B20-devotions

Isaiah 52:1-6

Devotions for Friday 31st October

This is an extraordinarily powerful scripture with deeply moving words, and it hugely raises the stakes of Isaiah’s vision of God and His self revelation. In addition, the prophetic nature of these verses and their description of the redemptive acts of God make them words to which a Christians can easily relate, perhaps more quickly than many of the previous texts in Isaiah’s great Servant songs. We read about God’s people who are spoken to by the Lord as Jerusalem (or Zion), and who receive a great call to awake and receive the Lord’s gifts; new clothes and a new purity (52:1). In addition, she will find herself able to throw off the bondage of the past and claim her rightful dwelling place (52:2)! This passage then goes on to explain God’s promise of redemption to Jerusalem (52:3), and the Lord reviews the history of oppression from which she is being redeemed (52:4,5) before announcing that the time has come for the Lord to reveal Himself (52:6)!

The suspense is almost unbearable as the whole prophetic saga draws ever closer to its climax, which we know is the revelation of God in the form of the Servant in Isaiah 53. Of course, we are not told what this revelation is, and we are not told how the redemption works or what price is paid, because this will come shortly. We are not told any details about the new Jerusalem (Zion) other than she was awakened from sleep, no longer the obstinate and defiant Israel of the past who became unclean because of sin and the rejection of God. Also, we know that what Isaiah did not explain is now explainable; we who have responded in faith to the Servant (Jesus) are His people, His new Jerusalem, His Zion, and His dwelling place on earth. Isaiah never saw this as we see it. He only prophesied in faith about a Jerusalem and a Zion made ready, and it is amazing that it speaks directly to us more than two and a half thousand years later!

Yet in order to understand this prophecy there are a few clues that help us open up the text. Firstly, verses 1 and 2 speak in terms familiar to the people of Israel and Judah, but not to us, about priesthood and kingship. The clothing in verse 1 represents priestly vestments. God lays them out for Jerusalem when she awakes, all ready for her; and just as Aaron received the holy vestments from Moses (Exodus 29) all she has to do is to put them on. Then, in the second verse, after the picture of turning away from the past, ‘shake the dust from yourself’, Jerusalem is told to ‘get up’ from her slumber and be enthroned as a king! She is to throw off the shackles of slavery and sit in authority by God’s own edict!

You should be aware that many versions of the Bible will not reveal this connection because they have badly translated the second line of verse 2, and I strongly urge you to read my explanation of this because it is essential to understand the kingly and priestly nature of this prophecy. If you read on in this study you will find that the theme of kings and priests continues (52:4,5), but we have to look carefully to find it. However, the New Testament speaks in many places about the role of God’s people as Kings and Priests within the world (see 1 Cor 4:8, 1 Peter 2:5,9) and the book of Revelation describes our final destiny as rulers and priests within God’s eternal Kingdom (Rev 1:6, 5:10 etc.)

Isaiah presents a wonderful picture of God’s people, Jerusalem, awakened by the Lord from slumber and ready to receive a redemption (52:3) which she has done nothing to deserve throughout her history (52:4,5). Yet she is ready to receive the Lord’s very own personal revelation; ‘I am the One who will say “Here am I”’ (5:6). Like Jerusalem, we too stand in receipt of His gracious gifts and await His revelation!

Going Deeper

Our task in going deeper is to explore the meaning of the imagery within this text; kings and priests, the free nature of redemption, the graciousness of God in revealing Himself in the light of our history, and the supreme anticipation of God’s great revelation ‘I am ... her am I!’

1 Awake, awake,

Clothe yourself with strength, O Zion!

Cloth yourself with your beautiful garments,

O Jerusalem, city of the Holy One;

for the uncircumcised and the unclean

will never again come in to you.

2 Shake the dust from yourself,

Arise and be enthroned O Jerusalem;

Free yourself from the chains around your neck,

O captive daughter Zion!

3 Indeed, this is what the Lord says:

You were sold for nothing,

so you will be redeemed without money.

4 Indeed, this is what the Lord God says:

Firstly, my people went to Egypt to live there;

The in the end, the Assyrian oppressed them.

5 ‘Now, what have I here?’ says the Lord,

‘my people have been taken for nothing

Their rulers have been foolish, says the Lord,

and my name was despised continually, all day.

6 Therefore my people will know my name;

therefore in that day

I am the One who will say; “here am I.”’

How wonderful it is to be blessed by you, Lord God of incredible might and power. We cannot comprehend the full extent of Your love, and we cannot plumb the depths of Your grace or attain the heights of Your awesome majesty; but we can know that You are right beside us all the time! What a mystery! We praise You, Lord God; Alleluia!

Great Creator and powerful Lord; be with me ...

as I do what is before me to accomplish this day,

give me the grace to value each moment I am given.

as I do what others require of me this day,

give me love so that I display kindness in everything I do.

as I do what You require of me this day,

give me the humility to accept Your highest call to service.

as I do what my work demands of me this day,

give me integrity so that others know they can depend on me.

as I do what I must do for myself this day,

give me the courage to accept the truth about the person I am.

as I do what should be done for good this day,

give me the wisdom I need to know what is right for others.

as I do what whatever will defeat the enemy this day,

give me discernment to spot his traps before I fall in them.

Your presence is all, and gives meaning to my day.

Weekly Theme: Land

Pray for the land on which your house is built. Ask the Lord to bless this land so that you may live on it in peace; and tell Satan that He has no rights here. Claim it for God.

On-going prayers

Pray for small businesses which are closing due to the economy
Pray for all those caught up in the scandals which feed the press
Give thanks for personal prayers which have been answered

For the full Bible study, click link above,

or for a brief review, scroll page down.

click on highlighted words to access the Dictionary

Read on / TRANSLATION NOTES / FURTHER STUDY / APPLICATION