The Book Of Isaiah. Day 140, The Suffering And The Glory Of The Servant, Part Two

On Monday we began a segment of the book of Isaiah that contains a prophecy regarding the death and resurrection of Christ. As we ended our study yesterday we found the Lord saying that people all over the world would learn about things they had never heard of and that even kings would have nothing to say against this message. I believe these words foretell the way the gospel message would spread all over the earth, converting people from all walks of life. People of pagan nations who had never heard of the God of Abraham would learn of Him and renounce their idols.

Now we move on into Chapter 53 with these words: "Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?" (Isaiah 53:1) The Message Bible translates verse 1 like this, and I believe it's a perfect way to describe what Isaiah is saying: "Who believes what we've heard and seen? Who would have thought God's saving power would look like this?" Who could have foreseen the suffering of the Servant of God? Who would have expected God's power (His "arm") to be depicted as human weakness? Who would have dreamed eternal life would come through death? But the Redeemer had to come in the form of a man so He could make Himself an offering for all people. The reason so many of His own people rejected Him was because they were offended by the idea of a suffering Messiah; they were expecting (and they preferred) a conquering Messiah who would extract them from under the iron boot of Rome.

But there was more at stake than freedom from the Roman oppressors. Souls were at stake. Freedom from the penalty of sin is far more important than freedom from any human oppressor. The entire human race was beset with sin and needed a perfect and eternal means of redemption. That perfect and eternal means of redemption could only come through the perfect Lamb of God who would come in the form of a human---who was fully man and fully God at the same time---who could make a sacrifice so great that it was capable of paying for their sins past, present, and future.

"He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to Him, nothing in His appearance that we should desire Him. He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces He was despised, and we held Him in low esteem." (Isaiah 53:2-3) These verses depict the birth of Christ as a baby, who grew up in the sight of God the Father, who grew both in physical size and in the wisdom of God and in the favor of God. (Luke 2:52) In these verses we see both His humanity and His deity. 

The advent of Christ occurred during a time when it must have seemed to many in the world that the nation of Israel could never rise again. The human mind was not able to figure out how the nation could ever again be a sovereign power. The descendants of Jacob knew what the prophets had said---that a king would come from the direct line of David and that His kingdom would endure forever---but exactly how such a thing would be accomplished had never been spelled out for them. The advent of Christ occurred during an era of discouragement: He appeared like a "root out of dry ground". 

Jesus was not a man of taller stature than everyone else in the nation or more handsome than anyone in the nation, like King Saul was. Saul was elected king by the people because he was such an imposing and impressive figure. King David was also a very handsome man, along with being the mightiest warrior the people had ever seen, and he was elected because he successfully fought against his people's enemies. But Jesus did not come with a sword in His hand to lead a successful rebellion against the nation's enemies. Therefore Isaiah says that He had no "beauty or majesty to attract us to Him, nothing in His appearance that we should desire Him". In the gospel accounts we often find Jesus blending into the crowd, not standing out in the crowd, for He was average in looks and in height. He looked pretty much like any Jewish man in the first century AD who was of lower economic status. 

No one would have pointed to Jesus and said, "This man looks like a king." From the outside He didn't make much of an impression but it was what He said and did that proved He was who He said He was. Those were the things that attracted people to Him. As Peter once declared to Jesus, "You have the words of eternal life." As we continue on through Chapter 53 this week we will see how accurately Isaiah describes what Jesus did in order to offer us eternal life.

The Book Of Isaiah. Day 139, The Suffering And The Glory Of The Servant, Part One

We are beginning a portion of the book of Isaiah in which he foresaw the way the Lord's plan of salvation would unfold. He predicted the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Earlier in the book of Isaiah we found him speaking of the one called "the Servant". This is not just any servant but is the Servant: the one who will perfectly keep all the commandments and laws and statutes of God---the one who will completely fulfill the will of God.

