ISAIAH 52 “Israel Is Told To Clothe Themselves In Strength And Beautiful Garments For The Coming Of God’s Ideal Servant”

By

Jim Bomkamp

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1. INTRO

1.1. In our last study, we looked at Isaiah continuing to reveal God’s ‘ideal servant’ to us. We saw that the ‘ideal servant’ was definitely a man of flesh and blood, and we also began to see the vicarious suffering which He will submit Himself unto on behalf of mankind. We also saw the Lord continue to encourage the future generation of captive Judeans who will live 100+ years after Isaiah’s writing, however the encouragements that were given were general enough to provide encouragement to all of God’s people throughout history

1.1.1. Chapter 50:

1.1.1.1.The Lord told His people Judea that He had not yet given them a certificate of divorce, so there was still hope for them

1.1.1.2.God’s ‘ideal servant’ was revealed to us as a model disciple

1.1.1.3.God’s ‘ideal servant’ will eventually be vindicated by the Lord, when He is raised from the dead

1.1.1.4.We saw that all are called to be obedient to God’s ‘ideal servant’ when he appears, and the result of the choice for obedience will have eternal consequences

1.1.2. Chapter 51:

1.1.2.1.The Lord encouraged His people not to despise the day of ‘small things’ but to realize that the Lord will do with them what He did in bringing a mighty nation out of just one faithful man, Abraham

1.1.2.2.God’s ‘ideal servant’ was seen establishing a new law, or abiding principle or covenant for God’s people

1.1.2.3.God’s captive people were called upon to not fear man and their oppressors but to call upon the Lord to be strong on their behalf just as He has been in their history-past

1.2. In our study today, we are going to look at the fourth ‘servant song,’ as Isaiah gives us his fourth introduction to God’s ‘ideal servant’ who is to come on the scene and provide redemption for mankind. Israel is told to prepare herself to be wed to her king by purifying herself and to prepare for joyful shouting when Jerusalem is redeemed

1.2.1. The first part of this chapter has to do with God’s restoration of His people during the 7 Year Tribulation of the book of Revelation, just before Christ’s Second Coming and the establishment of His Millennial Kingdom.

1.2.1.1.Here, the Lord tells His people to clothe themselves with strength and to put on beautiful clothes in preparation for their glorious celebration of their salvation which the Lord shall bring about

1.2.2. Then, there is a word to the captive Judeans who will live 100+ years after the time of Isaiah’s writing to purify themselves and to not touch anything of the Babylonian culture as they are leaving to return to their land and rebuild their city and temple

1.2.3. Finally, Isaiah again introduces us to God’s ‘ideal servant,’ and we begin to see more clearly the horrible vicarious suffering that he will have to undergo in order to make propitiation for the sins of mankind

1.2.3.1.As we consider God’s ‘ideal servant,’ we are humbled to be in the presence of an almighty and holy love of a kind we could never have imagined on our own

2. VS 52:1-2 - “1 Awake, awake, Clothe yourself in your strength, O Zion; Clothe yourself in your beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city. For the uncircumcised and the unclean will no more come into you. 2 Shake yourself from the dust, rise up, O captive Jerusalem; Loose yourself from the chains around your neck, O captive daughter of Zion.” - Isaiah writes two more calls to ‘awake’ (as in the previous chapter there were three), however these calls are not given by God’s people to the Lord to ‘awake,’ as in the previous chapter, they are given by the Lord to Zion to ‘awake’

2.1. These calls to ‘awake’ appear to me to be calls for Israel, God’s people, to adorn herself in the strength of the Lord and the beautiful garments befitting a bride about to be wed, in this case wed to the Lord for eternity. The Lord is now bringing His ‘ideal servant’ into history to make atonement once for all for the sins of mankind, and thus the consummation of history via the coming of God’s ‘ideal servant’ is in view in this chapter.

