This week we
will continue the study of the Book of Isaiah in the Old Testament.
The message of comfort continues with a pronouncement of judgment on Babylon and her trust in magic, spells and astrology in the last chapter. With this message, the Lord confronts Judah with the implications of foretelling them of such “new things” that have yet to happen:
48:1-6—The Follies of Judah—While Babylon is wicked, the Lord reminds Judah that they are really no better:
(1) Who are they to God? (48:1; see 43:1 as well)
(2) How phony is their religion? (48:1-2)
(3) What should they have learned from their past history or encounters with God? Can you think of any examples? (48:3)
(4) What was God’s purpose of giving them prophecies in the past? Was God’s purpose served?
48:7-11—The Consequences of Their Treachery
(5) What has already happened as they had ignored their past encounters with God? (48:9-10)
(6) What are the “new things” told by God in the last chapter?
(7) Why does God still choose to tell them “new things”? (48:11)
48:12-22—Call to Repentance
(8) In calling them to come near and listen, what does God remind them of in vv. 12-13 and why?
(9) What are the “new things” being reiterated here in vv. 14-15?
(10) Why should they come and listen? (v. 17)
(11) What if they had chosen to listen before? (vv. 18-19)
(12) How should they repent now? (v. 20) Why? (v. 22)
(13) What is being promised in vv. 20-21?
(14) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
“Leave Babylon, flee from the Babylonians!” (Isa. 48:20)
Time and again, in Isaiah’s oracles of comfort to Judah, the message of God (being the One Who has caused all things to come to pass just as He has foretold) is repeated many times, and Isaiah emphasizes that this certainly sets God apart from the idols. Unfortunately, the people of God had failed to admit them (48:6).
However, God has not given up on them, and at the time of Isaiah, God has allowed them to be oppressed by the Assyrians so as to refine them, but God has yet to commit them to total destruction (48:9-10). In an effort to draw them back to Himself, the Lord now allows them to listen to “new things” which concern the total destruction of their next oppressor, the Babylonians in the hands of Persia (48:14-15). Of course, if they had not paid attention to past fulfilled prophecies, how would they pay attention to things that have yet to come! Therefore, I agree with most commentators, that these “new things” are meant for those who eventually ended up as exiles in Babylon, so that in their plight, they would have hope and might even repent.
However, I do believe that this is a message for all times — for those in Judah who tended to put their hope in Egypt for their deliverance from the Assyrians, for those in subsequent exiles, and also for all of us today. The reason is this — the purpose of foretelling the future destruction of Babylon is made plain in v. 20 and that is to “Leave Babylon, flee the Babylonians”, and this command is not just addressed to Judah, but to be proclaimed “to the ends of the earth” (48:20).
Here, “Babylon” is not the Babylon of the 6th and 7th centuries B.C., but the symbol of the “wicked” power of the world that is bent on defying God and His reign. The true meaning of this command is brought out by the book of Revelation:
“Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great! She has become a home for demons and a haunt for every evil spirit…Come out of her, my people, so that you will not share in her sins, so that you will not receive any of her plagues; for her sins are piled up to heaven and God has remembered her crimes.” (Rev. 18:2, 4-5).
As we are
approaching the fulfillment of these prophecies of the End-times, we should not
be just “going here and there to increase knowledge” about the signs of the Lord’s
return (Dan. 12:4), but rather, we should heed the same warning to disassociate
ourselves from the wicked ways of the world:
“Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature.” (Rom. 13:13-14)
This is the proper attitude of studying biblical prophecies.
The “servant” introduced in chapter 42:1ff is now the theme of this segment from chapter 49 to chapter 57. The description and work of this servant is far beyond that of Cyrus who is used to defeat and punish Babylon. As we shall find out, while He is identified with Israel (49:3), His character and origin certainly transcend that of the sinful Israel and can only refer to Jesus Christ, the Messiah.
