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Isaiah 54-57
by Samuel E. Ward
Introduction
Isaiah, son of Amoz, lived in a troubled time when everything that was supposedly nailed down seemed to be coming loose. Three hundred years before the prophet ministered, David had drawn the struggling tribes together, subdued the neighboring groups, and carved out a secure Israelite state. David's was the golden age. Following David's time, destructive forces began to chip away at this rather idealistic situation causing the golden age to lose its luster. Solomon followed his father on the throne but created great discontent with his luxurious living and oppressive ways. The division of this kingdom followed close on the death of Solomon. Military struggle, false worship, weak leadership, internal confusion, and external threat characterized the life of these two kingdoms down to the eighth century, B.C.
In the first half of the eighth century both of these kingdoms reached a strength, prosperity, and security they had not known before. They were free from the danger of being destroyed by other powers and were being ruled over by capable kings, Jeroboam II (793-753 b.c.) in the north and Uzziah (792-740) in the south. The last half of the eighth century was quite a different story. Assyria began a policy of expansion and conquest which would bring the destruction of the Northern Kingdom, Israel, and leave the Southern Kingdom, Judah, in the position of paying tribute to this great power.
The prophet Isaiah was a citizen of the Southern Kingdom, Judah, and ministered during a forty year period which witnessed the subjection of Judah to Assyria in the days of King Ahaz (735-715 b.c.; 2 Ki 16) and the attempt of King Hezekiah (715-686 b.c.) to free his people from Assyrian control (2 Ki 18-20).
Surely God's elect people must have pondered the meaning of such tumultuous events. Is our nation in this crisis because our God is weaker than the gods of Assyria? Is military strength the determining force in the history of nations? Could it be that bad times had to come for us to see some things that we could never see in the good times? Did our love and confidence in good King Uzziah cause us to forget God, our true King? Is the external plight of our nation in any way related to the moral and ethical living of those within the nation? What does the future hold? Wherein is hope and security? Who speaks for God in such a time?
--The Disciple's Study Bible, "Isaiah", Russell Lester, Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville, TN, 1988.
Our study is in the final major section of Isaiah that addresses . . .
VI. God's Message Concerning His People's Future, Isa 40-66
One of the most encouraging passages in the Bible relative to the future of God's people is to be found in . . .
Isaiah 54:10 (NIV) 10Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed," says the LORD, who has compassion on you.
Consider the plan God put in place for His people as noted thus far in the study.
A. The Sovereign God's Plan to Restore, Isa 40-48
B. The Submissive Servant's Plan to Redeem, Isaiah 49-53
1. The Mission of the Servant, Isaiah 49
2. The Submission of the Servant, Isa 50
3. The Solemn Call for Repentance, Isa 51
4. The Vindication of the Servant, Isaiah 52
5. The Suffering Servant, Isa 53
Having observed the plan from God's sovereignty and then the role of His Submissive Servant, the Messiah, we now direct our attention to the certainty of the plan of God.
C. The Steadfast God's Plan to Reconcile, Isa 54-57
This plan includes a glorious future for Israel, a gracious invitation to experience God's mercy and forgiveness, a grim outlook for the wicked, and a gracious opportunity to repent.
1. A Glorious Future for Israel, Isa 54
a. Once desolate, Israel will be enlarged, Isa 54:1-3 (54:3).
Isaiah 54:3 (NIV) 3For you will spread out to the right and to the left; your descendants will dispossess nations and settle in their desolate cities.
b. Once cast away, Israel will be called back, Isa 54:4-8.
Isaiah 54:8 (NIV) 8In a surge of anger I hid my face from you for a moment, but with everlasting kindness I will have compassion on you," says the LORD your Redeemer.
c. Once condemned, Israel will find everlasting love, Isa 54:9-10.
Isaiah 54:10 (NIV) 10Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed," says the LORD, who has compassion on you.
d. Once tormented, Israel will be made secure, Isa 54:11-15.
Isaiah 54:14 (NIV) 14In righteousness you will be established: Tyranny will be far from you; you will have nothing to fear. Terror will be far removed; it will not come near you.
e. Once victimized, Israel will be vindicated, Isa 54:16-17.
Isaiah 54:17 (NIV) 17No weapon forged against you will prevail, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and this is their vindication from me," declares the LORD.