2.2. We have been dealing with the return of the captive Judeans that would be living in Babylon some 100+ years after Isaiah’s writing, however the fact that the captives that Isaiah sees here are not the same group is revealed by the fact that the Lord tells them these captives from Jerusalem that the ‘uncircumcised and the unclean will no more come into you.’ These captives must be Israelites who are living in the end times when God raises up His people in Jerusalem and establishes His Millennial Reign over the earth during the 7 Year Tribulation of the book of Revelation.

2.3. We as God’s children of every generation are to be ‘awake’ and always ready and waiting for the appearing of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Knowing the Christ’s appearing is imminent and could thus appear at any time should be motivation for us to live our lives for the Lord and be walking in His will in our life. We Christians ought to live each day as if Christ might appear and that we would not be ashamed of anything or try to hide.

2.4. Captive Jerusalem is told to loose themselves from the chains around their neck for they are now to be once for all set free from all of the effects of sin and its power, as they are now preparing their hearts to be ready for the appearing of God’s ‘ideal servant’ and the salvation that shall be procured by him at that time. They are to be ready by making sure that they aren’t allowing any areas of compromise into their lives, for even those little compromises and sins drag down a person’s faith and witness for the Lord.

2.4.1. The apostle Paul talks in the book of Hebrews about how we as Christians are to lay aside every encumbrance and the sin that so easily besets us so that we might be least hindered in the spiritual race that we are running for the Lord. The little compromises that we as Christians commit zap our spiritual health and vitality, and all of these are to be laid aside.

3. VS 52:3-6 - “3 For thus says the Lord, “You were sold for nothing and you will be redeemed without money.”4 For thus says the Lord God, “My people went down at the first into Egypt to reside there, then the Assyrian oppressed them without cause.5 “Now therefore, what do I have here,” declares the Lord, “seeing that My people have been taken away without cause?” Again the Lord declares, “Those who rule over them howl, and My name is continually blasphemed all day long.6 “Therefore My people shall know My name; therefore in that day I am the one who is speaking, ‘Here I am.’”” - The Lord tells His people that though their various captors who rule over them howl and blasphemy the Lord’s Name all day long that when He finally delivers His people that they will know His Name

3.1. God’s people went into captivity to Babylon 100+ years after Isaiah’s writing, however they were not sold for a price but rather were captured by the strong, therefore the Lord will redeem them once again to Himself, their rightful owner.

3.2. The Lord recalls to mind two previous captivities of His people.

3.2.1. The Israelites had gone to Egypt not as they were selling themselves as slaves, but as the then Pharaoh was promising them security and the best of land. They had been taken captive in Egypt after the death of Joseph when the next Pharaoh did not know about Joseph and his place in the kingdom of Egypt. So, they were not rightful slaves of the Egyptians but taken unfairly and unlawfully.

3.2.2. The northern tribes of Israel had been taken captive by the Assyrians before the time of Isaiah’s writing, and they were dispersed into the nation and the world at that time. However, the Assyrians also did not take the northern kingdom fairly or lawfully, but rather ruthlessly conquered them. Therefore, the Lord would deal with that nation in judgment and bring them down, which in fact history records that He did.

3.3. Again, on the day that the Lord raises up His people in the land of Israel in the establishment of His Millennial Kingdom, not only His people but all of the world will know that He is God and that there is no other, and that He has fulfilled the promises of His word in doing these things.

4. VS 52:7-10 - “7 How lovely on the mountains Are the feet of him who brings good news, Who announces peace And brings good news of happiness, Who announces salvation, And says to Zion, “Your God reigns!”8 Listen! Your watchmen lift up their voices, They shout joyfully together; For they will see with their own eyes When the Lord restores Zion. 9 Break forth, shout joyfully together, You waste places of Jerusalem; For the Lord has comforted His people, He has redeemed Jerusalem. 10 The Lord has bared His holy arm In the sight of all the nations, That all the ends of the earth may see the salvation of our God.” - The Lord says that the feet of those who bring the ‘good news’ of the gospel are ‘lovely’

4.1. The restoration of God’s people Israel will happen as a result of the preaching of the gospel and their apprehending the message of salvation through Jesus Christ and being personally saved by Christ.

