Isaiah 51 ENCOURAGEMENT GIVEN Imagine being committed to the Lord and His word, and all around you, people are idol worshippers, pleasure seekers, self-exalting people who think you are stupid for putting your unreserved faith in the Lord. You might say, “Well, that is the way things are right where I live.” That was the situation in Judah when Isaiah wrote his prophecy. There were a few of the Jews who had their faith in the God of Israel, and were looked down on and despised by the majority of the people. Isaiah was addressing these words to those who could see that coming judgment was inevitable on Judah and Jerusalem.
There will always be some who remain faithful to the Lord in every time of departure, but they will be few and far between. The few may feel very alone when they are surrounded by those who hate them, maybe not openly, but do not want anything to do with them. Isaiah reminded them of their heritage as a way to encourage them, and as a reminder of the value of being righteous no matter what others do. He went back to the father of the faithful, Abraham, who believed God even when he was in Ur, which was a hotbed of idolatry. God called Abraham and Sarah out of that place and promised to bless them, and through them, blessings from God came to millions. His faith and faithfulness continue to bear fruit that remains world-wide. Imagine if the Lord, Jehovah’s Perfect Servant, hadn’t come.
Isaiah challenged Israel to follow the example of Abraham who looked forward and “saw My day. He saw it and was glad.” Israel’s disobedience caused their own suffering. Many in the generations that followed him, failed to follow the path of faith in God, and had to accept the consequences that come from idolatry and disobedience. Israel could have hope for the future because the faithful God of the past, is still the same as when He demonstrated His care to past generations who obeyed Him. God can do great and wonderful things through a few faithful people. Justice, righteousness and salvation are linked, because without God’s justice being satisfied, and His righteousness being imputed to us, there would be no salvation for us. Those three are linked the other way around too, because when we have been saved, righteousness of life is an evidence of reality, and justice controls our conduct.
Isaiah encouraged those few faithful few, who like people of faith in every generation and place, they will be disliked and avoided. They will often feel alone because of their belief and confidence in God, but that attitude is not against us. Rather it is the attitude of people against God. Therefore, He will deal with them in the way He chooses. It is our responsibility to remain faithful to Him, to obey Him no matter what happens, and to conduct our lives as those who love Him and trust Him. The God we serve is the same God who made a “road in the depths of the Red Sea” to deliver the Jews from Rahab (Egypt). He doesn’t always do the same thing, but of this we can be sure; His love, care and concern for His people does not change.
God responded to their appeal to show His strength in deliverance of the remnant Jews, because He is their Comforter, their Maker and their Redeemer. He assures them they are His people. Babylon wanted to capture God’s people but could not do it until He allowed it to happen because of their sins. Captivity for seventy years was His way of correcting their behavior and punishing them for their idolatry. His reason for that was so they would return to Him as His obedient people, and He would find fellowship with them again. He wanted them to be free to love Him as He loved them, and share life together. They had put their love and fear into idolatry and blatant sin. He wanted them to respect, love and have reverential fear for Him.
When our faith is in Him, there is fullness and meaning in our lives. There is confidence and peace when we trust the Lord and rely on His ability to control all the circumstances of our lives in everything we do. Like to those Jews, there comes the call to “Awake,” and then the Lord will bring His promises and promised blessings to His people. The Lord called Jerusalem to wake up and recognize what was going to happen because of their sin. The “cup of trembling” they held in their hand will be taken from them, and in grace He drinks it for them – and us. The “cup of wrath” was ruin because of their sin. God intends for them, and us, a full and prosperous life.
The people of Judah and Jerusalem had to face bondage, suffering and destruction instead of freedom and the blessings of true liberty. Before they could start over again in fellowship with God, just judgment had to be carried out to bring repentance and restoration. The standards of righteousness must be established on the strength of God’s word, even though grace certainly has been shown in times of failure. The people who need to fear are the ungodly, not the righteous. The persecution of the faithful remnant is temporary. God delivered His people before and He will do it again.
We may be small and insignificant in the eyes of the world, but God is not done with us. We can be assured that those who trust Him will see a new day after the captivity is passed. It is the ungodly that need to be afraid and ashamed, not those who fear the Lord. For our encouragement, and any small remnant of believers, like Isaiah said earlier in his book, “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee: because he trusteth in Thee.”
Isaiah.51:1. “Look to the rock whence ye are hewn, and the hole of the pit whence ye are digged.”
HEWN. That rock is huge, with cracks and dirt and bumps so rough; What use is such a thing? What value could possibly be found to reveal such grace as Thine? The rock is hard, and to all outward signs, can serve no real purpose; How can such a thing be of benefit to anyone? What can be done to it that some good might come?
One comes to look and view from every side what until now has been hid from view; Then hammer in one hand, chisel in the other, begins the task of discarding, forming, shaping. Some pieces break off that are large, obvious, and useless; others are small, insignificant but off they come; That from that rock might come that which the Sculptor knows will fit the end result in His mind.
A separation comes, a trench is cut, a groove is made, that line that the chisel marks now carefully made, is seen; A sharp blow here, a light tap or two there, the steady eye follows every changing shape. In patience, one line upon another, here a little there a little, and the quarry rings with the sound of the hammer;
Still doing its work as the hand that guides it here and there from time to time adds strength. When to most eyes unexpected and unwarned, the Master Sculptor raises the hammer high and the chisel in place; And with one hard, strong, clearly guided blow, the project falls from the hard place it has always been.
Then with quiet satisfaction, the Master Sculptor carefully looks over the new formed stone; A light tap here on one corner, another light blow there, careful scrutiny and the stone is placed. Placed where He knows it fits best; placed where He planned long before; placed to match those around;
The deed is done; the position secured forever; the occupation now has meaning; no longer just a rock. But now part of a growing building of similar stones; forming a dwelling place for God: a place where sounds Of praise and worship, of words and witness, of prayer and glory – ring. A place for God to dwell. The rock, still earthbound, dirty and hard, but time to time there comes again from hardened clay a lively stone!
The pit, that hole so deep that none but eyes divine can see beyond the covering of earth! But there beneath it all, the Master digs the rock and leaves the hole so all around can see that there is value where and when He moves the dirt to find the gem.
“I thank Thee, O Father God, that I am built upon the Living Stone. Small replicas we are and yet it must be in all these layers of living stones, each different yet so alike, there is some delight that Thou wilt get when at last the final one is laid in just the place that Thou dost choose. And then?! Then the finished place, all at home in the dwelling place of God. Christ the Object of our joy and satisfaction. Amen.”