In this essay we are studying chapter 54.  As Isaiah moves from the Suffering Servant poem into chapters 54-55, he offers what Oswalt calls “an invitation to salvation.”  And he begins in 54:1-10 with the image of “a wife restored.”  In the Suffering Servant poem, Israel was called to believe it could be restored to God.  In this passage Isaiah writes as though the restoration is about to take place, and Israel is to bask in that reality. 

            Notice in verse one that Isaiah personifies Israel as a barren woman who can rejoice because she now has many children.  She is to sing and shout in response to the good news of her salvation seen in the Suffering Servant poem.  Interestingly, the apostle Paul quotes this verse in Gal. 4:27 where he is talking about the experience of Sarah and Hagar in the Old Testament.  He sets forth Sarah as a type of “the Jerusalem above,” which is the New Covenant community.  And he quotes Isa. 54:1 in relation to Sarah.  In Paul’s mind, Sarah (representing the Church) is a barren woman who has many children released from the bondage of sin; and she rejoices.  In Isaiah’s imagery, Israel was a barren woman who could rejoice because God’s people were about to be released from the bondage of the Babylonian exile. 

            Moving to verses 2-3, we see Isaiah use the imagery of expanding one’s tents.  In the Near East the women were responsible for setting up and maintaining the family’s tents.  And the Lord commands Israel, through Isaiah, to expand her tents.  Now the only reason for enlarging tents was to accommodate a growing family.  And remember, Israel already has been described as barren, because she is still enduring the Babylonian Exile.  So this command was like a promise.  God will keep his word.  Israel, when she is redeemed, will expand on all sides.  Her children will dispossess the nations and populate the “desolate cities.”  Surely Isaiah intended that this description of what God is about to do to prompt his readers to think about the original conquest of Canaan. 

            Isaiah’s culture considered childlessness shameful.  A barren woman was at best a failure, and at worst a sinner whom God was punishing.  Israel actually had sinned, and the Lord had sent her into exile in shame as punishment.  Now we see in verse four that the days of shame soon will be past.  She is not to fear, or be discouraged.  For she will be fruitful and will forget her earlier shame and disgrace.  Notice the mention of her “youth” and her “widowhood.”  Oswalt suggests that these probably were intended to symbolize her entire life.  She has known shame and disgrace her entire life, but that is about to nd. 

            Verse five tells why Isel no longer needs to know shame and disgrace.  Her maker, the God of all the earth, is her husband and Redeemer.  What imagery!  What could be greater than having God himself as a loving husband?  That’s why Israel can sing (verse one); why she can spread her tents (verse two); and why she can surrender her fear (verse four). 

            In verse six Isaiah provides two pictures.  The first is that of a forsaken wife who is grieved in spirit.  She is unhappy and bitter.  That is a picture of Israel in exile.  The other picture is that of “the wife of a man’s youth.”  That makes one think of a laughing bride with dancing eyes and much hope for the future.  In the case of Israel, the latter had become the former.  In Oswalt’s words, “the laughing eyes have been turned into bitter eyes by broken dreams and scattered hopes.  The bride has been rejected, and the fault has been all her own . . . . But, wonder of wonders, Her Husband, who is her Maker, calls her back to all that might have been and yet will be again.” 

            Verses 7-8 explain the situation from God’s point of view.  Because of Israel’s sinfulness, God abandoned her (v. 7) and hid his face from her (v. 8), for a moment, meaning the Exile.  But his character is love (1 Jn. 4:8, 16).  And he reaches out to her with great compassion. 

            There is an important factor here that we must not overlook.  The key element in Israel’s restoration is not the return to the land.  Although returning to the land is important, restoration of their relationship with the Lord is much more important.  They will no longer be abandoned.  The Lord’s face will no longer be turned from them.  As God redeems them, he restores them to his favor, because he is love.  The best biblical analogy for what is revealed here is the story of Hosea and Gomer in the book of Hosea.  Gomer was a prostitute when Hosea married her.  Although Gomer persistently defiled her marriage by returning to prostitution, and ended up on the slave block (3:1-2), Hosea in obedience to God purchased her, and returned her to his home and love to symbolize God’s steadfast love for Israel. 

            As you can see in verses 9-10, Isaiah is continuing in the same vein; but he changes the image.  He now speaks of Noah and the flood.  Just as God bound himself not to destroy humanity again by flood, he binds himself not to remain angry at Israel.  Indeed God’s love is more secure than the mountains.  His “covenant of peace (shalom)” is permanent. 

            Now then, in the next paragraph Isaiah once again shifts the poetic imagery.  He began the chapter, in verses 1-9, with the image of a restored wife.  Then in verses 10-11 he changed to the image of Noah and the flood.  Now in verses 11-17 he shifts to the image of a rebuilt city.  But the focus remains the same throughout.  God is restoring Israel’s relationship to him.  He is restoring her to divine favor. 

            Verse 11 begins with a three-fold description of Israel’s present wretched condition.  First, she is “afflicted.”  Oswalt translates it, “poverty-stricken.”  In any case Israel is suffering.  Second, she is “storm-tossed,” which means that she lacks stability like a ship tossed on the great waves of a storm.  And third, Israel is “not comforted.”  At the very least that means that she is unhappy.  She is upset about her suffering and instability.  But, as you can see, God (through Isaiah) is comforting her now. 

            In the rebuilding process, he will set her “stones in antimony.”  “Antimony” is thought to be a black mortar used to make colored paving stones stand out.  Oswalt says it could be a reference to mosaics.  The foundations of the city will be laid with sapphires, the pinnacles of the walls with rubies, the gates with jewels, and the walls themselves with precious stones.  This glorious imagery is used to drive home the point that their situation will be drastically changed.  From being afflicted, storm tossed, and not comforted, they will become wealthy, stable, secure, and comforted. 

            Verses 13-14 are important, because they make it clear that the primary meaning of the change is spiritual rather than material.  In these verses Isaiah explains what he means by the extensive use of jewels.  And as he does so, he speaks not of wealth, but of being taught by the Lord, and of experiencing the wholeness of shalom. 

            Notice in verse 14 that the city will know righteousness, in addition to peace and wholeness.  Being righteous and doing what is right go hand in hand with shalom.  And notice that the city also will be secure.  It will be free from oppression and fear. 

            In verse 15 the Lord reveals that if trouble comes to them after the restoration; and he knew it would, because trouble comes to everyone, it would not come from him.  And those who make trouble for God’s people will fall. 

            In verse 16 the Lord asserts his sovereignty.  No part of his creation is exempt from his purposes.  In reverse order from what is in the text, God creates the warrior-destroyer; and he creates the blacksmith who makes the weapon used by the warrior.  In other words, even though people with free will may cause havoc, they never are out of God’s control.  And as he goes on to say in verse 17, no weapon that is fashioned against Israel will prosper.  It doesn’t eliminate the power of our enemies to harm us, but they will not prevail.  The same is true of those who use the tongue against us.  They might harm us, but they will not prevail against us.

            The “heritage” (inheritance) of God’s servants, and that includes us, is the restoration that has been laid out by Isaiah: shalom, righteousness, and freedom from fear.  And we must never forget that God is the source of all of this.  And it is critical that we grasp the fact that the restoration is about our relationship to God, not about personal prosperity.

            This passage is extremely important theologically.  It not only is a prophecy of Christ’s death, it also points directly to a proper interpretation of Christ’s death.  These verses make clear that the sorrows and sufferings of the divine Servant that were laid out in verse three, those that made people think he was of no account, are really our weakness and sin sickness that he is bearing on our behalf.  In other words, the divine Servant takes on himself the suffering of our sinfulness so that we do not have to suffer the consequences of that sinfulness.  “He has borne our infirmities and carried our diseases.”  He was “wounded (literally pierced through) for our transgressions” and “crushed for our iniquities.”  “Upon him was the punishment that made us whole, and by his bruises (literally welts) we are healed.” 