49:1-4—The Self-Introduction of the “Servant”
(1) To whom is this message addressed? Why? (v. 1)
(2) V. 1 does not speak to the origin of the servant, but rather His mission — how He is called. How then is v.1 fulfilled in Jesus Christ? (Matt. 1:21)
(3) V. 2 speaks of both His ministry and how God would protect Him:
a. In what ways is Jesus like a sharpened sword and a polished arrow? (Heb. 4:12)
b. Can you recall instances where God protected Him? (e.g. Matt. 2:12ff)
(4) While Israel has failed to display God’s splendor, this “servant” will do so in Israel’s behalf: How has Christ brought glory to God? (Jn. 17:4)
(5) How does v. 4. speak to the reception of Jesus by the people and His ultimate triumph? (see Jn. 1:5; Acts 2:24, 36)
49:5-7—The Mission of the “Servant”
(6) What is the two-fold mission of the servant? (vv. 5-6)
(7) What will be the outcome of His two-fold mission? (v. 7)
49:8-12—The Restoration of Israel
(8) The restoration of Israel is announced with the “year of Jubilee” in mind (see Lev. 25:8ff) in which (mortgaged) property will be returned and slaves will be set free:
a. In what way is true freedom achieved through Christ? (Jn. 8:36)
b. What does it mean that He will be made a covenant for the people? (Matt. 26:28)
(9) While the restoration of Israel appears to be spoken of in physical terms, what might the spiritual reality portrayed by vv. 9-12 be?
49:13-21—Answering the Doubters (I)
(10) As great as this news is to Israel, why would they have doubts? (v. 14, v. 21)
(11) How does the Lord answer them? (vv. 15-16)
(12) How might you apply God’s answer to yourself?
(13) In a nutshell, what kind of promise is given in vv. 18-21?
49:22-26—Answering the Doubters (II)
(14) What is the second question asked by the doubters? (v. 24)
(15) How does the Lord answer them?
(16) What does the realization of this promise mean to “all mankind”? (v. 26)
(17) How should this great salvation of God brought through His Servant be greeted? (v. 13)
(18) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
“Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands;” (Isa. 49:15-16)
Isaiah 49:15 has to be one of the most touching verses in the Bible as God uses the image of a nursing mother to convey His love for us. Allow me to share with you Francis de Sales’ thoughts in this respect:
“Comparison of the love little children have for their mothers should not be rejected because of its pure, innocent character. Consider, then a beautiful little child to whom the seated mother offers her breast. It throws itself forcibly into her arms and gathers up and entwines all its little body on that beloved bosom and breast. See how its mother in turn takes it in, clasps it, fastens it so to speak to her bosom, joins her mouth to its mouth and kisses it. Watch again how that little babe is allured by its mother’s caresses, and how on its part it cooperates in this union of its mother and itself. As much as it possibly can, it fastens and presses itself to its mother’s breast and face. It seems as if it wants to bury and hide itself completely in the beloved bosom from which it came. At such a moment, there is a perfect union; it is but a single union, yet it proceeds from both mother and child, although in such wise that it depends entirely on the mother. She drew the child to herself. She first clasped it in her arms and pressed it to her bosom. The child’s strength was never sufficient to clasp and hold itself so close to its mother. Yet on its own part the poor little one does as much as it can and joins itself with all its strength to its mother’s bosom. It not only consents to the sweet union its mother makes but with all its heart contributes its own feeble efforts. I call them feeble efforts because they are so weak that they resemble attempts at union rather than actual union.
"Thus, too, our Lord shows the most loving breast of His divine love to a devout soul, draws it wholly to Himself, gathers it in and, as it were, enfolds all its powers within the bosom of His more than motherly comfort.”
(Christian Meditations, 118)
Chapter 50—The One Who Answers the Call — As God continues to introduce His servant through whom salvation will be brought to Israel (and the world), He points out that Israel should be held responsible for their own demise:
50:1-3—Israel Did Not Answer the Call of God:
(1) What two analogies does the Lord use to point out His broken relationship with Israel? (v. 1)
(2) If God has not severed His tie with Israel, who is responsible for their plight? (v. 1)
(3) In fact, God did not desert them. He had come to them and He had called them. How did Israel respond to God’s offer of help? (v. 2)
(4) Do they have any excuse? Why or why not? (vv. 2-3)
50:4-11—The “Servant” Answers the Call of God
(5) Consider that Israel was not there when God came, nor listened to His call.
a. How different is this “Servant” in these respects? (vv. 4-5)
b. What is the meaning of a “well-instructed (or disciplined) tongue"?
(6) Why would this “Servant” have to suffer beating and mocking?
