READ IT! - Introduction to Isaiah 51-57

Readings for this week

Monday: Isaiah 51
Tuesday: Isaiah 52
Wednesday: Isaiah 53
Thursday: Isaiah 54
Friday: Isaiah 55
Saturday: Isaiah 56

Sunday: Isaiah 57

Introduction to Isaiah 51-57

Chapters 51-53 

The prophet then proclaims the coming deliverance and everlasting salvation for Zion. It was God who gave Abraham descendants as numerous as the stars. It is God who will restore the fortunes of Zion and make her like the garden of Eden. God is the one who destroyed the great chaos monster of the sea and brought order to creation. God is the one who parted the chaotic sea to make a safe path for His people. God is the one whose righteousness will last forever. God is the one whose salvation will last through all generations. 

The prophet then discusses the cup of the LORD’s wrath. Jerusalem drank the cup of the LORD’s wrath. She staggered and fell with no one to help her up. But God will now pull the cup of His wrath out of Jerusalem’s hand. Just as God had rescued his people out of Egypt, so too would he rescue them from their current exile. 

The prophet then goes into his greatest detail about the nature and mission of this Servant or Messiah, discussing his suffering and glory. 

“See, my servant will act wisely;
he will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted.
Just as there were many who were appalled at him—
his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any human being
and his form marred beyond 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.” 

“Who has believed our message
and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
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.” 

“Surely he took up our pain
and bore our suffering,
yet we considered him punished by God,
stricken by him, and afflicted.
But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
and by his wounds we are healed.
We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to our own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.” 

“He was oppressed and afflicted,
yet he did not open his mouth;
he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
and as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.
By oppression and judgment he was taken away.
Yet who of his generation protested?
For he was cut off from the land of the living;
for the transgression of my people he was punished.
He was assigned a grave with the wicked,
and with the rich in his death,
though he had done no violence,
nor was any deceit in his mouth.” 

“Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer,
and though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin,
he will see his offspring and prolong his days,
and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand.
After he has suffered,
he will see the light of life and be satisfied;
by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many,
and he will bear their iniquities.
Therefore I will give him a portion among the great,
and he will divide the spoils with the strong,
because he poured out his life unto death,
and was numbered with the transgressors.
For he bore the sin of many,
and made intercession for the transgressors.” 

In the New Testament book of Acts, Philip the Evangelist claims that this entire passage was actually speaking about the life of Jesus. 

Some examples of similarities between Jesus and the Servant: 

1. He was wise
2. He was lifted up
3. He was highly exalted
4. Many were appalled at him
5. His appearance was disfigured
6. He "sprinkled" many nations (atonement language)
7. Kings shut their mouths because of him (Herod and Pilate)
8. He was not known as a physically attractive man
9. He was despised and rejected
10. He suffered
11. He took up our pain and bore our suffering
12. We considered him punished by God
13. He was "pierced" for our transgressions and punished for our sins
14. His punishment brought us peace and healing
15. He was oppressed yet did not open his mouth (silence before Pilate and Herod)
16. He was killed
17. He was buried in a rich man's grave
18. After his death, his life was prolonged and he saw his children (the church)
19. After his suffering, he saw the light of life
20. By his knowledge he justified many
21. After his suffering, his suffering continues to atone for transgression
22. He becomes a famous victor 

Chapter 54 

God compares Zion to a woman unable to have children. God will provide Zion with children. God intends to restore His people and bring them back from captivity. 

“‘To me this is like the days of Noah,
when I swore that the waters of Noah would never again cover the earth.
So now I have sworn not to be angry with you,
never to rebuke you again.
Though the mountains be shaken
and the hills be removed,
yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken
nor my covenant of peace be removed,' 

says the Lord, who has compassion on you.” 

Chapter 55 

God offers his invitation to the thirsty: 

“Come, all you who are thirsty,
come to the waters;
and you who have no money,
come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without cost.” 

“I will make an everlasting covenant with you,
my faithful love promised to David.
See, I have made him a witness to the peoples,
a ruler and commander of the peoples.” 

“‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,’
declares the Lord.
‘As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.
As the rain and the snow
come down from heaven,
and do not return to it
without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,
so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,
so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” 

“You will go out in joy
and be led forth in peace;
the mountains and hills
will burst into song before you,
and all the trees of the field
will clap their hands.
Instead of the thornbush will grow the juniper,
and instead of briers the myrtle will grow.
This will be for the Lord’s renown,
for an everlasting sign,
that will endure forever.” 

Chapters 56-57 

Chapters 56-66 talk about Universal Salvation. In chapter 56, God reassures eunuchs and foreigners that He will not reject them. God will include all people who honor His Sabbath, and keep His Covenant. All people are God’s people, and He will bring all who are faithful to Him to His Holy Mountain. 

We then read God’s accusation against the wicked. God condemns the “watchmen of Israel” for being lazy, greedy, and drunkards. Under their watch, righteous people died. These people are described as “sons of the sorceress,” and “the seed of the adulterer and the whore.” They practiced sorcery, worshiped other gods, and had sex with anyone they could. They will all be destroyed and the “gods” they trusted in will be blown away with a breath. 

The prophet then declares God’s comfort for the contrite: 

“I live in a high and holy place,
but also with the one who is contrite and lowly in spirit,
to revive the spirit of the lowly
and to revive the heart of the contrite.
I will not accuse them forever,
nor will I always be angry,
for then they would faint away because of me—
the very people I have created.”