Adult Class
December 2006-May 2007
Isaiah
Lesson 20: Salvation Promised
God has had much to say about the doom of Babylon, along with Assyria and Judah, too. However, His grace is great and the promise of restoration and salvation always seems to lurk behind His judgments. The idols that were worshiped were absolutely worthless, but God is powerful and He will fulfill His promises. The greatest promise He has made concerns the salvation that will come to Israel—and to the entire world, including the Gentiles. That salvation is introduced by chapters 49-52.
Isaiah 49:1-7—The Servant is called to gather God’s people.
Before the creation of the world, God already had a plan for the redemption of humanity. Here, the Servant reveals that He was chosen to this task before His birth. Although His labor will be unrewarded to a large extent, He will accomplish God’s purpose in bringing God’s people back to Him. In truth, God’s plan is much larger than the restoration of the Israelites. He has designs on redeeming all humanity, so the news is to be broadcast far beyond the borders of Judea, so that all the Gentiles can hear God’s plan, too.
This description of the coming Servant is full of contradictions and paradoxes. He is made known to the Gentile nations, yet His primary task is the restoration of Israel and Judah. He labors to little observed effect, but His reward is from God. He is despised by the nation of Israel, yet kings and princes will bow down to Him. None of this makes sense if the Servant is any mere human being. All of it makes perfect sense because it actually applies to Jesus of Nazareth, the Messiah of God.
Isaiah 49:9-26—God’s people are brought home.
In response to the things said by the Servant, God shows that the day of the Servant will be a day of grace. The Servant will become a covenant (!) for the people, releasing captives. The inheritances of the land will be reassigned and the captives will be led back to their homes from all directions at great distance. Even though the Israelites may have considered themselves abandoned by God, He shows that He will never forget or forsake His people.
This desolate land will again be overrun with inhabitants. The Gentiles will bring home the dispersed Israelites and resettle them in the land. And there is no need to fear that the Jews have no power to make this happen—it will happen by God’s power. The enemies will be overthrown and God’s people preserved. All of this has to do with the ingathering of Gentiles into God’s covenant-related people in the new covenant in Christ’s blood. This would seem to be a nationalistic promise, and the Israelites who first heard it heard a Jewish triumphalism, but it applies to the increase of God’s people in the New Testament.
Isaiah 50:1-11—The Servant fulfills Israel’s lack
God takes responsibility for the judgment on Israel. All the captivity, all the destruction, all the ruin happened because He brought it about. And the judgment was fair and righteous because of the sin of the nation. God was not forced to watch helplessly while others destroyed His people. In fact, He has the power to give life and death. The judgment came by His express desire. Israel failed to keep the covenant.
By contrast, the Servant does the will of God exactly. He knows the word of God and obeys it at every turn. Even though others, who do not obey God, have mistreated and abused Him, the Servant accepts their contempt. He trusts Himself to God and cares nothing for the opinion of human beings. People are famously short-lived and unable to sustain themselves. They try to illuminate their own ways, but their ideas provide no guidance. They should always have allowed themselves to be guided by the word and will of God.
Isaiah 51:1-16—Salvation is promised to Israel by the God of power
The example of Abraham and Sarah should furnish the pattern for the lives of the people of Israel. And now God will turn His attention to Israel and provide life and comfort for His people. Those who commit themselves to Him and trust Him in sincerity will be saved while the enemies of God’s people will be destroyed. After all, there is no reason for those who trust in God to fear those who are merely human. They live so short a time and have no power in eternity.
In fact, all of creation lasts for a short time, yet God’s salvation lasts long after the world and all its elements are destroyed. In this passage we see a glimpse of God’s ultimate plan for His created world. This idea is later echoed in 2 Peter 3:10-13. The One who established the mountains and the oceans is the One who will release and restore His people to a comfortable life.
Isaiah 51:17-52:12—God’s wrath punishes the enemies, vindicates His people.
It is certainly true that God punished Jerusalem for the sins of its people. The destruction visited upon the city became practically legendary as a description of God’s wrath. However, God looks beyond the coming judgment on Judah to condemn those who executed His wrath upon the nation. He removes the punishment from the people who have suffered so much, and transfers the wrath to those who humiliated God’s chosen people.
When God turned Judah over to be punished by its enemies, He received nothing in exchange for the nation and its people. Consequently, when He reclaims His own, the captors will gain nothing of value in return. First, it was Egypt who captured and oppressed His people. When they left Egypt, they left it in ruins, devastated by the power of God to release His people. Then, in the time of Isaiah, Assyria was a torment, destroying Samaria and dozens of fortified cities in Judah. The destruction of Assyria was hinted at by analogy here. Yet even looking ahead to the captivity by Babylon, God indicates that the people will return to their land. And, as in the Exodus, they will not return empty-handed, but will bear gifts offered to God.
This entire section deals with God’s promise of salvation. It is true that He intends the people to understand that after His punishment, He will restore them to their land, but He also reveals that true salvation waits when His Servant comes to fulfill His will perfectly. This section marks an introduction to one of the most powerful prophetic sections of Scripture—the discussion about the person and work of the Servant.