Isaiah 52: 1 – 15
Wake up!
1 Awake, awake! Put on your strength, O Zion; Put on your beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city! For the uncircumcised and the unclean shall no longer come to you. 2 Shake yourself from the dust, arise; Sit down, O Jerusalem! Loose yourself from the bonds of your neck, O captive daughter of Zion! 3 For thus says the LORD: “You have sold yourselves for nothing, and you shall be redeemed without money.” 4 For thus says the Lord GOD: “My people went down at first into Egypt to dwell there; Then the Assyrian oppressed them without cause. 5 Now therefore, what have I here,” says the LORD, “That My people are taken away for nothing? Those who rule over them make them wail,” says the LORD, “And My name is blasphemed continually every day. 6 Therefore My people shall know My name; Therefore they shall know in that day that I Am He who speaks: ‘Behold, it is I.’ ” 7 How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of Him who brings good news, Who proclaims peace, Who brings glad tidings of good things, Who proclaims salvation, Who says to Zion, “Your God reigns!” 8 Your watchmen shall lift up their voices, with their voices they shall sing together; For they shall see eye to eye when the LORD brings back Zion. 9 Break forth into joy, sing together, you waste places of Jerusalem! For the LORD has comforted His people, He has redeemed Jerusalem. 10 The LORD has made bare His holy arm in 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, be clean, you who bear the vessels of the LORD. 12 For you shall not go out with haste, nor go by flight; For the LORD will go before you, and the God of Israel will be your rear guard. 13 Behold, My Servant shall deal prudently; He shall be exalted and extolled and be very high. 14 Just as many were astonished at you, so His visage was marred more than any man, and His form more than the sons of men; 15 So shall He sprinkle many nations. Kings shall shut their mouths at Him; For what had not been told them they shall see, and what they had not heard they shall consider.
The rebellious adulteress woman is no more. She has been taken back by her husband even though she does not deserve. This woman is the Israelites and is represented by the city of Jerusalem. Now the new Zion, rising out of the old, is to put on her beautiful garments. She must clothe herself with the righteousness and salvation which has been provided by God. For it is He Who will provide her with the garments of salvation and cover her with the robe of righteousness as He welcomes her as the equivalent of His Bride. What she must do is put them on by responding to Him.
‘Awake, awake, put on your strength, O Zion. Put on your beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city. For henceforth there will no more come to you the uncircumcised and the unclean. Shake yourself from the dust, arise, sit down, O Jerusalem, Loose yourself from your neck bands, O captive daughter of Zion.’
Note the double intensities. ‘Awake, awake, -- put on, -- put on.’ There is a sense of urgency here. You have to stop and reflect upon this verbiage. You have to see how Great our God Is here. Have you ever took the time to think about what God may be thinking relative to the discipline He has issued. If you are a parent, have you ever had to discipline your child? If so, did you just bring forth the correction and then forget about everything. I doubt it. You probably have taken some time in reviewing the whole situation. You didn’t want to dish out the punishment but you knew it was the only thing to do. You look with eager anticipation of reestablishing closeness again with your child. Now take some time to consider how our Holy Loving Father God views the discipline He has brought forth against His child[ren]. He has done what was proper and now He anxiously looks forward to a close relationship. Can you now feel His loving desire to enjoy a good time with His kids. Look again at His words, ‘Awake, awake, -- put on, -- put on.’
In the ‘garments of beauty’ we see the high priestly garments of Exodus 28.2, ‘garments made for glory and for beauty’. She is probably here to be seen as not only reinstated but as becoming the holy nation, the kingdom of priests of Exodus 19.5-6, “‘Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel.”
Please note the verse again where it says, ‘There will no more come to you the uncircumcised and the unclean.’ Certainly the mention of circumcised refers to participation in God’s covenant. Only those who are ‘circumcised’ may enter. But to the prophets circumcision had in mind not only the physical act but the circumcision of the heart. What mattered was that the heart was made right, that God’s covenant was within their hearts and that they walked in His ways. Being clean meant being free from anything that could contaminate and make them unworthy to approach God. Thus the idea is that only those can enter who are true to the covenant and pure and undefiled. It is the prophet’s idea of spiritual perfection.
