Isaiah 51:12-23

Passage: Isaiah 51:12-23
12 "I, I am he who comforts you;
who are you that you are afraid of man who dies,
of the son of man who is made like grass,
13 and have forgotten the LORD, your Maker,
who stretched out the heavens
and laid the foundations of the earth,
and you fear continually all the day
because of the wrath of the oppressor,
when he sets himself to destroy?
And where is the wrath of the oppressor?
14 He who is bowed down shall speedily be released;
he shall not die and go down to the pit,
neither shall his bread be lacking.
15 I am the LORD your God,
who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar—
the LORD of hosts is his name.
16 And I have put my words in your mouth
and covered you in the shadow of my hand,
establishing the heavens
and laying the foundations of the earth,
and saying to Zion, 'You are my people.'"
17 Wake yourself, wake yourself,
stand up, O Jerusalem,
you who have drunk from the hand of the LORD
the cup of his wrath,
who have drunk to the dregs
the bowl, the cup of staggering.
18 There is none to guide her
among all the sons she has borne;
there is none to take her by the hand
among all the sons she has brought up.
19 These two things have happened to you—
who will console you?
—devastation and destruction, famine and sword;
who will comfort you?
20 Your sons have fainted;
they lie at the head of every street
like an antelope in a net;
they are full of the wrath of the LORD,
the rebuke of your God.
21 Therefore hear this, you who are afflicted,
who are drunk, but not with wine:
22 Thus says your Lord, the LORD,
your God who pleads the cause of his people:
"Behold, I have taken from your hand
the cup of staggering;
the bowl of my wrath you shall drink no more;
23 and I will put it into the hand of your tormentors,
who have said to you,
'Bow down, that we may pass over';
and you have made your back like the ground
and like the street for them to pass over."

Journal: Jerusalem [Judah] is experiencing God's wrath as His judgment against her rebellion. Yet, this judgment is for her good, for her righteous upbringing, as a loving father deals with a child gone astray. Once the discipline has run its course, the child returns to the path that does not lead to destruction. [v. 22 -- "Thus says your Lord, the LORD, your God who pleads the cause of his people: 'Behold, I have taken from your hand the cup of staggering; the bowl of my wrath you shall drink no more . . .'"] He also promises once again that the rod of His discipline [whether Assyria or Babylon] will itself be disciplined. [v. 22 - 23a -- "Behold, I have taken from your hand the cup of staggering; the bowl of my wrath you shall drink no more; and I will put it into the hand of your tormentors . . ."]

A rebellious child who has returned to a loving father is redeemed and forgiven. The child finds that what was once abandoned is in reality a place of security. There is no security quite like the outstretched arms of a loving father. This security is exacerbated when that loving father is perfect and holy and righteous in every way. [v. 12 - 13a -- ""I, I am he who comforts you; who are you that you are afraid of man who dies, of the son of man who is made like grass, and have forgotten the LORD, your Maker, who stretched out the heavens and laid the foundations of the earth . . ."] The approach of this security, this place of refuge, leaves no room for pride, for it is always approached in prostrate humility. [v. 14 -- He who is bowed down shall speedily be released; he shall not die and go down to the pit, neither shall his bread be lacking."]