Isaiah 51:9-16

b.

TRUST IN JEHOVAH

TEXT: Isaiah 51:9-16

9

Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of Jehovah; awake, as in the days of old, the generations of ancient times. Is it not thou that didst cut Rahab in pieces, that didst pierce the monster?

10

Is it not thou that driedst up the sea, the waters of the great deep; that madest the depths of the sea a way for the redeemed to pass over?

11

And the ransomed of Jehovah shall return, and come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy shall be upon their heads: they shall obtain gladness and joy; and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

12

I, even I, am he that comforteth you: who art thou, that thou art afraid of man that shall die, and of the son of man that shall be made as grass;

13

and hast forgotten Jehovah thy Maker, that stretched forth the heavens, and laid the foundations of the earth; and feareth continually all the day because of the fury of the oppressor, when he maketh ready to destroy? and where is the fury of the oppressor?

14

The captive exile shall speedily be loosed; and he shall not die and go down into the pit, neither shall his bread fail.

15

For I am Jehovah thy God, who stirreth up the sea, so that the waves thereof roar: Jehovah of hosts is his name.

16

And I have put my words in thy mouth, and have covered thee in the shadow of my hand, that I may plant the heavens, and lay the foundations of the earth, and say unto Zion, Thou art my people.

QUERIES

a.

Does Jehovah have to be awakened?

b.

Who is the captive exile?

c.

Into whose mouth has Jehovah put his words?

PARAPHRASE

Help! Help! Come forth to help us girded with power as You did for our ancestors in olden times, O Lord. Did You not slay the Big Mouth dragon, Egypt? Did You not dry up a path through the great Red Sea for Your people to walk across and escape from Egyptian slavery? You have promised: Those whom the Lord purchases with a ransom-price will return to Him and to Zion rejoicing with songs about their redemption. Everlasting joy will crown their whole lives. They shall finally find the refreshment of their souls for which they have longed. All that would frustrate or hinder their travel will be made to disappear. Jehovah answers: Yes, I, the same God who delivered your ancestors, Am the God who is coming forth to deliver you. What kind of people are you that are so afraid of human beings? Mortal man is no more enduring than the grass of the field! Have you forgotten Jehovah, your Maker, who spread the stars through the skies and brought the earth into existence? Are you in constant dread of the oppressions of men? Are you paralyzed with terror at the anger of your enemies. Soon Zion shall be set free; dungeon, starvation and death are not going to put an end to Zion. Remember, I am Jehovah, your God, Lord of all creation. I control the sea and everything else. Zion's deliverance will be revealed and accomplished through My Servant, for I have put my words in His mouth and I protect Him with My mighty hand. Through Him I will make a whole new creation, a new Zion, who shall truly be My people.

COMMENTS

Isaiah 51:9-11 PLEA: The Hebrew words -uriy -uriy (Awake, awake) do not mean to convey that Isaiah thought God had fallen asleep. The word is also used in Daniel 4:10; Daniel 4:14; Daniel 4:20 and translated, watcher. The idea of the word is watchfulness, alertness or awareness, that motivates action. In view of the impending Babylonian captivity, the prophet is calling upon the Lord to act on behalf of the small minority of believers and save Zion. God has promised protection from Babylon, but God has not acted. Men, even prophets, often run ahead of the Lord. Isaiah is representing the remnant, of course, and they are expressing their terror at the threats of Babylon. It appears from their fearful perspective as if God is either unaware of their plight or is aware but is not intending to do anything about it. Their appeal for action is based on what they know of His previous deliverance of Israel from Egypt. Their ancient writings tell of Moses-' and Israel's passage from slavery in Egypt through the Red Sea. Egypt is called Rahab (which means loud mouth in Hebrew; see Isaiah 30:7) and thanniyn the monster; thanniyn is translated serpent in most uses (cf. Isaiah 27:1). Jehovah delivered from the dragon Egypt, will He now allow Zion to be destroyed by the lion Babylon? The sea which was dried up must refer to the Red Sea crossing (Exodus 14:1 ff).

Isaiah 51:11 forms an excellent conclusion to Isaiah's plea. It is a quotation, almost letter for letter, from Isaiah 35:10 which likewise forms a conclusion to a messianic section. Isaiah quotes himself (and why not, since it was such a beautiful and emphatic promise of God the first time it was spoken) as part of his pleas as if to remind Jehovah of His recently promised redemption; see comments Isaiah 35:8-10.

