Listen Up by C. R. Oliver (learn to read books TXT) 📕

Listen Up!
Isaiah Chapters 51-53

Introduction:
It is easy to forget, in these closing chapters of Isaiah, that God is re-introducing Himself to His people. Along with these passages is an ever increasing refinement of what He considers as important and just how He plans to intervene in history. The Lord shows the tender side of His Fatherhood, as well as, the power side of His authority. 

Chapter 51:

In this chapter, His use of repetitive phrases adds emphasis to His teachings. Such is the case in 51:1-8. Three paragraphs begin with "Listen to Me." Perhaps we all must listen more intensely. Each paragraph poses a new consideration which build on one other. Three groups are addressed-those who "seek the Lord," then the group called, "My people" and then those who "cherish His laws." 

Group I, Those who seek Him:

Isaiah 51:1-3
Listen to me, all who hope for deliverance, who seek the Lord! Consider the quarry from which you were mined, the rock from which you were cut! Yes, think about your ancestors Abraham and Sarah, from whom you came. You worry at being so small and few, but Abraham was only one when I called him. But when I blessed him, he became a great nation. 3 And the Lord will bless Israel again, and make her deserts blossom; her barren wilderness will become as beautiful as the Garden of Eden. Joy and gladness will be found there, thanksgiving and lovely songs.
TLB

One could call "Those who seek Him," the praying--faith folk. They are those who believe for deliverance and in doing so, "seek the Lord!" He tells them to consider their heritage: "the rock from which you came." Abraham and Sarah are the ones from "whence you came." Consider it was God who started with two people and made a great nation, so why not trust Him still? 

O church, consider the "rock from which you came ("Upon this rock I will build my church")." O Church, never lose sight of your heritage and how God has supernaturally blessed your works! O Church, consider the upper room and the multitudes that have followed their witness! 

Hinged on these considerations, a fiat statement is made: "The Lord will bless Israel again." Oh, He has, yes it has come to pass and the future blessings will continue to flow. 

Since the immediate respondent is Israel, what of you and me? If we truly seek the Lord are we not the inheritors of those promises in Abraham? (Today, some are preaching the "blessings of Abraham" message. They are saying that these blessings are available to us, and they are. However, there is far more involved in that blessing than messages about prosperity. The ensuing chapters are filled with extensions of the Israel blessing, including the sure mercies of David.) 

Does this verse mean the same blessings that fell upon Abraham are to be re-instituted or does this mean that God is moving to pour out a special blessing upon Israel that would equal Abraham's blessing? Or does this mean the blessing on the nation will be as far reaching as on the man himself? 

Group II, Those who call themselves, "My People."

Isaiah 51:4-6
4 Listen to me, My people; listen, O Israel, for I will see that right prevails. 5 My mercy and justice are coming soon; your salvation is on the way. I will rule the nations; they shall wait for me and long for me to come. 6 Look high in the skies and watch the earth beneath, for the skies shall disappear like smoke, the earth shall wear out like a garment, and the people of the earth shall die like flies. But my salvation lasts forever; my righteous rule will never die nor end. 
TLB

Again, the "Listen Up" command is given to those who trust Him. God says He is overseeing the last days with special effects. First, He "will see that right prevails." This is a huge promise, because injustice and "conditions like the days of Noah" prevail. Courts are defiled, justices biased, governments are oppressive and religion is compromised, BUT-He will bring order out of chaos. 

For the people of God, there will be mercy and justice and salvation. During this time, several occurrences will take place. First, He will rule the nations. 

The Lord says: "I will rule the nations that wait for Me and long for Me to come." (O that those nations called "Christian" would rise up and seek His coming and then rest in His power.) Much of the rhetoric among the clergy today is the "imminent judgment of God upon the US." They paint a dismal picture and leave their audiences in a lurch, without touching the main theme: "My salvation lasts forever; My righteous rule will never die nor end." 

"His People" are told to look in two places: "Look Up," to the sky, which shows signs of passing away and "Look down," to the earth, where people are "dying like flies." (People rapidly dying could mean war, plague or "national cleansing." We are not told which, but the heavens are currently bearing their witness with four Blood Moons in two years. The question to be asked is "should one lay the emphasis on the events or on God who is behind the events?") 

God places His emphasis on His control: "But My salvation lasts forever; My righteous rule will never die nor end." Beginning His statement with that little word "but," changes everything said before it. No matter what is happening before that one little word "but" is insignificant. What comes after it is what counts. (My wife's answer to those who are fearful and unbelieving upon considering the events of Government and Terrorism today is: "But God!") 

This is truly the message for the "last days!" 

