Isaiah 51-55

Chapter 51-55 Review

Chapter 51

The promises of Eden would be restored (1-3) and the curse would be removed (17-23). Turning from the godless, Isiah now addresses the godly of the nation. They are called the pursuers after righteousness ( cf. Deut 16:20). They are active, vigorously seeking after righteousness, hungering and thirsty after it which results in action. God’s alarm clock telling us to Wake up!

Chapter 52

In the previous chapter (51) we are told that the promises of Eden would be restored (1-3) and that the curse would be removed (17-23) i.e. no longer drink from the cup of my fury. Here, God calls Zion to enter into Holiness because redemption has been accomplished (51:1)

Chapter 52:13-53:12

We reached the high point of our study of Isaiah, the 4th Servant Song. The gospel in a nutshell. We see Christ Life, Death, Burial, Resurrection Resurrection and Exaltation all this this one chapter. His death was for our sins to appease God and it was because of His great love for you that He willingly went to the cross

Chapter 54

The first verse speaks about how the barren women should rejoice. Paul provided deep insight into this verse when we commented on it GalatiansWe also saw a future time when we will forget our shame and enjoy the future city of God

Chapter 55

Here we see the OT formula for salvation: the sinner must come believing God, recognizing His sin and desiring forgiveness and deliverance from sin. This is one of the clearest OT invitations to Salvation. 55:11 is where we find a verse that all of us have committed to memory

Chapter 51

Overview

The promises of Eden would be restored (1-3) and the curse would be removed (17-23). Turning from the godless, Isiah now addresses the godly of the nation. They are called the pursuers after righteousness ( cf. Deut 16:20). They are active, vigorously seeking after righteousness, hungering and thirsty after it which results in action. God’s alarm clock telling us to Wake up!

Comfort

A chapter of comfort. Isaiah the prophet reminds:

— 1) This God who raised the church out of nothing is strong enough to make sure we do not perish

— 2) His righteousness and salvation is very near

— 3) Those who persecute us are like dying men compared to the immortal God

J. Vernon McGee called this chapter God’s Alarm Clock because of the phrase “Awake, Awake” ( 51:9, 17; 52:1 )

Raised the Church from Nothing (51:1-3)

( 51:1-3 ) “Listen to Me, you who follow after righteousness, You who seek the Lord: Look to the rock from which you were hewn, And to the hole of the pit from which you were dug. 2 Look to Abraham your father, And to Sarah who bore you; For I called him alone, And blessed him and increased him.” 3 For the Lord will comfort Zion, He will comfort all her waste places; He will make her wilderness like Eden, And her desert like the garden of the Lord; Joy and gladness will be found in it, Thanksgiving and the voice of melody.

Q: Who is Go speaking to and what do Abraham and Sarah have to do with this (v1,2)?

You

( 51:1 ) Listen to Me, you who follow after righteousness

— The nation of Israel

Abraham / Sarah

( 51:2 ) They descended from Abraham and Sarah as stones are cut from a pit or quarry

Motyer

This verse speaks of the purpose of God in his call the transforming power of God in the blessing and the divine energizing whereby one without hope of increase became many

Words of Comfort

( 51:3 ) For the Lord will comfort Zion

— The same God that who fulfilled His promise to Abraham, will transform the land into paradise

Raised the Church from Nothing > The Lord’s Salvation is near (51:4-6)

( 51:4-6 ) “Listen to Me, My people; And give ear to Me, O My nation: For law will proceed from Me, And I will make My justice rest As a light of the peoples. 5 My righteousness is near, My salvation has gone forth, And My arms will judge the peoples; The coastlands will wait upon Me, And on My arm they will trust. 6 Lift up your eyes to the heavens, And look on the earth beneath. For the heavens will vanish away like smoke, The earth will grow old like a garment, And those who dwell in it will die in like manner; But My salvation will be forever, And My righteousness will not be abolished.

Q: God promises His Salvation in 4-6, what do we learn about it? Who is it for?

