The Good News of Redemption

We find Israel in a place where God’s mercy had been extended where previously there had been wrath. Israel had drunk deeply of the cup of God’s wrath, but we now find her awakening to drink of the cup of God’s blessing.

We open this passage to another call to “awake!” The last call to wake up was a call to wake out of the drunkeness and the slumber of God’s wrath. This “awakening” imagery continues into the following chapter. You can picture this graphic image in your mind. Here lies a person sleeping in the street. They have been called to rise up out of their drunken and lowly condition, and now, in a sober mind and upright state, they are called to not only wake up, but to change their garments.

An urgent plea - a plea for preparation. Some of you have perhaps spent a lot of time in the recent weeks hunting. If you were ever a child and your father woke you up long before the sunrise to get ready to hunt, and said, “wake up and get dressed - its a big day.” Or perhaps you recall your wedding day. Especially for you women, you woke up and perhaps spent hours with your mother or your friends preparing for that very special occasion. That’s the uniqueness of the image that is conjured up here. They had previously been awakened and sobered from their drunkeness, and this awakening is not just another day, but here is a call of a change of clothing - a change of status, as it were.

We find in this passage before us the idea that Zion is awakening to Holiness because they have been redeemed out of their unholy condition. The image of being bought back out of a condition of exile, of unholiness, of spiritual unfaithfulness. Yet, their unfaithfulness and taking away was not final. As wrath had been transformed into mercy, so unholiness and unrighteousness had been transformed into redemption.

As we look at this passage, we see the call to holiness and purity envelops this section of scripture like bookends. At the forefront, they are called to wake up and put on holiness. At the end, they are called to go out and purify themselves. Those are right actions and worthy endeavors, but the middle of the passage unearths for us the reason why, or how.

How could Israel awaken and put on Holiness after her long stint of unholy oppression? And How could Israel go out and purify herself after a continued state of spiritual infidelity? She could do so because The Lord had seen her condition, and had acted on her behalf.

Without straying from Isaiah too much, this reminds me deeply of how the New Testament epistles are formed. There is always a call to personal holiness and to live according to the Spirit and the truth of scripture. We are called as Christians to work out our faith in real life. But the call to live our faith and genuinely walk in the Spirit is never alone. We are always given the basis for our ability to do these things, and that is the work of God in our lives.

Two New Testament scriptures come to mind.

Philippians 2:12–13 ESV

Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

Philippians 1:6 ESV

And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

Just as Zion in Isaiah, We are changed and different because of the Work that God has accomplished. So Israel was to awaken into a new state, a new condition, a state of holiness and purity, because of what God had done. In this passage Israel is reminded that in their redemption it was God’s work they were seeing take place, and that He reigns.

The Good News of redemption is that God reigns, God sees, and God redeems.

1. Zion Awakens and goes forth in Holiness - Vs. 1-2, 11-12

The dual calls that bookend this passage are, “Awake, Awake” and “Depart, Depart.” If you remember back in Isaiah 45, Isaiah prophesied that Cyrus, Cyrus of Persia, would be an anointed instrument in the hand of the Lord to release His people from captivity. Here, still prophesying of that coming day, Isaiah is writing as if it was happening before his eyes.

And it did happen. In roughly 539 BC, three Jewish leaders, Sheshbazzar, Zerubbabel, and Jeshua the high priest led a host of 50,000 people out of defeated Babylon back to Jerusalem. You can read their stories in the book of Ezra, and further in the book of Nehemiah.

So here, when Isaiah looks ahead in inspired prophesy, he sees the city of Jerusalem rising up once more - shaking the dust off from her invasion and defeat, and adorning herself with the beautiful garments of holiness once more.

In verse 2, the imagery turns from the city to its inhabitants. The joyful command, “loose the bonds from your neck.” The bondage would be over. Babylon defeated, freedom granted under God’s sovereign work.

Israel, who was sleeping in drunkeness from the wrath of God, would awaken and change her clothes. She would wake up and shake off the dust of pagan idols, adorning herself with beautiful garments of holiness.

Verse two also gives the dual command of “arise… and be seated.” In freedom, Zion would arise from the lowliness of bondage, and then be seated back in her rightful place. That ties in, again, with the other bookend, in verse 11. Israel is called to depart!

The prophesied departure of the captive people from defeated Babylon to return to Jerusalem is a beautiful image. They are told to depart, but not in haste. They were not being chased, they were being released.

They are told to depart from the midst of the captivity, but to leave every element of the captivity behind.

- They were to purify themselves of the uncleaness of pagan identity that they had lived within in Babylon. Babylon was a wholly unrighteous and unbelieving captor. The people would have been in her midst for so long that many would have unfortunately been dragged further into the depths of idolatry, which is the sin that led them into captivity in the first place. They are called to flea and walk away in their freedom, not just from the physical bonds of captivity, but from the spiritual bonds of idolatry.