(7) How would He face such sufferings? (v. 6)
(8) Why? (vv. 7-9)
(9) How has Christ fulfilled this prophecy? (Mk. 15:16-20; Phil. 2:6-11)
(10) How does the servant achieve His victory? (vv. 7-9)
(11) How should those who walk in the dark, (i.e. those who recognize their sinful condition) and those who light their own fires, (i.e. those who trust in their own righteousness) respond to the words of the servant? Why? (vv. 10-11)
Chapter 51—Everlasting Salvation
51:1-3—Good News to Those in Zion Who Repent
(12) If they seek the Lord and pursue righteousness, how will they fulfill the promise of God to Abraham and Sarah? (Gen. 22:17)
(13) How will Zion be comforted? (v. 3)
51:4-16—God’s Salvation
(14) How special is this salvation which is on its way (vv. 4-6):
a.Who will the recipients be? Just Israel?
b. And how different will it be from Israel’s past deliverance? (v. 6)
(15) They should not be afraid of their enemies (vv. 7-16):
a. Whom does the Lord call upon not to be afraid? (v. 7)
b. What contrast does the Lord use to assure them? (v. 8)
c. What past example does the Lord give to remind them of His power? (vv. 9-11. Note that Rahab is used to refer to Egypt; see 30:7.)
d. As it is, they are indeed afraid of “mere mortals” (v. 12): What is the reason for their fear? (v. 13)
e. As God gives them further assurances of their salvation, apart from reiterating the destruction of their “mere-mortal” enemies, what role will Israel play in the creation of the “new heaven and the new earth” and how? (v. 16)
(16) What is the main message to you today and how can you apply it to your life?
“I have put My words in your mouth and have covered you with the shadow of My hand, to establish the heavens, to found the earth, and to say to Zion, ‘You are My people'.” (Isa. 51:16)
As the Lord reveals the eternal salvation that would be brought about by His Servant (Christ), He encouraged Judah not to be afraid of their enemies, whether of the past (Egyjpt, the Rahab) or of the future (the Assyrians and the Babylonians). Apart from reiterating the fact that these nations which do not acknowledge the Lord will be totally destroyed, the Lord points out their glorious role in the establishment of the heavens and the earth, because He has put His words in their mouths and covered them with the shadow of His hand and will call Zion “My people” (51:16).
Of course, this is the spiritual Zion that He is referring to which will be comprised of all believers who have taken God’s word of the gospel to heart (51:7) and proclaim it. While the heavens and earth to be established, as Young points out, would ultimately be the New Heavens and the New Earth, Calvin sees also another dimension to it:
“(T)he true meaning appear to me to be this, that heaven and earth are said to be restored by the doctrine of salvation; because 'in Christ', as Paul says, ‘are collected all things that are either in heaven or in earth’ (Eph. 1:10). Since the fall of the first man we see nothing but frightful confusion, which troubles even the dumb creatures, and makes them suffer, in some respects, the punishment of our sins; and consequently, that confusion cannot be repaired, but by Christ. Since therefore the whole face of the world is disfigured by frightful desolation, there are good grounds for saying that godly teachers renovate the world, as if God formed heaven and earth anew by their hand. And hence it is evident how great is the heinousness of our guilt, which has been followed by such dreadful confusion in the nature of things. Thus, ‘the heavens’ are said to be ‘planted and the earth to be founded’ when the Lord establishes His Church by the word; and He does this by the agency of ministers, whom He directs by His Spirit, and protects against hidden enemies and various dangers, that they may effectually accomplish what He has enjoined.”
(Calvin’s Commentary, Isaiah Vol. III, 83)
The message of comfort continues and this time Jerusalem is called to “Awake, awake!”
51:17-23—The Cup of Wrath — The wrath of God is often depicted as a “cup”. While it is mostly used of God’s judgment of the nations, here Jerusalem is the first to taste it:
(1) What is the result of having to drink God’s cup of wrath? (51:17-20)
(2) While commentators have a hard time understanding what exactly “these double calamities” refers to, see 40:2 to get a sense of what God might have in mind.