4.2. One of the things about people’s bodies that tend to be peculiar or perhaps unseemly (ugly) are their feet. However, to the Lord the feet of the one who preaches the gospel are ‘lovely.’

4.2.1. God so loved the world that He was willing to give His only begotten Son to us to be the sacrifice acceptable to pay the price for the sins which we have committed. Therefore, nothing could please the Lord more than to see His people proclaiming the great message of salvation that comes to men through His Son.

4.2.2. God gave the unthinkable, that which was most precious in all of the universe, in order that you and I might be saved, His very own Son. Are you willing to show your appreciation of what He did for you by sharing the glorious ‘good news’ of salvation that Christ has bought for every man, woman, and child who will come to Him?

4.3. The Lord tells His people that the ‘watchman,’ which is their prophets, will speak to them and that they are to listen to their prophets who will be proclaiming to them the way of salvation, the ‘good news’ of the gospel message.

4.3.1. Sadly, we know that the vast majority of the nation of Israel refused to listen to the prophets given to her and thus also rejected her Messiah when He came to them and as God’s ‘ideal servant’ provided the means for them to come to salvation.

4.4. The land of Judea would be a waste place after the captivity of the people to Babylon, which Isaiah has already prophesied and that would occur some 100+ years after Isaiah’s writing.

4.5. When the Lord will restore the nation of Israel to Himself during the 7 Year Tribulation of the book of Revelation, just before the establishment of His Millennial Reign of Christ, the Lord will have ‘comforted’ His people and redeemed Jerusalem.

4.5.1. On that day He will also have revealed ‘His holy arm in the sight of the nations,’ that all people might be able to see the salvation of the Lord.

4.5.2. We will see in the next chapter that the Lord tells us that the ‘arm of the Lord’ is His ‘ideal servant,’ the one through whom He will procure salvation and reconciliation for all the world fallen and separated from God because of their sin.

5. VS 52:11-12 - “11 Depart, depart, go out from there, Touch nothing unclean; Go out of the midst of her, purify yourselves, You who carry the vessels of the Lord. 12 But you will not go out in haste, Nor will you go as fugitives; For the Lord will go before you, And the God of Israel will be your rear guard.” - The Lord tells His captive people to go out from Babylon and touch nothing unclean from all of her occult abominations

5.1. In these verses we see that Isaiah does include a word in this chapter that is believed by most good Bible commentators to be specifically for the captive Judeans in Babylon living some 100+ years after Isaiah’s writing.

5.2. The Lord tells His captive people that when they leave Babylon that they must be careful not to be defiled by any impure thing from the land of Babylon. Whereas the people upon leaving captivity in Egypt were told to request items of gold and silver from the Egyptians, here the people are told not to bring with them one single memento from the Babylonian culture and religion.

5.2.1. Remember, the Lord was curing His people once and for all from the practices of the nations of idolatry. Therefore, it was imperative that they bring none of the worthless items from the Babylonian culture with them, for those things would just serve to drive them away from the Lord.

5.2.2. The Lord tells them to ‘purify’ themselves upon their leaving Babylon and captivity.

5.2.2.1.In 2 Cor. 6:14-18, we read that the apostle Paul quotes these verses in making his argument that we as Christians must be careful to be holy and not be bound together with unbelievers, “14 Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness?15 Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever?16 Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said, “I will dwell in them and walk among them; And I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 17 “Therefore, come out from their midst and be separate,” says the Lord. “And do not touch what is unclean; And I will welcome you. 18 “And I will be a father to you, And you shall be sons and daughters to Me,” Says the Lord Almighty.”

5.2.2.2.God calls each of us as Christians to be “in this world” and to witness to the people of this world, however we must be careful that we do not become “as” the world, or “worldly.” It requires applying ‘wisdom’ in our life in order to be sure that we do not allow the world to mold us into its image.

