Isaiah 51:1-3
We are exhorted to listen 3 times in this passage. We need to make sure we live lives seeking after the Lord, not in our way but in His way. We need to listen to Him. As we seek after the Lord we can look back at the works and examples of those who have gone before us. Looking to the Rock from which we were cut and the quarry from which we were hewn reminds us to look at those before us but also look to our Rock.
Isaiah is speaking of the Jews returning from captivity. Their numbers were small. They saw a once great nation now minimized, dwindled and struggling to maintain existence. God called one man, Abraham, blessed him and increased him in amazing ways. An entire nation came from him. If God could raise a nation from a man, could he not restore a nation as they came out of captivity?
The prophecy of comfort for Zion; comfort for the waste places; the wilderness will be like Eden and the desert a garden are all idioms of a better time. Joy and gladness will be found again after the captivity. As Israel returns, the Lord will watch over them. There is a far prophecy of a time when God restores His people and His land in the millennial kingdom. This is the ultimate fulfillment.
Isaiah 51:4-6
The second command to listen goes out to everyone. The nation is Israel, 'My people' are the remaining nations. God will reign sovereign in that He gave the law, He will be the judge and enforcer of His holy ways. By the hand of God all things will be made right, His righteousness is near. For us that righteousness comes from Jesus Christ. In His perfect plan, by Jesus Christ, salvation has gone forth.
A time is coming when judgment will come to the whole world. The heavens will vanish like smoke and the earth will wear out like a garment and its inhabitants will die (Matthew 24:35, 2 Peter 3:7-10, Revelation 6:12-17). The final fulfilling of this prophecy is at the return of Jesus Christ. Those that inhabit the earth will experience this time. Those that are born again are heaven dwellers. We don't belong on earth, we are pilgrims passing through.
Isaiah 51:7-8
And the 3rd command to listen is to those who know righteousness. We know righteousness only through Jesus Christ. It is His righteousness that puts us in good standing with God, not our own. Since we are bought and paid for by Christ, our heart and mind should be inclined toward the things of God. We should love His law and His ways and not fear men or be afraid of their insults. The things of men, their ways and pride and arrogance will all pass away in time. The reality they see will be eaten away like a old cloth. The God's righteousness is immutable and His salvation is eternal.
Isaiah 51:9-11
The call to awake is a call for the Lord to awake to the needs of His people. But we can also see the call for the people to wake up and seek after God. Rahab means pride. In the garden, pride was cut apart and the serpent was wounded. This is poetic language of God dealing with Satan. It's God showing His power and authority in all situations.
The call to awake is followed by the question, "Are You not…" God was able to deliver the nation from Egypt through the sea. As He did in those days to deliver them, so shall He do again to bring them back from captivity. The Jews in exile were ransomed of the Lord and he purchased them out of their captivity to bring them home to Zion.
When we are born again in Christ we are ransomed of the Lord. A day is coming when we will return with the Lord. The immediate prophecy is of the Jews returning to Zion. For the Jews, they would return with joy and gladness. When we return, a time is coming when there will never be sadness or fear again. We should fear the Lord alone, not men.
Isaiah 51:12-16
God speaks, responding to the call to rise up in verse nine. He is the God of comfort to His people. They needed to remember this. Why would they fear men and forget God? Why would we not just keep our eyes on the One who controls it all? It made no sense. While Assyria was their oppressor in that day, God asked where they were. In the days of exile, God would deal with Babylon and bring His children home.
While those in captivity would long for freedom, He would not stop being all powerful. He would remain sovereign and Almighty. He is the Lord who opened the Red Sea to deliver His children.
Verse sixteen resembles the calling of Isaiah. This is the call to the servant; God's word and protection were extended for God's work to be done.
Isaiah 51:17-20
The call to awake is similar to verse nine. This call is directed to Jerusalem that has felt the sting of judgment. The city is spoken to as an innocent bystander, one caught up in the ruckus. In the end there is no one to restore her, no one to make things right again. The city experiences desolation and destruction, famine and sword. There was no hope of the Jews doing this. They had all fainted under their judgment.
Isaiah 51:21-23
Upon assessing the state of Jerusalem, the Lord will move on behalf the afflicted. The judgment will end and those who afflicted would become the afflicted – the tables would turn. Those that once made them fall prostrate to walk on them, would be prostrated and walked on.
©2018 Doug Ford
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