Isaiah 55
English Standard Version

The Compassion of the LORD
55 “Come, everyone who thirsts,
    come to the waters;
and he who has no money,
    come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
    without money and without price.
2 Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread,
    and your labor for that which does not satisfy?
Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good,
    and delight yourselves in rich food.
3 Incline your ear, and come to me;
    hear, that your soul may live;
and I will make with you an everlasting covenant,
    my steadfast, sure love for David.
4 Behold, I made him a witness to the peoples,
    a leader and commander for the peoples.
5 Behold, you shall call a nation that you do not know,
    and a nation that did not know you shall run to you,
because of the LORD your God, and of the Holy One of Israel,
    for he has glorified you.

6 “Seek the LORD while he may be found;
    call upon him while he is near;
7 let the wicked forsake his way,
    and the unrighteous man his thoughts;
let him return to the LORD, that he may have compassion on him,
    and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
    neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD.
9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
    so are my ways higher than your ways
    and my thoughts than your thoughts.

10 “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven
    and do not return there but water the earth,
making it bring forth and sprout,
    giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,
11 so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;
    it shall not return to me empty,
but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,
    and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.

12 “For you shall go out in joy
    and be led forth in peace;
the mountains and the hills before you
    shall break forth into singing,
    and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
13 Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress;
    instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle;
and it shall make a name for the LORD,
    an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.”

Think of the conversation that Jesus had with the woman at the well in John 4--
10 Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” 11 The woman said to him, “Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? 12 Are you greater than our father Jacob? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock.” 13 Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” 15 The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water.”

The woman imagined Jesus was talking about some kind of spring that gave better water than the stagnant water that came from the well, but Jesus is alluding back to this idea of a spiritual thirst that can only be quenched by the Living Water that comes from the LORD.  Though we are spiritually bankrupt, we are told to come and sell all the worthless items that we have and buy that which we could never afford, but which the LORD will provide to us freely (but we must give up on everything else that has a hold on us).  What do we get in return?  An everlasting, unbreakable covenant of redemption!  We can have the same kind of relationship with God that David did--the one called "A man after God's own heart" because the LORD will put His heart within us.

We should call on the LORD now and seek Him both as our Savior and Lord.  The wicked should repent and turn away from their wickedness and accept the salvation, forgiveness, and transformation that is being offered to them.  This is a limited time offer as we can only accept it during this temporal lifetime, and no one knows exactly how many more years, months, days, hours, minutes, or seconds they have remaining.  "It is appointed man once to die, and after that, the judgment."  There are no second chances.

2 Corinthians 6:2
English Standard Version
2 For he says,

“In a favorable time I listened to you,
    and in a day of salvation I have helped you.”

Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.

Hebrews 4:6-13
English Standard Version
6 Since therefore it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly received the good news failed to enter because of disobedience, 7 again he appoints a certain day, “Today,” saying through David so long afterward, in the words already quoted,

“Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts.”

8 For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken of another day later on. 9 So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, 10 for whoever has entered God's rest has also rested from his works as God did from his.

11 Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience. 12 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. 13 And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

God promises that His Word will not return void and will accomplish what it was set out for--like the rain that waters the soil and helps the plants to grow and produce much fruit (though it eventually returns back to the oceans and the sky and starts the process all over again).  The LORD's Word will work to convict and to convert.  We don't know which will happen, but we know that apart from the Word of the LORD, true conversion will never happen--"Faith comes by hearing and hearing through the Word of Christ." (Romans 10:17).

​God promises to eventually reverse the Curse of sin from Genesis 3.  The ground will not produce thorns and thistles for us.  All of creation will once again submit to the authority of Man as the viceroy over God's creation, and Creation will once again join in praising the LORD is Creator (and its Redeemer).  This will be a New Creation in an everlasting state of goodness like the original creation started--there will be no more Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil and no more temptation and no more Tempter (he will be cast into the Lake of Fire along with all those who have chosen to be a part of his kingdom).  "Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever."

