Posts
Isaiah 51-53
by Samuel E. Ward
Introduction
As stated earlier in our study, biblical scholars believe that after Hezekiah's death and the ascendancy of his son Manasseh to the throne, Israel found themselves under the rule of a tyrant. As a result of Manasseh's harsh treatment of his people, they began to lose hope. This became an opportunity for God to reach out to them in their despair through a series of messages He gave to Isaiah. Isaiah writes chapters 40-66 to give God's people a vision of their ultimate destiny. God had not forgotten His promises to them. Though they were going to pass through a time of testing and judgment for their unfaithfulness to Him, the day would come when comfort would come in the form of a Suffering Servant Who would become their Messiah and King in an everlasting kingdom.
We return to our study of Isaiah and look at the last major portion of his prophecy which is . . .
VI. God's Message Concerning His People's Future, Isa 40-66
To this point, God has sought to give Israel confidence in His power to keep His promises concerning their future. This future first included hard experiences for His people which must be endured. Manasseh would continue to reign for a period and his sins would be the catalyst to bring upon the seventy-year Babylonian captivity.
However, God's people must endure the discipline which they have brought upon themselves by their rebellion against Him and when that is complete, they will be delivered and allowed to return to their land.
In the message of God to Israel is a look forward into the ultimate destiny of His people when not only will they enjoy the blessings of God's kingdom and ruler-ship, but the whole world would be invited to become a part.
A. The Sovereign God, Isa 40-48
The message of hope begins with an emphasis God's ability to execute His plan.
B. The Suffering Servant, Isaiah 49-57
The message of hope continues with an explanation of how God will accomplish the plan—through the obedience of His own Servant who has been especially commissioned to bring it about. As a part of the plan , God's Servant must address the issue of His people's sin. It will require a deep personal commitment on His part—a commitment to suffer as a substitute sacrifice for the sins of His people.
We have noted previously . . .
1. The Mission of the Servant, Isaiah 49
Isaiah 49:5-6 ( NIV ) 5And now the LORD says—he who formed me in the womb to be his servant to bring Jacob back to him and gather Israel to himself, for I am honored in the eyes of the LORD and my God has been my strength—6he says: "It is too small a thing for you to be my servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I have kept. I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring my salvation to the ends of the earth."
2. The Submission of the Servant, Isa 50
Isaiah 50:5-7 ( NIV ) 5The Sovereign LORD has opened my ears, and I have not been rebellious; I have not drawn back. 6I offered my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard; I did not hide my face from mocking and spitting. 7Because the Sovereign LORD helps me, I will not be disgraced. Therefore have I set my face like flint, and I know I will not be put to shame.
The Servant has declared that He was ready to do that which the Lord has called Him to do, even to suffer at the hands of those who were rebellious toward God. He was ready to bring them through their hardships, deliver them from their oppressors, and bring light in their darkness if only they would extinguish their old torches which they used to seek their own way.
Our study continues by noting that the first step to deliverance was to answer . . .
3. The Solemn Call for Repentance, Isa 51
a. Listen to the Lord's appeal, Isa 51:1-8
1) Return to your rock, Isa 51:1-2.
Isaiah 51:1-2 (NIV)1 "Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness
and who seek the LORD: Look to the rock from which you were cut and to the quarry from which you were hewn; 2look to Abraham, your father, and to Sarah, who gave you birth. When I called him he was but one, and I blessed him and made him many.
2) Recognize the Lord's purposes, Isa 51:3.
Isaiah 51:3 (NIV)3The LORD will surely comfort Zion and will look with compassion on all her ruins; he will make her deserts like Eden, her wastelands like the garden of the LORD. Joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and the sound of singing.
3) Ready yourself for the Lord's salvation, Isa 51:4-8.
a) Law, justice, righteousness, and salvation will be distributed among the nations, Isa 51:4-6. (51:4)
Isaiah 51:4 (NIV)4 "Listen to me, my people; hear me, my nation: The law will go out from me; my justice will become a light to the nations.
b) Righteousness and salvation will come despite the resistance of the unrighteous, Isa 51:7-8.
Isaiah 51:7-8 (NIV)7 "Hear me, you who know what is right, you people who have my law in your hearts: Do not fear the reproach of men or be terrified by their insults. 8For the moth will eat them up like a garment; the worm will devour them like wool. But my righteousness will last forever, my salvation through all generations."
b. Hear the prophet's prayer, Isa 51:9-11.
1) The appeal for God's intervention, Isa 51:9-10.