(3) Since Jerusalem is so drunk, how could she awake? (vv. 21-23)
Chapter 52—The message of comfort continues with the good news that God has “redeemed Jerusalem” (52:9) and His plan of redemption is made clearer and clearer through the emergence of His “Suffering Servant” described in the latter part of this chapter and the next:
52:1-6—Awake, O Zion
(4) In calling Zion to shake off her dust, what condition does the Lord find Zion in? (v. 2)
(5) Instead of being covered with dust, Jerusalem will clothe herself in her beautiful garments. What is the mark of her beauty? (v. 1)
(6) In describing the plight of the daughters of Zion, the Lord likens them as being sold “for nothing”:
a. What does He mean?
b. In a sense, the Lord gets nothing in return when Zion sold herself, but He does get something in return. What is it according to the end of v.5?
(7) Since Zion lies in dust, as good as dead, how then could she awake herself? (v. 6)
52:7-12—The Good News of Salvation — The good news of redemption is introduced in v. 6 by referring to “that day” and the announcement that “Here I am” (NASB).
(8) How does v. 7 echo the announcement in 40:9 and what additional information is given here about this good news?
(9) What will this salvation mean to Zion in particular? (vv. 8-9)
(10) In the bringing about of this redemption, what does the baring of His holy arm mean?
(11) What should they do in response to this good news, especially those who serve the Lord in the temple? (v. 11; refer to 48:20 as well)
(12) Again is this good news just for Jerusalem and her people? (v. 10)
52:13-15—The Suffering Servant
(13) If this “Servant” who will bring about salvation to all will be highly exalted (v. 13), why would many be appalled at Him? (v. 14)
(14) What insight does v. 14 give us about our Lord Jesus when He was on the cross?
(15) What would Christ sprinkle from the cross and on whom? (v. 15; see 1 Pet. 1:1-2)
(16) How does Christ shut the mouths of the kings of the world?
(17) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
“Awake, awake. Clothe yourself in your strength, O Zion. Clothe yourself in your beautiful garments...” (Isa. 52:1)
I was imagining myself as one of those Israelites in captivity, living in Babylon in exile, with their homes totally devastated, loved ones killed and their country destroyed. Reading the words of Isaiah written more than 100 years prior, foretelling and forewarning the horrible judgment of God, one has to feel not only guilty but would also be in despair. Indeed, they are like those lying in dust (52:2), as good as dead; like drunkards, too drunk to walk home, except that it was not from the drinking of wine, but the cup of God’s wrath (51:17-18).
Now, Isaiah calls us to “awake, awake!” (51:17; 52:1). The natural response is, “How can we?”
The answer is clear; it is indeed impossible for Zion to awake herself, but this call to awake is preceded by the call to the “arm of God” to awake (51:9), and the Lord responds by baring His holy arm in the sight of all the nations (52:10). The baring of God’s arm is the manifestation of His might — when no one will guide His drunken children, He will (51:20); while Zion cannot awake on her own, He will pick her up; while she is in captive, He will go before them to lead them out of captivity (52:12).
This is also the picture of salvation for all mankind. As sinners, we are dead in our trespasses and sins (Eph. 2:1); it is worse than being too drunk to walk for we are slaves to our sins, unable to free ourselves (Rom. 6:16; 7:18). But God has awakened, in the sense that He has acted through His Suffering Servant, Jesus Christ, who has “sprinkled many nations” (52:15) with His blood on the cross for the forgiveness of sins. As we believe in Christ, we have also been sprinkled and “made alive with Christ” (Eph. 2:5). Now we, who were as dead, lying in dust, have clothed ourselves with the beautiful garments of Christ, marked by holiness, as God reigns in our life (52:1, 7). No, it is not our doing, but God’s; it is not our beauty, but Christ’s.
This is the clearest depiction of how the “Suffering Servant” will bring about redemption for all mankind, and as you read carefully, you can see how it is fully fulfilled in the person of Jesus Christ:
53:1-3—Who Has Believed Our Message?
(1) God’s plan of redemption is certainly a manifestation of His might (symbolized by “the arm of the Lord”). If God is to manifest His might and power through His servant, what normally would one expect to see? Why?
(2) However, the appearance of this “Servant”, this Messiah and Savior is quite unexpected (v. 2):
a. What do a tender shoot and a root out of dry ground depict of Christ’s appearance?
b. What would such an appearance do to Him?
(3) Even if He has no beauty nor majesty to attract us:
a. Why is He despised and rejected?
b. To what extent?