Isaiah 54
English Standard Version

The Eternal Covenant of Peace
54 “Sing, O barren one, who did not bear;
    break forth into singing and cry aloud,
    you who have not been in labor!
For the children of the desolate one will be more
    than the children of her who is married,” says the LORD.
2 “Enlarge the place of your tent,
    and let the curtains of your habitations be stretched out;
do not hold back; lengthen your cords
    and strengthen your stakes.
3 For you will spread abroad to the right and to the left,
    and your offspring will possess the nations
    and will people the desolate cities.

4 “Fear not, for you will not be ashamed;
    be not confounded, for you will not be disgraced;
for you will forget the shame of your youth,
    and the reproach of your widowhood you will remember no more.
5 For your Maker is your husband,
    the LORD of hosts is his name;
and the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer,
    the God of the whole earth he is called.
6 For the LORD has called you
    like a wife deserted and grieved in spirit,
like a wife of youth when she is cast off,
    says your God.
7 For a brief moment I deserted you,
    but with great compassion I will gather you.
8 In overflowing anger for a moment
    I hid my face from you,
but with everlasting love I will have compassion on you,”
    says the LORD, your Redeemer.

9 “This is like the days of Noah to me:
    as I swore that the waters of Noah
    should no more go over the earth,
so I have sworn that I will not be angry with you,
    and will not rebuke you.
10 For the mountains may depart
    and the hills be removed,
but my steadfast love shall not depart from you,
    and my covenant of peace shall not be removed,”
    says the LORD, who has compassion on you.

11 “O afflicted one, storm-tossed and not comforted,
    behold, I will set your stones in antimony,
    and lay your foundations with sapphires.
12 I will make your pinnacles of agate,
    your gates of carbuncles,
    and all your wall of precious stones.
13 All your children shall be taught by the LORD,
    and great shall be the peace of your children.
14 In righteousness you shall be established;
    you shall be far from oppression, for you shall not fear;
    and from terror, for it shall not come near you.
15 If anyone stirs up strife,
    it is not from me;
whoever stirs up strife with you
    shall fall because of you.
16 Behold, I have created the smith
    who blows the fire of coals
    and produces a weapon for its purpose.
I have also created the ravager to destroy;
17     no weapon that is fashioned against you shall succeed,
    and you shall refute every tongue that rises against you in judgment.
This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD
    and their vindication from me, declares the LORD.”

The nation of Israel was starting to feel like a woman who was barren (unable to bear children).  She was promised innumerable descendants that would be like the dust of the earth, the sands of the seashores and the stars of the heavens (an uncountable number).  It looked to them like all the other nations were fertile and blessed while they appeared to be barren and cursed.  How would the covenant continue of the covenant people were cut off from the land of the living?  God renews the promise of descendants (and blessings) to the ones that felt like their tribe and nation were being cut off.  The ones who counted themselves as barren now would have more descendants than the nations around them that they counted as fertile.  In fact, it would be many of those nations that the LORD would cause to be cut off from the land of the living, and the descendants of the people of Israel would inhabit not only the Land promised to them as an eternal covenant, but the land given up by all these other nations that the LORD would put to death--He would give them that land too.

Barrenness was something shameful at the time and a sign that God had cursed a woman because of great sin so that her wickedness would not spread to further generations (the woman would always be blamed even if it was the man that was infertile).  The LORD promises that He would take their shame upon Himself and clothe them with glory and honor like a bride dressed to meet her husband.  He will be the Husband of the people of Israel and will love them unconditionally and will protect them not just from external suffering but the internal suffering that comes from guilt and shame as only the LORD can do.  He will Redeem them and once again gather together those whom He has allowed to be scattered among the nations.  He hid Himself from them in His anger so they would not face the fury of His wrath, but His anger is temporary, and His love is eternal.  He will remember His great and steadfast love for His beloved and will take her back and embrace her and remove her guilt and shame.