It is God Himself who speaks these words: "See, My Servant will act wisely; He will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted." (Isaiah 52:13) 

Although mere human beings who love the Lord can be called the servants of the Lord, and although those who love the Lord generally act more wisely than those who reject Him, this Servant will be more than a mere human. This Servant will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted in a manner different from someone who is only a human. This Servant is going to be rewarded above all. As the Apostle Paul worded the glorification of this Servant: "God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name that is above every name." (Philippians 2:9)

But before this faithful Servant is exalted, He will suffer. He will suffer because He is fully obedient to the will of God in carrying out the plan of salvation. He did this by "Taking on the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to death---even death on a cross!" (Philippians 2:8) This next segment begins to describe the suffering the Servant endured as He obediently did what was necessary to carry out the Lord's will and to offer us redemption.

"Just as there were many who were appalled at Him---His appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any human being and His form beyond any human likeness---so He will sprinkle many nations, and kings will shut their mouths because of Him. For what they were not told, they will see, and what they have not heard, they will understand." (Isaiah 52:14-15) 

In the gospel accounts we learn that Jesus was viciously abused during His trial by the high priest's soldiers and by the soldiers of Pontius Pilate. They mocked Him and struck Him repeatedly in the face, causing bleeding and bruising and swelling. They grabbed His beard in their hands and pulled the hair out by the roots. They whipped Him many times across the back with the Roman flagrum, a whip made of multiple leather cords in which were tied sharp pieces of bone; this type of whip literally shredded the skin. A crown of thorns was pressed down roughly upon His head, making puncture wounds from which blood ran in streaks. I'm not saying these things to be graphic but to point out how accurate Isaiah was when he stated that the Servant was rendered unrecognizable by what He endured.

We also talk about this horrific suffering to remind ourselves that He endured these things for our sake. By the sacrifice He made for us, He has "sprinkled many nations" as Isaiah said: He has made the blood offering that cleanses us of all unrighteousness by our faith in what He did for us. People from all over the world have placed their faith in Christ, which is why Isaiah said "man nations" would be sprinkled by the blood of this holy sacrifice. The Lord promised Abraham many centuries earlier that through one of his offspring (one of his descendants) all nations would be blessed. (Genesis 22:18) The suffering, death, burial, and resurrection of Christ was the fulfillment of this promise, for by these things the Lord offered salvation to every nation and every race upon the earth.

Some years back I did one of those ancestry DNA tests. Nothing was especially surprising about the results because I knew my family tree pretty far back. I am mainly of English, Irish, and Scottish heritage, with small amounts of Norwegian and Swedish heritage. This ancestry means that my forefathers and foremothers were heathen idolaters in ancient times. If the Lord's plan of salvation had not been a plan for "many nations", I would have been without hope. But the Lord, thanks be to His name, didn't make the offer of redemption only to the descendants of Abraham. He wanted to bless all nations. He wanted to save people from every country under the sun. That is why you and I can be the children of God through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ---in the Servant who paid the ultimate price in order to offer us eternal life with Him.

We will be talking about this subject for the next several days as we conclude Chapter 52 and move on into Chapter 53. We will clearly see that the words spoken in this passage of Scripture describe no one other than the Lord Jesus Christ. 

Vacation Week

We will pause the Bible study this week while I take vacation time. My husband will take the remainder of his time off. A few projects need to be done at home and my dog and I both have doctor appointments and we may take a day trip or two. 

When we pick back up with the study we will look at a passage of Isaiah that predicts the crucifixion.

The Book Of Isaiah. Day 138, Good Tidings

We have been studying a section in which the Lord promises to bring back the descendants of Jacob and resettle them in their land. Today's passage begins with the Lord reminding them that He brought them out of Egypt and can rescue them from the Assyrians, from the Babylonians, and from any other enemy.

"For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: 'At first My people went down to Egypt to live; lately, Assyria has oppressed them. And now what do I have here?' declares the Lord. 'For My people have been taken away for nothing, and those who rule them mock,' declares the Lord. 'And all day long My name is constantly blasphemed. Therefore My people will know My name; therefore in that day they will know that it is I who foretold it. Yes, it is I.'" (Isaiah 52:4-6) 

In Isaiah's day the Assyrians were the major threat to everyone in the region. But Babylon would rise from the ashes and defeat Assyria and also Judah, among other nations. The people will have the prophecies of Isaiah, Jeremiah, and other prophets; when they are released from captivity they will know that the Lord foretold it long before it happened. They will give glory to His name.

