Isaiah 41:10
-- Fear not, for I [am] with thee; be not dismayed, for I [am] thy God I will strengthen thee, yea, I will help thee, yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.
View all translations →Isaiah 41:10 stands at the heart of Jehovah's controversy with the idol-serving nations: while the gods of the Gentiles are dumb and the world trembles before the rising power of Cyrus, the Lord turns and speaks comfort to His chosen servant. The verse rests on a contrast between Jehovah's certainty and the helpless huddle of the heathen who steady their idols with nails so they will not topple.
The "fear not" of verse 10 is anchored in Israel's election. Kelly sets verse 10 in its immediate flow, where the trembling isles and the carpenter encouraging the founder are answered by Jehovah's word to His servant:
William KellyThe isles saw it and feared; the ends of the earth were afraid, drew near, and came. They helped every one his neighbour, and each said to his brother, Be of good courage. So the carpenter encouraged the founder, he that smoothes with the hammer him that smites on the anvil, saying of the soldering, it is good; and he fastens it with nails, that it be not moved. But thou, Israel, my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham my friend… Fear not, for I am with thee; be not dismayed, for I am thy God.
The point is sharp: pagans must prop up gods that cannot move, but Israel is held by the God who moves all things.
The pledge "I am with thee" is the single antidote to fear that runs through Scripture. A commentary on Haggai gathers Isaiah's words into that wider chain:
MagazinesHow often do we read, for example, in Isaiah, "Fear not; I am with thee." And the Psalmist exclaims, "The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?" Nothing indeed dissipates fear like the assurance of the Lord's presence. But if it is consolation it is also an encouragement, reminding the people that if the Lord called them to go forward in a path of danger, He Himself was in their midst, and would go before them.
The same writer notes that strength flows from this presence, not from our own sums:
MagazinesIf He is with us, resting confidently in what He is for us, we measure our foes and difficulties, not by what we are, or by our own resources, but by what He is in all His own omnipotence.
Verse 10 piles three verbs on the promise — strengthen, help, uphold by the right hand of righteousness. Kelly carries the thought into the verses that follow, where the same hand that holds Jacob deals with his enemies:
William KellyBehold, all they that are incensed against thee shall be ashamed and confounded… For I Jehovah thy God will hold thy right hand, saying to thee, Fear not, I will help thee. Fear not, thou worm Jacob, ye few men of Israel; I will help thee, says Jehovah, and thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.
Baines couples this same assurance with Isaiah 43, showing that the "fear not" of chapter 41 is no isolated word but the steady tone of Jehovah toward the redeemed:
T. B. BainesThus says Jehovah that created thee, O Jacob… Fear not, for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art Mine. When thou passest through the waters I will be with thee… For I am Jehovah thy God, the Holy One of Israel thy Saviour.
Kelly is careful to say that the strength promised here reaches beyond the return from Babylon. The "worm Jacob" who is helped becomes a sharp threshing instrument; the day in view is one Israel has not yet seen:
William KellyThe prophet carries his eye far beyond the immediate occasion, and presents, not the condition of the Jews under their Persian or other Gentile lords, but days still future when Israel shall take them captive whose captives they were, and shall rule over their oppressors.
So verse 10 is both a present comfort and a pledge that ripens fully when the Sun of Righteousness arises with healing in His wings.
Because the promise is so full, the fear it forbids becomes a thing to be searched out. Witherby, commenting on the same "be not dismayed" wording in Joshua, is blunt:
H Forbes WitherbyFear is a bad symptom in the Christian. Fear indicates the presence of unbelief in God, or of some unjudged evil in ourselves… Firm faith in God dispels dismay before enemies.
- Election grounds it. The promise is spoken to "Israel my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen," not to the trembling idol-makers around them.
- Presence answers fear. "I am with thee" is the one assurance Scripture sets again and again against alarm; nothing else dispels fear like it.
- Strength is measured by Him. Faith weighs the foe against God's omnipotence, not against our own resources.
- Right hand of righteousness. Jehovah pledges to strengthen, help and uphold; the same hand that holds Jacob will shame those who strive with him.
- Future glory in view. The verse looks beyond Cyrus and the captivity to the day when Israel, once a worm, will thresh the mountains and glory in the Holy One.