​God says that to Him, this is no different than the days of Noah when He saved 8 people and repopulated the entire world with them.  At that time when the LORD made a covenant with Noah and His family, He promised that He would never again destroy the whole earth with water and that summer, winter, springtime, and harvest would never cease to continue until the final judgment.  The LORD has kept the covenant with Noah and his descendants, and He will likewise keep His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and their descendants.  It may appear as if the LORD's wrath will never end and all life will be destroyed, but the LORD kept those in the Ark safe and relented of His wrath in time for them to exit the Ark in safety.  His timing is perfect and so is His wrath--which is hard for us to believe.  He will act both to save and destroy because of His great love for His covenant people.  The only question is if you will part of the covenant people that He acts to save, or will you be one of the people opposed to His covenant people that gets destroyed as He makes a place for His people to dwell with Him forever and ever?

It probably did little good to make such promises of what was coming one day to the people in the Ark that were tossed and afflicted by the wind and the waves.  The day of peace and tranquility would come when they would once again set their feet on solid ground.  He would prepare a city for them, though they were but sojourners and wanderers for so long.  Those who were a people without a place to call home, He would prepare a place of perfect peace and rest for them.  It would be a place free from dangers of wild animals, with high walls and gates, but the gates will always be open because there is no danger within or without.  It will always be day for the LORD will be the Light of that city.  Righteousness will reign as the LORD sits on His throne to rule over His people.  He will also be their Teacher and He will be like a craftsman fashioning His people into a weapon or tool for His purposes.  Everyone who rises up against the LORD's people will be put to shame and destroyed.  The LORD's people will always be vindicated and victorious because the LORD will accomplish this for His Name's sake.

​

Isaiah 53
English Standard Version

53 Who has believed what he has heard from us?
    And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?
2 For he grew up before him like a young plant,
    and like a root out of dry ground;
he had no form or majesty that we should look at him,
    and no beauty that we should desire him.
3 He was despised and rejected by men,
    a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief;
and as one from whom men hide their faces
    he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

4 Surely he has borne our griefs
    and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
    smitten by God, and afflicted.
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions;
    he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
    and with his wounds we are healed.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray;
    we have turned—every one—to his own way;
and the LORD has laid on him
    the iniquity of us all.

7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,
    yet he opened not his mouth;
like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,
    and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,
    so he opened not his mouth.
8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away;
    and as for his generation, who considered
that he was cut off out of the land of the living,
    stricken for the transgression of my people?
9 And they made his grave with the wicked
    and with a rich man in his death,
although he had done no violence,
    and there was no deceit in his mouth.

10 Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him;
    he has put him to grief;
when his soul makes an offering for guilt,
    he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days;
the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.
11 Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied;
by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant,
    make many to be accounted righteous,
    and he shall bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many,
    and he shall divide the spoil with the strong,
because he poured out his soul to death
    and was numbered with the transgressors;
yet he bore the sin of many,
    and makes intercession for the transgressors.

As we discussed yesterday, there were no chapter divisions in the original and this section really starts with the verses from the last passage.  Some background for this passage--it's one of the best Old Testament passages to point to when trying to share the gospel with someone who believes in the historicity and veracity of the Old Testament but questions the legitimacy of the New Testament.  However, that leads us to a glaring question that goes something like this, "If this passage is read and taught by those that only have the Old Testament Scriptures [the Jewish people], then how can they not see that that this is talking about Jesus' penal substitutionary atonement?"  The answer to that question is twofold.  First, no one understands the truth of Scripture unless God reveals it to him.  However, the answer is actually a little more complicated than that.  This chapter is in their Bibles, but most of them have never read it and those in charge of the reading plans and teaching schedules intentionally skip over this passage.  So, if you would ask a Jewish person to open up their Hebrew Scriptures to this passage and read it for themselves in Hebrew, it would be there, but they would likely say, "I have never read or heard that before." since they follow a fairly strict reading and teaching schedule that intentionally skips over this passage.

There are others who do read this and just don't understand who or what it is talking about, and there are others who do read it and understand exactly who and what it's talking about but it doesn't matter because they have their mind made up that they want to reject Jesus and His sacrifice for them because they want to believe that they are good enough on their own or that they choose good and evil for themselves.  If you believe Jesus had to come and die in your place because you are a sinner, then that means first there is such a thing as sin (there is good and evil), and that you are on the evil side of things and that you could do nothing to be on the "good" side of things and someone had to pay the penalty that you could never pay for yourself.  Those are all core components to the gospel that are extremely offensive to the natural man.  Not only that, but that the One who would come and do this would not even be appreciated for what He was doing.  He would come to save his people, but His own people would reject Him.