Those who carry the vessels of the Lord, a reference to the temple vessels used to worship, were especially called to purify themselves. Not only that they would not be unclean, but that the worship of God would return to Jerusalem in purity and holiness. They were returning to the holy and separated city, taken back from uncleaness, and set anew to the worship of the King.

So this is the picture of redemption - of Israel who would be freed, freed from captivity, freed from bonds, freed to reinstate the true worship of the Lord in Jerusalem. From dust to holiness. From pagan unbelief to righteous worship of the one true God. But how would Israel make this transition? This would be no small task.

And I would propose to you that the question of how is really a question of who. Not how wold they do this? But who would do this?

The real majesty in redemption is not who is redeemed, but who is the redeemer?

2. The Lord Saw The Need - Vs. 3-6

In both verses 3-6 and also 7-10, we find the prophetic story of the redemption of Zion with God as the star of the show, which is His rightful place.

Verses 3-6 break the pattern from a poetic writing to more of a prose, or an account. And what is the account? The Account is the prophetic telling of God’s side of the story. How did He view Israel’s captivity? This is the Lord’s explanation and reasoning for his promised redemption. As we look at these verses, note that The Lord sent his people away and received nothing in return. He bought them back but did so without money. He acts, neither as the beneficiary of their going away, nor as somehow being in need of them coming back. He acts in their redemption out of his good pleasure, out of his own absolute nature.

Vs 3 - they were sold. They were passed into other ownership. Money didn’t change hands in this transaction. It was as if they were given away in the wrath of God because of their sin.

but they were redeemed without money. That’s an interesting concept, because redemption is a price-paying transaction. To redeem something, some sort of payment must change hands. But the Lord didn’t have to pay money to redeem, they were redeemed by His absolute authority. The Lord Himself satisfied the price of redemption.

While this is not a direct and immediate reference, Peter uses this concept to speak of those redeemed by Christ in 1 Peter.

1 Peter 1:18–19 ESV

knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.

There is always a payment involved in redemption. In the case of Israel from Babylon, The Lord’s Authority paid for their temporary physical deliverance. In the ultimate fulfilment of redemption, however, it was the blood of Christ poured out for all who would believe and come to Him in faith. This foreshadows what we will see in Isaiah 53 this coming week.

Verse 4-5 - God recounts all the way back to the Egyptian bondage, to the Assyrian oppression, and then to the Babylonian captivity. The Lord Sees that his people are taken away. He is very aware of their state, their condition, and in it he sees two injustices.

The misery of his people. Those who rule them wail - literally, they weep and cry aloud. If the rulers are helpless, then the state of the people is severely worse.

The dishonor of his name. Paul quoted this verse in Romans 2:24. He was speaking of those who said they loved the law but broke the law at the same time. The Lord’s name was blasphemed among the gentiles - the nations, because of them. So here, God’s people had been miserable, but even worse, his name had been blasphemed - and he was done with that.

Verse 6 gives us the resolute decision of the Lord to act. And he speaks of it in a way that is incredible. He says, “My people shall know my name. They shall know that it is I who speak. here I am.”

that is to say, there was going to be no mistaking the fact that it was the Sovereign Lord at work in their redemption. It would not be confused for one of the worthless idols or mere human intervention, but the divine work of God would be evident. God Saw the need of His people, He saw the degradation of His name, and He would do something about it.

Exodus 3:15 ESV

God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations.

This is an image of the righteous jealousy of God. It is God alone who is holy and right, and He is the only being who can absolutely fend and fight for the upholding of his own name. For in the upholding and the knowledge of the name of the Lord, there is the upholding of all things true, and pure, and righteous, and good, and Holy. For He alone is all these things.

But there is also a sense in which this looks further than this immediate redemption from Babylon. The lord looks ahead to a time where not only would his name be known, but He would be there. He himself would be the one speaking. He would not use a merely human mediator like in the Exodus, it would be Him present as the True and Omnipotent one to carry out the act of redemption.

Here we already see that the good news of this redemption is less and less about the removal of oppression, less and less about the bettering of circumstances, less and less about the temporary relief or the temporary joy of good days, the joy of redemption is found in the one who redeems - God’s people would be redeemed - bought out of their bondage. But why would it be good? It would be good because God is the one doing the redeeming. Any other redeemer would be a purchase out of one temporal and changing circumstance into another, but with God redemption is full and Divine.

3. The Lord Took Action - Vs. 7-10

Beginning in verse 7, Isaiah turns back to a poetic form and he exclaims a wonderful truth. It is both wonderful and interesting. “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news.”

One commentator put it this way. “This does not refer to the lovely sound of their footsteps, but to the lovely appearance presented by their feet, which spring over the mountains with all the swiftness of gazelles. Their feet look as if they had wings because they are the messengers of good tidings of joy.”