Isaiah 51:9-10 (NIV)9Awake, awake! Clothe yourself with strength, O arm of the LORD; awake, as in days gone by, as in generations of old. Was it not you who cut Rahab to pieces, who pierced that monster through? 10Was it not you who dried up the sea, the waters of the great deep, who made a road in the depths of the sea so that the redeemed might cross over?
In Ugaritic literature Rahab was the name of a female sea monster associated with Leviathan. Perhaps the hippopotamus, an animal that often sits in the water of the Nile doing nothing, represents that mythical water beast. See Isa 30:7.
-- The Bible Knowledge Commentary, "Isaiah", John Martin
2) The anticipation of God's redeemed, Isa 51:11.
Isaiah 51:11 (NIV)11The ransomed of the LORD will return. They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away.
c. Attend to the Lord's answer, Isa 51:12-16 (51:12, 16).
1) I can comfort you.
2) I am God, your captors are only men.
3) You have my words.
4) You are my people.
Isaiah 51:12,16 (NIV)12 "I, even I, am he who comforts you. Who are you that you fear mortal men, the sons of men, who are but grass, . . . 16I have put my words in your mouth and covered you with the shadow of my hand—I who set the heavens in place, who laid the foundations of the earth, and who say to Zion, 'You are my people.'"
d. Awake from the ruinous effects of the Lord's wrath, Isa 51:17-20. (51:17)
Isaiah 51:17 (NIV)17Awake, awake! Rise up, O Jerusalem, you who have drunk from the hand of the LORD the cup of his wrath, you who have drained to its dregs the goblet that makes men stagger.
e. See the judgment of your tormentors, Isa 51:21-23. (51:22-23)
Isaiah 51:22-23 (NIV)22bThis is what your Sovereign LORD says, your God, who defends his people: "See, I have taken out of your hand the cup that made you stagger; from that cup, the goblet of my wrath, you will never drink again. 23I will put it into the hands of your tormentors, who said to you, 'Fall prostrate that we may walk over you.' And you made your back like the ground, like a street to be walked over."
4. The Vindication of the Servant, Isaiah 52
a. By the deliverance of His oppressed people, Isa 52:1-6 (52:1, 6)
Isaiah 52:1, 6 (NIV)1Awake, awake, O Zion, clothe yourself with strength. Put on your garments of splendor, O Jerusalem, the holy city. The uncircumcised and defiled will not enter you again. . . 6Therefore my people will know my name; therefore in that day they will know that it is I who foretold it. Yes, it is I."
b. By the declaration of His victory over the oppressors, Isa 52:7-12 (Isa 52:9-10)
Isaiah 52:9-10 (NIV)9Burst into songs of joy together, you ruins of Jerusalem, for the LORD has comforted his people, he has redeemed Jerusalem. 10The LORD will lay bare his holy arm in the sight of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth will see the salvation of our God.
c. By the discovery of the nations at His revelation, Isa 52:13-15
Isaiah 52:13-15 (NIV)13See, my servant will act wisely; he will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted. 14Just as there were many who were appalled at him—his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any man and his form marred beyond human likeness—15so will he sprinkle many nations, and kings will shut their mouths because of him. For what they were not told, they will see, and what they have not heard, they will understand.
5. The Suffering Servant, Isa 53
a. The unlikely Servant, Isa 53:1-3
Isaiah 53:1-3 (NIV)1Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? 2He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. 3He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
b. The undeserved burden, Isa 53:4-6
Isaiah 53:4-6 (NIV)4Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. 5But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. 6We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
c. The unmerciful execution, Isa 53:7-10
Isaiah 53:4-6 (NIV)4Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. 5But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. 6We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
d. The unbelievable result, Isa 53:11-12
Isaiah 53:11-12 (NIV)11After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities. 12 Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.
Relevance
1. One day the whole world will know that the LORD (Jehovah) is its only Savior and Redeemer—the only Mighty One.
2. If Christ was so willing to offer His life to save us, ought we not be willing to offer our lives to see others saved?
3. Never in your times of despair think that God has forgotten you. It is more likely that you have forgotten to look to Him for help and deliverance. Be patient, submit to Him, and let Him have His will in your trial. He will use it to His glory!
4. How easy it is to interpret all suffering as a curse. Christ's suffering removed the curse of sin from us and made eternal life possible. God can do so much with our suffering:
We learn to empathize with others.
We learn the sufficiency of God's grace.
We learn to minister to the suffering of others.
We can glorify God when He delivers us from our suffering.
We prove God's justification in judging the wickedness of men when they persecute His children.