He did not bear His own sins, because He had none of His own.  Instead, He bore our sin, guilt and shame and took them as His own while He endure both agony and rejection.  He would be killed, not for His own sin, but for the sin of His people (and of the whole world) He would die and be buried in a tomb.  he would be counted among the criminals (those guilty of felonies like murder, theft, and maybe even terrorism and insurrection died on His right and left--certainly the one whose place He took was guilty of all this and more--Barabbas.

Then one of the hardest verses in the Bible for me to read.  "Yet, it was the will of the LORD to crush Him."  Essentially, "It please the LORD to crush Him."  Through His death, He brought much glory and joy to Himself and the Father who sent Him as no man could have done what He did, and He made the way to bring all men who would believe back into a right relationship with God to make them true worshipers of Him.  "Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied."  These are hard words to read, and it is understandable why people all around the world (but especially Jewish people) don't want to read them--God was please to crush and punish someone innocent on behalf of all of us who were guilty?  Yet isn't' that the idea of the sacrificial system in the Old Testament, yet we know the blood of bulls and goats is insufficient (see the book of Hebrews for that argument).  We needed a better sacrifice that was a Man for a man and that could be the Mediator between God and Man that Job called for in the final chapters of the book that bears his name.  What little He had (his clothes) would be divided among those who executed Him (the Roman soldiers), but He would die to pay for their sins and the sins of all the others that mocked and jeered and for all the sinners past, present and future.  "Yet he bore the sin of many and makes intercession for the transgressors."  This is the message of the gospel.

Up until this point, you may have thought that the "servant" that Isaiah was talking about was himself, or maybe just a future king that would restore the kingdom, but we're going to see the tone shift, and it will become clear to us that this is talking about the Suffering Servant who is Jesus.  The one who is our penal substitutionary atonement.  John the Baptist called Him "The Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world."

God will use the thing that was supposed to be humiliating an object of shame to exalt Jesus.  He was "lifted up" on the cross--not that He was esteemed by everyone else, but physically lifted up on the cross like the serpent was lifted up on the pole in the wilderness in the book of Numbers.  Jesus even references this idea of being "lifted up" in John 3 and how it relates to the serpent on a pole and says if He would be lifted up, He would draw all men to Himself.

The Epistles tell us that because He was humiliated and obedient to death, even death on a cross, He has been greatly exalted and received a name that is above every name that at the name of Jesus, every knee will bow and every tongue confess, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.

Then, Isaiah starts to describe the torture that Jesus would endure.  He would be so badly beaten and disfigured by the beatings that no one would know if He were man or beast.  His purpose to sprinkle the nations with His blood for atonement and cleansing is given here.  That should have raised all kinds of questions for the Jewish audience because they always had a clean animal die in their place, and human sacrifice was forbidden, but God's plan was for a man to die for other men?  How can that be if this man had His own sins to pay for and was under the curse of death Himself?  Isaiah will speak to those questions in the coming passages, but the short answer is that Jesus' sacrifice was acceptable because He was without blemish and spotless (without sin).  The objective is clear here too that this sacrifice will be for all the nations of the world, not just for the Jews.  This passage speaks so clearly to the purpose and mission of Jesus to come and save the whole world, but some people don't want others in the world to be saved so they don't like this passage.

This one who would die would put to silence the powerful and mighty.  Kings of other nations would stop and listen to Him and submit to His authority.  Why?  Because He is the thing they have been longing for that they knew nothing about--the mysteries that were explained to the Jews but hidden from the Gentiles are revealed in Him.  He is God in the Flesh and He spoke so that everywhere may understand who God is, who they are, and how He came to save sinners--and that the invitation of salvation was open to all who would receive it by faith.  Those who had previously not heard understood what those who had heard for thousands of years failed to understand.  They saw Jesus for who He was and the salvation that He alone provides, and they trusted in Him, worshiped Him and they continue to serve Him as their Lord.

