Jesus ITOT Series (2)

I. Introduction

Isa 51:9-52:12

This is the last segment of the last part of Isaiah before the greatest revelation of Jesus in the book (52:13-53:12).

The anticipation of is building to a climax.

Structure. Complicated!

The chiasm from last time is larger than I realized. “Comfort” is actually the A concept. (vs 3, 12).

The fruit of the Spirit, joy, gladness, thanksgiving, and song, are B (vs 3 and 11).

Within those are the concepts of law, righteousness, salvation, arm or seed, and the hope of the nations.

The overall pattern, then, from vs 3 to 12, is A, B, C, D, E, F, G, F, E, D, C, D, E, F… B, A.

We are still left looking for the hope of the nations.

All those ideas reappear, but in a different order, in 52:7-12. We finally find hope!

This passage is built on section demarcations accomplished by double imperatives:

Awake, Awake (vs 9)

I, I am (vs 12)

Wake yourself, Wake yourself (vs 17).

Awake, Awake (52:1)

Depart, Depart (52:11).

II. Body

Where is the hope for the nations?

51:9-16: God’s power is infinitely sufficient to save.

Vs 9-11 are a faithful prayer of the people in bondage to God to save them. They feel that they have received His promises, but that they must now call on Him to enact them.

“The proper response to the promises of God is to pray them back to God and ask Him to fulfill them.” John Piper.

As David in 2 Sam 7:24-26 “And you established for yourself your people Israel to be your people forever. And you, O Lord, became their God. And now, O Lord God, confirm forever the word that you have spoken concerning your servant and concerning his house, and do as you have spoken. And your name will be magnified forever, saying, ‘The Lord of hosts is God over Israel,’ and the house of your servant David will be established before you.”

All through this section, the power of God exerted in creation and the power exerted in the Exodus are stacked on top of each other and spoken of simultaneously.

The conquest of Satan’s rebellion is reported through the ANE mythological story of the defeat of Rahab, the god of chaos, before creation.

That mythology is repeatedly used by scripture in conjunction with the creation story as a pre-quel to Gen 1:2.

Psa 89:9-10 “You rule the raging of the sea; when its waves rise, you still them. You crushed Rahab like a carcass; you scattered your enemies with your mighty arm.”

Job 9:13 ““God will not turn back his anger; beneath him bowed the helpers of Rahab.”

Job 26:12-13 “By his power he stilled the sea; by his understanding he shattered Rahab. By his wind the heavens were made fair; his hand pierced the fleeing serpent.”

This primordial struggle is laid on top of the exodus from Egypt a few times in scripture:

Ezek 29:3 “speak, and say, Thus says the Lord God: “Behold, I am against you, Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great dragon that lies in the midst of his streams, that says, ‘My Nile is my own; I made it for myself.’”

Isa 30:7 “Egypt’s help is worthless and empty; therefore I have called her “Rahab who sits still.””

Here (vs 9-10) Rahab and the exodus are spoken of as if they are the same event. We see the power of Satan at work in the captivity of God’s people and his defeat in the liberation of the Jews.

This prefigures the ultimate freedom from Satan and sin that will be so clearly outlined in Chapter 52:13-52:12.

The returning of a remnant exhibiting the fruit of the Spirit is the target of the prayer in vs 11. That is yet far distant in the future.

In vs 12-16, God answers their prayer by declaring that He is indeed powerful enough to accomplish their salvation.

Continued echos of teh power of God in creation (vs 13, 15, 16).

Continued references to the overcoming of Rahab in vs 15. Rehab's domain was the chaotic sea, but God is ultimately sovereign over that as well.

Small excursion of huge importance: Fear is a sin because it betrays a view of God that is too small (vs 12-13). You see yourself as too important in your life’s story and God as too small in His control over it if you can be afraid of men or the circumstances into which they can put you.

There are several clear references to Christ in the final verses of this section.

Just as the captives shall not be left in captivity (vs 14), so Christ will not be left in the grave (Ps 16:10).

God will provide for the food of His people. Ultimately, Jesus taught us much about God’s ability to sustain as compared to that of bread (Matt 4:2-4, John 4:32-34, John 6:35, John 6:51)

Control over the seas was one of the most impactful miracles on the disciples (Matt 8:26-27).

Prophets frequently report that God has put His words in their mouths (Ex4:11-12, Jer 1:9-10).