5.2.2.3.God wants us His people to be holy as He is holy, and to put on holy garments as we purify our hearts so that we will be pleasing in His sight!

5.3. The vessels of the Lord mentioned here are the vessels that Nebuchadnezzar took from the temple in Jerusalem when Babylon conquered Jerusalem, took God’s people captive, and destroyed the temple of the Lord.

5.4. Whereas the people of Israel hurried away from Egypt, when after the final plague of the Lord they lost all of their first-born throughout the land, here the Lord tells them that when they would leave Babylon as Cyrus the Persian was allowing them to leave, they would ‘not go out in haste’ nor would they be leaving the land as fugitives. If you remember Isaiah prophesied that Cyrus (calling him by his name in chapter 44 and 45 of this book) would actually pay for the restoration of the temple and act as the agent of the Lord in facilitating the restoration of their city and temple.

5.5. As an encouragement, the Lord also tells the captive Judeans who would be leaving Babylon, that just the Lord was before and behind His people when they were fleeing Egypt, providing an impenetrable cloud between them and their enemy, that He again would be their guard before and behind them.

6. VS 52:13 - “13 Behold, My servant will prosper, He will be high and lifted up, and greatly exalted.” - The Lord tells us again to ‘behold’ His ‘ideal servant’

6.1. In chapter 42, verse 1, when Isaiah first introduced us to God’s ‘ideal servant,’ the Lord first told us to ‘behold’ His servant.

6.2. Bible commentators calls this the beginning of the fourth ‘song’ or ‘poem’ concerning God’s ‘ideal servant,’ as it is the fourth time that Isaiah has brought up this theme that he has been building concerning God’s ‘ideal’ or ‘perfect’ servant that He would be revealing to mankind.

6.3. This servant song section beginning at this verse and goes through chapter 53. Each of the previous three introductions of God’s ‘ideal servant’ by Isaiah provided clues that the ‘ideal servant’ could not be Israel, nor any of the prophets of the Old Testament, but only the Lord Jesus Christ, God’s Messiah. For instance,

6.3.1. In the first introduction, in chapter 42, we saw that though Israel was called to do the things that God’s ‘ideal servant’ is called to do, such as bringing salvation to all the nations of the earth, that she had never really done any of those things, therefore Israel could not qualify to be the ‘ideal servant.’

6.3.2. In this last introduction of the ‘ideal servant’ we saw that he had to be a real man of flesh and blood, for Isaiah in chapter 50 revealed the ‘ideal servant’ as a model disciple and one who was vicariously giving Himself to be tortured for others who would strike his back and pluck out his beard.

6.4. In this fourth ‘song’ concerning God’s ‘ideal servant,’ which goes through chapter 53, we see that the evidence is conclusive that he could not be Israel nor any other prophet from the Old Testament, but only the Lord Jesus Christ. This is revealed to us both because of the things that Isaiah prophesied that God’s ideal servant would do in Himself procuring salvation for mankind through giving Himself for the transgressions of mankind, plus because the New Testament provides at least 41 different references (as tallied by Warren Wiersbe) to chapter 53 in attempting to reveal how that those prophesies were fulfilled in the Lord Jesus Christ, and His propitiatory work upon the cross of Calvary.

6.5. In this verse, Isaiah reveals to us the exaltation that will be given to God’s ‘ideal servant.’ This of course accords with what the New Testament reveals will be given to Jesus Christ who has been raised up to be the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, far above all rule and authority, and every name that is named both in heaven and upon earth. For instance,

6.5.1. Phil. 2:9-11 tells us of the exaltation that has and will occur for the Lord Jesus Christ, “9 Therefore also God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name,10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those who are in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth,11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

6.5.2. In 1 Tim. 6:14-16, Paul wrote to Timothy of the exaltation and preeminence of Jesus Christ for all eternity, “14 that you keep the commandment without stain or reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ,15 which He will bring about at the proper time—He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords;16 who alone possesses immortality and dwells in unapproachable light; whom no man has seen or can see. To Him be honor and eternal dominion! Amen.”

