Consolation to God's People
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1 “Keep silence before Me, O coastlands,
And let the people renew their strength!
Let them come near, then let them speak;
Let us come near together for judgment.
2 “Who raised up one from the east?
Who in righteousness called him to His feet?
Who gave the nations before him,
And made him rule over kings?
Who gave them as the dust to his sword,
As driven stubble to his bow?
3 Who pursued them, and passed safely
By the way that he had not gone with his feet?
4 Who has performed and done it,
Calling the generations from the beginning?
‘I, the Lord, am the first;
And with the last I am He.’ ”
5 The coastlands saw it and feared,
The ends of the earth were afraid;
They drew near and came.
6 Everyone helped his neighbor,
And said to his brother,
“Be of good courage!”
7 So the craftsman encouraged the goldsmith;
He who smooths with the hammer inspired him who strikes the anvil,
Saying, “It is ready for the soldering”;
Then he fastened it with pegs,
That it might not totter.
8 “But you, Israel, are My servant,
Jacob whom I have chosen,
The descendants of Abraham My friend.
9 You whom I have taken from the ends of the earth,
And called from its farthest regions,
And said to you,
‘You are My servant,
I have chosen you and have not cast you away:
10 Fear not, for I am with you;
Be not dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you,
Yes, I will help you,
I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’
11 “Behold, all those who were incensed against you
Shall be ashamed and disgraced;
They shall be as nothing,
And those who strive with you shall perish.
12 You shall seek them and not find them—
Those who contended with you.
Those who war against you
Shall be as nothing,
As a nonexistent thing.
13 For I, the Lord your God, will hold your right hand,
Saying to you, ‘Fear not, I will help you.’
14 “Fear not, you worm Jacob,
You men of Israel!
I will help you,” says the Lord
And your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.
15 “Behold, I will make you into a new threshing sledge with sharp teeth;
You shall thresh the mountains and beat them small,
And make the hills like chaff.
16 You shall winnow them, the wind shall carry them away,
And the whirlwind shall scatter them;
You shall rejoice in the Lord,
And glory in the Holy One of Israel.
17 “The poor and needy seek water, but there is none,
Their tongues fail for thirst.
I, the Lord, will hear them;
I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.
18 I will open rivers in desolate heights,
And fountains in the midst of the valleys;
I will make the wilderness a pool of water,
And the dry land springs of water.
19 I will plant in the wilderness the cedar and the acacia tree,
The myrtle and the oil tree;
I will set in the desert the cypress tree and the pine
And the box tree together,
20 That they may see and know,
And consider and understand together,
That the hand of the Lord has done this,
And the Holy One of Israel has created it.
Lesson
Lesson
Verses 1-7 -
Verses 1-7 -
The coastlands (same word as isles in chapter 40) refer to the islands and coastal areas of the Mediterranean - used as a metaphor for the whole of the Gentile world.
The idea could be one of two things -
First - “let them bring their strongest arguments and get ready for my judgment and we will see who prevails” (Henry, Young)
OR - Let them come to me and join with my people. Let’s reason together and allow me to strengthen you
I lean towards the second - an invitation to come to God for mercy and judgment. “Draw near” is an invitation for mercy.
The events about to unfold are not random, but the work of the sovereign creator. Who can withstand his will?
He is calling one from the east - nameless now, but revealed in just a few chapters. Cyrus
He will crush the nations and will be the sword of God’s righteous wrath against Babylon and her cruelty.
Verse 4 - God’s sovereignty, immutability and eternity.
God is the one not only calling Cyrus, but he has called every generation and governed their affairs from the very beginning, and will do so until the very end.
Nothing can take God’s creation away from his hands.
The echo of Yahweh’s name - I he - the eternal present.
Past, present and future all combined into the eternal present. There is no succession of moments with God.
John ascribes these same words to Jesus:
8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,” says the Lord, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”
But the nations, although they saw God’s hand in history, did not turn to him. Did not bow before him. Instead, they built bigger and fancier idols (verses 5-7)
Verses 8-13 - the victorious servant
Verses 8-13 - the victorious servant
This foolishness is contrasted with the people of God, the Servant, the Chosen race
The key here is the “descendents of Abraham” my friend.
Abraham had many descendents, but in Isaac was his seed called. That is, true Israel, the true servant of God, are those with the faith of Abraham.
Even in Isaiah’s day, those who were cut off and destroyed by Assyria, and later Babylon, rejected the promise. Not believing, and so they were cut off.
So these promises are not given to those who simply have the DNA of Abraham, but those who have the faith of Abraham
Does this mean that the promise to Abraham and his seed are worthless? Certainly not.
The heart of the Christian faith is that Christ is the True servant, the Israel of God, the firstborn, the righteous son sought by God.