            We must remember that in Jewish theology, if people suffered, it was because they deserved it.  Their suffering was understood to be the result of their sinfulness, or perhaps their daddy’s sinfulness.  But normally, they believed it was the sinfulness of the individual.  Job’s so-called friends articulated this theology quite clearly. 

            However here it is revealed that the divine Servant suffers, not because he deserves it, but because he suffers the punishment for our sinfulness.  It is clear that he is not suffering with us; he is suffering for us.  He died as our substitute and thus fulfilled the Old Testament sacrificial system. 

            In verse six Isaiah uses an extended simile to reinforce the point.  Sheep graze simply by moving on the next clump of grass.  They don’t pay any attention to where they are going.  If they get frightened, they bolt in any direction.  So they easily get lost.  And we have acted that way in respect to sin.  We went our own way and ended up lost.  But God laid on the divine Servant “the iniquity of us all.”  Praise the Lord!. 

            Verses 7-9 continue the theme of the unjust punishment of the Servant.  The Servant was “oppressed and afflicted.”  These terms imply mistreatment, but notice that the Servant remained silent.  He was totally was submissive “like a lamb that is led to the slaughter.”  You will recall that the people complained that God was doing nothing to help them (51:9-10).  But the divine Servant, who legitimately is being wronged, remains silent. 

            This imagery is powerful.  Notice that both the Servant’s people and the Servant are likened to sheep, but in a totally different way.  In verse six the Servant’s people were likened to sheep that get lost in sin.  Here in verse seven the Servant is likened to a silent, submissive “lamb that is led to the slaughter.”  That immediately brings to mind John 1:29, where John the Baptist declared of Jesus, “Behold the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” 

            In verse eight we see the unjust suffering continue.  However once again the translation is uncertain.  The first sentence literally reads, “from oppression and judgment he was taken away.”  According to Oswalt, there are several ways to interpret the opening preposition, “from.”  And one’s interpretation of that preposition controls how one translates the verse.  Without going into all of that, let me just give you Oswalt’s conclusion that the best interpretation of the preposition, “from,” is a causal one.  That is, it was because of the oppression and judgment that the Servant was taken away to death.  This accounts for the NRSV rendering, “by a perversion of justice he was taken away.”  In other words the Servant was treated unjustly from the beginning to the end of the process. 

            There also is a translation problem with the second sentence of the verse.  It literally reads, “And who shall consider his generation?”  And that’s the way Oswalt translates it.  I have no idea how the NRSV translators arrived at, “who could have imagined his future?”  The NIV reading, “And who can speak of his descendents?” seems much better to me, because the idea in mind is the fact that the divine Servant dies childless.  In that culture, having no children was considered a curse.  It seems that Isaiah was reflecting on the Servant’s childlessness as an additional injustice. 

            The rest of the verse returns to the basic fact that the Servant’s suffering and death were because of the sins of the people.  Indeed he suffered and died on behalf of the people. 

            Verse nine moves from the death of the Servant to his burial.  “They made his grave with the wicked and his tomb with the rich.”  You may already be aware that a standard Hebrew poetry contains parallelism.  Typically, two lines of Hebrew poetry either say the same thing, a contrasting thing, or the second builds on the first.  Where they say the same thing, that’s synonymous parallelism.  Where they say contrasting things, that’s antithetical parallelism.  And where the second builds on the first, that’s called synthetic parallelism.  Now some scholars believe that Isaiah intended the two lines to be antithetical rather than synonymous.  Thus they would understand the two lines to be saying that it was intended that he be buried with the wicked, but he actually was buried with the rich.  It is more likely that Isaiah intended the two lines to be synonymous, in which case he meant that the Servant would be buried with the wicked rich.  Either way this suggests that the Servant suffered a final indignity of being buried with those whose sins he had carried, but who had not believed in him. 

            The second part of the verse is quite important: “although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth.”  Notice that the injustice of the treatment of the Servant still is at the forefront.  Not only had the Servant kept silent in his own defense, as had been declared earlier in verse seven, he also said nothing deceitful.  In addition he had done nothing violent.  Thus does Isaiah press home the injustice of the treatment of the Servant.  But he also emphasizes the innocence of the Servant.  He deserved no punishment whatsoever. 

            Now then, we come to the last stanza of the poem, which brings it to a grand climax.  The first thing we notice about this stanza is the declaration that God wanted this to happen: “It was the will of the Lord to crush him.”  Isaiah wants his readers to know without doubt that the suffering and death of the divine Servant was part of God’s plan for the salvation of the world. 

            Now the second sentence once again raises a translation problem that can be seen in the differing translations of the NIV and the NRSV.  The NIV reads, “and though the Lord makes his life a guilt offering,” and the NRSV reads, “When you make his life an offering for sin.”  The NIV translates it from God’s perspective, and the NRSV translate it from our perspective.  Thus we can safely say that however one decides to deal with the translation problem, both translations contain part of the truth.  When the divine Servant died for our sins, from God’s perspective, the Servant made his life a guilt offering for us.  On the other hand, from our perspective, we must offer the Servant’s broken self back as a guilt offering in our place.  Either way the Servant becomes an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 

            Verse 10, along with verse 11, goes on to explain that two things happen when we accept this sacrifice by the Servant.  One of the two things benefits the Servant, and the other benefits us.  First, the futility expressed about the Servant’s life in verses 8-9 is reversed.  He who died childless will see his offspring.  He who was cut off from the land of the living will live forever.  And he who suffered and died unjustly will accomplish his purposes in life.  And Isaiah tells us what those purposes are.  The will of the Lord will prosper; the Servant will see the light; he will find satisfaction; and he will save his people from their sins.  And that leads us to the second thing, the one that benefits us.

            All right, second, at the end of verse 11, we see the benefit to us.  It reads, “The righteous one, my servant, shall make many righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities.”  Here Isaiah once again emphasizes that the suffering and death of the divine Servant is a means of bearing our iniquities, our sins.  He doesn’t want anyone to misunderstand the reason for that suffering. 

            Verse 12 summarizes what has gone before: “Therefore I will allot him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong.”  In other words, the divine Servant will be exalted, and he will in turn share that exaltation with those who are in union with him.  Then the last part of the verse summarizes the reasons: “because he poured out himself to death;” he “was numbered with the transgressors; . . . he bore the sin of many, and [he] made intersession for the transgressors.” 

            Once again we cannot miss the heart of the divine Servant’s mission.  He died for our sin.  As Oswalt so eloquently puts it, “the Servant will be exalted to the highest heaven (52:13) not because he was humiliated (although he was), not because he suffered unjustly (although he did), not because he did it voluntarily (although he did), but because it was all in order to carry the sin of the world away to permit God’s children to come home to him.  He is exalted because he fulfilled God’s purpose for his ministry, and that purpose was redemption.”

            The first line of verse 13 has a translation problem.  The NRSV translates it, “See, my servant shall prosper.”  The NIV renders it, “See, my servant will act wisely.”  And Oswalt translates it, “Behold, my servant will accomplish his purpose.”  Oswalt says that neither “be wise” nor “prosper” gathers up the full sense of the context.  Isaiah is not saying that the Servant will merely be a wise man, or that he will be a rich man.  Rather he is saying that the Servant will wisely know and do the right things to accomplish the purpose for which he was called. 

            The rest of verse 13 expresses the coming exaltation of the divine Servant.  The words, “high” and “lifted up,” appear in combination in three other places in Isaiah and nowhere else in the Old Testament (Is. 6:1; 33:10; 57:15).  In each of those occurrences, the reference is to God.  This proves that it is the divine Servant that is in view here.  This is important, because some scholars deny that. 

            Verses 14-15 also present a couple of problems.  Once again the translation of two words makes a difference.  The NRSV renders the first line of verse 14, “Just as there were many who were astonished at him.”  The NIV translates the last part “were appalled at him.”  Oswalt prefers the NIV “appalled” here, though either is fine.  The more serious translation difference is in the first line of verse 15.  The NRSV reads, “so he shall startle many nations.”  And the NIV reads, “so he will sprinkle many nations.”  In this case Oswalt, in a very rare occasion of going against the Masoretic Text, prefers the NRSV “startle.”  There is no parallel in the passage to “sprinkle,” and he asks, what would be sprinkled?  Startle has a parallel, and it fits the context. 