Listen

( 51:4 ) Listen to Me, My people

— The Lord calls the people to listen three ( 3 ) times ( 51:1, 4, 7 )

— Listen to His promises of a coming salvation

— He is going to bless all nation ( As a light of the peoples ); His promise is for the whole world

Bless All nations

— This was God’s intention with Abraham (Gen 12:1-3)

Near

( 51:5 ) My righteousness is near, My salvation has gone forth

— The Lord’s power to bring justice and salvation to the world was at work, it was near

— But God’s reckoning of time is not the same as man’s

— It was near from God’s endless eternity

Tribulation

( 51:6 ) This verse covers the beginning of the tribulation and the end of the tribulation

— Jesus returns to heaven passing away, Olivet Discourse (Luke 21:33)

— There will be a renewed earth during the tribulation (cf. Rev 6:12-14, 8:12,13, 16;8-10, 21)

— The actual destruction which Peter wrote about (2 Pet 3:10-13) takes place at the end of Christ’s 1000 year reign

— New Earth (Rev 21:1)

Raised the Church from Nothing > The Lord’s Salvation is near > Those who Persecute you are weak (51:7-8)

( 51:7-8 ) “Listen to Me, you who know righteousness, You people in whose heart is My law: Do not fear the reproach of men, Nor be afraid of their insults. 8 For the moth will eat them up like a garment, And the worm will eat them like wool; But My righteousness will be forever, And My salvation from generation to generation.”

Q: Who should we not fear? Why not (7,8)?

Men

( 51:7 ) Do not fear the reproach of men

— In 51:12 He calls them “men who will die”

( 51:8 ) The moth will eat them up

— Your enemies will perish but the Lord’s salvation is permanent

— Our hope is in God, not ourselves

— His faithfulness is a belt about His waist

— ”Righteousness shall be the belt of His loins, And faithfulness the belt of His waist.” ( 11:5 )

— His faithfulness reaches to the skies (Ps 36:5)

Raised the Church from Nothing > The Lord’s Salvation is near > Those who Persecute you are weak > God’s Alarm Clock ( 51:9-11 )

( 51:9-11 ) Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the Lord! Awake as in the ancient days, In the generations of old. Are You not the arm that cut Rahab apart, And wounded the serpent? 10 Are You not the One who dried up the sea, The waters of the great deep; That made the depths of the sea a road For the redeemed to cross over? 11 So the ransomed of the Lord shall return, And come to Zion with singing, With everlasting joy on their heads. They shall obtain joy and gladness; Sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

— Here is a prayer for deliverance

— When God doesn’t answer our prayers, we think He’s sleeping

— We only demonstrate our own foolishness when we tell the Lord, Wake up!

Put on Strength

( 51:9 ) Awake, awake, put on strength

— This is the people telling God to wake up

— Some people have no conception of God, unless they see His hand in action

— Unless they are receiving answers to their prayers, they cannot fathom who God is

— Their understanding of God ends there

Mercy Me

Even if

It's easy to sing When there's nothing to bring me down But what will I say When I'm held to the flame Like I am right now

know You're able and I know You can Save through the fire with Your mighty hand But even if You don't My hope is You alone

Arm

( 51:9 ) The Arm, very personal involvement

— All the nations will see his involvement ( 52:10 )

Rehab / Serpent

References to Egypt, Rehab a term widely used to refer to things that wreak havoc (cf Ps 87:4)

Sea

( 51:10 ) Dried up the Red Sea

They shall return

( 51:11 ) So the ransomed of the Lord shall return...joy ...gladness

— The faithful will return

— Those released out of captivity would return

Raised the Church from Nothing > The Lord’s Salvation is near > Those who Persecute you are weak > God’s Alarm Clock > Words of comfort (51:12-16)

( 51:12-16 ) “I, even I, am He who comforts you. Who are you that you should be afraid Of a man who will die, And of the son of a man who will be made like grass? 13 And you forget the Lord your Maker, Who stretched out the heavens And laid the foundations of the earth; You have feared continually every day Because of the fury of the oppressor, When he has prepared to destroy. And where is the fury of the oppressor? 14 The captive exile hastens, that he may be loosed, That he should not die in the pit, And that his bread should not fail. 15 But I am the Lord your God, Who divided the sea whose waves roared— The Lord of hosts is His name. 16 And I have put My words in your mouth; I have covered you with the shadow of My hand, That I may plant the heavens, Lay the foundations of the earth, And say to Zion, ‘You are My people.’ ”

Q: Isaiah returns to a familiar theme in vv12-16. What is he saying? Who should we fear?

Trust God

( 51:12 ) I, even I, am He who comforts you. Who are you that you should be afraid Of a man who will die, And of the son of a man who will be made like grass?

— Instead of fearing dying men (12), Israel should trust the creator of all things

God creator

( 51:13 ) He is thy maker

— Not speaking of universal creation but spiritual regeneration

— He is my maker, and we are the workmanship of God (Eph 2:10) and created for every good work

— He made you what you are by election, grace, providential care ( 44:2 )

Boundless Power