Isaiah 51 - From Abraham to Christ, Salvation for Zion.

We learned about the obedient Servant in chapter 50; we now see the large back-story of redemption from Abraham to Christ. Isaiah speaks first, calling his kinsmen of the flesh to remember how the promise made to Abram would be fulfilled; God then speaks reminding Israel and us that He is truly, completely sovereign over everything.

Isaiah 51:1-3 (HCSB) Listen to Me, you who pursue righteousness, you who seek the LORD: Look to the rock from which you were cut, and to the quarry from which you were dug. Look to Abraham your father, and to Sarah who gave birth to you in pain. When I called him, he was only one; I blessed him and made him many. For the LORD will comfort Zion; He will comfort all her waste places, and He will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the LORD. Joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and melodious song.

There will be people who seek after what they think is God in every culture. Isaiah tells his kinsmen to see things correctly: they were nothing, raw material that God culled from the debris of mankind. Just like Abraham. There were nine generations between Adam and Noah; ten generations stood between Noah and the next Adam – Abram. Out of this sea of humanity, the world lost in re-learning how to communicate and rediscover their place, one genealogy is highlighted and traced down to a solitary man God would call to stand as the father of many nations; and the father of all the redeemed.

Just as God had blessed Abraham and made him many, so He will bless Zion - transforming her waste places, her wilderness, and her desert into comfortable, lush gardens where joy and gladness will be found; giving them cause to rejoice with thanksgiving and song. Since we know all good things come from God, do we give thanks to Him when we prosper; do we sing praises to Him for His kindness to us?

Isaiah 51:4-6 (HCSB) Pay attention to Me, My people, and listen to Me, My nation; for instruction will come from Me, and My justice for a light to the nations. I will bring it about quickly. My righteousness is near, My salvation appears, and My arms will bring justice to the nations. The coastlands will put their hope in Me, and they will look to My strength. Look up to the heavens, and look at the earth beneath; for the heavens will vanish like smoke, the earth will wear out like a garment, and its inhabitants will die like gnats. But My salvation will last forever, and My righteousness will never be shattered.

God now speaks, calling His people, His nation to listen closely to His instructions - words from Himself and not from a man such a Benny Hinn (sorry, couldn't help myself). When God speaks, it is with authority. He will bring salvation to His own and justice to the nations, which will be a light in the darkness that they naturally crave. The arm of the Lord God is strong to save His people and strong to judge the nations. There is no hope apart from Him, so all who desire Him, have been called by Him, place their hope in Him; trusting His arm to bring salvation.

The end of this creation was declared long before Isaiah's time; he alluded to this passage: Psalm 102:25-26 (HCSB) "Long ago You established the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands. They will perish, but You will endure; all of them will wear out like clothing. You will change them like a garment, and they will pass away." This aligns with what Peter tells us of the end of this age: 2 Peter 3:10-13 (HCSB)  But the Day of the Lord will come like a thief; on that ⌊day⌋ the heavens will pass away with a loud noise, the elements will burn and be dissolved, and the earth and the works on it will be disclosed. Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, ⌊it is clear⌋ what sort of people you should be in holy conduct and godliness as you wait for and earnestly desire the coming of the day of God. The heavens will be on fire and be dissolved because of it, and the elements will melt with the heat. But based on His promise, we wait for the new heavens and a new earth, where righteousness will dwell.

In Isaiah, God spoke that His salvation and His righteousness will last forever - those who are saved inherit the new earth where His righteousness dwells. Fear not what Peter describes if you be in Christ. If you are not known by Him, do not deceive yourself - there is no other refuge.

Isaiah 51:7-8 (HCSB) Listen to Me, you who know righteousness, the people in whose heart is My instruction: do not fear disgrace by men, and do not be shattered by their taunts. For the moth will devour them like a garment, and the worm will eat them like wool. But My righteousness will last forever, and My salvation for all generations.

God speaks to those who know Him, reminding all of us to not fear man - his arm is short and God can defeat them with mundane things. All flesh is like grass and withers and dies, eaten by moth and worms. BUT GOD and His righteousness will never end, He is stronger than all He has created; those He saves will never perish.

Isaiah 51:9-11 (HCSB) Wake up, wake up! Put on the strength of the LORD’s power. Wake up as in days past, as in generations of long ago. Wasn’t it You who hacked Rahab to pieces, who pierced the sea monster? Wasn’t it You who dried up the sea, the waters of the great deep, who made the sea-bed into a road for the redeemed to pass over? And the redeemed of the LORD will return and come to Zion with singing, crowned with unending joy. Joy and gladness will overtake ⌊them⌋, and sorrow and sighing will flee.