Note therefore the indication that all the Gentiles who flock to her will be circumcised, that is, bound by the covenant. That is why Paul stresses in Colossians 2.11-13 that all true Christians are circumcised with the circumcision of Christ, “In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses,”
‘For thus says Yahweh, “You were sold for nothing, and you will be redeemed without money. For thus says the Lord Yahweh, My people went down at first into Egypt to sojourn there, and the Assyrians oppressed them without cause. Now therefore what do I here, says Yahweh, seeing that my people is taken for nothing. Those who rule over them do howl, says Yahweh, and my name is continually all the day blasphemed. Therefore my people will know my name, therefore they will know in that day that I Am He Who speaks. Behold Me.” ’
There could be no clearer indication that Isaiah see Jerusalem’s two great enemies as having been Egypt, and as being at this time Assyria. He does not go beyond Assyria. (Overall rule by Babylon is simply not in mind). These are the nations to whom Israel was ‘sold’. But His people had not been dealt with fairly. They had only gone to Egypt to sojourn there. The Assyrians had had no cause to oppress them. Why then had they been taken into bondage? There had been nothing right about either bondage. They had been ‘sold for nothing’, for they had been ‘taken’. No price had been paid. It was theft. Neither Egypt nor Assyria had any rights over them. So our Great Father God Yahweh feels quite justified in redeeming her for nothing.
The fact that Yahweh used both Egypt and Assyria as His means of chastening His people does not alter the position. Yahweh may do what He will. But that provides no excuse for Egypt and Assyria. They did what they did because of their sinfulness, not because they were obeying Yahweh. We note again the two nations who are seen as oppressors at this stage.
Some people see the oppression of the Assyrian as the one who did not know Joseph which we read about in the book of Exodus chapter 1, “8 Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph. 9 And he said to his people, “Look, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we; 10 come, let us deal shrewdly with them, lest they multiply, and it happen, in the event of war, that they also join our enemies and fight against us, and so go up out of the land.” 11 Therefore they set taskmasters over them to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh supply cities, Pithom and Raamses. 12 But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew. And they were in dread of the children of Israel. 13 So the Egyptians made the children of Israel serve with rigor. 14 And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage—in mortar, in brick, and in all manner of service in the field. All their service in which they made them serve was with rigor.”
Please note how that those who rule over her ‘howl’. The verb usually indicates mourning and weeping and distress. However in Hosea 7.14 it probably indicates a howling of self-pleasing and self-gratification, That may be the meaning here. They howl because they take advantage of them, because they get their enjoyment by misusing them. It is a howl of glee.
‘You will be redeemed without money.’ This must be taken strictly. Redemption demands a payment, but as she was bought without money she will be redeemed without money. Adoni Yahweh Is too powerful to submit to demands for ransom. Yet she has to be redeemed, so if not by money, how? The question is left in suspense for it will be answered later in chapter 53.
The result of our Holy Lord Yahweh’s redemption of them will be that His people will ‘know His name’ that is, thoroughly know and understand Who and What He is. And they will know Who has spoken to them, saying ‘Behold me.’ For they will see Him as He is. And from His saving action they will know that He is truly the faithful Kinsman Redeemer of His people, willing to pay any price for those on whom He has set His love.
‘How beautiful on the mountains, are the feet of Him Who brings good news, Who publishes peace, Who brings good news of good, Who publishes salvation. Who says to Zion, “Your God reigns.”
I know that some of you are very good bible students. I can guess that many of you have heard this verse spoken on various occasions regarding those people who are evangelists.
