ISAIAH 52: 7-12
OUR GOD REIGNS SUPREME!
[Romans 10: 11- 17]
A new awareness of what God is going to do bursts upon God’s people. Those who understand it as good news will celebrate in its glory and joy. As marvelous as this creation is and as faithful as God’s providence has been, it is redemption that is man’s greatest hope and blessing. For without redemption, the promises of life and providence are thwarted. The fallen world is caught in the bondage of sin and decay. Creation is fatally marred and providence only makes its fall bearable. If deliverance from sin and its effects are possible, then the erring children of creation may yet be led by God’s providence to the Father’s home. Such news would be cause for the greatest joy and the greatest glory would be for the One who could cause it to become truth and reality.
[All that needs to be said about redemption has now been said by Isaiah. God’s power in history has been affirmed through the predictions of Cyrus and the judgments pronounced on Babylon. His absolute superiority over the world’s gods has been shown through His ability to predict the future and to raise up and preserve His people against all odds. His endless compassion has been shown through the declarations that He will not abandon His ancient promises just because the people have sinned; and His power to accomplish His purposes through the humility of His Servant will climax this section of the book. [Oswalt, Isaiah, 367]. ]
Has God won the final victory over the forces of evil and hate, oppression and cruelty? Have we been redeemed from that bondage which has held us captive to that which is worst and basest in us?
I. THE LORD RESTORES ZION, 7-8.
II. THE SALVATION OF OUR GOD, 9-10.
III. OUR GUIDE AND GUARD, 11-12.
Isaiah graphically pictures a besieged city breathlessly awaiting the news of the outcome of a decisive conflict. If the news is victory, they are delivered; if the news is defeat, all is lost. (See the story of the news of Absalom’s death in 2 Sam. 18:19-32). Suddenly, on a distant hill a runner is seen. What is the news? As he comes nearer it can be seen that he is waving a victory palm and not so much running as dancing. Our Lord has won! Let the joyful celebration begin! [The anticipation of salvation that began at 49:1 has now reached its apex.] The anticipated victorious return of God in power to His people is about to be realized.
God’s Good News messengers are honored in verse 7. How lovely on the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, Who announces peace and brings good news of happiness. Who announces salvation, and says to Zion, "Your God reigns!"
In Old Testament times, there was no instant way of getting news. No television programs could be interrupted to announce that a coup had overthrown a government somewhere. No e-mails to convey information instantly from the Chief of Staff to his Field Marshal. There was no CNN or Associated Press.
So, if an army was fighting a battle, the news of the outcome was sent to the homeland by a runner. The people of the city knew a battle was being fought, so they would line the city walls, eagerly awaiting the news of their army’s defeat or victory (2 Sam. 18:26).
The good news originally referred to is the return from exile (spoken of in 51:17-52:6) but it foreshadowed Christ’s deliverance from sin (Rom. 10:15; Eph. 6:15).
As followers of Jesus Christ, we have the marvelous news of a victory to share. We can report that the battle for our souls was won by Christ on Calvary when He gave His life for us (Mt. 27:45-50; Rom. 6:23). We have the proof: God raised Him from the dead in triumph (Mt. 28:1-10). This message is what Christ instructed His disciples to proclaim from place to place. Now we can proclaim the good news of the forgiveness of sins and the promise of eternal life in heaven with the Father. This is assured for those who trust in Jesus, His Son (Jn. 3:16; Eph. 1:7). Saved by God’s good grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone!
How does this glorious news reach people? By the sure feet of God’s messenger. God says that the feet of those who bring Good News are beautiful. It is a wonderful privilege to be able to share God’s Good News of redemption, salvation and peace with others. With whom do you need to share the Good News?
As we tell the good news to others, let it be with the joy of victory in our hearts and with feet that are "beautiful" because of the glorious message we bear. The next person you meet may need to meet Jesus.
Go to the lost, in the home, in the mart, Waiting no longer, today make a start; Tell them of Jesus who died in their place, Share the good news of salvation by grace. -Bosch
Notice the victorious announcement. Our God reigns! (See Psalm 96:10; Pss. 47; 93). He is in control. Though Israel experienced great joy at the return from Babylon in 536 B.C., the joy Isaiah wrote about in 52:7-8 will find is final fulfilment when Israel’s Messiah returns to Zion to reign. God’s kingdom will come in majestic fulness at the second coming of Christ (Rev. 19:6).
Where God reigns, peace, goodness and salvation follow. All things will be as God designs and His good purposes will be realized. It entails a freedom from every bondage, but particularly the bondage of sin. God will again demonstrate that He is the Divine King of the Universe.
In verse 8 the people are called upon to listen to the voice of their watchmen. Listen! Your watchmen lift up their voices,. They shout joyfully together; for they will see with their own eyes when the Lord restores Zion.
