What is the meaning of Isaiah 51:13?

But you have forgotten the LORD, your Maker

“ But you have forgotten the LORD, your Maker ” (Isaiah 51:13a)

• Forgetting here is practical, not simply mental. Israel knew God existed but behaved as though He were absent (Judges 8:34; Jeremiah 2:32).

• This neglect is personal: “your Maker.” The One who formed them deserves trust and loyalty (Psalm 95:6; Isaiah 43:1).

• When God’s people lose sight of Him, fear quickly fills the vacuum (Deuteronomy 32:18–20).

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Who stretched out the heavens and laid the foundations of the earth

“ …who stretched out the heavens and laid the foundations of the earth ” (Isaiah 51:13b)

• God’s creative power is put forward as the antidote to fear (Psalm 102:25–27; Isaiah 40:26).

• The same hands that flung galaxies into space also uphold every promise to His people (Hebrews 1:10–12).

• Creation language reminds Israel—and us—of God’s unmatched sovereignty (Job 38:4–7; Revelation 4:11).

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You live in terror all day long because of the fury of the oppressor who is bent on destruction

“ You live in terror all day long because of the fury of the oppressor who is bent on destruction ” (Isaiah 51:13c)

• The phrase captures the Babylonian oppression then looming (Isaiah 47:6).

• Constant dread produces exhaustion and spiritual amnesia (Psalm 55:4–5).

• Even relentless enemies remain on a leash held by God (Exodus 14:13; Proverbs 21:1).

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But where is the fury of the oppressor?

“ But where is the fury of the oppressor? ” (Isaiah 51:13d)

• God punctures fear with a rhetorical question. The oppressor’s rage has an expiration date (Isaiah 51:14; Jeremiah 51:64).

• Historical deliverances—Red Sea, exile’s end—prove that tyrants vanish while God’s people endure (Psalm 124:1–8).

• New-covenant believers see ultimate fulfillment in Christ’s victory over every enemy, including death (Colossians 2:15; 1 Corinthians 15:54–57).

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summary

Isaiah 51:13 calls God’s people to exchange paralyzing fear for conscious trust. Remember the Creator-Redeemer, whose power framed the cosmos and whose love secures His own. Earthly oppressors roar for a season, but the Almighty asks, “Where is their fury now?” Looking back at God’s past faithfulness fuels present courage and future hope.