In contrast with this, God’s word dwells perfectly in the person of Christ (Deut 18:18-19, John 1:14, John 3:34).

Jesus was involved in creation, along with the other members of the trinity (John 1:3, Col 1:15-16, Heb 1:1-2) and was the principal agent by which Abraham was called, through His functioning as “The Angel of the Lord.”

51:17-23. God’s Holiness and Justice are infinitely sufficient to save.

God reverses the prayerful call of His people for God to be roused to wakeful action by telling them to get themselves up!

Obviously, they are unable to save themselves from the wrath of God, which He has leveled against them in His righteous judgment (vs 17-18).

Their salvation will not come from themselves (vs 18-21). Their land has been destroyed, and their children killed.

They have no leadership, either spiritual of political (18, 21).

Their guides are light netted prey or drunkards, unable to save themselves.

Spiritually, there is no way for the Jewish people, on their own, to save themselves (Matt 9:14-17).

The salvation comes only through the Lord. his mercy is powerful (vs 22-23).

The cup of judgement passes to their tormentors. Cyrus issued the decree to rebuild Jerusalem and release the Jewish prisoners the same year that He came to power and defeated Babylon. Babylon’s judgement was simultaneous with the liberation of the Jews (539 BC).

Parallel idea in Rev 16:19 “The great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell, and God remembered Babylon the great, to make her drain the cup of the wine of the fury of his wrath.”

52:1-12 The Glory of God’s Name and Presence are infinitely sufficient to save.

God had previously pictured the judgement against Babylon as a succcesion of events taking her from an enthroned queen to a slave bound and in the dust (Isa 47:1-3). He reverses the actions here with Jerusalem.

5 verbs in vs 1-2: Get up , get dressed, shake off the dust, be seated, be freed.

The picture of the enthronement of Jeruslem is evocative of our spiritual freedom and enthronement as pictured in Eph 2:6.

God will act in this way quite apart from the worthiness of Jerusalem (or the gentiles who will hope in Him). He does so for His own name (vs 3-5).

References to “sold without money” echo back to 50:1. We are here for our own sins, not because of some failing in God.

What have I here? God not only had nothing to do with our plight, the language implies that He is exasperated at the reality (similar to 1 Sam 15:13-14).

The solution is for God to step in Himself and save them, which we’ve seen before and will see again in Isaiah (vs 6). He will reveal His name and His voice.

Vs 7-9 pictures a runner bringing news of victory back to a city. His voice is echoed by the watchmen and then by those in the city. Victory has come!

The ultimate message of victory is the uncontested rule of God (vs 7). All the enemies are defeated (Psa 110:1, 1 Cor 15:25-26, Rev 20:10, 14-15).

This is the great hope for the nations and the final answer to the longing that the chiasm of 51:3-12 created in us.

fruit of the spirit (vs 7-8).

Comfort (9)

Salvation (vs 7, 10)

Arm (or seed) (vs 10).

Nations (vs 10).

There is no occurance of the word “hope,” but that is the environment of this whole passage.

Law has been replaced with the gospel (vs 7).

Righteousness is now personal and internal because of the work of Christ to deliver us from our captivity (vs 11). 2Cor 6:14-18.

Verse 10 with “Seed” and the name of Jesus not translated: The Lord has bared His Holy Seed before the eyes of the nations and all the ends of the earth shall see the Yeshua of our God. This is the hope!

Luke 2:10-11 began the good news.

Luke 3:6 quotes this line as part of the repeated sermon of JTB.

This good news goes out from Jerusalem to the ends of the Earth (Acts 1:6).

Last paragraph set apart with the last double imperative: Depart, Depart (vs 11-12).

Long residence in Babylon made many loath to leave it: so as to mystical Babylon (Rev 18:4).

Bearing the vessels of the Lord is a prophetic key here (2 Kings 25:14-15, Dan 5:2, and Ezra 1:7-8 were all yet future).

Unlike the harried departure from Egypt, those who left Babylon were able to plan, pack, take their time.

They were not being pursued by an army. God was with them.

We see the declaration of God to save (52:6), and then we skip ahead in time to seeing the news of that salvation spread abroad (52:7ff).

What actually happened to affect that salvation?

Come back in July!

III. Conclusion/Application

The beauty of this messenger is picked up by Paul and applied to those who carry the gospel to the nations (Romans 10:14-17).

How are your feet?