            Although the imagery here in respect to the disfigurement of the Servant is not to be taken literally, it still expresses something of the experience of the messianic Servant.  In respect to the overall meaning of verses 14-15, the general sense is quite clear.  Many individuals, and even many nations, will be astonished, appalled or startled by what they see of the Servant and by his exaltation.  Indeed the kings of the nations will be rendered speechless.  We must remember what the Lord said back in 49:7.  I am quoting the NIV:

This is what the Lord says—the Redeemer and Holy One of Israel—to him who was despised and abhorred by the nation, to the servant of rulers, “Kings will see and rise up, princes will see and bow down, because of the Lord who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.”

            The kings of the earth will be so stunned they will simply bow down to the exalted Redeemer.  The idea that God’s messianic Servant can conquer all things by the loss of all things will be a totally new idea to them.  Interestingly, the apostle Paul uses the last two lines of verse 15 to give biblical support to his missionary ministry in general, and his desire to take the gospel to those who have never had an opportunity to hear it in particular.  That quotation is found in Romans 15:21. 

            The poem continues into chapter 53 with no break.  If the nations will be shocked by the new idea to them that a deliverer would willingly fall so low before delivering them, what about those who had heard the message?  Had any of them believed this? 

            The first question we need to answer is who are the “we,” or the “our,” (depending on the translation) in verse one?  Oswalt tells us that scholars have offered three proposals: the nations mentioned in the previous verse, the nation of Israel through the voice of the prophet, and the collective voice of the prophets.  The third is easy to refute, because it doesn’t fit the context of the next few verses.  The other two depend on one’s view of the servant.  Those who believe that the servant is Israel tend to believe that the “we” are the Gentile nations that are looking on.  But those of us who believe that the servant is the messianic Servant believe that the “we” is Israel who fails to recognize the “arm of the Lord” when it is revealed to them. 

            Verse one is quoted twice in the New Testament, and both authors understand the verses in the way just outlined.  For example, the apostle John says about Jesus’ ministry in John 12:37-38, quote, “Even after Jesus had done all these miraculous signs in their presence, they still would not believe in him.  This was to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet: ‘Lord, who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed’” (NIV)? 

            Then the apostle Paul writes in Romans 10:16, “But not all have obeyed the good news, for Isaiah says, ‘Lord, who has believed our message?’”  Thus we see that the New Testament authors agree that Isaiah was talking about those in Israel who had heard, but had not believed. 

            The shocking thing in this passage is the revelation of “the mighty arm of the Lord.”  The people had been told time and time again that the mighty arm of the Lord would save them (40:10; 48:14; 51:5; 52:10).  But they did not expect the “arm of the Lord” to look like he did, or to save them in the way that he did. 

            Verse two continues the description of the Servant that we saw in 52:14.  He is the opposite of what they expected.  They expected a strong, attractive, charismatic deliverer, one who would lead and convince people to do what he wanted them to do.  But the messianic Servant not only is unattractive (52:14), he seems weak.  He is like a little plant trying to grow in unwatered ground. 

            The word “despised” in Hebrew lacks the heavy emotion of the English word.  It doesn’t carry the meaning of belittling or contempt.  Rather it means “worthless,” “unworthy of attention.”  Thus the Servant appears to be a loser who is given a hasty dismissal.  After all, losers don’t deliver anyone.  The Servant is a man of pain and suffering.  He is the type of person people hide their faces from.  As Oswalt puts it, thus we see why this, “revelation of the arm of the Lord that will deliver God’s people, is met with shock, astonishment, distaste, dismissal, and avoidance.  Such a one as this can hardly be the one who can set us free from the most pervasive of all human bondages: sin, and all its consequences.”  Or can he?

            Then in verses 12-16 the Lord responds to the cry of the people.  The Lord begins by declaring that he is the great “I am,” who comforts them.  And he wants to know why they are afraid of human beings.  Then in verse 13 the Lord announces that it is they, the people, who have forgotten him, rather than the other way round.  They needed to broaden their horizons, and the same is true for us.  If we focus our attention on the oppressor; and that is all we see, we will be ruled by fear and hatred.  But if we focus on God, we will realize that he is the larger reality; and that he holds our ultimate destiny in his hands. 

            In verse 14 the Lord promises that his people will not perish.  He will deliver them, and the implication is that he is talking about eternal deliverance.  Verse 15 declares that they will be delivered because of who God is.  And in verse 16 we have a sudden shift in addressee from the nation to an individual.  Oswalt believes it is the divine Servant, though it seems to me it could just as easily be the prophet.  In either case the message is that God is the creator and Zion is his people. 

            In verses 17-23 God calls on Israel to rouse herself from her drunken stupor.  In this segment Israel is described as staggering drunk.  You will remember that we were told in verse nine the people wanted God to wake up and do something.  But the Lord is saying that they are the ones who must wake up and do something.  Notice the reminder that they are in their drunken condition because of God’s judgment, not because of their enemies.  But verse 18 informs us that Zion is unable to get up and move on her own.  And none of her children are left to take her by the hand and lead her home.  Oswalt describes the situation in these words: “Thus we have the picture of an inebriated old woman whose children are either dead or helpless so that there is none let to help her home.”  Yet God still calls for her to get up.  That is because he can help her, if she will repent and believe. 

            It is uncertain what the phrase “two things” in verse 19 refer to.  The same phrase is used in 47:9, and there it refers to childlessness and widowhood.  Since childlessness is mentioned in verse 18, Oswalt suggests that childlessness and widowhood are the two things intended here.  Others suggest that “devastation and destruction” are one and “famine and sword” are the second.  Either way her children are as helpless as she is.  They lie where they have fallen in the streets from starvation or capture.  Once again the point is pressed home that they are in that condition because of the wrath of God. 

            In verses 21-22 the Lord announces that he will end their time of judgment.  Notice the “therefore.”  God declares himself to be their “Sovereign,” that is, their King.  He is the Lord.  He is their God, and he is the one who defends them.  It certainly is true that he punished them, but that was not his final intention by any means.  He will remove his cup of wrath and keep his covenant promises.  Indeed verse 23 tells us that he intends to give the cup to their tormentors. 

            At the beginning of chapter 52, Zion once again is called upon to wake up and lay hold on her salvation.  Verse 1 is almost the same as 51:9, but this time it is Zion who is to wake up rather than God.  In 51:12-23 God in his response to Israel’s complaint clearly showed that the problem was not on his side.  It is Zion that needs to wake up and believe that the Lord will save them. 

            The “uncircumcised” who no longer will enter Jerusalem are those who are spiritually unclean, whether they are Jews or Gentiles.  And notice in verse two that the people of Zion must do their part.  God will break the chains that bind them, but they have to get up, shake off the dust, and throw off the chains themselves.  The same is true for us.  We cannot break the chains of sin and death that bind us.  God must do that.  But once he breaks the chains, we have to remove them ourselves. 

            We saw the meaning of verse three coming out in an earlier passage.  Since the Lord did not sell Israel to pay his debts, but instead decided to chastise her, he can just as easily redeem her simply by deciding to do it.  Verses 4-6 explain further.  The Lord mentions the fact that Israel went into Egypt voluntarily and that Assyria oppressed them involuntarily.  And of course the Babylonians likewise took them captive without cause.  Thus Israel’s leaders howl with shame and despise God’s name because he seems to be doing nothing about their problem.  And of course the nations that were observing the situation also would be despising God’s name because it appeared he could not defend his people.  Thus God’s reputation was at stake. 

            Verse six answers the question of verse five, “what am I doing here?”  Notice the two therefores.  They provide a two-fold answer to the question.  Therefore one, his people will know his name, which means that they will see him act on their behalf revealing his character and nature.  And two, his people will know it is he who speaks, which means that they will see him do what he said he would do. 