(4) His life is marked by “suffering” and “pain”:
a. What kinds of suffering has Christ gone through?
b. What kinds of pain has Christ endured?
53:4-6—All for Our Sake
(5) In describing His suffering and pain:
a. What does the prophet highlight in v. 5?
b. How is it fulfilled literally in Jesus Christ?
(6) Why does the prophet say that His suffering and pain are ours? (v. 4)
(7) Why would we consider such as punishment by God? (Matt. 27:43)
(8) What does it mean that He was pierced and crushed for our transgressions and our iniquities? (v. 5)
(9) How then has such punishment brought us peace? (Col. 1:20)
(10) How are we healed by His wounds (referring to the stripes Christ suffered)?
53:7-10a—Submission to Death
(11) How did Christ face oppression and affliction? (v. 7, see Matt. 26:62, 63; 27:14) Why?
(12) What would all these sufferings and afflictions culminate to and why? (v. 8)
(13) According to v. 9, how would this Suffering Servant be buried? (see Matt. 27:57-61)
(14) We know that our Lord Jesus cried out to His Father while on the cross (Matt. 27:46), and there was no answer from heaven. What insight does v. 10 give us in this respect?
53:10b-12—It is Finished!
(15) In what sense is the death of this Servant “an offering for sin”? (see Heb. 10:5ff)
(16) What His death will result in:
a. Having offspring: Who are the offspring? (v. 10)
b. The will of God will prosper in His hand: Can you recall some of the many comforts spoken of since chapter 40? (They all will come to fruition because of Christ’s atoning death.)
c. He will be the Victor (v. 12): How does Philippians 2:9-11 describe the victory of Christ?
(17) The chapter ends with one final prophecy about the Servant’s suffering: What is it and how was it fulfilled by Jesus Christ? (Lk. 23:34)
(18) At the end of our study of this chapter, can you not believe that Jesus is this Suffering Servant? Why or why not?
(19) May we pause and offer a prayer of adoration and thanksgiving to our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God who was slain!
“Who has believed our message, and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?” (Isa. 53:1)
Most commentators agree that the passage about this Suffering Servant should begin with 52:13 in that as much as He will eventually be exalted (52:13), He will be despised and rejected because of His appearance — so disfigured beyond that of any man, so marred beyond human likeness (52:14), and chapter 53 then continues to detail His suffering.
Very likely, 52:14 is the description of Christ on the cross, after being beaten savagely, especially with stripes that bore metal hooks, and nailed brutally to the cross. One can imagine that on the cross, His head was already covered with blood that came from wearing the thorny crown, together with the extreme exhaustion caused by a night of interrogation and beating, preceded by hours of struggle in prayers in the garden of Gethsemane — He had to be totally spent, and “disfigured” would be an apt description.
However, His suffering did not begin only
at the cross. Isaiah testifies that He
is “a man of sorrows and familiar with suffering”. While we know very little of the life of Jesus before His last three
years of ministry, I believe that sorrows must have been a part of His adult
life — perhaps because of poverty as a carpenter, but most likely because of
the burden that our sins had placed on Him — seeing how His creation had been
marred by sins and all the people around Him continued to be like sheep that “have gone astray, each
of us has turned to his own way” (53:6). This Creator God had to be burdened by what He saw.
Certainly, His silent submission during His arrest and trial, like “a sheep before his shearers” (53:7) added to the disappointment of those who might have wished to crown Him as king earlier, but the people’s scorn and rejection of Him did not begin only at the cross. Many pictures depict our Lord as a handsome man with charisma, but Isaiah also testifies that even in His early days, He “grew up…like a tender shoot, and a root out of a dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to Him, nothing in His appearance that we should desire Him” (53:2).
If you were to paint a picture of Christ, how will you depict Him?
I had struggled with such a thought for a long, long time, until one day when I was walking past a man on the street. I did not see his face at first, but just as I was passing him, he turned. Honestly, I had never seen such an ugly, disfigured face in my life, and I just could not help myself but to quickly turn and avoid looking at him. At that very moment, these words of Isaiah came to me, “He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and familiar with suffering — like one from whom men hide their faces, He was despised, and we esteemed Him not” (53:3).
That day, I went home and cried.
“Lord, what have you become…all because of my sin!”
