Isaiah 41:25-29 - See, they are all false!

41:25

Later on the “one stirred up” will be identified as Cyrus. This is one of the prime reasons why so many insist that 40-66 is written not by Isaiah, by a “second Isaiah”. However, we should bear in mind one of the key purposes of Isaiah, which is to demonstrate that God is the sovereign Lord, including the Lord of history. In this case the unity of Isaiah makes far more sense. Nations rise and nations fall, and they are responsible for their actions, but it is the Lord who determines the course of history. “He treads on rulers ...” Most of the time Israel acted as if it was the nations and their rulers who determined the course of history, so Israel acted out of fear and so trusted in anyone and anything but God. She needed to know that compared to God the nations were nothing at all. Today we need the same attitude. There are Christians in many countries who experience serious persecution, in the West it seems that ungodly forces have dominion. We need more than ever to trust in God.

41:26-29

This verse stresses the truth that God knows what is going on and what will happen. More than that, He determines history. The idols did not, the things we may fear today do not actually rule. The Assyrian episode was a demonstration of the truth of all this. The idols could foretell nothing at all, they could only speak lies.