Isaiah 51-55
Chapter 51 begins with a promise from God to restore Israel once again. Even though the things of earth, and even earth itself, will wear out, the salvation of God is forever. Israel has been drinking of the Lord's cup of wrath and in 51:23, God promises to give that cup to Israel's enemies.
The reason for Israel's restoration is for God's glory. His enemies have been mocking Him and soon they will see their mistake. God will bring His people out of Assyria as He brought them out of Egypt, but there will be no need to hurry, as God will be bringing up the rear as guard.
The Suffering Servant appears once again at 52:13, leading us into the incredible 53rd chapter of Isaiah. The beautiful poetry of this chapter becomes even more beautiful once one knows the identity of the Servant. So much prophecy is so obviously fulfilled from within this chapter. He was despised and rejected. He was not beautiful so that everyone would want to be with Him. He took our punishment and yet it appeared that God had turned His back on Him. The "we are healed" of 53:5 is a spiritual healing. The parallelism of the verse makes this plain with
the first part of each line being physical and the last part of each line being spiritual.
The fulfilled prophecy keeps coming line by line. His silence, His lack of decendents, His grave... all these things noted as fulfilled in the Gospel accounts. Over and over we are told that He bore our burden for us and that He is our intercessor.
At 54:5, we see another reference to the deity of Christ. The Redeemer is called the God of all the earth. The description of God's actions being emotional in nature is interesting. Certainly God doesn't act capriciously. He has a plan and a reason for everything, but the best way for us to understand is to compare His actions to normal human reactions.
God promises to rebuild Jerusalem with precious stones and jewels -- an allusion to the incredible value He sees in that city.
Even the wicked will be forgiven if he repents and turns to God. Although that doesn't seem right to some, God tells us in 55:8-9 that His ways are not our ways. We don't have His understanding or perspective. He sends out His word and it accomplishes what He wishes. And those who trust Him will go out in joy and be led forth in peace. Certainly everything isn't singing mountains and clapping trees in a believer's life, but God is with us. It is all for the Lord's renown. For His glory.
The reason for Israel's restoration is for God's glory. His enemies have been mocking Him and soon they will see their mistake. God will bring His people out of Assyria as He brought them out of Egypt, but there will be no need to hurry, as God will be bringing up the rear as guard.
The Suffering Servant appears once again at 52:13, leading us into the incredible 53rd chapter of Isaiah. The beautiful poetry of this chapter becomes even more beautiful once one knows the identity of the Servant. So much prophecy is so obviously fulfilled from within this chapter. He was despised and rejected. He was not beautiful so that everyone would want to be with Him. He took our punishment and yet it appeared that God had turned His back on Him. The "we are healed" of 53:5 is a spiritual healing. The parallelism of the verse makes this plain with
the first part of each line being physical and the last part of each line being spiritual.
The fulfilled prophecy keeps coming line by line. His silence, His lack of decendents, His grave... all these things noted as fulfilled in the Gospel accounts. Over and over we are told that He bore our burden for us and that He is our intercessor.
At 54:5, we see another reference to the deity of Christ. The Redeemer is called the God of all the earth. The description of God's actions being emotional in nature is interesting. Certainly God doesn't act capriciously. He has a plan and a reason for everything, but the best way for us to understand is to compare His actions to normal human reactions.
God promises to rebuild Jerusalem with precious stones and jewels -- an allusion to the incredible value He sees in that city.
Even the wicked will be forgiven if he repents and turns to God. Although that doesn't seem right to some, God tells us in 55:8-9 that His ways are not our ways. We don't have His understanding or perspective. He sends out His word and it accomplishes what He wishes. And those who trust Him will go out in joy and be led forth in peace. Certainly everything isn't singing mountains and clapping trees in a believer's life, but God is with us. It is all for the Lord's renown. For His glory.
posted by rev-ed @ 11:31 PM
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