When the people begin returning to the land, they will proclaim the news far and wide to those in exile and to those who fled the incoming enemy army and are living as fugitives in other lands. "How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, 'Your God reigns!' Listen! Your watchmen lift up their voices; together they shout for joy. When the Lord returns to Zion, they will see it with their own eyes." (Isaiah 52:7-8)

The generation that returns to the land will see with their own eyes the Lord's promises coming true. They will shout for joy and praise His name. They will speak of the power of the Lord. "Burst into song of joy together, you ruins of Jerusalem, for the Lord has comforted His people, He has redeemed Jerusalem. The Lord will lay bare His holy arm in the sight of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth will see the salvation of our God." (Isaiah 52:9-10) The imagery in verse 10 is the imagery of one who rolls up his sleeves to perform manual labor or to engage someone in a fight. The people will proclaim that the Lord has performed great works on their behalf and that He has fought their enemies for them.

When the captives leave the land of their captivity, it won't be as refugees. It won't be like people making a run for it. It will be by permission of the government that defeats their oppressors. It will be with that government's blessing. "Depart, depart, go out from there! Touch no unclean thing! Come out from it and be pure, you who carry the articles of the Lord's house. But you will not leave in haste or go in flight; for the Lord will go before you, the God of Israel will be your rear guard." (Isaiah 52:11-12) 

The people they have lived among during their captivity were idolatrous people. The government that sets them free is made up of idolatrous people. The descendants of Jacob are not to carry with them any of those practices when they leave. They aren't to bring any religious objects of the foreigners with them. They must forsake any changes they may have made to assimilate into foreign cultures. Now that they will be free to practice their own religion in the ways prescribed by God, they are to fully assimilate back into the culture of their forefathers.

This should be good news to all the people descended from the sons of Jacob. But another type of good news is in view here. A good news will come in a farther-off time to the descendants of Jacob and to the whole world. This will be the good news of the gospel and as we conclude Chapter 52 and move on into Chapter 53 we find Isaiah prophesying about the life, the death, and the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the "good news that will cause great joy for all the people". (Luke 2:10) 

The Book Of Isaiah. Day 137, Redeemed Without Money

Today we talk about redemption. In Biblical times a person could end up as an indentured servant or as an actual slave if they had debts they couldn't pay. But their closest relative could choose, if they could afford it, to "redeem" them. This relative, known as the "kinsman redeemer" could pay their debts off for them and set them free. If the closest relative couldn't afford to do this or didn't want to do this, the opportunity would go to the next closest, and so on. In today's text the Lord speaks of how He will redeem His people but without money. He will be their "kinsman redeemer" with His grace and mercy and love, rescuing them from their oppressors and setting them free.

"Awake, awake, Zion, clothe yourself with strength! Put on your garments of splendor, Jerusalem, the holy city. The uncircumcised and defiled will not enter you again." (Isaiah 52:1) This prophecy had a short term and a long term meaning. In ancient times it meant that the people would be able to return to their land and rebuild. In the future, in the eternal kingdom of the Messiah, the descendants of Jacob will never have any enemies on the earth. The only people inhabiting the world will be the people of God.

During Isaiah's lifetime the northern kingdom of Israel fell to the Assyrian Empire. Later the southern kingdom of Judah would fall to the Neo-Babylonian Empire. Both of these enemy nations took the majority of the people captive and forcibly resettled them. The captivity is mainly what is in view in this next portion. "Shake off your dust; rise up, sit enthroned, Jerusalem. Free yourself from the chains on your neck, Daughter Zion, now a captive." (Isaiah 52:2) It was a common practice in ancient times for a conquering army to chain captives together in a long line. This prevented escape, for it was pretty much impossible for a large group of captives chained together to run together in sync well enough and fast enough to get away. Plus there would be those too frightened to make a run for it or those with illnesses or physical disabilities that would prevent them from running with the others.