The watchmen were those watching on the wall for the messenger’s arrival (62:6-7; 2 Sam. 18:24-27; though they are elsewhere seen as prophets- 56:10; Jer. 6:17; Ezek. 3:17; 33:2,7). These watchmen deduce correctly what the coming messenger means. The people of the city hear the watchmen lifting up in unison their joyous shouts because of the evidence that the victorious Lord is coming to restore Zion. [Being eye to eye means beings so close they can look into each other’s eyes.]
II. THE SALVATION OF OUR GOD, 9-10.
In verse 9 the broken places are called upon to join the joyful praise. Break forth, shout joyfully together, You waste places of Jerusalem; For the Lord has comforted His people, He has redeemed Jerusalem.
The waste places of Jerusalem are called upon to burst forth, to shout together! Nothing is to be held back. The ruined places will break forth in united voice and all together joyfully shout. God is coming in victory to Jerusalem. Zion without God is a wasted place. [As is consistently true throughout chs. 49-55, the Babylonian exile is in the background as the example of bondage and deliverance. It provides basic framework of thought. But at the same time, as is evident from what is being said, it refers to another deliverance also.]
The reason given (ki) is that the promised comfort has become a fact. The wonderful victory of God is a cause for all the pent-up emotions to break forth. When the Lord returns, the righteous remnant will sing joyfully because God will have comforted and redeemed His people. [The Jerusalem to which Isaiah is speaking is a waste, both physically and spiritually, and he calls that broken-down city to participate in the joy of the Lord’s return, just as the inhabitants of a besieged city would rejoice at the news of their king’s defeat of the enemy. The ruins will be rebuilt. But much more important than that, and a much greater cause for rejoicing, is the restoration of the people to their God. They too are a waste. Their lives seem to be a landscape of ruins. Their sin has left them alienated from God and each other, bound by enemies both physical and spiritual, helpless in despair, guilt, and purposelessness. It is into this landscape that God comes to comfort and redeem (prophetic perfect). ]
In anticipation of the victory of God we too should give thanks and joyfully shout. To give thanks in advance is the highest form of faith. The person praising God for what he or she does not yet possess is the person who truly believes the promises of God.
Verse 10 continues the description begun in verse 9 of the actions of God that precipitate the anticipatory outburst of praise. The Lord has bared His holy arm in the sight of all the nations, that all the ends of the earth may see the salvation of our God.
The display of the power of God against His enemies will speak comfort and redemption to His people. They will not redeemed themselves, nor have comforted themselves - it will be the work of God.
The Lord promised to restore Zion as a holy place where sin cannot enter. To lay bare His holy arm means that God will reveal His power and justice. This restorative work of grace on their behalf will show all the nations His power (arm is a symbol of God’s power often associated with deliverance and salvation; 40:10; 51:9; Ex. 6:6) and the salvation He provides.
[The LORD’s arm is described as holy. Two things are perhaps intended by describing His actions as holy. One is that God will act out of perfect right and power. He is the transcendent One who created the universe with a word (30:12-14; 37:23; 40:25). The other implication of God’s holy arm being bared is that His actions are consecrated. He is not like some earthly tyrant beating others down. Rather, God exerts Himself for those trampled down by man’s greed and lust. He exerts Himself for those broken on the racks of sin. He exerts Himself for those imprisoned in the depravity of craving (Ps. 98:1-3). It was the recognition of this purpose in Jesus Christ that caused the demon to call Him the "Holy One of God" (Mark 1:24; Luke 4:34). Oswalt, Isaiah, 371]
III. OUR GUIDE AND GUARD, 11-12.
This Good News segment climaxes with the command to depart in verse 11. Depart, depart, go out from there! Touch nothing unclean! Go out of the midst of her, purify yourselves, you who carry the vessels of the Lord.
The chosen people at the end of the seventy years’ captivity would be delivered from Babylon. King Cyrus gave Israel the vessels of the temple which Nebechadnezzar had seized to take back to Palestine (Ezra 1:7-11). The priests and Levites were responsible for them (Num. 3:6-8; 2 Chron 5:4-7).
As in the Exodus out of Egypt and the Exodus away from Babylon, so in Israel’s yet future return (Rev. ), the righteous remnant is exhorted to get away from the evil places where they will be living: Depart, depart, go out. . . . come out. The double or triple imperatives are compounded for emphatic emphasis. [The root swr translated depart has the meaning of turn aside, or take away.]
The one matter about which we must be scrupulously careful is our purity. In days long past, Cyrus entrusted Ezra with the holy vessels temple. Their custodians needed to be holy. We, too, have to bear the sacred trust of God’s Holy Name and Gospel. His presence, His Book, the doctrines of evangelical truth, and His honor, are among the vessels which we are to carry through the world. We, too, must be holy, cleansing ourselves of all filthiness of the flesh and soul; coming out, and not touching any evil thing.
The central issue here is release not from physical bondage but from another kind of bondage, the bondage of evil with its corruption and defilement. Every human who ever live is called on to respond to this cry to depart, to go out from there. In whatever bondage we find ourselves. God’s holy arm has been bared on our behalf. The enemy has been defeated. The prison doors have been thrown open; and we are called to take action. Note that God will not take us out. We must get up in faith and go, taking God at His Word, believing that He will go before us.