Isaiah 52:1-12
English Standard Version

The LORD's Coming Salvation
52 Awake, awake,
    put on your strength, O Zion;
put on your beautiful garments,
    O Jerusalem, the holy city;
for there shall no more come into you
    the uncircumcised and the unclean.
2 Shake yourself from the dust and arise;
    be seated, O Jerusalem;
loose the bonds from your neck,
    O captive daughter of Zion.

3 For thus says the LORD: “You were sold for nothing, and you shall be redeemed without money.” 4 For thus says the Lord God: “My people went down at the first into Egypt to sojourn there, and the Assyrian oppressed them for nothing. 5 Now therefore what have I here,” declares the LORD, “seeing that my people are taken away for nothing? Their rulers wail,” declares the LORD, “and continually all the day my name is despised. 6 Therefore my people shall know my name. Therefore in that day they shall know that it is I who speak; here I am.”

7 How beautiful upon the mountains
    are the feet of him who brings good news,
who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness,
    who publishes salvation,
    who says to Zion, “Your God reigns.”
8 The voice of your watchmen—they lift up their voice;
    together they sing for joy;
for eye to eye they see
    the return of the LORD to Zion.
9 Break forth together into singing,
    you waste places of Jerusalem,
for the LORD has comforted his people;
    he has redeemed Jerusalem.
10 The LORD has bared his holy arm
    before the eyes of all the nations,
and all the ends of the earth shall see
    the salvation of our God.

11 Depart, depart, go out from there;
    touch no unclean thing;
go out from the midst of her; purify yourselves,
    you who bear the vessels of the LORD.
12 For you shall not go out in haste,
    and you shall not go in flight,
for the LORD will go before you,
    and the God of Israel will be your rear guard.

Do you sense the theme of salvation here in this part of the book of Isaiah as we approach the texts about the Suffering Servant?  Israel was ready for a Conquering King and the kind of salvation that they though He would bring from their physical enemies, but they were not ready for the Suffering Servant that saved them from their sins (and not just them, but all the people of the world past, present and future who would put their faith and trust in His substitutionary atonement).  We are talking today though about the return of the people from Exile and how the LORD will once again redeem His people without money.  The first time, He redeemed them from Egypt using the plagues.  Now, He is redeeming them from the Assyrian, Babylonian, and Medo-Persian empires.

Then Isaiah breaks out in song about "How lovely on the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news."  We call such a person an evangelist (on who bring "good news").  Is Isaiah talking about the one who brings the news that the people are returning from Exile?  Possibly.  In the broader context of the portion of Isaiah though and in light of some things said in the New Testament, I think this also points to all those who take the gospel of Jesus Christ to the nations for they are truly taking "good news" of salvation to the people.  Evangelists proclaim peace with God and the peace of God which surpasses all understanding and guards our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.  We proclaim the eternal reign of God from the throne room of heaven (one day that throne will be given to Jesus and He will reign not only in heaven but on earth from the throne of David in Jerusalem, also called Zion here--the name of the Jebusite mountain fortress that Jerusalem is built upon--Mount Zion).

We watch for the Lord's return and are ready to sing His praises and want others to become His kingdom citizens to join in His praises both now and forevermore.  We see Him making the "dry" and "dessert" places flowing with streams of Living Water and bringing life where there was no life.  We see Him taking the doubly dead bones of Ezekiel's vision and giving them both flesh and Spirit to make them alive again.  Our God is able to make something out of nothing and able to take that which is dead and make it alive.  No one else is like Him.  No one else is able to redeem such a people unto Himself to the praise of His glory--He alone is mighty to save!