2. A Gracious Invitation to Everyone, Isa 55:1-56:8
a. First, to Israel, Isa 55:1-5 (55:3)
Isaiah 55:3 (NIV) 3Give ear and come to me; hear me, that your soul may live. I will make an everlasting covenant with you, my faithful love promised to David.
b. Second, to the wicked, Isa 55:6-7 (55:7)
Isaiah 55:7 (NIV) 7Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the LORD, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will freely pardon.
c. Third, to all (for purposes that are God's own), Isa 55:8-12 (55:9, 11)
Isaiah 55:9 (NIV) 9 "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.
Isaiah 55:11 (NIV) 11so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.
d. Fourth, to the disenfranchised who have bound themselves to God, , Isa 56:1-8 (56:3-5)
Isaiah 56:3-5 (NIV) 3Let no foreigner who has bound himself to the LORD say, "The LORD will surely exclude me from his people." And let not any eunuch complain, "I am only a dry tree." 4For this is what the LORD says: "To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths, who choose what pleases me and hold fast to my covenant—5to them I will give within my temple and its walls a memorial and a name better than sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name that will not be cut off.
3. A Grim Outlook for the Wicked, Isa 56:1-57:13b
a. The irreverence of godless leaders demands judgment,
Isa 56:9-12 (56:9-10).
Isaiah 56:9-10 (NIV) 9Come, all you beasts of the field, come and devour, all you beasts of the forest! 10Israel's watchmen are blind, they all lack knowledge; they are all mute dogs, they cannot bark; they lie around and dream, they love to sleep.
A Parenthetical Note: The Reason for the Early Death of Some Righteous People, Isa 57:1-2
Isaiah 57:1-2 (NIV) 1The righteous perish, and no one ponders it in his heart; devout men are taken away, and no one understands that the righteous are taken away to be spared from evil. 2Those who walk uprightly enter into peace; they find rest as they lie in death.
Most can accept the early demise of the wicked. What is harder to accept is the premature death of the righteous. God explains that a reason why He takes some the righteous is so that they will not experience or witness greater suffering and evil had they lived.
b. The deeds of the wicked are exceedingly evil and idolatrous,
Isa 57:3-10 (57:3-6).
Isaiah 57:3-6 (NIV) 3 "But you—come here, you sons of a sorceress, you offspring of adulterers and prostitutes! 4Whom are you mocking? At whom do you sneer and stick out your tongue? Are you not a brood of rebels, the offspring of liars? 5You burn with lust among the oaks and under every spreading tree; you sacrifice your children in the ravines and under the overhanging crags. 6The idols among the smooth stones of the ravines are your portion; they, they are your lot. Yes, to them you have poured out drink offerings and offered grain offerings. In the light of these things, should I relent?"
c. The attitude of the wicked toward the Lord is contempt,
Isa 57:11-13b (57:11-12).
Isaiah 57:11-12 (NIV) 11"Whom have you so dreaded and feared that you have been false to me, and have neither remembered me nor pondered this in your hearts? Is it not because I have long been silent that you do not fear me? 12I will expose your righteousness and your works, and they will not benefit you."
4. A Gracious Opportunity for the Repentant, Isa 57:13c-21
a.. There is deliverance for the one who turns to the Lord,
Isa 57:13c
Isaiah 57:13 (NIV) 13cWhen you cry out for help, let your collection of idols save you! The wind will carry all of them off, a mere breath will blow them away. But the man who makes me his refuge will inherit the land and possess my holy mountain."
b. There is grace for the one who is remembered by the Lord,
Isa 57:14-19 (Isa 57:17-18)
Isaiah 57:17-18 (NIV) 17I was enraged by his sinful greed; I punished him, and hid my face in anger, yet he kept on in his willful ways. 18I have seen his ways, but I will heal him; I will guide him and restore comfort to him.
c. There is distress for the one who persists in wickedness,
Isa 57:20-21
Isaiah 57:20-21 (NIV) 20But the wicked are like the tossing sea, which cannot rest, whose waves cast up mire and mud. 21 "There is no peace," says my God, "for the wicked."
Relevance
1. God's main interest in mankind today is to save him from himself and the sin that would destroy him. In the pursuit of these goals He exercises seemingly boundless grace, mercy, and love. He will not, however, endure sin and evil forever.
2 Peter 3:9-10 (NIV) 9The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. 10But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare.
2. God's offer to deliver is universal.
Romans 10:12-13 (NIV) 12For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, 13for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."
Revelation 22:17 (NIV) 17The Spirit and the bride say, "Come!" And let him who hears say, "Come!" Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life.
3. God forgives and cleanses anyone who confesses their sin, and we all have sinned.
1 John 1:9-10 (NIV) 9If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 10If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.
