Isaiah 50:2

The Lord asked two more questions of His people that amount to one. Note the prominence of questions as a teaching device in this chapter (Isaiah 50:1-2; Isaiah 50:8-11). Why had they not responded to His calls for repentance and faith (which came through the prophets)? Had they done so, He implied, He would not have sold them into captivity. Was His lack of deliverance when they called to Him for help the result of His inability to save them? No, He could reach them, and He was strong enough to save them. The figure of God’s hand saving shows that God Himself saves. This is the first of several references to the Lord’s hand or arm in Isaiah, a common figure in the Old Testament for strength (cf. Isaiah 51:5; Isaiah 51:9; Isaiah 52:10; Isaiah 53:1). As Isaiah would reveal, the Lord’s power was great enough not only to rescue the Israelites from captivity, but to provide salvation from sin.