Chapter 54 continues with the message of comfort, using two analogies:
54:1-10—The Barren Woman
(1) Why is Israel compared to a barren woman? (1 Sam. 1:11; Lk. 1:24-25)
(2) What is the message of comfort and hope in vv. 2-3?
(3) Apart from the analogy of a barren woman, what is Israel also likened to? (v. 6)
(4) What is it like being abandoned by God? (vv. 4, 6)
(5) Who is God? (v. 5) Why then does He call Himself Israel’s husband?
(6) What has prompted Him to call back Israel? (vv. 7-8)
(7) What example does the Lord use to assure Israel of this promise? (v. 9)
(8) What imagery does He invoke to assure Israel of the certainty of this comfort? (v. 10)
54:11-17—The Afflicted City
(9) Perhaps an afflicted city is not so much an analogy but a reality. However, what imagery does it conjure in God’s promise of rebuilding in vv. 11-12? What does this rebuilt city point to? (Rev. 21:15-21)
(10) What will be their heritage in the New Jerusalem? (vv. 13-14)
(11) How will they be vindicated? (vv. 15, 17)
(12) How has God’s attitude toward them changed? (v. 16)
Chapter 55—Invitation to the Thirsty
(13) What had Israel sought in order to satisfy their thirst and hunger before? Why has it left them dissatisfied?
(14) What is the invitation now? (v. 1)
a. For Israel to come to eat and drink, what needs to happen first?
b. Why would it not cost them anything?
c. How is it fulfilled in the person of Jesus Christ? (Jn. 6:35)
(15) What does the action of coming to eat and drink entail? (vv. 6-7)
(16) As God asks them to forsake their ways and their thoughts and embrace His, God compares their thoughts and ways to His:
a. In what ways are God’s ways and thoughts different from theirs?
b. In what ways are God’s ways and thoughts higher than theirs (and ours)?
(17) How can they be sure of God’s offer of pardon in v. 7? (vv. 10-11)
(18) What is the sign given by the Lord for this eternal salvation? (vv. 12-13, contrast it with what Paul says in Rom. 8:21-22)
(19) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
“ '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'.” (Isa. 55:8-9)
Chapters 54 and 55 of Isaiah contain some marvellous messages of God’s compassion and love, as the Lord calls Israel to return to Him.
In 54:5, He tells Israel that He is their “husband”. It is unthinkable that the “Maker”, “the Lord Almighty”, “the Holy One of Israel”, “the God of all the earth” calls Himself their husband. This conveys the unfailing love of God who keeps His covenant with Israel as a covenant between husband and wife, “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” (54:10). What a commitment fit for a marriage vow!
Then in 55:1-2, the glorious invitation is given to all who are thirsty (and hungry) to come and drink of the eternal fountain and eat of the eternal bread which is Christ: “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty” (Jn. 6:35).
Given their wicked ways and unrighteous thoughts (55:7), Israel probably thinks that this is too good to be true, and so the Lord assures her of the certainty of His promise with this marvelous reminder of who He is: “'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'” (Isa. 55:8-9).
Of course, His ways and thoughts are so unlike ours in that irrespective of how wicked and unrighteous we have been, He will always pardon freely as we return to Him (55:7). This is what He says about His plans for us: They are “to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” (Jer. 29:11).
My 28-year old niece was dying of an incurable disease; she struggled with why God would let her die so young. Then a week before her death, she received a card from her pastor on which was written these words from Isaiah 55:8-9. She asked me to read them and said, “Uncle, I liked these words”. As she put her trust in these words of God, I believe they “will not return empty, but will accomplish what He desires and achieve the purpose for which He sent it” (55:11).
Chapter 56—Salvation for All—What might be implicit is now made explicit and that is, salvation is offered to all, not just Israel:
56:1-2—The Preparation for Salvation
(1) How does the Lord admonish Israel in vv. 1-2?
(2) What is the reason given?
