Dear Friends,
As Chapter 52 opens Isaiah continues with his wake-up call. Later in the chapter he will transition into a prophecy concerning the future captivity in Babylon before closing the chapter with a prophecy concerning the coming Messiah.
Father, give us understanding as we read thy word, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Isaiah 52
1 Awake, awake; put on thy strength, O Zion; put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city: for henceforth there shall no more come into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean.
Jesus said Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled. (Luke 21:24) The times of the Gentiles began with the Babylonian Empire and will end with the New World Order. Once the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled, Jerusalem will no longer be an international city with Gentile citizens. It will be a holy city where Messiah will rule from the throne of David. It’s time for Jerusalem to wake up. That day is fast approaching.
2 Shake thyself from the dust; arise, and sit down, O Jerusalem: loose thyself from the bands of thy neck, O captive daughter of Zion.
3 For thus saith the LORD, Ye have sold yourselves for nought; and ye shall be redeemed without money. [Rather, with the priceless blood of Christ.]
4 For thus saith the Lord GOD, My people went down aforetime into Egypt to sojourn there; and the Assyrian oppressed them without cause.
Israel was delivered from Egypt in the Exodus but they continued to go back there in times of trouble. For example, Israel looked to Egypt for help when they were attacked by Sennacherib the Assyrian. (Isa 30-31) Later Israel fled to Egypt for fear of Nebuchadnezzar. (Jer 43) Whenever Israel went back to Egypt it went badly for them. Given Egypt is a type of the world, the application for us as believers should be obvious.
5 Now therefore, what have I here, saith the LORD, that my people is taken away for nought? they that rule over them make them to howl, saith the LORD; and my name continually every day is blasphemed.
6 Therefore my people shall know my name: therefore they shall know in that day that I am he that doth speak: behold, it is I.
Isaiah is referring to the future captivity in Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar took God’s people and it did not cost him a thing. In Isaiah 1:3, God said that even the ox knows his owner but his people did not know Him. Here He says the captivity will fix that. the day is coming when they will know Him.
7 How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings [good news], that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!
This person with the beautiful feet says to Zion (Jerusalem), Thy God reigns. He does not say, The God who reigns used to be your God but now He is our God because we replaced you.
8 Thy watchmen shall lift up the voice; with the voice together shall they sing: for they shall see eye to eye, when the LORD shall bring again Zion.
9 Break forth into joy, sing together, ye waste places of Jerusalem: for the LORD hath comforted his people, he hath redeemed Jerusalem.
10 The LORD hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.
11 Depart ye, depart ye, go ye out from thence, touch no unclean thing; go ye out of the midst of her [Babylon]; be ye clean, that bear the vessels of the LORD.
12 For ye shall not go out with haste, nor go by flight: for the LORD will go before you; and the God of Israel will be your rereward.
In verses 11 and 12, Isaiah sees the future departure from Babylon when the Jews who are obedient will return to Jerusalem. Around 50,000 Jews left Babylon in 538 BC. They carried with them the vessels of the LORD, the articles that were used in the service of the Temple. (Ezra 1-2) They did not have to depart in haste as they did in the Exodus. They were given leave by Cyrus to depart at their leisure. Just as God was with them in the Exodus, before them to lead them and behind them as a rearguard (Ex 13:21; 14:19-20), He will be with them when they depart from Babylon as well. A second group of around 1,800 led by Ezra the scribe left Babylon in 458 BC.
In the last three verses, the servant switches from Israel to the Servant Messiah:
13 Behold, my servant shall deal prudently, he shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high.
14 As many were astonied at thee; his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men:
15 So shall he sprinkle many nations [with his blood]; the kings shall shut their mouths at him: for that which had not been told them shall they see; and that which they had not heard shall they consider.
Isaiah 52
In the New Testament we see that the kings of the earth will shut their mouths at Him when the Gentile nations receive the gospel. In context, that is what Paul was saying when he quoted Isaiah in Romans 15:21: But as it is written, To whom he was not spoken of, they shall see: and they that have not heard shall understand. It may not seem that way now, but eventually all Gentile kings will bow before Him. (Phil 2:11)
In this day and age, it is becoming more and more common for people to disrespect Israel and accuse them of wrongdoing. Rarely do you see any examples given. They just spew their anti-Semitism as if their assumption that Israel is bad is an a priory. According to Scripture, however, Israel is the apple of God’s eye. (Zech 2:8) One day, Jerusalem will be the world capital, with Jesus ruling from the throne of David. I believe one of the reasons America has been so blessed is because we have stood by Israel. America was the first country to recognize Israel’s statehood in 1948. President Nixon supplied Israel with arms in the Yom Kippur War. President Trump was the first chief of state to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel by moving the US Embassy there, one of the reasons the establishment hates him so much. There are many other reasons. Child predators are being rounded up on Trump’s watch like never before. To the establishment, that is a strike against him. They hate him because they are corrupt and he is not. That is the real reason for the farcical impeachment inquiry and all the other relentless attacks against him. Nevertheless, I believe that President Trump will weather the current storm on Capitol Hill just fine. I’m no prognosticator but I suspect this too shall pass. Why? The Bible says God will bless those who bless Israel.
Father thank You for your everlasting word, which makes us wise to salvation. Bring peace to Jerusalem and revival to Israel Father. Give them the faith to believe on the name of your Son, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
PS: Jeffrey Epstein did not kill himself.
