Isaiah 52:1-12 GET READY TO LEAVE There are times when a casual approach to things is entirely inappropriate. When a real danger is imminent like a fire out of control, an injury or serious sickness, urgency is called for, and unless we respond to the situation as it is warranted, there will be consequences that are way beyond our control. Occasionally there are also times of joy and gladness when a song, a hymn, or an outburst of “Praise the Lord,” enthusiastically given, is the right response. In Isaiah 51 and 52 there are three urgent wakeup calls.
The first call is from those who are in bondage, as they call in their extremity to the Lord. “Awake, awake! Put on Thy strength, O arm of the Lord.” Isaiah prophesies that the captives in Babylon will call on the Lord for deliverance in their time of trouble. It is most appropriate for a concerned soul who faces up to their sinful condition before God, to call on the Lord. “Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
The second call is from the Lord to those people in Jerusalem, who had become used to their sin and were complacent about their condition before God. “Awake, awake, stand up, O Jerusalem!” The cup of trembling in their hand finally made them aware of the righteous judgment of God. Isaiah could speak from experience about this, because he was the one who got a sight of the Lord in His holiness, and said, “Woe is me, for I am undone: because
I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.”
The third call is in this chapter to “Awake, awake! Put on thy strength, O Zion!” God was calling His people to rejoice as exiles who were set at liberty to return to their own country. More than that, they were also to be reconciled to God and to be restored to fellowship with Him in the place where He chose to place His name. What a blessing it is to have “fellowship with the Father, and with His Son, Jesus Christ.” This in turn brings us into fellowship with His people of “like precious faith.”
All of these “wakeup calls” were prophecies given before the events even happened. How wonderful is our God to warn us ahead of time so repentance and restoration to the Lord, can take place in individuals who take God seriously, and seek the Lord while He may be found. God is determined to restore Israel as He has promised. The day will come when by His grace and power, Israel will again reflect His glory here in the world. They will honor His name, and the name of the Lord Jesus Christ will be as precious to them, as it is to us who have personally responded to His mercy and love for us. As guilty, but redeemed sinners, we have put our faith in Him for our salvation. Believers in Christ today, live in the good of what Israel will experience in the future.
The Jews sold themselves to the sinfulness and value lessness of idolatry, and the depravity that accompanies that spurious faith. After seventy years of captivity, Cyrus would release them from captivity without them even paying a redemption price. In a sense they were free to return to the land of Israel with no strings attached apart from their submission to his distant leadership. Beginning with the children of Israel as slaves in Egypt; then the ten northern tribes conquered and dispersed by the Assyrians; and finally, as captives in Babylon, there was a disregard for the Lord. In Egypt they worshipped “gods on the other side of the flood.” Even when they were in the promised land and had at their disposal, all that God promised, they regarded the Lord with contempt, and turned to idolatry.
May we all learn the lesson, that even when we are in a place of great blessing, the attractions of the world, the flesh and the devil, will always be there. It is our highest responsibility to maintain a vital, living relationship with our Lord, that is a well-spring of real and abundant life, not the trivial fleeting rush of fleshly satisfaction. The experience of ancient Israel is here for us to learn from, by avoiding what they did not avoid. When we find our satisfaction from the things that are not seen, we find permanence and rest to our souls, peace in our lives, and assurance in regard to the future.
Poor Israel; they were warned by Isaiah as to what to expect, but they didn’t learn from his message, nor take it as a real message from the Lord. Thankfully, there is also the good and glorious message of the Gospel! After bondage, deliverance will come. God Himself is the One who paid the redemption price to set His people free. Our Lord is the One who the Spirit of the Lord is upon. He is the One who is appointed to preach the Gospel to the poor. He is the One who came to heal the brokenhearted, and preach deliverance to the captives. He is the One who gave sight to the blind and set at liberty the oppressed. He is the One who preached the year (time) of the Lord’s favor.
We who are saved can echo the words of our Lord, “(Our) Your God reigns!” To those who love the Lord, even the feet of those who brought the message of the Gospel to us are beautiful. What if they didn’t want to come? What if they said, “We’ll leave that to someone else?” Reconciliation to our God through His Perfect Servant has been provided, and is real to those who avail themselves of the offer of salvation. Peace between the Holy Righteous God and sinful man is now possible because of His Servant.
The exhortation to leave the sinful, defiling world of Babylon was urgently given. There would be hardship and hazards for those who left the pleasure of sin and the economic security of Babylon. Leisure and plenty, would be left behind, but the safety and security of the souls of those who trusted the Lord, would last forever. The enticements of the world are very temporary. The Jews that remained in Babylon would find out all that they worked and lived for would be lost. Even traces of the city itself are hard to find.
Captives in Babylon were free to go because God’s plan of redemption was in place already. They were not fleeing as runaway slaves like when their forefathers left Egypt generations before. This time they were free to choose. They had a guaranteed safe-conduct passage from Cyrus the emperor. Of far more value was the assurance the Lord was going before them to lead them Himself, and He was the rereward (the rear guard) protecting them from behind. We find ourselves today as pilgrims traveling through a foreign land on our way to the promised land. The appeal of the world gets less and less the closer we get to our real home where we truly belong. How comforting it is to have the unfailing word of God to guide us and protect us, as well as the assurance of divine Persons with us on this long journey.