(3) Is it not “work-righteousness”?
a. How similar is this call to the call for repentance by John the Baptist? (see Matt. 3:2 and Lk. 3:10-14)
b. What role does John’s preaching play? (Lk. 3:4-6)
56:3-8—Salvation for All
(4) Why are eunuchs and foreigners excluded from the assembly of God according to the Law of Moses? (Deut. 23:1-8)
(5) In the future, what are the common criteria used for acceptance to the assembly of God?
a. What are specified for the eunuch? (v. 4)
b. What are specified for the foreigners, i.e. Gentiles? (v. 6)
c. Are these criteria any different for the Jews? (vv. 1-2)
(6) What are the blessings accorded to the believing eunuchs? (v. 5)
(7) What are the blessings accorded to the believing Gentiles? (v. 7)
(8) What kind of a place does the Lord desire His temple to be? (v. 7; also see Matt. 21:13)
(9) Given this passage, especially v. 8, why then would even the Jewish Christians in the time of Peter reject Gentiles? (see Acts 11:1ff, and especially the reluctant comment by Jewish Christians in 11:18)
56:9-12—The Blindness of the Leaders
(10) The leaders (especially priests and prophets) are supposed to be watchmen who warn, and shepherds who lead:
a. In likening the watchmen as mute dogs, what kind of spiritual condition is being depicted by the Lord?
b. What kind of shepherds are these leaders?
c. What judgment will come from the Lord? (v. 9)
Chapter 57 will conclude the message of comfort which begins at chapter 40.
57:1-13—Lashing at Wanton Idolatry
(11) How bad is the spiritual situation of Israel as depicted by vv. 1-2?
(12) Wanton idol worship is being vividly described in vv. 3-10:
a. By what names does the Lord call them? (vv. 3-5)
b. Of all these wanton idol worship practices, what might be the most despicable?
(13) What might be the reason that they choose to stick to their idol worship (v. 10) and not turn to God (v. 11)?
(14) How will the Lord deal with them and their idols? (vv. 12-13)
(15) What will result if they choose to repent? (v. 13)
(16) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
“The Sovereign Lord declares — He who gathers the exiles of Israel: ‘I will gather still others to them besides those already gathered’.” (Isa. 56:8)
From chapter 40 of Isaiah onwards, we read passage after passage of words of comfort, as God seeks to give hope to Israel who is about to be punished for their sins in the hands of the Babylonians. These messages are obviously not only meant for the people in Isaiah’s time, but those who would end up in exile, those who would return to Jerusalem because of the decree of Cyrus, and also their descendants — these include those who would live in the first Christian century and beyond. And, also included are Gentiles like you and me. However, given the repeated focus on how special Israel is to God, the message of salvation can easily be misconstrued as the privilege or even monopoly of Israel. Certainly, bits and pieces of hints that this salvation will also be extended to the Gentiles do surface from time to time in these chapters, but none is more explicit than the message in Isaiah 56.
Chapter 56 makes it plain that everyone is equal before the Lord. While the Apostle Paul affirms such equality with these words, “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise” (Gal. 3:28-29), Isaiah hammers home this truth citing eunuchs and foreigners as examples.
Why are eunuchs and foreigners being cited as examples? The reason is obvious because they are the ones who are excluded from the assembly of God according to the Law of Moses.
Eunuchs are excluded with these instructions: “No one who has been emasculated by crushing or cutting may enter the assembly of the Lord” (Deut. 23:1).
On the other hand, foreigners are not explicitly excluded, except the Ammonites and Moabites, while the Edomites and Egyptians may be included under certain conditions (Deut. 23:3-8). But just the same, any foreigners who may wish to worship the Lord, either as seekers (God-fearers) or proselytes, could at best worship at the “Court of the Gentiles”.
In other words, since they cannot be part of the assembly of God, they are obviously not part of the “covenant”. Chapter 56 completely shatters any such barriers. Twice, the Lord affirms that they are part of His covenant (56:4, 6).
While the Law might prevent eunuchs from entering into the assembly and they lament their inability to continue to leave a name for their fathers, they now can go into the spiritual temple of God (which is God Himself) and have “a name better than sons and daughters”. In fact, it will be an “everlasting name”, which is eternal life (56:5).
While the foreigners might not be able to enter the temple of Jerusalem and are confined to the “Court of the Gentiles”, they now enter into the very heart of the Holy Mountain — God’s House of Prayers, because His house will be called “a house of prayer for all nations” (56:7).
That is the power of the gospel which breaks down all the walls that separate God and men, and thus men and men. Indeed, we all have equal access to God in Jesus Christ.