"For this is what the Lord says: 'You were sold for nothing, and without money you will be redeemed.'" (Isaiah 52:3) Both the northern and the southern kingdoms were conquered because a majority of the citizens began practicing idolatry. In that sense they sold themselves to sin because they willingly gave in to idolatry. Anytime we sin we are "selling" ourselves. As the Apostle Paul said, when we offer ourselves to serve someone or something, we are allowing ourselves to be enslaved. (Romans 6:16) When we give in to sin, we are making sin our master, which means we are slaves to sin. Paul was repeating a statement made by Jesus who said that everyone who sins is a slave to sin. (John 8:34)

We have all sinned and that means we have been the slaves of sin. As long as we live in these mortal bodies in a fallen world, we will fall prey to sin at times. So what are we to do since we cannot be perfect? What are we to do to get out of slavery? We must trust in the One who can set us free from slavery. The Lord Jesus Christ---our Kinsman Redeemer---can set us free. He will do it without money. He will do it by His mercy and grace and love, which are what compelled Him to go to the cross for us to pay our penalty for us. By His blood He paid the price for our freedom. By His resurrection we know that the Father accepted this payment on our behalf. Through our faith in what Christ did for us we obtain forgiveness, salvation, freedom from the penalty of our sin, and eternal life with our Kinsman Redeemer.

The Book Of Isaiah. Day 136, A Cup Of Wrath For The People's Tormentors

In yesterday's study we found the Lord promising Isaiah's people that a time was coming when their oppressors would be no more. In today's segment He reminds them that the reason they themselves had been oppressed was because they had fallen away from Him. But after their period of correction has passed, He will turn the "cup of wrath" on their tormentors.

The southern kingdom of Judah lasted for about 130 years after the northern kingdom of Israel fell. This is because there were several revivals in Judah before a great multitude fell into sin and idolatry and immorality. The date of Judah's fall is still quite far off in Isaiah's day, though some had already drifted from the Lord by mixing pagan practices into their worship of Him and some had already abandoned Him altogether. If a majority of the people had heeded the words of the prophets and had never become idolaters, the fall wouldn't have taken place at all. They will be conquered by Babylon and taken captive to that foreign land. But while they are captive in Babylon they will have the words the Lord gave the prophets and they can read His promise of a return to the land and His promise to judge their enemies.

The Lord says to them: "Awake, awake! Rise up, Jerusalem, you who have drunk from the hand of the Lord the cup of His wrath, you who have drained to its dregs the cup that makes people stagger." (Isaiah 51:17) They must respond to correction in the right way, by repenting and turning back to Him. There is a right way and a wrong way for us to respond to the discipline of the Lord. We can recognize that our calamity is the result of our sin, repent of our sin, and get back on the godly path. Or we can become bitter and angry and even more rebellious, refusing to admit our sin and to submit to the leading hand of the Lord.

Our sin affects not only ourselves but those around us as well, bringing hardships on our loved ones. In the following passage we see that the sins of the nation's leaders and the sins of parents and grandparents have affected several generations---from the highest of society to the lowest of society, from the oldest to the youngest.

"Among all the children she bore there was none to guide her; among all the children she reared there was none to take her by the hand. These double calamities have come upon you---who can comfort you?---ruin and destruction, famine and sword---who can console you? Your children have fainted; they lie at every street corner, like antelope caught in a net. They are filled with the wrath of the Lord, with the rebuke of Your God." (Isaiah 51:18-20) In yesterday's passage the Lord promised to comfort His people. Here He is asking who will comfort them; this should lead them to the realization that only He is their comforter. They must turn back to Him.

When they do, this will come true: "Therefore hear this, you afflicted one, made drunk, but not with wine. This is what your Sovereign Lord says, your God, who defends His people: 'See, I have taken out of your hand the cup that made you stagger; from that cup, the goblet of My wrath, you will never drink again. I will put it into the hands of your tormentors, who said to you, 'Fall prostrate that we may walk on you'. And you made your back like the ground, like a street to be walked on." (Isaiah 51:21-23)

It's important to note that although the people sinned against Him, the Lord still refers to them as "His people". He will never break His covenant with them. Like a good parent, He must discipline those who are His, but He does not disown them. In the same way, the Lord does not disown any of us who have placed our trust in Him, even though we make mistakes. If we do not repent of our sins and turn away from them, He will have to take corrective action, but He will not cast us aside and stop being our Father. 