The portrait in mind here is this messenger travelling from Babylon, up out of Babylon, by way of the fertile crescent, and descending into Jerusalem up over the mountains of Judah, and as he peaks the mountains of Judah and descends into the ruins of Jerusalem he is seen as one, not bringing news of more destruction - for the city was already laid waste. He is seen not as one bringing news of more terror, for what more terror could Jerusalem undergo? But rather, he is seen as the messenger of good news - and what better news could he bring than the news of peace, happiness, salvation, and most of all, the most glorious of the proclamations - “Your God Reigns.”

The news, in this context, would be the news that Babylon had been defeated, and the people of Israel were let free. They had been redeemed out of their captivity and would return to the Holy city once again. This time of peace would indeed bring happiness, for it was salvation and proof and a wonderful testimony that God reigns - he had not forgotten his people.

The people used to sing songs of the Lord’s reign in their temple worship - Psalm 93, Psalm 97, Psalm 99, and others all proclaim as they were recited and sung, that the Lord Reigns! This truth had been in their history, and in their minds even, but the evidence of that truth had been questioned in their time of captivity - yet here the truth rings forth once more, and sung anew as if hope had never been lost. Peace, Happiness, and salvation. Why? Because they had earned there way out of captivity? They had, by crafty invention, found a way to escape? No, because the Lord Reigns.

It would be foolish to ignore the fact that Paul uses this verse in Romans 10 to describe the preaching of the good news of the Gospel. And this is not Paul stealing the idea from Isaiah, but rather, this is the fulness of the redemption and salvation that Isaiah prophesied. The defeat of Babylon and the release of Israel to return to the Holy City was a glorious miracle, but it was a shadow of the redemption and salvation that was to come.

Romans 10:9–17 ESV

because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?” So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

What then, is the good news that Paul tells us this passage ultimately points to? The good news is that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved. The beautiful message of the Gospel, the word of Christ, is that all who believe in Christ will be saved. And this message of salvation, although originated and first prophesied in the Jewish scriptures by Jewish Isaiah, and brought to pass by the Messiah, Jesus, the son of God born into a Jewish family, is for all people. As Paul says, there is no distinction when it comes to salvation by Faith in Christ.

As we saw last week, dear ones, we are all born into sin. We are all born dead in our sins. We are all, by nature, children of wrath, and are deserving of the wrath of God. But he extends mercy, and we receive this mercy by way of the good news, foreshadowed by Isaiah in the release of Israel from bondage, and brought into fulness in Christ who has taken the wrath of God for everyone who will believe in Him.

Verse 8 - the watchmen, theses were the prophets, would sing for joy when they saw in person what had been foretold - the return of the Lord to Zion. And in a sense, they saw this when God’s people and the worship of God were brought back to Jerusalem. But in another sense, we still await the day when ultimately the Lord will return and rule in righteousness once and for all.

9-10 - a call to break into joyful singing - because the Lord has taken action! He has comforted his people. He has redeemed his people. He has bared his holy arm. Again, we come back to that concept - the redemption is not simply glorious because it is redemption. The redemption is not simply wonderful because it is a change in location or a change in position or a change in circumstances. It is wonderful and is only wonderful because it is the work of the Lord.

The redemption of the people of Israel from Babylon was a work of the Lord that was visible to the onlooker. God’s strength was made known to those all around when Babylon was defeated by Cyrus and his people let go. But there would be a greater sense in which the prophecy of the end of verse 10 would be made known.

“All the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.”

This worldwide revelation of God’s salvation was not ultimately fulfilled in the redemption of Israel from Babylon, rather it was ultimately seen in the servant of God, Jesus Christ, becoming the suffering Servant, the sacrificial atonement for the sins of not just Israelites, but all who would come to him in faith.

In application I hope we see two things.

First, in all of this talk of redemption and peace and salvation, those of us who have been believers for some time are prone to losing the wonder of it all. Some of you, myself included, can hardly remember a time when we didn’t know and love the Lord. In this we have a tendency to forget the miraculous nature of God’s redemption.

But notice in this passage how over and over again, the good news of the redemption pointed our focus away from the situations of redemption, and toward the Lord who brought redemption. And so the call for believers in this passage is this - remember that the point, the main theme of redemption is not simply our happiness and our peace, but rather the point and the big picture of redemption is the Lord Himself.

Remember, the real majesty of redemption is not who is redeemed, but who is the redeemer?

Secondly, for those who may be listening and find this concept of redemption new, or perhaps you’ve heard of it before and are even familiar with it, but it has never been a serious consideration of yours, know this. The Lord reigns, the Lord sees, and the Lord Redeems. God knows your very being - he knows the details of your life. He knows the inner thoughts, the struggles, the sin and fear and worry and doubt and hate, there is nothing in life hidden from the Lord, and yet he provides a way of peace and salvation. I urge you, today, if you have not trusted Christ - if you have not come to Him, consider his call to believe the Gospel, trust Him by faith and find forgiveness, peace, and salvation in Him.

The Good News of redemption is that God reigns, God sees, and God redeems.