            As we have seen several times before in Isaiah, this section ends with a hymn of praise.  Oswalt suggests that Isaiah is picturing here a city awaiting news of the outcome of a decisive battle.  Then when the runner comes with news of victory, the city rejoices and celebrates. 

            The song begins with Isaiah extolling the bringer of good news.  Notice that there are four aspects to the message.  First, it is a message of peace (shalom).  It is a message of health and well being.  Second it is a message of good news.  It is a message of victory rather than defeat.  Third, it is a message of salvation.  This is the braking of the chains we spoke of earlier.  And fourth, it is a message that “Your God reigns.”  God rules.  Therefore he can and will deliver. 

            Classic Christianity firmly believes that the gospel of Christ is the fulfillment of Isaiah’s words.  Indeed the apostle Paul quotes the beginning of this passage to support his presentation of the process of salvation in Rom. 10:14-15.  He writes, “But how are they to call on one in whom they have not believed?  And how are they to believe in one of whom they have not heard?  And how are they to hear without someone to proclaim him?  And how are they to proclaim him unless they are sent?  As it is written, ‘how beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!’” 

            In verse eight we see the watchmen on the walls taking up the song.  And notice that the messenger is now identified as the Lord.  In verse nine the “ruins” in Jerusalem symbolize the spiritual condition of the people.  But they can break out of their spiritual brokenness because of the Lord’s comfort and redemption.  Verse 10 tells us that God’s salvation will take place in full view of the nations, which will restore his reputation in their eyes. 

            In verses 11-12 the people are called to depart as they did during the Exodus.  But this time things will be different.  They will not go out in haste.  And they will be able to take with them some of the gold vessels of the sanctuary.  One thing will be the same, however.  God will guide them on the way and act as their rear guard.  The same is true for those of us who are in relationship with Christ.  We are saved from sin and God leads us to the heavenly Promised Land, while watching our backs all the way.

            In verse two God asks more questions:  “Why was no one there when I came?  Why did no one answer when I called?”  The implication of these questions is that Israel should have been listening to, and committing themselves to God instead of blaming him.  He is ready and willing to help them if they will admit their guilt and receive deliverance by his mighty hand.  He has he necessary power to deliver them.  Thus we see once again that their problems are of their own making.  Notice that the Lord uses nature as evidence of his power.  Nothing in the sea or in the sky can stand against him.  It doesn’t matter how much water is in the sea, or how bright the sky is, he can dry up the one and darken the other.  The point is that God has the power to deliver them.  That is not the issue.  The issue is whether or not they will repent and believe when the Lord comes and offers his salvation. 

            Scholars agree that the “me” in verse four is the servant, because he is identified as such in verse ten.  But as usual, they do not agree on whether the servant is Israel, the prophet, or the divine Servant.  I agree with Oswalt that it is the divine Servant.  The fact that we are told in verse five that he never has been rebellious eliminates Israel.  And the fact that the prophet did not suffer the kinds of suffering mentioned in verse six eliminates the prophet. 

            `The phrase “the tongue of a teacher” (NIV “an instructed tongue”) in verse four points to the Servant’s mission.  He will “sustain the weary with a word.”  We know from other Scriptures that the divine Servant also will destroy the wicked with the sword of his mouth (Isa. 11:4; Rev. 19:15), but that is not why he comes.  He comes not to destroy, but to save the world (John 3:16-17).  And his word “will sustain the weary.” 

            As we just observed a couple of minutes ago, the Servant declares in verse five that he always is obedient and never turns back.  And then verse six tells us more about his mission.  He gave his back to those who struck him, his cheeks to those who pulled his beard, and he did not hide his face from those who insulted or mocked (literally shamed) him and spit on him.  The word translated “insult” in the NRSV and “mocking” in the NIV is the same word that is translated “shame” at the end of verse seven. 

            What all of this means becomes clearer when we read the last of the Servant songs in 52:13-53:12.  And it becomes still clearer when we read it in light of Jesus’ ministry in the New Testament. 

            Verses seven tells us that the Servant, though publicly shamed, is not disgraced.  Indeed he can move ahead with determination, setting his “face like flint”, because the Lord God helps him.  You probably remember that Luke tells us that when it was time for Jesus to suffer and die, he set his face to go to Jerusalem (9:51). 

            Verses 8-9 tell us that God who vindicates the Servant is near, and thus the Servant has nothing to fear.  His enemies can do him no harm, at least not until it is God’s will.  Indeed the Servant dares his adversaries to confront him.  They cannot convict him of any wickedness, because he has the help of the Lord God. 

            In summary, the divine Servant, a perfectly obedient Servant (verse five) comes to the world with a word for the weary (the sinful), verses four.  The word he brings has to do with his own unjustified suffering (verse six).  But the Lord God helps him and vindicates him (verses 7-9); and the adversaries wear out like a moth-eaten garment (verse nine).  As we have seen, the full meaning of all of this will become clear later. 

            Now then, verses 10-11 present another transition.  Oswalt believes there is a shift in speaker here.  He suggests that the speaker is now the Servant’s Lord rather than the Servant.  It seems to me it could be either one.  At any rate, those addressed are God’s people.  Verse 10 tells us that they fear the Lord and obey the Servant.  However, they walk in darkness.  The darkness once again would be at two levels.  On the one hand, there is the frustration, injustice and humiliation of the Babylonian captivity; and on the other hand, there is the darkness of sin.   But notice that they continue to trust in God (trust in his name) despite the darkness. 

            But verse 11 tells us of others who light their own fires to illuminate their darkness instead of following he light of the Lord and his divine Servant.  Those will find themselves in torment. 

            We now turn to chapter 51.  God’s people still are being addressed.  With the vivid image of a rock quarry, the Lord or his Servant invites them to look at their history for comfort.  In particular he wants them to look to Abraham and Sarah.  And we can do that. 

            In Gen. 15:5 God commanded Abraham to look at the night sky.  By the way, the word translated “look” in Gen. 15:5 is the same Hebrew word as we see here at the beginning of verse two.  So the Lord told Abraham to look at the night sky, and then the Lord said that Abraham’s descendents would be as numerous as the stars.  And Abraham believed him, even though Abraham’s wife, Sarah, was barren (Gen. 15:6).  The point for the readers of Isaiah’s day and for those in the later Babylonian captivity was that God could do the same thing again.  Although Zion was barren, the Lord could repopulate her.  Indeed he would make her wilderness like the Garden of Eden.  And the proper response is joy, thanksgiving, and song. 

            The Lord becomes even more personal in verses 4-6.  Notice the personal element: “Listen to me, my people;” “give heed to me, my nation.”  Then he declares that a teaching, which is his justice, will go out from him to be a light to the peoples, meaning the nations.  Verse five confirms that the salvation in view is much more than deliverance from Babylon.  It extends to the “coastlands,” the nations.  And notice that they wait for God’s arm, which as you know, symbolizes God’s power.  The fact that the nations long for God’s arm expresses the general human longing for a ruler who is both strong and just.  Of course God is the only ruler who is truly powerful and just. 

            In verse six the Lord challenges the people to look at the heavens, that is, at the stars, because many people looked to the stars for guidance and hope.  And he challenges them to look at the earth, which many saw as something solid and permanent.  But the Lord declares that neither the heavens nor the earth are permanent.  Both will pass away.  Only God’s salvation is permanent.  It is forever.

            In verses 7-8 we see a third call to listen.  This call to listen builds on the previous two.  In verse one the Lord addressed the people as those who seek his righteousness.  In verse four he told them to listen to his teaching of justice, or righteousness, that was going out from him.  But now in verse seven, he addresses them as people who do not have to seek his righteousness.  They already have it in their hearts.  Therefore they do not have to fear the reproach and reviling of the world. 

            Then the Lord closes the segment by reminding the people that those who oppose God will meet with a slow destruction.  And he reminds them that his salvation is eternal and it reaches to all generations.  That is good news to us, because we are the latest generation of God’s people.  We are included in that promise.  Praise the Lord!

