Isaiah has prophesied about a coming Servant. Now he calls to Israel to awake and listen. Grogan argues that this chapter (and continuing into the next) gives "a sense of impending climax", as it prepares the final statements about the coming servant. Other passages that prepare a climax, says Grogan, are Genesis 44, building to the revelation of Joseph to his brothers, Exodus 19, building to the presentation of the Ten Commandments, and Job 37, as God approaches to confront Job and his companions.
Isaiah 51:1-2, Look to Abraham and Sarah
“Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness
and who seek the LORD:
Look to the rock from which you were cut
and to the quarry from which you were hewn;
look to Abraham, your father,
and to Sarah, who gave you birth.
When I called him he was only one man,
and I blessed him and made him many.
Those who trust in YHWH and seek Him are reminded to look back to their models, Abraham and Sarah. God blessed Abraham when he was just one man and from him brought thousands, indeed, millions of Israelites.
Isaiah 51:3, Deserts restored to Eden
The LORD will surely comfort Zion
and will look with compassion on all her ruins;
he will make her deserts like Eden,
her wastelands like the garden of the LORD.
Joy and gladness will be found in her,
thanksgiving and the sound of singing.
In the coming renewal, the deserts will bloom, the people will return to Eden, with joy and song.
Isaiah 51:4-6, Speedily righteousness approaches
“Listen to me, my people;
hear me, my nation:
Instruction will go out from me;
my justice will become a light to the nations.
My righteousness draws near speedily,
my salvation is on the way,
and my arm will bring justice to the nations.
The islands will look to me
and wait in hope for my arm.
Lift up your eyes to the heavens,
look at the earth beneath;
the heavens will vanish like smoke,
the earth will wear out like a garment
and its inhabitants die like flies.
But my salvation will last forever,
my righteousness will never fail.
Justice and righteousness approach with speed; salvation is on its way. The earth and heavens will be changed while God's salvation and righteousness endure. This statement echoes Psalm 102:25-27 and a version of it appears in the New Testament, in Hebrews 1:10-12. As in previous passages, the invitation is to all nations, including the distant islands and coastlands.
Isaiah 51:7-8, Moths and righteousness
“Hear me, you who know what is right,
you people who have taken my instruction to heart:
Do not fear the reproach of mere mortals
or be terrified by their insults.
For the moth will eat them up like a garment;
the worm will devour them like wool.
But my righteousness will last forever,
my salvation through all generations.”
The people of Israel are reminded to focus on eternal things, on God's righteousness, as opposed to the reproach of mere mortals who decay, like all material things.
Isaiah 51:9-10, Awake!
Awake, awake, arm of the LORD,
clothe yourself with strength!
Awake, as in days gone by,
as in generations of old.
Was it not you who cut Rahab to pieces,
who pierced that monster through?
Was it not you who dried up the sea,
the waters of the great deep,
who made a road in the depths of the sea
so that the redeemed might cross over?
In response to the previous passage, God is called upon to "awake!" and stand up and take charge. Note the doubled, indeed tripled, emphasis of "Awake, awake... awake!"
Rahab is another name for Egypt (see Psalm 87:4 and Isaiah 30:7.) Note the echoes of the Exodus in the description of a road throught the sea. Rahab was also a Babylonian sea-monster (says Motyer.) Regardless, YHWH is far more powerful than the mighty Rahab.
Isaiah 51:11-13, Refugees return
Those the LORD has rescued will return.
They will enter Zion with singing;
everlasting joy will crown their heads.
Gladness and joy will overtake them,
and sorrow and sighing will flee away.
“I, even I, am he who comforts you.
Who are you that you fear mere mortals,
human beings who are but grass,
that you forget the LORD your Maker,
who stretches out the heavens
and who lays the foundations of the earth,
that you live in constant terror every day
because of the wrath of the oppressor,
who is bent on destruction?
For where is the wrath of the oppressor?
Motyer notes that the Hebrew of verses 12 and 13 alternates between masculine singular "you" (comforted) at the beginning of verse 12, feminine singular "you" (who fear) in the middle of verse 12 and back to masculine "you" (who forgets YHWH) at the beginning of verse 13. Motyer argues that different people are being addressed.
As in previous prophecies, all of this is linked to God's power in creation. It is He who stretched out the heavens and laid the foundations of the earth.
Isaiah 51:14-15, Refugees return
The cowering prisoners will soon be set free;
they will not die in their dungeon,
nor will they lack bread.
For I am the LORD your God,
who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar—
the LORD Almighty is his name.
Here the "cowering prisoners" are addressed -- they too will be rescued and set free to return to Jerusalem.
Isaiah 51:16, Refugees return
I have put my words in your mouth
and covered you with the shadow of my hand—
I who set the heavens in place,
who laid the foundations of the earth,
and who say to Zion, ‘You are my people.’”
Here God is likely addressing the coming Servant (says Motyer, see 49:2 and 50:4 for similar language.)
Isaiah 51:17-20, Cup of Wrath
Awake, awake!
Rise up, Jerusalem,
you who have drunk from the hand of the LORD
the cup of his wrath,
you who have drained to its dregs
the goblet that makes people stagger.
Among all the children she bore
there was none to guide her;
among all the children she reared
there was none to take her by the hand.
These double calamities have come upon you—
who can comfort you?—
ruin and destruction, famine and sword—
who can console you?
Your children have fainted;
they lie at every street corner,
like antelope caught in a net.
They are filled with the wrath of the LORD,
with the rebuke of your God.
Now it is Jerusalem that is called to "Awake! Awake!" She has been judged; she has received God's wrath and "drained" that goblet. Jerusalem's children have been devastated. Their poverty and calamities are described in detail. All of this is because of Jerusalem's disobedience and God's rebuke.
In verse 19, there is a poetic ripple of Hebrew words, haš·šōḏ wə·haš·še·ḇer wə·hā·rā·‘āḇ wə·ha·ḥe·reḇ, "desolation and destruction and famine and sword."
Isaiah 51:21-23, The cup removed
Therefore hear this, you afflicted one,
made drunk, but not with wine.
This is what your Sovereign LORD says,
your God, who defends his people:
“See, I have taken out of your hand
the cup that made you stagger;
from that cup, the goblet of my wrath,
you will never drink again.
I will put it into the hands of your tormentors,
who said to you,
‘Fall prostrate that we may walk on you.’
And you made your back like the ground,
like a street to be walked on.”
The cup of wrath, described in verses 17-20, has now been removed. Jerusalem will triumph over her tormentors.
Some Random Thoughts
Here, as in various places in Scripture, people are called to "Awake!", to open their eyes. (See Isaiah 52:1, 60:1 and in the New Testament, Ephesians 5:14 and Romans 13:11.) Someone who is awake, with eyes wide open to see and understand, is "woke." Sadly, in our political rhetoric (in 2024 USA), "woke" is sometimes used as a snide or insulting put-down. There is no shame in being "woke", in being alert and aware of societal injustices.
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