Discipline is painful and much of it can be avoided by not willfully making the decision to sin. Much of it can be avoided even when we accidentally make a mistake; as soon as we realize we've made a mistake we should repent and not keep on doing the same thing. But being frail mortals who are prone to giving in to temptation, there are still going to be times when we miss the mark. I've missed it quite horribly at times. But I'm thankful that the Lord doesn't cast us away from Him. First He will deal with us through the Holy Spirit who will make our consciences bother us. If we don't heed the pleading of the Holy Spirit to acknowledge our sin and repent of it, the Lord will have to take stronger action to correct our wrong behavior. But He is not saying, "That's it. I'm done with you." Instead He deals with us as a loving Father, correcting us for our own good so we don't keep hurting ourselves and those around us.

The Book Of Isaiah. Day 135, The Oppressor Will Be No More

The Lord promises the people that He will deal with their enemies and will restore them to the land He gave them. 

"Hear Me, you who know what is right, you people who have taken My instruction to heart: Do not fear the reproach of mere mortals or be terrified by their insults. For the moth will eat them up like a garment; the worm will devour them like wool. But My righteousness will last forever, My salvation throughout all generations." (Isaiah 51:7-8) 

The wicked will be "devoured" (judged and sentenced and taken out of the way) like moths and worms devour fabrics. But those who fear (reverence) the Lord need not fear anyone else. Jesus said not to fear mankind, because humans have no power over our eternal souls, but to fear the Lord. (Matthew 10:28) Likewise, the Apostle Paul affirmed that if we belong to the Lord, the Lord is with us and we need not fear anything man can do to us. (Romans 8:31) You may have heard the saying, "They who kneel before God can stand before anyone," and that is the sentiment expressed by verses 7 and 8.

Can the Lord rid the people of their oppressors and bring them home? Of course He can. He is still the same God that He always was and can still judge their enemies the same way He always has and can still provide for them the same way He always has. This next segment below appears to be spoken either by the prophet Isaiah or by the people of Isaiah's nation who have remained faithful to the Lord.

"Awake, awake, arm of the Lord, clothe Yourself with strength! Awake, as in days gone by, as in generations of old. Was it not You who cut Rahab to pieces, who pierced that monster through? Was it not You who dried up the sea, the waters of the great deep, who made a road in the depths of the sea so that the redeemed might cross over? Those the Lord has rescued will return. They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away." (Isaiah 51:9-11) 

The Lord never sleeps but whoever is speaking these words is using the term "awake" poetically to mean something like "stir Yourself up and come to battle for us". The word "Rahab" means "pride" and the Lord may be using this word to indicate His victory over that prideful serpent, Satan, or it could be He is using this word for the enemies of the people, for it is evident in the Bible that Israel's enemies were prideful in their belief that they could wipe the Israelites from the earth. 

In response to the cry for help in verses 9-11, the Lord restates His intention to rescue the people from captivity and to preserve the descendants of Jacob as a people. "I, even I, am He who comforts you. Who are you that you fear mere mortals, human beings who are but grass, that you forget the Lord your Maker, who stretches out the heavens and who lays the foundations of the earth, that you live in constant terror every day because of the wrath of the oppressor, who is bent on destruction?" (Isaiah 51:12-13a) 

In some translations of the Bible we find an earlier passage of Isaiah worded like this: "Do not anxiously look about you," (Isaiah 41:10) because when we anxiously look around at our circumstances it can be easy to fall into a panic. That's because we have taken our eyes off the Lord and have begun to be discouraged about our hardships and obstacles. The more we focus on our problems, the bigger they seem to us. In this same way, if we keep our attention fixed on the Lord, He will appear bigger to us. Our faith that He can handle our problems will increase and our anxiety and discouragement will decrease.

Soon the oppressor will be no more. The Neo-Babylonian Empire will cause the fall of Isaiah's nation because so many will have turned to idolatry by the time that enemy is powerful enough to defeat them, but the Lord will allow the enemy to be defeated by the Medo-Persian Empire and the captives will be set free, as we see below.

"For where is the wrath of the oppressor? The cowering prisoners will soon be set free; they will not die in their dungeon, nor will they lack bread. For I am the Lord your God, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar---the Lord Almighty is His name. I have put My words in your mouth and covered you with the shadow of My hand---I who set the heavens in place, who laid the foundations of the earth, and who says to Zion, 'You are My people.'" (Isaiah 51:13b-16) These are words the people can cling to and trust in when they are in Babylon. The Lord is not making an end of them as a nation or as a distinct people in the world.