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.