maker . . . baby . . . its father: It is ridiculous for a creature to question the wisdom of its creator.