Therefore, we should live pure and holy lives for Him, not because it in some way makes us saved or keeps us saved, but because He is living in and through us, we should desire to be holy because He is holy and to be righteous because He is the Righteous One.  We should tell the good news not only with our words, but with our actions.  We should show the transformation that the gospel has in our lives by living by the power of the Holy Spirit within us so that everyone sees that He is in control of us, and we are not like the unregenerate people of this world.  We do not take any credit for this ourselves, because they also see that we were once lost and unregenerate, but something has changed us from the inside out.  The LORD will be both our vanguard going out in front of us and our rear guard protecting us from the rear.  He will be leading us and walking beside us because He is all around us and even living within us.  He will never leave us for forsake us.  Everywhere He leads, we follow.  It is not a race--He will fulfill His promises to us in His perfect timing and we need to be content with His leading and timing as we wait and rest on the LORD.  That does not mean that we have nothing to do in that time though as we should be obeying the last command we were given until we receive new commands.  We are to be evangelists to take the good news of Jesus Christ to every tribe, tongue and nation starting with the people in our house and our neighborhood and our community and our city and our county and our state and our region and our country and our continent and eventually continuing to look outward.  We will never share the gospel with those unlike us if we won't share the gospel with those most like us.  Start with your family and friends and neighbors--yes, you have the most at risk sharing the gospel with people who you have to see every day who may reject you, but Jesus laid it all on the line for you.  Remember they are not rejecting you but rejecting Him and He told us that many would do so.  Your responsibility is to speak the Word of God to all people in all places so that all men will be "without excuse" on the day of judgment.

Isaiah 51
English Standard Version

The LORD's Comfort for Zion
51 “Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness,
    you who seek the LORD:
look to the rock from which you were hewn,
    and to the quarry from which you were dug.
2 Look to Abraham your father
    and to Sarah who bore you;
for he was but one when I called him,
    that I might bless him and multiply him.
3 For the LORD comforts Zion;
    he comforts all her waste places
and makes her wilderness like Eden,
    her desert like the garden of the LORD;
joy and gladness will be found in her,
    thanksgiving and the voice of song.

4 “Give attention to me, my people,
    and give ear to me, my nation;
for a law will go out from me,
    and I will set my justice for a light to the peoples.
5 My righteousness draws near,
    my salvation has gone out,
    and my arms will judge the peoples;
the coastlands hope for me,
    and for my arm they wait.
6 Lift up your eyes to the heavens,
    and look at the earth beneath;
for the heavens vanish like smoke,
    the earth will wear out like a garment,
    and they who dwell in it will die in like manner;
but my salvation will be forever,
    and my righteousness will never be dismayed.

7 “Listen to me, you who know righteousness,
    the people in whose heart is my law;
fear not the reproach of man,
    nor be dismayed at their revilings.
8 For the moth will eat them up like a garment,
    and the worm will eat them like wool,
but my righteousness will be forever,
    and my salvation to all generations.”

9 Awake, awake, put on strength,
    O arm of the LORD;
awake, as in days of old,
    the generations of long ago.
Was it not you who cut Rahab in pieces,
    who pierced the dragon?
10 Was it not you who dried up the sea,
    the waters of the great deep,
who made the depths of the sea a way
    for the redeemed to pass over?
11 And the ransomed of the LORD shall return
    and come to Zion with singing;
everlasting joy shall be upon their heads;
    they shall obtain gladness and joy,
    and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

12 “I, I am he who comforts you;
    who are you that you are afraid of man who dies,
    of the son of man who is made like grass,
13 and have forgotten the LORD, your Maker,
    who stretched out the heavens
    and laid the foundations of the earth,
and you fear continually all the day
    because of the wrath of the oppressor,
when he sets himself to destroy?
    And where is the wrath of the oppressor?
14 He who is bowed down shall speedily be released;
    he shall not die and go down to the pit,
    neither shall his bread be lacking.
15 I am the LORD your God,
    who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar--
    the LORD of hosts is his name.
16 And I have put my words in your mouth
    and covered you in the shadow of my hand,
establishing the heavens
    and laying the foundations of the earth,
    and saying to Zion, ‘You are my people.’”

17 Wake yourself, wake yourself,
    stand up, O Jerusalem,
you who have drunk from the hand of the LORD
    the cup of his wrath,
who have drunk to the dregs
    the bowl, the cup of staggering.
18 There is none to guide her
    among all the sons she has borne;
there is none to take her by the hand
    among all the sons she has brought up.
19 These two things have happened to you--
    who will console you?--
devastation and destruction, famine and sword;
    who will comfort you?
20 Your sons have fainted;
    they lie at the head of every street
    like an antelope in a net;
they are full of the wrath of the LORD,
    the rebuke of your God.

