Introduction
The cliché is well known in contemporary American literature and film; in a moment of intense drama, the judge’s stern and ordered demeanor fades and his or her true character breaks through. The raw human emotion surrounding the question and parties involved erupts from the seat of judgment and the entire situation comes to be seen in a new light. After days of evidence, twists, turns, uncertainties, and questions, the situation as it really stands is laid bare and the final judgment required to bring justice becomes clear to all. Isaiah 45:20-25 presents the reader with just such a court scene. For five chapters the prophet has presented evidence: against the worship of idols, for the salvation of Judah from Babylonian captivity, and for the singularity of Yahweh as the only living god. Finally, the judge, the Holy One of Israel, speaks through the prophet in a five-verse climatic mock court scene recorded in Isa 45:20-25 and displays his true character and his purposes for creation.
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