Isaiah 51:12-16 PROMISE: Jehovah answers the plea of Isaiah and the remnant by affirming that He is indeed that same Jehovah who kept His covenant with Israel and delivered them from Egypt. The I, even I. appears to be a retort in irony to awake, awake. Jehovah is who He is and will always be the same. What the remnant needs is to find its own identity. And that is the interesting thing here; the remnant's identity is to be found in who Jehovah is! In other words, if Jehovah is always the same, then who are those who believe and trust in Him? They are those who need not fear mortal men. The same truth is relevant for today. Men and women can only find their true identity in relationship to their commitment to God. If they trust Him and follow Him, they are invincible; He will save them from all that threatens. If they do not trust Him and do not follow Him they will be lost. The fundamental identification of man is his savedness or his lostness! That is who he is! When man forgets his Makerwhen man forgets that he is creature and Jehovah is Creatorhe is a slave to fear and falsehood. When man forgets his Creator his whole perspective is warped. Anyone who searches for self-identity without first knowing who God is (and all that such knowledge of Him implies) searches in vain! If the remnant of Isaiah's day remembers its Maker, it will be freed from fear of its enemies.

The Hebrew word tzo-'eh means to bend down; to stoop as though burdened down and is translated he who is bowed down in the RSV. It is predicting the circumstances of the Babylonian exiles being bowed down in chains or in prisons. Zion (the remnant of believers; disciples of Isaiah) may have to go into captivity but she shall speedily be released (70 years). Most assuredly, Jehovah does not intend Zion's ultimate destiny to be imprisonment, starvation and death! She will suffer chastening but Jehovah will work through her to create a new Zion.

The final word of Jehovah (Isaiah 51:16) is manifestly addressed to the Servant because it shall be particularly through the Servant that Jehovah creates the new, ultimate Zion (cf. Hebrews 12:22). Jehovah reaffirms His promise (cf. Isaiah 50:4-11) that the Servant will be sent with the incarnate word of the Lord (my words in thy mouth). The special, intimate, divine companionship to the Servant is also reiterated (covered thee in the shadow of my hand). Jehovah will plant and lay the foundations and say unto Zion. Thou art my people. Some commentators think this refers to the creation of a new heavens and earth, or a new cosmos, after the present one is destroyed by fire (as per 2 Peter 3, etc.). That may be the ultimate outcome of the new creation ushered in by the Messiah at His first coming, but we believe Isaiah is not really focusing on the end of the messianic age but on the beginning of it. The messianic age is often pictured as a new creation of Zion (cf. Isaiah 66:22-24; 2 Corinthians 5:16-21, etc.). The Zion of the N.T. was created after the removal of what is shaken (Hebrews 12:25-29). The old creation (Judaism) was shaken down and the new creation (Christianity) remains and cannot be shaken. The abrogation of the old dispensation and the creation of a new dispensation (especially a dispensation which would include Gentiles in God's covenant) would not be possible in Jewish thinking without a whole new creation (new heavens and earth)! The prophet figuratively accommodates his language to the Jewish thought-pattern. Of course, God did not intend to create a new physical heaven and earth when He sent the Servant on His first advent. And this is one of the major causes of Jewish rejection of the Messiah! They could not adjust their thought-patterns to the reality of the revelation that Jesus was the Christ and that He came to form a spiritual kingdom in this present earth and not to form a political kingdom in a rejuvenated physical earth! Certainly, God will one day destroy this present cosmos and create a new one. But mankind must be reborn and accept citizenship in a newly created Zion before he is ready for the new cosmos. The Jew, as well as the Gentile, must become a new creature first. Toward this first goal the prophets primarily pointed! Thou art my people is definitely a messianic term (cf. Hosea 1:10-11; Hosea 2:16-23; Romans 9:23-33; 1 Peter 2:9-10).

In the light of so much contemporary emphasis on personal subjectivism and feeling as criteria for proper relationship to God, it is important to notice in this chapter thus far the criterion for proper relationship to God is the objective revelation of His nature. Man's relationship to God is properly built on who God isnot on how man feels. And God has objectively demonstratedin historical deedsthat He is absolutely powerful and absolutely faithful. Isaiah's contemporaries are exhorted to look back at what Jehovah has done; look now at what He is doing; and look forward to what He promises to do. They are never asked, what do you think He ought to do, or, What is He doing to your feelings!

QUIZ

1.

What does Isaiah mean when he cries to Jehovah, awake, awake?

2.

What event in Israel's history is appealed to in reference to the sea?

3.

Why can man only find out who he is when he finds out who God is?

4.

Why will God not leave the exiles to starve and die?

5.

Why do we think God is addressing the Servant in Isaiah 51:16?

6.

What are the heavens and. earth God is going to plant?

7.

Why did the Jews think the heavens and. earth would have to be physical?

8.

What criterion of man-to-God relationship is appealed to in this chapter?