            The passage begins with a renewed call to listen.  Only this time the call is issued to ”the coastlands, which as we have seen before, refers to the nations.  The language of verse one strongly suggests that the servant in view is an individual, rather than the nation.  Verse two tells us that this person’s mouth, that is his spoken word, is his weapon.  Of course you will remember that in John, chapter one, Jesus is identified as God’s Word become flesh.  Notice that the weapons are hidden, as a sheathed sword or an arrow in the quiver.  But they are at the ready, if and when they are needed. 

            Verse three is a problem, because it says, “You are my servant, Israel.”  Obviously that seems to say that the nation was the one spoken to rather than an individual; but Oswalt says this use of the term “Israel” is not a name.  Rather it is an expression of function of the Servant.  The divine Servant will function as Israel.  That is to say, Israel, the divine Servant, will do what Israel the nation was called to do, but could not (because of her sinfulness), namely, bring the nations to God.  Oswalt also claims that this rules out the possibility that Isaiah referred to himself as the servant.  He says that no prophet in Israel would have thought of himself as Ideal Israel. 

            Oswalt interprets verse four messianically as an expression of Christ’s humanity.  Jesus had very little success during his earthly ministry. 

            In verses 5-6 we see a shift from the Servant’s calling to his mission.  First, he is to bring Jacob back to the Lord.  It is true that Israel needed deliverance from Babylon.  And by God’s power, Cyrus would handle that.  But Israel had a deeper need.  She needed to be reconciled to God; and the Messiah was the only one who could accomplish that.  However, notice that the Servant’s mission is even greater than that.  Second, he is to bring the whole world to God.  Of course this cinches the fact that Isaiah was not thinking of himself.  No human prophet could bring the world to God. 

            In verse seven the Lord speaks to the Servant as one who is despised, abhorred, and a slave.  But in the end, kings and princes will honor him.  The messianic interpretation comes easily here. 

            In the next paragraph, the Lord turns to the Servant’s work.  In verse eight notice the verb tenses.  Both the NIV and Oswalt translate them as futures.  I don’t know why the NRSV translates them as in the past.  But the point is that on the day of salvation, the Lord will appoint the messianic Servant to a series of tasks.  The “salvation” mentioned here has two levels of meaning.  One is a political deliverance from Babylon, and the other is an ultimate deliverance from sin.  The Servant is to become God’s covenant to the people.  That is, he somehow will embody God’s covenant with the people.  Isaiah does not explain that, but we must remember that the people had broken the covenant time and time again.  Perhaps this embodiment of the covenant by the Messiah is the only way it can be restored. 

            At any rate, as God’s covenant to the people, the divine Servant will do three things.  One, he will restore the land.  Two, he will apportion the desolate heritages.  And three, he will call the prisoners out of the darkness.  Restoration of the land is easy to interpret at the deliverance from Babylon level.  A return to Judah would accomplish that.  It is much more symbolic at the end time level.  The symbolism is heavy at both levels when we think about apportioning desolate heritages.  The idea is to reinstate the division of land to the tribes and families, as originally done by Joshua, and as envisioned in the Jubilee Year (Lev. 25:8-55).  The calling of the people out of darkness is vivid at both levels. 

            In the middle of verse nine Isaiah begins to speak of the return to Judah following deliverance from Babylon.  He uses three fairly familiar images.  The first is the image of flocks grazing.  The flocks will have plenty to eat, even along the “bare heights” (v. 9).  The second image is provisions like those given during the Exodus.  The people will have plenty of food and water; they will be protected from the sun and wind, and the Lord will have compassion on them (v. 10).  And the third image is that of an easy, well-graded highway (v. 11). 

            These verses are important, because they demonstrate that the divine Servant’s ministry is not limited to setting the people free.  He also will guide and protect them along the way.  Verse 12 confirms the second level of salvation.  We saw a very similar message back in 43:5-6.  People will come from all over the civilized world.  Remember, this chapter began with a call to the “coastlands,” the nations.  The city of Syene has been identified with the modern city of Aswan at the southern edge of Egypt.  Therefore, at the time it represented the southernmost edge of the civilized world.  Thus we have the south, north and west named.  Those “far away” represent those in the east, providing all four points of the compass.  Therefore the return of the Jews to Judah would merely be a foretaste of a massive return to God from the whole world. 

            Here in verse 13, as we have seen at other places in the book, the good news expressed calls forth universal praise led by nature, which according to Romans eight, itself looks forward to its redemption (Rom. 8:19-22). 

            The discussion of the Servant’s calling and work is followed in verse 14 by a cry from Zion that none of it matters, because God has put her away and forgotten her.  Then in verse 15 the Lord replies with the powerful image of a mother’s love.  He has not forsaken nor forgotten them.  The truth is even some mothers forsake their children, but the Lord never forsakes or forgets.  Psalm 27:10 makes the same point, “If my father and mother forsake me, the Lord will take me up.” 

            Verse 16 uses a different image.  The Lord declares that he has their names inscribed on the palms of his hands.  It was a common practice for slaves to have their master’s names inscribed on their hands.  This image is the opposite.  The master, the Lord, has the names of his people inscribed on his hands. 

            Modern translations show a translation problem at the beginning of verse 17.  The NRSV reads, “Your builders outdo your destroyers.”  And the NIV reads, “Your sons hasten back.”  Oswalt says that the Hebrew words for “builders” and “sons” differ only by one vowel, ands he thinks the lord was making a play on words here.  In effect he was saying to Israel, that the “builders” of the ruined walls would be the “sons” that Israel thought were gone forever.  The important thing here is in the second part of the verse.  The destroyers will leave. 

            In verse 18 the Lord calls on Zion to lift her eyes and look around.  The builders, the sons, are coming.  And she will wear them like an ornament.  Indeed, as verses 19 and 20 say, not only will those who “swallowed you up” (the destroyers) be gone, but there will be so many sons taking their place that even the desolate parts of the lands will be overcrowded.  A new generation born during the “bereavement,” the Exile, will appear.  Verse 21 declares that Israel will be astonished at the numbers.  She who will be thinking of herself as a barren mother will suddenly wonder where so many children came from. 

            Verses 22-23 answer the question of where the children came from.  The Lord will do it.  He will bring them from all over the world.  He will raise a banner, an ensign (the NRSV translates it “signal”) to the nations.  The banner will call on the nations to bring Israel’s children, who are her builders, home.  You may recall that back in 5:26 the Lord raised a banner to call the nations to punish Israel.  Now he will raise a banner to call them to bring Israel’s children home.  Interestingly, back in 11:10-12 the Lord identified the coming Messiah as the banner that calls God’s people from the nations. 

            Clearly, as Oswalt observes, the Lord intends by this picture much more than the return from exile.  The end time is in view.  The nations, including their kings and queens, will come and bow down to Israel in homage.  Whereas Israelites once served as nursemaids for the nations, it will be the other way around on that glorious day.  And Israel will learn from this that the Lord is God and that those who wait for him will not be disgraced. 

            The grand promises of verse 22-23 raise an incredulous response.  The rhetorical question in verse 24 is asking, “Is this possible?”  And the Lord answers in verse 25.  “Yes, it can happen, because I will make it happen.”  From a human perspective Israel can overcome neither Babylon nor sin.  But God can do it.  He will enable Cyrus to defeat Babylon, and his divine Servant will overcome sin.  In verse 26, using graphic imagery that is not to be taken literally the Lord declares that the oppressors will receive severe judgment.  Then the whole world will know that the Lord is Israel’s Savior.

            Second, Isaiah was appealing to their religion.  That is the significance of swearing by the name of the Lord.  They were the people of the Lord.  Again, what about us?  Is our situation really any different?

            Third, Isaiah was appealing to what Oswalt calls their “present identification.”  Their present identification was their identification with the holy city, Jerusalem.  They may be living in Babylon, but they belong in Jerusalem.  Once again, I ask, what about us?  Where do we belong? 

            Isaiah set all of this before Israel for a reason.  He believed that these things would predispose the people to hear and to obey.  And the same should be true for us. 