Israel pleads with God to WAKE UP! To put on the strength of His power. This reminds me of the apostle's instruction for us to put on the full armor of God. No mortal can rely on his own strength, though he may have done mighty deeds when he was younger. Man cannot defeat nature, cannot rule the sea, or push the sea back to allow dry passage. God does these things, as we read in Psalm 89:9-10 "You rule the raging sea; when its waves surge, You still them. You crushed Rahab like one who is slain; You scattered Your enemies with Your powerful arm." Very similar language to what Isaiah used - the prophet was familiar with the Psalms. When the redeemed of YHWH remember His mighty deeds we will be refreshed, encouraged, and we should gather together as His chosen ones singing with joy and gladness - for sorrow will flee from us as we draw close to Him.

Isaiah 51:12-16 (HCSB) I—I am the One who comforts you. Who are you that you should fear man who dies, or a son of man who is given up like grass? But you have forgotten the LORD, your Maker, who stretched out the heavens and laid the foundations of the earth. You are in constant dread all day long because of the fury of the oppressor, who has set himself to destroy. But where is the fury of the oppressor? The prisoner is soon to be set free; he will not die ⌊and go⌋ to the Pit, and his food will not be lacking. For I am Yahweh your God who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar— His name is Yahweh of Hosts. I have put My words in your mouth, and covered you in the shadow of My hand, in order to plant the heavens, to found the earth, and to say to Zion, “You are My people.”

There is so much here that we ought to ponder, devotedly and slowly. Have we lived so long as to have grown accustomed to the GLORY of being raised up in Christ? He alone comforts us - why do we forget Him? How can we forget Him, when we see the heaven and earth before us? Saints - do not live in dread because of what those of this world can do us. We are prisoners who have been set free, not destined for the pit; well fed and cared for. See Psalms 118:6, 1 Peter 1:24, Amos 9:6, Psalms 107:25, and Jeremiah 31:35; all of which declare the glorious might of God over all His creation and reveal us to nothing but dust.

Ponder who He is and what He has done for us. He has given us His Word and provided refuge for us in the strength of His hand. He will stretch out a new heavens and bring about a new earth and He will declare to His redeemed "You are My people!" We who were not His people are called His people! Please let that sink into your soul. If you are in Christ - that in itself a thought that ought to undo each of us - then you are His people. None of us deserve this status - we were not His people by birth, though His elect were marked out for salvation before time. You and I lived as though we should just eat and drink for tomorrow we wake up and do it again. BUT GOD, Who is rich in mercy, reached out at a point in time and gave you life, spiritual life; life that was grounded in God and able to see Him. His people. Oh how wonderful! Don't EVER get accustomed to being in Christ!

Isaiah 51:17-20 (HCSB) Wake yourself, wake yourself up! Stand up, Jerusalem, you who have drunk the cup of His fury from the hand of the LORD; you who have drunk the goblet to the dregs— the cup that ⌊causes people⌋ to stagger. There is no one to guide her among all the children she has raised; there is no one to take hold of her hand among all the offspring she has brought up. These two things have happened to you: devastation and destruction, famine and sword. Who will grieve for you? How can I comfort you? Your children have fainted; they lie at the head of every street like an antelope in a net. They are full of the LORD’s fury, the rebuke of your God.

Isaiah the prophet now speaks again to his kinsmen, urging them to wake up! By their long record of disobedience, they have been putting God to the test, storing up wrath. See how this reflects what the pagan nations do: Jeremiah 25:15-16 This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, said to me: “Take this cup of the wine of wrath from My hand and make all the nations I am sending you to, drink from it. They will drink, stagger, and go out of their minds because of the sword I am sending among them.”

Drunkards have need of help to raise their children and they often cannot find it. Devastation and destruction, famine and death come upon drunks who have no one to grieve for them. So it is with those who are drunk on their rebellion, no comfort for them; no direction - like a beast caught in a net. These people, who are NOT called His people, are the object of YHWH's fury and His rebuke. At this, the mountains will flee! Oh sinner! While you have breath, cry out to your Creator for mercy!

Isaiah 51:21-23 (HCSB) So listen to this, afflicted and drunken one—but not with wine. This is what your Lord says— Yahweh, even your God, who defends His people— “Look, I have removed the cup of staggering from your hand; that goblet, the cup of My fury. You will never drink it again. I will put it into the hands of your tormentors, who said to you: Lie down, so we can walk over you. You made your back like the ground, and like a street for those who walk on it.

God calls to His people who have been drunk on their rebellion; He first reminds them Who He is: YHWH their God who defends His people. He takes away their love for rebellion, the cup of His fury. All who have been redeemed can never be exposed to His wrath. Those who will not be called "His people" will be made to drink the cup of His fury (as we read in Jeremiah, earlier). Those who have tormented His people will be made like a road His people walk on. This should remind you of the highway to Zion we've read about. Birds of prey will feast on them, no one will save them. They are not "His people."

Saints - being in union with Christ is our security. Because of that union, we who were once not called "His people" are now, truly His people. Rejoice if you are His people. Cry out for mercy if you are not.