The thought of the deliverance of God’s sanctified (verse 11) continues in 12. For you will not go out in haste, nor will you go as fugitives. For the Lord will go before you, and the God of Israel will be your rear guard.
The new exodus will be totally different than the previous one from Eqypt. They will not have to leave in haste (48:20). Since the Lord will be with them and will protect them they need have no fear or trepidation. The original recipients of this promise did not have to leave in fearful haste because Cyrus, God’s anointed (45:1), decreed that the Jewish exiles could return safely to Jerusalem (Ezra 1 :1-4). They had the king’s approval, his guaranteed protection. More important though is the promise that the Lord would go ahead to point the way and be behind to protect them. These are the two magnificent reasons given to establish their new confidence and security.
In days of old there were soldiers who went before the people, assuring no enemies were waiting ahead. There were also soldiers who followed them, ensuring no enemy could come up on them unawares. The need of a "rear guard" is seen in treachery of the Amalekites, who followed the Israelites in their flight from Egypt (Deut 25:17-18). These treacherous and crafty people took advantage of those who did not keep up with the ranks. Some of them were tired and weary, and could not keep up with the footmen. For this reason, they fell prey to the Amalekites.
The first reason for new confidence and security is that the LORD Himself will lead the pilgrimage to Zion the city of God. The Lord will go before us. He is out front of us. He is at the point leading the way. The church has its infallible guide.
The second reason for new confidence and security is because God will be their rear guard also. [Rear guard is found six times in Scripture: Numbers 10:25; Joshua 6:9, 13; 1 Samuel 29:2; Isaiah 52:12, 58:8.] The "rereward" acts both as a rear guard and as reserve forces. He follows behind us to guard us from crafty foes.
H.A. Ironside told the story of a poor, dear lady who lived by herself. She was possessed with the fear that two men were FOLLOWING HER everywhere she went. She came to see her pastor about it: "Pastor, I have a very serious problem." "What is it?" he asked. She said, "Everywhere I go, two men follow me. When I get on the streetcar, they get on too. When I come home, they are still behind me." The pastor asked if she had reported the problem to the police. "Yes," she said. "But they say they are not there. But I know they are there. They are always there." The pastor, realizing the situation, said to her, "Oh, you are a most blessed woman. Don’t you know who these men are?" She said, "No. Do you?" "Oh yes. They are David’s friends."
He then read to her from Psalm 23 the words, "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life." Then he said, "Those two men are goodness and mercy. And God has sent them to follow you all the days of your life." She said, "Pastor, that’s wonderful. And to think all this time, I’ve been afraid of them." From that time on, she would go to the streetcar and wait for goodness and mercy to get on with her. When she got home, she’d open the door for "goodness and mercy."
When we look behind us we too need to recognize that heaven’s rear guards, "goodness and mercy" are protecting us every day of our life.
God was a front and rear guard for His people in the wilderness as they traveled to the promised land (Ex. 13:21; 14:19-20; Isa.42:16; 49:10; 58:8). The people of God who departed Babylon would have their God before and behind them. It is a very graphic image of the people of God sandwiched between Divine provision before and Divine protection behind. No enemy could touch them without going through God first. This same promise God makes to all who will leave the way of the world to follow Him to His promised land today.
One day our Almighty Deliverer, will throw back the loose sleeve of His robe to make His arm free for an unusual exercise of power. There will be no need of haste as when the people fled at night from Egypt. [They need not go out with haste, nor go by flight (See Ex. 12:33-40, and 14:5 for the elements of haste and flight for our Divine Leader will precede us, and will be our rearguard.]
This summons is to us all who may have been in captivity to Egypt or Babylon in any form. We are to arise and depart, shaking loose the bonds of our captivity. Let us follow the shekianah glory of God’s presence that guides us, and let us not be always looking behind, as though dreading the recurrence of past sins and mistakes. They shall not pursue those whom God has delivered; or, if they do, they shall not overtake. It is an unspeakable comfort to those who have sinned to know that the old temptations and forms of bondage are intercepted by the presence of the Eternal God, just as His fiery cloud intercepted Pharaoh’s host.
CONCLUSION / RESPONSE
God will not abandon His ancient promises just because His people have sinned. His power to accomplish His purposes through the humility of His Servant would also be announced and looked into in the follow segment. Thus, the helpless, besieged people of God, and the fallen world itself await God’s final redemption. God has won the victory over the forces of evil and hate, oppression and cruelty. He has redeemed us from that bondage which has held us captive to that which is worst and basest in us. That is Good New. That is the Greatest News! Let the messengers be sent out. Let them proclaim the Lord’s victory that whosoever will may come into His victorious eternal kingdom of truth and light to enjoy and celebrate God’s Conquering Servant, THE LORD OF LIFE.