This verse however can only be speaking of the Servant, our Lord Jesus Christ. He is the One Who comes to bring good news of good to the poor and afflicted (61.1; compare 40.9, ‘good tidings -- good things’), to publish peace (49.6), to bring good news of good (42.6-7; 49.9-10), who publishes salvation (49.6b, 8), who declares ‘The Kingdom of God is at hand’ (42.1, 4; Mark 1.15).
Then as a result of Adoni Yeshua The Good Shepherd fulfilling these prophecies, He then sends out His servants who will also go with the Good News to the world. They too will be part of the corporate Servant of which He is the main constituent.
‘The voice of your watchmen, they lift up the voice, together do they sing, for they will see eye to eye, when Yahweh returns to Zion. Break forth into joy, sing together you waste places of Jerusalem, for Yahweh has comforted his people, He has redeemed Jerusalem. Yahweh has made bare his holy arm, in the eyes of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth will see, The salvation of our God.’
So, if Jerusalem has been destroyed there are no watchmen. Even today if you go to Jerusalem there aren’t any watchmen on the walls. Then who are these watchmen? Turn with me to the book of Daniel chapter 4, “This matter is by the decree of the watchers, and the demand by the word of the holy ones: to the intent that the living may know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it the basest of men.”. Who are the ‘watchers’ and who are the ‘Holy Ones’? Well, let me take a stab at identifying them. I believe that the Holy Ones, Are our God, The Blessed Holy Trinity, Adoni Yahweh, Yeshua, and Holy Ghost. I believe that the ‘watchers’ are angels. These angels will lift up their voices and sing when our Great Master, God, and King returns to earth. Take a look at some of these verses that refer to our Lord’s 2nd Coming;
Revelation 1: 7, “Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.”
Matthew 24: 29 – 31, “29 “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.”
Revelation 19: 11 – 15, “11 Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. 12 His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. 13 He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. 14 And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. 15 Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. 16 And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.”
Zachariah 14: 4, “And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which faces Jerusalem on the east. And the Mount of Olives shall be split in two, from east to west, making a very large valley; Half of the mountain shall move toward the north and half of it toward the south.”
One of our Lord’s amazing characteristics is that He Is Omnipotent that is He Is All Powerful. Therefore the statement ‘Laid bare His holy arm.’ is interesting. All strong men like to bare their arms to reveal their muscles, and here our Mighty God Yahweh reveals His muscles to all men. They are permitted to see His power in action. This arm is the arm of the Mighty One in 40.10. But as we will see in chapter 53 it is exerted in a way beyond the understanding of men.
‘Depart, depart, go out from there. Touch no unclean thing. Go out of the midst of her, be pure, you who bear the vessels of Yahweh. For you will not go out in haste, nor will you go out by flight, for Yahweh will go before you, and the God of Israel will be your rear guard.’
Now that the messenger has come with the Good News there is an immediate response. The Good News must be passed on, and immediate preparations are to be made for the departure of messengers to the world.
Now at last true Israel is to fulfill its calling as the holy nation, the kingdom of priests. They will become those who truly ‘bear the vessels of Yahweh’. They will take to the nations God’s instruction and call them to the true sacrifice, seen in the accomplishment of the Servant, our Lord Jesus Christ.
To be a ‘bearer of the vessels of Yahweh’ is to be one who is greatly privileged, one who carries out the priestly functions. That had always been God’s purpose for faithful Israel and one of the duties of such was to explain God’s word to those who would receive it.
So they bear to the world the news of God’s provision for men that they might be reconciled to Him, and call on them to participate and have their part in Him. They take God’s deliverance to the world. This is not an escape from the world of nations that is something that is now behind them. This is a triumphant and glorious departure from Zion (‘from there’).
In chapter 50 verse 9 we left the Servant preparing for His court battle where He expected, after his period of humiliation and ill-treatment, to meet up with His adversaries and Be vindicated by Yahweh. Here we find the conclusion of the case. The Servant is humiliated, tried and finally vindicated and lifted up to the throne of Yahweh. For ‘high’ and ‘lifted up’ compare 6.1. This can only have in mind the One Who was the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace (9.6) for He alone was worthy to be raised to the throne of Yahweh.