7. VS 52:14-16 - “14 Just as many were astonished at you, My people, So His appearance was marred more than any man, And His form more than the sons of men. 15 Thus He will sprinkle many nations, Kings will shut their mouths on account of Him; For what had not been told them they will see, And what they had not heard they will understand.” - Isaiah tells us that many would be astonished or appalled at the sight of God’s ‘ideal servant’

7.1. We are now beginning to see Isaiah describe to us all that God’s ‘ideal servant’ would have to suffer in order for him to be the vicarious sacrifice necessary for the redeeming of mankind. We see from this verse as well as many of the things that are written in chapter 53 where this theme is continued, that this ‘ideal servant’ could not be the nation of Israel, rather he had to be a man of flesh and blood.

7.2. According to Warren Wiersbe, the Jewish rabbis and scholars interpreted Isaiah chapter 53 and this fourth servant song as relating to the coming Messiah, yet rejecting that Jesus Christ had fulfilled the passages. However, in the 12^th centuray they began to teach that the passage refers to Israel, not to the Messiah.

7.3. Warren Wiersbe also quotes Dr. Kyle M. Yates as saying that chapter 53 and this fourth servant song of Isaiah’s is “the Mt Everest of Bible prophesy,” because of its “beauty and grandeur.” Here, God’s ‘ideal servant’ is revealed as being the beautiful lamb without spot or blemish who lays his life down to be the once-for all time sacrifice for the sins of mankind, from the fall of man to the end of times.

7.4. This fourth servant song concerning God’s ‘ideal servant’ should bring each of us as Christians to be humbled in the presence of an almighty and holy love that is of a type that we could never on our own even conceive, that Christ Jesus should die for sinners!

7.5. Throughout his life, Jesus caused people to be ‘astonished’ or ‘marvel.’ For instance:

7.5.1. When he was 12 and in the temple after his parents had left thinking that Jesus was with them in their caravan, Jesus was in the temple questioning the priests and scribes and they were marveling at his understanding.

7.5.2. On the many times that the Pharisees and scribes tried to trick Jesus and get Him to say something by which they could put Him to death, Jesus would always turn the tables around on them, causing them to marvel at His answers.

7.5.3. Jesus’ miracles always caused those who were witnesses of the events to marvel.

7.5.4. When Pilate was interrogating Jesus and giving Him a chance to try and clear Himself or bribe His way out of His ordeal Jesus said nothing in His defense, and Pilate marveled at Him.

7.6. However, the reason that many would be ‘astonished,’ or ‘appalled’, at God’s ‘ideal servant’ is because he would be mutilated so thoroughly by men that he would no longer even be distinguishable as a human being.

7.6.1. Isaiah tells us that people would be ‘astonished’ by the ‘ideal servant’ just as they were of the Jews, God’s people, because of how thoroughly they had been devastated and humbled in their deportations and captivity.

7.6.2. Isaiah tells us that the mutilation of God’s ‘ideal servant’ would surpass that which any other man had experienced.

7.7. Isaiah tells us that despite his being beaten and mutilated beyond recognition that nonetheless he would ‘sprinkle man nations.’

7.8. Isaiah tells us that kings would shut their mouths on account of God’s ‘ideal servant’ when they finally see him. At that time they will understand what he was all about and what fools they have been for rejecting him as their Lord and Savior. At the judgment of non-believers which will occur at the Great White Throne Judgment of Rev. 20, I do not believe that there will anyone who will be able to either claim ignorance nor object to their just judgment. You see, when all unbelievers see the marred and scarred glorified body of Jesus sitting before them as their judge they will understand what great love it was that procured their salvation. They will see the love which they continually spurned and blasphemed, and at that judgment they will all be damned at to an eternal condemnation in the lake of fire as the just penalty for their sins.

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