Look to the Past to Learn How Bright Is the Future

Isaiah 51:12-16

In this section the Lord speaks quite passionately about the grievous sin of fearing man more than fearing him: “I—I am the one who comforts you” (v. 12). How dare we fear man more than we fear him? Man is mortal—he dies, withering like the grass of the field (v. 12). How dare we live in constant dread every day of the fury of the oppressor, forgetting that it is the Lord who created the universe (v. 13)! God reminds his people also that he rules every single day over the events on earth. Not only did he create heaven and earth, but he also stirs up the sea so that its waves roar (v. 15). This is the God who will set the prisoner free, delivering him from the Pit (v. 14).

The eternal God designed these words to give comfort not only to the Jews in exile but also to every generation of his chosen people. How do we know this? Again, because the words of verse 16 soar far above the mere restoration of a straggling remnant of Jews to the rubble-filled streets of Jerusalem. verse 16 has some interpretive challenges. Because the servant of the Lord speaks in similar language in Isaiah 49:2, some believe God is speaking to Christ here as well. But the audience is referred to in the second person masculine singular in verse 12 (“Who are you . . .”) and all the way through verse 13; and Zion is addressed directly at the end of verse 16 in second person masculine singular as well. So it is probably best to think of this as God addressing each one of his elect people in verse 16: “I have put my words in your mouth, and covered you in the shadow of my hand, in order to plant the heavens, to found the earth, and to say to Zion, ‘You are my people.’” In other words, by the sovereign word of God he will establish a new heaven and new earth as an eternal home for Zion, his redeemed people. So stop fearing mortal man—God will accomplish his eternal purposes!

Isaiah 51:17-23

God reminds his people that Jerusalem was destroyed and the people sent into exile specifically as an act of judgment by their holy God. He gave them a cup of fury, and they drank that cup to its bitterest dregs: destruction, famine, and sword inflicted on his people. Their children fell like antelopes caught in a hunter’s net. This great tragedy was no accident but rather God’s righteous judgment. But now that time is over. God has removed the cup of staggering from the hand of his people and will now give it to their tormenters instead. And when they drink from it, they will fall. These were the vicious people who made God’s people lie down in the mud so they could walk on their backs. The tormentors’ time of torment will come back on them.

The lessons of this chapter are profound, and they minister to every generation of God’s people. The basic concept is powerful: We must listen to the Word of the Lord and feed our hearts on his past achievements as recorded in Scripture so that we may be filled with a powerful hope, no matter how bleak the circumstances. We must look back with faith at what God has already done, so we can look ahead with hope at what he has said he will do. For Christians in the twenty-first century, this chapter can enable us to face mockers and persecutors who scoff at our faith and say, “Where is this ‘coming’ Christ said would happen?” (see 2 Pet 3:4). The same God who created the universe out of nothing and the Jewish nation out of nothing will fulfill his eternal plan.

Second, we should learn to fear God and obey him more than we fear human beings, no matter how threatening or powerful they may appear. It is a great sin to fear man more than God, who strongly challenges that sin in this chapter. We must repent of all the ways we show fear of man. This is especially true in the matter of evangelism and missions. God says in this chapter that he will set prisoners free and that he has put his words in our mouth and covered us in the shadow of his hand. These words find a beautiful application in stirring us up to courage in evangelism. Satan’s prisoners must be set free by the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Finally, we should fully embrace the future this chapter clearly unfolds: for the present universe, total destruction; for the believers, a new heaven and new earth in which they will worship God eternally in joy; for the wicked tormenters, a cup of wrath. These themes should strongly color the way we live every day—pursuing righteousness in the fear of the Lord and seeking to deliver the prisoners held by chains of sin. The future should empower the present as much as the past does.