“Wake up, wake up; put on your strength Zion!” (v. 1)
Wake up seems to be the theme from the last chapter and this. God is getting ready to deliver Israel from Babylon where they have lived in exile for 70 years. Their punishment is now complete and it’s time to return.
“Stand up, shake the dust off yourself! Take your seat, Jerusalem. Remove the bonds from your neck, captive Daughter Zion.” (v. 2).
“So now what have I here” –this is the LORD’s declaration–“that My people are taken away for nothing? Its rulers wail” —this is the LORD’s declaration–“and My name is continually blasphemed all day long” (v. 5).
Who is doing the blaspheming? Israel when they were taken away for nothing (even though it was because of their unrepentant hearts)? Or the nations that mock Israel that their God is too weak to protect them? Probably all of the above.
“Therefore My people will know My name; therefore they will know on that day that I am He says: Here I am” (v. 6).
But now it moves into the time of great joy. Because deliverance and salvation are coming and it’s a time of lifting up their voices and “shouting for joy together” (v. 8). How beautiful the feet of him who brings this news of salvation, both deliverance from Babylon and deliverance that will come through Messiah.
“Leave, leave, go out from there!” (v. 11)
This is both a literal statement and a figurative statement. Leave that which is unclean and “purify yourselves” (v. 11). It’s a new day. Leave the life of sin and uncleanness in your past.
And then we enter into the introduction of the Suffering Servant, the Messiah. We read in Acts 8 about the Ethiopian Eunuch and he is reading this Scripture. He asks Philip who is this Suffering Servant that Isaiah is talking about? Himself as in Isaiah, or another? And Philip then explains that it is Jesus.
So why this here? Because Babylon where Isaiah had been held captivity literally is also a metphor for sin that read in Revelation. Just as God’s deliverance and salvation will save them from Babylon, so Messiah will save his people from spiritual Babylon of sin.
So what does it say about Jesus?
- He will act wisely
- He will be exalted and lifted up
- His appearance will be so disfigured that he would not look like a human being
- He will “sprinkle” many nations (this is covenant language for purification)
- Kings will shut their mouth as they will see and understand even when they weren’t told about these things.
It’s a depiction of the cross. It’s hard to imagine he was so disfigured that he was barely recognizable as a human being. And also it would be a bloody death but that death was the means of purification of the nations.
But in keeping with the theme of deliverance from Babylon as we see in the early part of this chapter, the deliverance that Jesus provides is good news. In fact, the very best of news. Therefore we too should
‘lift up our voices, showing for joy together’ (v. 8)
“Be joyful, rejoice together” (v. 9)
The salvation of joy is the place of exceedingly great joy. He has delivered us from our sins. We are free!