            Verse three reminds Israel of the Lord’s past pattern of predictions.  He foretold “the former things” and then he brought them to pass.  We have seen this pattern in Isaiah before.  The Lord’s ability to do this sets him apart from the idol-gods.  The fact that he fulfilled the predictions “suddenly” suggests that fulfillment of prophecies did not always occur in the times or places expected. 

            In verses 4-5 we see for the first time a reason given for predictive prophecy.  God knew that the people of Israel were “obstinate,” or “stubborn.”  Indeed they were like animals that dig in their heels and refuse to go where they do not want to go.  They stiffens their necks so much that the necks seem like they are made of iron.  The image of the brass forehead is less clear.  It may refer to the practice of male animals butting heads.  In any case, the point is that God had to overcome the stubbornness, because he knew the people might give credit to idol-gods for what God had done.  So the Lord predicted events long ahead of time through prophets like Isaiah, and then he made them happen.  That counteracted the tendency towards idolatry. 

            In the next paragraph the Lord, still speaking through Isaiah, shifts from “former things” to “new things,” because he has the ability to do things he never has done before.  Notice that the passage begins with a summary of what had just been said.  They have heard the prophecies of old; and they have seen, or are seeing, their fulfillment.  Therefore they must declare what they know to be true, namely, that the Lord is the only God; and he is trustworthy.  Then the Lord announces that from this time forward he will reveal “new things,” things they never heard of. 

            Verses 6-8 illustrate what is called “progressive revelation.”  Certain things are “hidden,” that is unrevealed, until the time when God decides they should be revealed.  The new things to be revealed were not revealed “long ago,” because the purpose of predictive prophecy is not to enable God’s people to know the future.  Rather its purpose is to demonstrate to us that there is no other God and that we can trust him.  Oswalt points out that only some things are predicted, because if we knew everything that was going to happen in the future, we would turn that knowledge into another form of idolatry.  We would lose our need to live in dependence on God.  After all, we have been rebels from birth, just as Israel had been. 

            In the case at hand, the Jews might have wondered why God had not revealed earlier that Israel would go into exile in Babylon and then be restored by an emperor from the East named Cyrus.  And the answer is that God knows when to reveal such things to accomplish his purposes. 

            As we have just seen from the previous verses, God is quite aware of Israel’s tendency towards idolatry and their stubborn, rebellious spirit.  In verses 9-11 we see that God would have been within his rights to destroy the people of Israel; but he decided to refine them instead.  And it seems he even moderated that process, because the refining was not like the refining of silver, which removes all dross.  He is not saving them from exile because they deserve it.  He is saving them, because he entered into a covenant with them (Ex. 34); and he wants to protect his own name, which is a way of saying his reputation.  This theme of God’s concern for his name goes all the way back to the Exodus (Ex. 32:11-14).  God’s extension of mercy and grace shows his true nature.  He keeps his promises and is trustworthy. 

            In verses 12-22 the Lord again calls on Israel to listen, to hear (cf. v. 1).  And then he talks once again about Cyrus.  The “I am he” in verse 12 is Isaiah’s equivalent of “I am who I am” in Ex. 3:14.  We see again here language about the first and last.  In this case it points to the fact that God began everything, and he will end everything. 

            The first part of verse 13 expands on “I am the first,” by declaring that God created everything.  The problem in this verse is how to identify the “them” in “I summon them.”  Oswalt, based on 40:22-26, believes it refers to the stars.  The pagans believed that the stars represented the gods.  And the Lord is saying that the stars, and therefore the gods, are at his command. 

            At the beginning of verse 14 the Lord once again calls for hearing.  Most identify the “you” in “Assemble all of you” to be Israel.  However, the context suggests that it easily could have been intended as a more general call that included the nations, and even the stars.  Oswalt believes that the “them” again is the stars, the same as in verse 13.  The “him” in the sentence, “The Lord loves him,” clearly is Cyrus. 

            Verse 15 indicates that Cyrus’ conquest of Babylon is due to God’s call and empowerment.  Then in verse 16 the Lord issues his fourth call to his people to hear (vv. 1, 12, 14, 16).  Notice that the Lord has been very “up front” about all of this.  None of it has been done in secret. 

            The last sentence of verse 16 is a problem, because it suddenly shifts from God as he speaker to Isaiah.  Oswalt says that it simply shows the close relationship between the Lord and the prophet.  Isaiah speaks for God, and that makes the sudden shift possible. 

            Verses 17-22 supply a conclusion to the chapter.  First we see why we should listen to the Lord.  He is our teacher and guide.  God’s guidance during the Exodus became a biblical metaphor for his guiding his people of all the ages to himself.  And he teaches and guides us just as surely as he did Israel. 

            Unfortunately, historically Israel did not hear and obey very well.  So the Lord expresses what might have been.  They might have had peace like a river and righteousness like the waves of the sea.  The NRSV translates “peace” as “prosperity” and “righteousness” as “success.”  But I don’t think that was a helpful translation.  The word “peace” in the Hebrew is shalom, which, as you may know means “well being.”  And “peace” is a much better English word to translate it.  The word “righteousness” is used in the sense of “right behavior,” so I don’t think “success” is even close to the Hebrew meaning. 

            The worst did not happen to Israel, namely, have their name cut off, because a remnant in Israel did hear and were obedient.  Those who were obedient, and those of us today who, as part of the New Israel hear and obey, reap the benefits of verse 18.  A further benefit, in addition to peace like a river and righteousness like the waves of the sea is the fulfillment of the promise to Abraham (Gen. 22:17) that his offspring would be as numerous as grains of sand.  I believe that promise has been fulfilled in the New Israel, the Church. 

            After the warning of verses 18-19, we see in verse 20 a ringing command to leave Babylon with a shout of joy.  Verse 21 promises that when the time comes, the Lord will provide for them just as he provided for the people during the Exodus.  Then the chapter ends with the warning that those who refuse to listen and obey, “the wicked,” will have no peace.

            Notice in verses 1-4 that the language of the poem is rather harsh.  Although Babylon thought of herself as a queen worthy of a throne, she is commanded to sir on the ground in the dust.  And she no longer would be called “tender and delicate.”  The name Chaldea is parallel to Babylon, because the city of Babylon was located in a geographical area called Chaldea.  Thus the Babylonians also were known as Chaldeans. 

            Grinding grain at the millstone was the lowest form of work that usually was done by slaves.  As a slave, the woman no longer needed her finery.  She would have to dispense with the veil and the long gown of her high-class life, because she would need her legs free for the work of a slave.  The “rivers” mentioned could be a reference to irrigation ditches. 

            The statement in verse three, “Your nakedness shall be uncovered,” is very strong language.  According to John Oswalt, in the Old Testament this language at the very least means severe humiliation, and in some cases may mean rape.  Notice that it is the Lord who will bring about the humiliation. 

            Verse four is interesting in that it is so unexpected.  It ends the segment with an ejaculatory praise of “Our Redeemer” who is “the Lord of hosts: and “the Holy One of Israel.”  Of course liberal scholars say that this statement doesn’t belong here, that someone stuck it in later.  But Oswalt and others say it “stands well in this context.” 

            Next, verses 5-11 detail the Lord’s charges against Babylon.  Verse five tells us that the great virgin queen, Babylon, will sit in silence and darkness in addition to sitting in the dust (as we were told in verse one).  She has been “mistress of kingdoms,” because of her many conquests of other nations.  But she will be mistress no longer, because she will be conquered. 

            Verse six tells us that like Assyria before her, Babylon took pride in her many conquests.  She believed that she had conquered all of those nations by her own might.  But at least in the case of Judah, that was not true.  Babylon had been able to conquer Judah and take most of her people into captivity, not because of her strength, but because the Lord had wanted her to do it.  The Lord was chastising Israel for her disobedience and sinfulness.  And that was why he allowed Babylon to take her captive. 