Regardless of what is happening in the cataclysmic throws of a chaotic society-He is still in charge! 

Group III, Those who cherish My Laws:

Isaiah 51:7-8
7 'Listen to me, you who know the right from wrong and cherish my laws in your hearts: don't be afraid of people's scorn or their slanderous talk. 8 For the moth shall destroy them like garments; the worm shall eat them like wool;but my justice and mercy shall last forever, and my salvation from generation to generation.

These two verses (7-8) are written to the saints. The Lord has one glaring command: "Don't be afraid." The mandate is followed with, "BUT My justice and mercy shall last forever, and My salvation from generation to generation." (I am convinced this is the message that must reach the ears of those who understand the seriousness of the times.) 

God shows He can be counted on from generation to generation. 

However, Isaiah cries out for God to show up and show out, like He did in Egypt. The prophet knows that if the Lord delivered His people once, He can do it again. Isaiah is the progenitor of the phrase: "Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today and forever."

Isaiah 51:9-11
9 Awake, O Lord! Rise up and robe yourself with strength. Rouse yourself as in the days of old when you slew Egypt, the dragon of the Nile. 

10 Are you not the same today, the mighty God who dried up the sea, making a path right through it for your ransomed ones? 11 The time will come when God's redeemed will all come home again. They shall come with singing to Jerusalem, filled with joy and everlasting gladness; sorrow and mourning will all disappear.
TLB

Isaiah was inside Jerusalem when he penned these words. Israel was at home at the time. BUT, there is a time coming in the future when the Redeemed of the Lord will "come to Zion with singing, with everlasting joy and gladness: sorrow and mourning will all disappear." That has not happened yet. Yes, there were interim times (after the Babylonian captivity) when those who returned did so with joy, but sorrow and mourning have not disappeared-far from it! 

The Lord answered Isaiah's inquiry about, "Are you not the same today?" Beginning in verse twelve, He addresses His people and what He says is cogent to this hour.

Isaiah 51:12-16
'I, even I, am He who comforts you and gives you all this joy. So what right have you to fear mere mortal men, who wither like the grass and disappear? 13 And yet you have no fear of God, your Maker--you have forgotten him, the one who spread the stars throughout the skies and made the earth. Will you be in constant dread of men's oppression, and fear their anger all day long? 14Soon, soon you slaves shall be released; dungeon, starvation and death are not your fate. 15 For I am the Lord your God, the Lord Almighty, who dried a path for you right through the sea, between the roaring waves. 16 And I have put my words in your mouth and hidden you safe within my hand. I planted the stars in place and molded all the earth. I am the one who says to Israel, "You are mine."'
TLB

"I have put my words in your mouth and hidden you safe within my hand." Is He talking to Isaiah alone? No, He is talking to all His covenant people. What greater promise of love could be showered upon them? 

After promising them release, no more dungeons, no more starvation, no more death, He draws them close to Him and says, "You are Mine." Hallelujah, what a Savior! 

Facing the awful prospect of annihilation and incarceration by governments of the world, the Christians need His deliverance. We are His! His word and His care go together!

Isaiah 51:17-23
17 Wake up, wake up, Jerusalem! You have drunk enough from the cup of the fury of the Lord. You have drunk to the dregs the cup of terror and squeezed out the last drops. 18 Not one of her sons is left alive to help or tell her what to do. 19 These two things have been your lot: desolation and destruction. Yes, famine and the sword. And who is left to sympathize? Who is left to comfort you? 20 For your sons have fainted and lie in the streets, helpless as wild goats caught in a net. The Lord has poured out his fury and rebuke upon them. 21 But listen now to this, afflicted ones--full of troubles and in a stupor (but not from being drunk)-- this is what the Lord says, the Lord your God who cares for His people: "See, I take from your hands the terrible cup; you shall drink no more of my fury; it is gone at last. 23 But I will put that terrible cup into the hands of those who tormented you and trampled your souls to the dust and walked upon your backs."
TLB

When one analyzes these verses, several gripping statements capture the mind. In verses 17 and 21, the recipients are told to "Wake Up" and to "Listen." The Lord announces rather grandly that it's, "Transfer the cup time." Remember, the Lord is re-introducing Himself to His people. And because they have been distant for so long, it is necessary to set out "Your God, the one who cares for His people." 

The Lord tells the citizens of Jerusalem they, "have drunk enough from the cup of Fury."

He is transferring destruction, desolation, peril and sword to any nation that has tormented and trampled their souls. (There is a large gathering of nations that had best plan to attend.) One thing for sure is Jerusalem, "You shall drink no more of my fury, it is gone at last." He is their comfort