HE is the true seed of Abraham. And all those who believe on his name are grafted into him, married to him, one flesh with him. And therefore heirs of Abraham.
Which is why Matthew starts with a genealogy…BTW
Ultimately, this is the fulfillment of these promises, and so they are very relevant to us today, the people of God with the faith of Abraham.
That being said, let’s look at it from the perspective of the time.
The nations worship stone and metal that they have to fasten together to get it to stand up.
But God’s people are held up by God, not the other way around.
Servant -
Chosen one
Descendants of Abraham, my lover
Isaiah is looking ahead through the decades and seeing God at work, gathering his people together from all over the world.
He gathers them for a purpose - they are his Servant.
And they will be fitted, strong enough, equipped perfectly to do what God has called them to do.
BUT - they are not originals. The people of God don’t set their own destiny, don’t protect themselves, don’t prolong or gather themselves. They are the servant of God - with a divine calling, a divine mandate and divine commission.
And as they do the work of the Great Sovereign King, they are under his protection and provision, and he will help them and give them the strength and the ability to do exactly what he is calling them to do.
The Servant’s enemies will be driven away. He will be completely victorious. His enemies will be counted as nothing.
Verses 14-16 - the transformed worm
Verses 14-16 - the transformed worm
The worm - Isaac Watts popularized the idea of “worm” in his hymn “Alas, and did my savior die”. Watts uses the term to refer to his comparative worth, a creature of dust and a sinner at that.
But too often, the term is used in a way that almost denies the image of God in mankind.
Isaiah had just exalted Israel - the church of God, chosen, loved, strengthened, empowered by God, victorious.
The term “worm” here refers to strength. The tiny worm is compared to the huge mountains.
Remember the obstacles in chapter 40 - every mountain and hill made low?
When you face those mountains and those hills it can get quite overwhelming. It is too much for me. I can’t do it.
Isaiah says this feeling is like an earthworm looking at the Sierra Nevadas and given the task of eating through it…an impossible task.
Our redemption is impossible. We can never overcome our sins. We cannot win this battle.
We don’t have the strength. We are like the worm in front of a huge mountain range.
don’t be afraid!!
And don’t forget that you have a maker who loves you, who is your strength. He has far more strength than you can even imagine.
He will transform you to conquer mountains. He will give you teeth enough to thresh whatever obstacles are in your way.
But here is something crucial - the “you” is singular. It refers to the whole people of God, seen as one, as the body of Christ.
Our victory is as the body of Christ. We are all together in this.
This is what Paul is referring to in I Corinthians 12
11 But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills.
Individually, we have gifts given to us by God himself. We are called, gathered, united to Christ, filled with his spirit - strengthened and protected and held by his powerful hand.
And nothing can stop us from fulfilling our purpose as his servant.
Look at Paul, who took this designation on himself
A servant of the Lord Jesus Christ.
A servant is one with the authority and power of the one who sent him. He does not have any of his own.
And Isaiah is not talking about clergy. He is talking about the body of Christ, of which we are all members, gathered together.
And we face so many obstacles, we are overwhelmed, the future seems blocked and it often seems like we are in exile.
And the Cyrus comes along and we say, Great. Now what?
Instead of building idols seeking to protect ourselves, we are to change our view of Cyrus. He is a speck in the hands of God.
But YOU are God’s servant. Strengthened, redeemed, protected, and powerful.
The obstacles in the way of God’s people will be absolutely obliterated, in God’s time.
And the consummation:
Verses 17-20 - the new exodus bursting into a new age
Verses 17-20 - the new exodus bursting into a new age
In the end, all of these promises are fulfilled in Christ, the Alpha and Omega, who is the righteous, suffering Servant, and the One who gives water in the desert and causes the tree of life to spring forth.
1 And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. 2 In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. 3 And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him. 4 They shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads. 5 There shall be no night there: They need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light. And they shall reign forever and ever.
6 Then he said to me, “These words are faithful and true.” And the Lord God of the holy prophets sent His angel to show His servants the things which must shortly take place.
7 “Behold, I am coming quickly! Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.”
8 Now I, John, saw and heard these things. And when I heard and saw, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel who showed me these things.
9 Then he said to me, “See that you do not do that. For I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren the prophets, and of those who keep the words of this book. Worship God.” 10 And he said to me, “Do not seal the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is at hand. 11 He who is unjust, let him be unjust still; he who is filthy, let him be filthy still; he who is righteous, let him be righteous still; he who is holy, let him be holy still.”
12 “And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work. 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.”
14 Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city. 15 But outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie.
16 “I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things in the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star.”
17 And the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely.
18 For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; 19 and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.
20 He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming quickly.”
Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
21 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.