            Although Babylon in a sense was doing God’s will when she conquered Judah, that fact did not give her the right to treat the captives harshly.  According to the Lord, she had no mercy, or compassion on the captives.  And she put an especially heavy burden the old people.  Now we do not know exactly what the Lord was referring to.  We know that some of the Jewish exiles were treated quite well.  Daniel and his friends are a good example.  And when Cyrus allowed the Jews to return to Palestine, many of them did not want to return, because they had forged good lives in Babylon.  That suggests that the Babylonians could have been much more harsh than they were.  At any rate, the Lord was unhappy with their treatment of some of the Jews, especially the aged. 

            In verse seven, the Lord refers to Babylon’s arrogance.  She assumed that she would be the mistress of the kingdoms forever.  That seems to be a common idea in powerful nations, including our own.  It is easy to think that the power will last forever, but it never has; and it never will.  Oswalt suggests that Babylon’s arrogance is what led her to believe that she would never be held accountable for the way she treated her captives. 

            In verses 8-11 Isaiah contrasts Babylon’s arrogant self-confidence with her coming complete humiliation.  Notice the “therefore” in verse eight (NRSV).  Therefore, “now hear this you lover of pleasures [NIV, wanton creature”] who sit securely.”  In effect God was saying, because of your arrogance, because of your mistreatment of the captives, because you didn’t “lay these things to your heart,” this is what will happen. 

            But there was something else Babylon had done that was even more serious.  She had put herself in the place of God.  Do you see it?  She had said in her heart, “I am, and there is no one besides me.”  Wow!  That is exactly what God had said about himself.  Indeed it is a theme in chapters 45 and 46.  Look at 45:5; 45:6; 45:18; 45:22, and 46:9.  No wonder Babylon brought an announcement of judgment on herself! 

            We see more arrogance as Babylon continues to speak in the last two lines of verse eight: “I shall not sit as a widow or know the loss of children.”  Of course widows were completely without support, and that was the point being made.  Babylon never expected to be in that situation.  Nor did she ever expect to be alone in the world, which was the case when a woman lost her children.  She thought she was above all of that.  But it wasn’t true.  Indeed verse nine tells us that both of those things were going to happen to her quite suddenly.  E.J. Young suggests that widowhood represents the loss of the empire, and loss of children represents the loss of population in the war.  Oswalt thinks that stretches the metaphor too far, but I don’t. 

            At the end of verse nine, Isaiah says that all of this would l happen in spite of Babylon’s sorceries.  Babylon was famous for her magic arts and sorcery.  This was so much so that in the book of Daniel the court magicians were called Chaldeans.  But the magic and sorcery would not help her against God.  She had put herself in the place of God, and he would bring her down. 

            Verses 10-11 basically repeat the ideas of verses 5-9.  Babylon felt secure in her “wickedness.”  The wickedness referred to likely is the magic and sorcery, which were at the heart of her wisdom and knowledge.  The claim to be God is repeated, and so is the judgment that would come upon her.  The uselessness of her magic arts also is mentioned again.  She will not be able to “charm away” the disaster that is coming. 

            Verses 12-15 bring the denunciation of Babylon to a climax.  Some scholars believe Isaiah was making a serious demand of Babylon in verses 12-13.  Others, including Oswalt and myself, believe that Isaiah was being sarcastic.  In this latter case, Isaiah was saying in effect, “Why don’t you try the foolishness of the magic arts that you have practiced for so long.  Perhaps they will help you.  Babylon had sought wisdom to guide its future in many ways.  The astrologers were especially prominent in the process.  That is why Isaiah sarcastically declares that now is the time for those people to “step up” and save Babylon, if they can. 

            In verses 14-15 Isaiah announces the final outcome. The magicians and astrologers are like stubble that will burn up when the fires of adversity come.  And the coming fire would be no tame campfire around which they can warm themselves.  It would be a conflagration that burns everything up.  The magicians and astrologers won’t be able to save themselves let alone anyone else.  Babylon “trafficked” or “traded” with the sorcerers for centuries, but in the end it will do them no good.  The sorcerers will wander about trying to save themselves, and there will be no one to save Babylon.

            Isaiah probably mentioned these two gods, because images (that is idols) of them were carried in the annual New Year’s Festival procession in Babylon.  We would call it a parade.  But there is an added dimension here.  Not only did beasts carry idols of these gods in the New Year’s Festival parade, Isaiah is saying that Bel and Nebo and their idols would be helpless when Cyrus of Persia came to conquer Babylon.  Furthermore, Cyrus and his armies would carry away those same images on beasts into captivity.  The point is that when Babylon would be conquered, those idols that had been carried in honor would be carried in dishonor. 

            Now an interesting thing about the history of the fulfillment of this prophecy is that Cyrus did not publicly disgrace the gods of Babylon.  For some foreign policy reason, perhaps to curry favor with the people of Babylon. Cyrus chose to worship the Babylonian gods publicly.  After all, he had to govern the Babylonians, and he may have wanted to maintain as good a relation with them as possible.  At any rate, the carrying away of the idols on beasts apparently was a means of protecting them rather than humiliating them. 

            In verses 3-4 the Lord addresses Israel directly and reminds them quite firmly that Israel’s relationship with him has been quite different from Babylon’s relationship to her gods.  In contrast to Babylon’s carrying her gods the Lord has been carrying Israel.  And this has been true throughout her entire history, from their birth to the present.  And it will never be any different: “even when you turn gray I will carry you,” says the lord. 

            This is an important message.  We humans constantly drift into thinking that we are at the center of things and that we don’t need God.  This is especially true when things are going well.  We begin to think that we are capable of carrying ourselves with the aid of our gods of wealth and power.  But that is a delusion.  The truth is God is carrying us every step of the way, whether or not we are Christians.  Without his sustaining power the universe itself would fall apart. 

            The last two lines of verse four are powerful.  I like the NIV translation: “I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you.”  Do you see both the staccato repetition and the profound truths.  The Lord declares that he is their creator, their carrier, their sustainer, and their rescuer, or deliverer.  Wow! 

            Verses 5-7 express the logical conclusion of the Lord’s argument, a conclusion we have seen several times before in the book.  The Lord cannot be compared to anyone else.  And it is especially foolish to try to compare him with the idol-gods (cf. 40:19-20; 41:6-7; 44:9-20).  Notice once again in verse seven the idea that the idols are carried, and that they cannot, without aid, move from the place where they are set.  And to top it off, they cannot help anyone who cries out to them.  The reason is simple.  Something that cannot help itself cannot help anyone who calls upon it. 

            Verses 8-13 are a kind of summary.  Notice in verses 8-9 that the Lord calls on Israel to remember.  And notice also that he addresses them as “rebels” (NIV) or “transgressors” (NRSV).  God obviously is not completely happy with Israel.  The lack of faith and sinfulness that Isaiah has been railing against throughout the book is still present.  The question, of course, is what the “rebels” are to remember.  Well, the key thing, it seems is “the former things of old.”  That would be their history.  And a stellar history it is.  It would include the patriarchs, the Exodus, the Sinai covenant, the conquest of the Promised Land, the judges, King David, and on and on.  It would remind them of the great acts of God over those centuries; and thus it would remind them that the Lord is God and there is no other.  In other words there is every reason to believe that the Lord is faithful and that he will fulfill his word about deliverance. 

            In verses 10-11 we find a series of three participles that remind Israel that the Lord predicts and fulfills his predictions, that he has an intentional will that he brings to pass, and that he is doing it again with Cyrus.  In the NRSV the three participles are easy to spot, because they are translated that way.  The NRSV translates, “declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done.”  “Saying, ‘My purpose shall stand, and I will fulfill my intention.’”  And “calling a bird of prey from the East” (my emphasis).

            In the NIV the participles are not evident as such, because they are not translated that way.  In the NIV the first one is translated, “I make known the end from the beginning, etc.”  Then the second is translated,” “I say: ‘My purpose will stand, etc.’”  And the third is translated, “I summon a bird of prey.” 

            Regardless of the translations, the point is clear.  The Lord reminds Israel that he predicts the future and then brings it to pass, that he has an intentional will for his people that he brings to pass, and that he is doing it again with Cyrus.  He is calling “a bird of prey” out of the East for the purpose of the rescue.  That is, he is predicting that he will use Cyrus to deliver his people, and it is going to happen. 

