“Listen to Me, you who pursue righteousness, you who seek the LORD: Look to the rock from which you were cut, and to the quarry from which you were dug” (v. 1).

Context here clearly indicates that he is talking to Israel. The LORD is delivering them from the hands of Babylon, and he is calling them to look at their roots. Yes, they have experienced his discipline and his anger, but he is restoring them.

“My righteousness ins near, My salvation appears, and My arms will bring justice to the nations” (v. 5)

“But My salvation will last forever, and My righteousness will never be shattered” (v. 6)

Men will taunt them and disgrace them. But the LORD says do not fear such things (v. 7).

He calls them repeatedly to wake up!

“Wake up, wake up! Put on the strength of the LORD’s power. Wake up as in days past, as in generations of long ago” (v. 9).

“Wake yourself, wake yourself up!” (v. 17).

Israel needed to remember who the LORD was, the one who delivered him out of the hand of the Egyptians. The problem though?

“I–I am the One who comforts you. Who are you that you should fear man who dies, or a son of man who is given up like grass? But you have forgotten the LORD, your Maker, who stretched out the heavens and laid the foundations of the earth. You are in constant dread all day long because of the fury of the oppressor, who has set himself to destroy” (v. 12-13).

The problem was that they had been oppressed for some 70 years, and feared and lived in dread of their oppressor more than they feared and respected the LORD. Their eyes could only see what was in front of them and did not look up to see God.

The LORD says do not dread a man who dies like the grass. Give your fear to the LORD who is your Maker.

The LORD then says he is going to deliver them.

“This is what the LORD says–Yahweh, even your God, who defends His people–“Look, I have removed the cup of staggering from your hand; that goblet, the cup of My fury. You will never drink it again. I will put it into the hands of your tormentors...” (v. 22-23a).

This hits several chords for me.

1. Do not let the dread of an evil person and their torment be bigger than the God you love and respect and fear. The same can be said of difficult and terrible situations. It’s easy to fall into the trap that only man can deliver or death can deliver, but we must look to God. He can deliver.
   
   I think we will need to know this more severely as the days are unfolding. We have one of the greatest evil being enacted upon the world. The world. Their plans are published. Their power is astonishing. It’s horrifying. (The WEF). What is coming I think will be unprecedented in the history of the world. We must remember to fear God and not man who is mortal.
   
2. He is the author of Righteousness and Salvation. As you know I’ve been studying other faiths the last couple of years. I’m astounded that within those faith systems is the belief you can “lie for the LORD” or lie if it protects the faith. Does God need protecting? No. These faiths are the liars, not God.
   
3. Then there’s this one that is a challenge for me. “You will never drink it [the cup of His fury] again.”
   
   For me I immediately think of the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70. I think of Daniel 9:26 where it says the Messiah will come before the destruction of the temple. I think of the Jews scattered to the nations of the world and have only since started to return since the 1940’s.
   
   What was this? Was this God’s wrath? Or was it something different?
   
   When I think of it, I realize before God brings judgment upon His people, he always warns them and calls them to repentance is that is the reason. We don’t see that with AD 70. We do see in Daniel that the destruction of the Temple would come, but we don’t necessarily see a “why.”
   
   Of course we know that from the death of Christ on a new covenant was established. And because of that the Old Covenant and the Temple worship had to cease.
   
   And that’s what I think it is here. AD 70 did happen. We can go to Israel today and walk upon the incredible destruction of parts of the temple. I’ve been there and the huge stones that were hurled off the temple heights is shocking. It took a lot of work to destroy what they destroyed.
   
   But it would seem from Scripture that his destruction was not a result of Israel’s sin and unfaithfulness, but rather a necessity to usher in the new covenant. Yes, it did mean for almost 2000 years the Jews were scattered.
   
   Yet tey had their faith which kept their identity in the nations of the world. The only nation I might add that has ever done that. Most will assimilate. They did not. And now it’s their time to come home. “On the shoulders of the Gentiles” as we just read in the previous chapters.