21 Therefore hear this, you who are afflicted,
    who are drunk, but not with wine:
22 Thus says your Lord, the LORD,
    your God who pleads the cause of his people:
“Behold, I have taken from your hand the cup of staggering;
the bowl of my wrath you shall drink no more;
23 and I will put it into the hand of your tormentors,
    who have said to you,
    ‘Bow down, that we may pass over’;
and you have made your back like the ground
    and like the street for them to pass over.”

The people of God are about to go through some really hard times and the righteous (though they are few) and the wicked will go into Exile together--the righteous do not escape this judgment like the final judgment that is only reserved for the wicked.  However, the righteous may have a different perspective that will help comfort them and help them to get through.  If they remember what the LORD did for generations past, starting with Abraham and Sarah and how He cared for His people as they were wandering in the wilderness on their way to the Promised Land, then they will know that the LORD always watches after His people.

The time of the LORD's call for people to come to Him for salvation has some kind of time limit.  As some point in the future, judgment will come, and all those who have chosen to reject His salvation (even if that rejection comes in the form of "not now, I'm busy") will experience the fury of His wrath and judgment.  He calls on all His people (but really all the people of the world) to look to the heavens where their hep comes from (from the LORD, the Maker of Heaven and Earth) and to cry out to Him for salvation while there is still time.

God tells His people not to worry about the persecution or scorn of evil men.  The wicked will all perish in the judgment and everything that they value will rot and decay, but those who trust in the LORD will not be put to shame for His salvation is both certain and everlasting.  The LORD has already done so much to save and preserve His people and to save them throughout the years that this truth needs no further evidence or proof to support it.  He is the Savior of His people, and He cares greatly for them.

Wouldn't it be great at this time to hear the LORD still say to them, "You are My people."  Not only that, but He tells them that He still has a mission for them even though they seem to be like a ship that's out in the midst of a storm subject to the waves--that sea of the Gentile nations that appears to be raging uncontrollably is raging at the direction of the LORD and will bring His people to His desired destination for them.  Though everything looks out of control, He is in control.  He will protect them even as it gets "dark" and "scary" for them like they are in the midst of a storm at night on the high seas with no land in sight and nothing to navigate by.  They can trust that the LORD is in control and will protect them.  He has also given them a message that He has put in their mouths, and He will cause them to speak His Name and His Word among the nation.  It has always been God's plan for His people to be His messengers and ambassadors to a dark and dying world.

Now though, He tells Jerusalem and all of the Judah with them to wake up from their spiritual slumber and to no longer delay as judgment day is approaching for them.  If they do not, then they will lose everything they value (if they do not value the LORD, for He will be all that is left for them).  Their houses, fortunes, and families will all be destroyed.  Their idols they worshiped and trusted in will be destroyed and will not save them.  Only those who put their faith and hope in the LORD will have the right perspective going through this.  The LORD calls them to stop their drunkenness (not just physical, but spiritual as they are trying to numb themselves with their idolatrous practices).

They were drunken and staggering trying to drink from the cup of the wrath of God and the bowls of His judgment (we see both of these images in the book of Revelation).  God warns them to stop doing the things that will lead to His wrath having to be poured out on them and to instead serve and worship Him alone and obey Him once again so that they can experience His blessings.  God promises that if they do this, the judgment they deserve will be given to those who torment and oppress them.  They just need to remember the command "Worship the LORD your God and serve Him only."

Isaiah 50
English Standard Version

Israel's Sin and the Servant's Obedience
50 Thus says the LORD:
“Where is your mother's certificate of divorce,
    with which I sent her away?
Or which of my creditors is it
    to whom I have sold you?
Behold, for your iniquities you were sold,
    and for your transgressions your mother was sent away.
2 Why, when I came, was there no man;
    why, when I called, was there no one to answer?
Is my hand shortened, that it cannot redeem?
    Or have I no power to deliver?
Behold, by my rebuke I dry up the sea,
    I make the rivers a desert;
their fish stink for lack of water
    and die of thirst.
3 I clothe the heavens with blackness
    and make sackcloth their covering.”