            The image of the “bird of prey” is a powerful one.  He was suggesting that the conquest of Babylon would be swift.  A hawk, for example, swoops down on a rabbit, and the kill is over quite quickly. 

            The last two lines of verse eleven emphasize the certainty of connection between God’s speaking and his acting: “I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass; I have planned, and I will do it.”  God speaks, and then he acts.  e is true to his word. 

            Notice in verse 12 that the Lord is addressing the “stubborn of heart.”  That expression is parallel to the “rebels” of verse eight.  So the Lord still is addressing Israel as stubbornly refusing to believe that the Lord will deliver them.  Even those who believe are convinced that it is far off. 

            The NRSV translates the word “righteousness” as “deliverance,” and that is a valid translation.  That is how the word “righteousness” is being used here.  So those of you have the NIV can interpret the word “righteousness” as “deliverance.” 

            But the Lord insists that his “righteousness” or “deliverance” is not far off.  On the contrary it is quite near.  And notice that the focal point of the salvation is Zion, the great symbolic mountain of Jerusalem.  That indicates the return to Palestine by the Jews whom Cyrus sets free.

            However Isaiah had a broader vision than the people in general.  He understood that the Lord had created and maintained Israel, not just for its own sake, but also for the benefit of the world.  Thus Isaiah’s point was that God is God of the whole world, and he can use anyone in the world to accomplish his purposes.  It is in that sense that Cyrus was God’s anointed.  He was chosen and empowered to carry out the purposes of God.  And in that way he became a type of the coming Messiah.  The taking of Cyrus’ right hand is symbolic of God’s choosing and of intimate fellowship.  Notice that God declares that he opened the way for Cyrus’ conquests, a theme that is continued in verses 2-3. 

            Notice in verse three that the Lord wanted Cyrus to know he had called him to service.  That does not mean Cyrus was a believer any more than Pharaoh was during the Exodus.  Rather as Pharaoh knew that he was dealing with the Lord without believing in him, so did Cyrus. 

            Verse four declares that God’s use of Cyrus was for Israel’s sake [same word as “so that” in verses three and six].  Verse five makes it clear that Cyrus’ success was due to the Lord.  And verse six tells us that the Lord wanted the entire world, “from the rising of the sun and from the west,” to know that the Lord is the only God. 

            Verse seven has sparked much debate.  In it the Lord is saying that he is responsible for everything in nature (from light to darkness) and everything in history (from good fortune to misfortune).  The word translated “weal” by the NRSV and “prosperity” by the NIV means “heath” or “well being.”  But it is the contrasting element in that sentence that creates most of the controversy. 

            As John Oswalt explains, the Hebrew word ra’ translated “woe” by the NRSV and “disaster” by the NIV has several meanings in the Hebrew, depending on the context.  Its usage is similar to the word “bad” in English.  It can mean “bad” in the sense of moral evil, which is why the KJV translates it “evil.”  However the KJV really missed this one, because the meaning “evil” was not intended here.  God does not cause people to make evil moral decisions.  The word also can mean “misfortune” in the sense of “I’m having a bad day.”  The NIV seems to be treating it more strongly than “misfortune” when they use “disaster.”  Still another usage of the Hebrew word is to mean that something is not conforming to some potential, as when we say, “This is a bad road.” 

            Calvinists love this verse, because it seems to support their extreme view of the sovereignty of God.  The message of the verse is quite true.  God, because of his sovereignty, is responsible for everything.  But the rest of Scripture must be allowed to qualify that overarching truth.  For example, we know from other Scriptures that God has given us freedom of choice, or free will.  We are responsible for our evil choices.  God is responsible only in the sense that in his sovereignty he permits us to make those choices.  And that brings up the important distinction between God’s intentional will and his permissive will.  In the area of salvation, it is the Lord’s intentional will that we all be saved.  But we have a choice, and what we decide is his permissive will. 

            Verse eight is interesting in that God metaphorically calls on nature to help save Israel from exile.  He calls for righteousness to rain down from the heavens and salvation to spring up from the earth.  Oswalt says that the “righteousness” mentioned, which is paralleled with “salvation,” refers to the rightness of God’s actions. 

            The oracle to Cyrus that we just studied had to seem strange to the people of Israel.  When they fantasized about being delivered from exile, they undoubtedly thought of it in terms of another Exodus led by another Moses, not in terms of a pagan emperor who didn’t even know the Lord.  Verses 9-13 address that problem. 

            Notice that the Lord asserts that as the creator he has the right to deal with his creation in any way he chooses.  In verse nine he offers a warning to those who challenge him and his ways.  They are like a pot telling the potter what to do.  According to Oswalt, the NIV has a much better translation than the NRSV.  “Woe to him who quarrels with his maker, to him who is but a potsherd among the potsherds on the ground.  Does the clay say to the potter, ‘What are you making?’  Does your work say, ‘He has no hands’”?  The implied answer of course is, “No.”  Then why would they challenge God, their maker? 

            Verses 10-13 continue the argument.  Verse 13 provides a concluding statement.  Cyrus did not rise by accident.  Whether he knew it or not, Cyrus was accomplishing God’s will.  The word “righteousness” once again refers to the rightness of God’s actions. 

            All right, moving on to verses 14-19, we run into some difficult issues.  The first disputed question is that of who is addressed in verses 14.  Some believe Cyrus is still being addressed, because back in 43:3 these very countries were named as being given to him in exchange for Israel.  But Oswalt says that isn’t possible, because other nations cannot worship Cyrus’ god as the only God.  Furthermore the pronouns relating to the addressee are all feminine.  But when Oswalt tries to explain how the nations who come to worship are doing it voluntarily rather than because they are conquered and how their coming in chains isn’t due to conquest, and how Jerusalem is the one being addressed, it seems to me that there are even more problems with the position he takes than with the position that it is Cyrus who is addressed.  You can decide which way you want to go on that issue. 

            Verse 15 also is a problem.  Oswalt believes that it is the nations who spoke the last sentence of verse 14 that are continuing to speak in verse 15.  That probably is the case, but if so, the question arises as to what the statement means.  Oswalt suggests that it means three things.  First it “is a mistaken statement by those who have rejected revelation” the mistake being that God did not hide himself.  Second, it also is “an observation about the surprising fact that the Savior should come from little, insignificant Israel.”  And third, it is “in some sense an expression of theological truth.” 

            In verses 16-17 Isaiah says that the nations all will be put to shame, because they worship idols instead of the true God.  But Israel, the only nation that worships the true God, will not be put to shame, but will be saved “to all eternity.” 

Verses 18-19 begin with a word meaning “for,” or “because.”  Thus these verses substantiate what has gone before.  They explain “the failure of the idols and the eternal trustworthiness of God.”  The idols fail and Israel is saved because God longs to reveal himself to his people.  He speaks through nature and with words.  He created the world for the purpose of human habitation, and then he communicated to his created people how he wants us to relate to him. 

            The last paragraph of the chapter, verses 20-25, is quite important.  Most commentators agree that this passage is about the salvation of the world.  Notice verse 22: “Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth.”  Oswalt captures the thrust of the paragraph well when he says: the Lord “is not the savior of Israel because he is Israel’s God.  He is the savior of Israel because he is the Savior of the world.”  That is an important insight. 

            You will notice in verses 20-21 that the Lord once again calls the nations into assembly, as we have seen him do a couple of times earlier in the book (41:1,21; 43:8-9).  Again he condemns the idols of the nations and declares his own superiority.  Also once again the reader is reminded that God foretold all of this many years before when Isaiah made the prediction. 

            In verses 22-23 the Lord calls on the nations to experience the same salvation that Israel experienced.  And the idea seen in the New Testament that one day “every knee shall bow and very tongue confess” is seen here in Isaiah. 

            Finally, in verses 24-25 Isaiah makes it clear that righteousness and strength as well as the triumph of salvation take place only “in the Lord.”  Indeed the only hope of either Israel or the world is “in the Lord.”