Isaiah 45:9

“Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker, &c.] 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…”

“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…”

“Wo unto him that striveth with his Maker! - This verse commences a new subject. Its connection with the preceeding is not very obvious. It may be designed to prevent the objections and cavils of the unbelieving Jews who were disposed to complain against God, and to arraign the wisdom of his dispensations in regard to them, in permitting them to be oppressed by their enemies, and in promising them deliver ance instead of preventing their captivity. So Lowth understands it. Rosenmuller regards it as designed to meet a cavil, because God chose to deliver them by Cyrus, a foreign prince, and a stranger to the true religion, rather than by one of their own nation. Kimchi, and some others, suppose…”

“Woe - As God here makes many glorious promises to Cyrus, so he pronounces a curse upon them, who should endeavour to hinder him. Contend - Contend, if you please, with your fellow creatures, but not with your creator. Or - He turns his speech to the potter. Isaiah 45:11”

“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.”

“unto him: Isa 64:8; Exo 9:16, Exo 9:17; Job 15:24-26, Job 40:8, Job 40:9; Psa 2:2-9; Pro 21:30; Jer 50:24; Co1 10:22 Shall the clay: Isa 10:15, Isa 29:16; Jer 18:6; Rom 9:20, Rom 9:21 Isaiah 45:10”

“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…”