4 The Lord God has given me
    the tongue of those who are taught,
that I may know how to sustain with a word
    him who is weary.
Morning by morning he awakens;
    he awakens my ear
    to hear as those who are taught.
5 The Lord God has opened my ear,
    and I was not rebellious;
    I turned not backward.
6 I gave my back to those who strike,
    and my cheeks to those who pull out the beard;
I hid not my face
    from disgrace and spitting.

7 But the Lord God helps me;
    therefore I have not been disgraced;
therefore I have set my face like a flint,
    and I know that I shall not be put to shame.
8     He who vindicates me is near.
Who will contend with me?
    Let us stand up together.
Who is my adversary?
    Let him come near to me.
9 Behold, the Lord God helps me;
    who will declare me guilty?
Behold, all of them will wear out like a garment;
    the moth will eat them up.

10 Who among you fears the LORD
    and obeys the voice of his servant?
Let him who walks in darkness
    and has no light
trust in the name of the LORD
    and rely on his God.
11 Behold, all you who kindle a fire,
    who equip yourselves with burning torches!
Walk by the light of your fire,
    and by the torches that you have kindled!
This you have from my hand:
    you shall lie down in torment.

If we needed any more confirmation that the Servant of the LORD that is being highlighted in these chapters is the Lord Jesus Christ, we need look no further than this chapter.  It is here that the Servant's faithfulness is contrasted with Israel's unfaithfulness and the ideal of substitution (or at least the need for it) starts to form, which leads us into the passages that will talk about His penal substitutionary atonement like Isaiah 53.

Sometimes, it is because of the sins the parents that children suffer--divorce or bad management of money and other resources that led to the children being sold off into slavery.  God asks rhetorically if that is the situation here.  Is here someone else they can blame for them going off into Exile?  Though they should know the answer, He answers for them that they are being sent out of the Land because of their own sins.  They cannot blame Him or earlier generations or anyone else for what is happening to them.  They are not victims of circumstance; they are lawbreakers facing judicial punishment.

They have forsaken the LORD and rejected Him instead of calling out to Him in their time of need.  They have turned to idols and rejected the true and living God.  They have not listened to the prophets He sent to them and have even mistreated them.  They have purchased for themselves false prophets that will tell them what it is they want to hear.  (This is not that different from today).  God is the only one able to do the things that seem impossible like controlling the weather and the oceans and all the things that He did during the ten plagues in Egypt and will do again in the last days.

If we would just listen to the World of the Lord and obey it, we would have life, freedom and blessing instead of death, exile, and curses.  However, people did not listen to the prophets, and they did not listen to Jesus who was the Prophet promised from Deuteronomy who would be greater than Moses.  The text here even points to being beaten and having one's beard pulled out--that's exactly what happened to Jesus, though it could have happened to many others as well, this is definitely speaking of Him.  He came unto His own, and His own received Him not.

Though this is humiliating to be rejected by everyone and to be crucified, the Father would not let His Son be put to shame, for on the third day, He would be raised back to life to receive a declaration that He was "no guilty" in the eyes of God and that He was victorious over all of His enemies.  None of them can stand before Him now and all power and authority in heaven and on earth was given to Him.  Those that tried to exercise authority over Him and falsely accused Him will be under His authority and He will judge them rightly and only those that trust in the sacrifice that He made on their behalf can be saved.

Therefore, there is a call to all who are walking in darkness to come to the LORD by the Way that He provided and become children of His marvelous Light.  We are to walk in the light as He is in the Light.  Trust in the Name of the LORD and the salvation that is provided through Him and Him alone.  He will then set our hearts on fire so that we will be little lights walking around in the darkness showing those who are stumbling in darkness the Way, the Truth, and the Life (see John 14:6).  Though the world may hate us for the Light that is within is (for the love the darkness because their deeds are evil) and though they may torment us, we will be able to be at peace.  The LORD Himself will be within us, and He will protect us and deliver to us a blessing that can never be taken away--not even by death.