So following as it does the command to Zion to go out to the nations with God’s word we are justified in seeing in these verses the content of that word, the exaltation of the coming Davidic king Who would be born into a background of poverty and need (7.14-16), but His exaltation would only come after facing deep humiliation for the sins of many.
“Behold, my servant will deal wisely, He will be exalted and lifted up and be very high. In the same way as many were astonished at you, (His appearance was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men), so will he sprinkle many nations. Kings will shut their mouths at him, for that which has not been told them will they see, and that which they have not heard they will understand.”
The Perfect Servant, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be upheld in His service and will carry out His appointed task of bringing righteousness to the world with wisdom and forethought, and bring it to a satisfactory end, and then He will be uplifted.
He will be raised from among men, then He will be lifted up further, then He will be set ‘very high’. Yes He will. He will rightfully and because He deserves it, be seated at Father God’s right hand, a place of honor.
But this exaltation is to follow a period of humiliation, when men will be astonished at Him because His face and appearance will be so marred, and His body will be so wasted, that men could not have believed it if they had not seen it. His appearance was so dreadful to the sight that men cannot look at Him, and they say of Him, is this really a human being? (His form more than the sons of men’).
The intention is to bring out the extreme depths of His suffering. That this would be the appearance of our Master and Lord Jesus on the cross is unquestionable. The sight of the crucifixion of a bloodstained maltreated victim was excruciating. Under the justice of those days the transition from a healthy man to a crumpled, broken, wasted wreck did not take long. And our Precious Lord Jesus was not only bearing that but was also engaged in a battle with the forces of darkness that tore at His inner soul.
‘Many were astonished (appalled) at you.’ That is, because of the awfulness of what He suffered. I am sure you saw Mel Gibson’s movie, ‘The Passion’. I had a real hard time watching it. And this was only staged. In reality our Holy Righteous God went through worse than what the movie producers could make.
But look with me on how our Majestic Holy Spirit lists the next portion of His Scripture by saying, ‘So will He sprinkle many nations.’ The verb would normally signify ‘sprinkle’ (cause to spurt). The meaning ‘sprinkle’ is thus paramount in the Old Testament. The connection must then be - ‘as many were astonished at Him -- so will He sprinkle many nations, kings will shut their mouths at Him.’ They were astonished at His appearance; they were even more astonished when He sprinkled many nations. The movement from sacrificed offering to atoning priest, from Lamb of God to great High Priest took all by surprise. To this all I can say is, ‘Way to go Mighty God!’
In the sprinkling of many nations we see the priestly work of the Servant hinted at. Here it is ‘the priest’ Himself (the High Priest) Who is at work. His followers will then take what He has done, in making atonement and establishing the new covenant, out to the world in ‘the vessels of Yahweh’. Sprinkling was the means of application of the sacrificial blood to the people in establishing the covenant (Exodus 24.6-8), and of the water of purification with which God would sprinkle His people to thoroughly cleanse them from all their iniquity and give them a new heart and a new spirit. There too ‘the vessels of Yahweh’ were used to apply the sacrificial blood and the purifying ‘water of purification’ that contained the ashes of a heifer (which Ezekiel uses as a symbol of the Holy Spirit - Ezekiel 36.25). So the Servant is both king and priest, bringing the nations into the covenant through the offering of blood and purifying and revivifying them.
‘Kings will shut their mouths at him, for that which has not been told them will they see, and that which they have not heard they will understand.’ That kings will shut their mouths at Him stresses His own royalty. It is fellow-kings about whom kings receive reports. And they will be astounded because they will see something outside what has been reported to them, and understand what has not been told to them. They will see through the reports to the remarkable account of His deep humiliation followed by His rise to supreme glory and royalty, and learn what this Servant of Yahweh has done, not only for His own people but also for the world.
Thank You Lord Jesus for You. I love You!
