Exposition by Max A Forsythe
Our chapter today may be divided into two sections for our consideration. The first half, in verses one through sixteen, contains the good news of everlasting salvation for Zion. The second half, in verses seventeen to twenty-three, describes a completely different scene of just what Zion has been saved from.
Let us begin with the first six verses . Here we have a contrast with the last chapter. Before God was dealing with the ungodly; here He turns His attention to the godly among the nation. We see this in the address of verse one. God would speak through Isaiah to those who would pursue righteousness and seek the Lord. The implication here is that the seekers are vigorous in their pursuit, even a hungering and a thirsting which results in action. These are the ones who belong to the Lord our God; these are the elect.
What would God have them do? “Look back” He encourages them. Look back to your roots and consider the rock from which you were cut, home to the quarry from whence you came. Look to Abraham the father of many faithful and his wife from whom you are descended. Look back to the first who was the father of many. When we consider the godly line prior to Abraham, the number of individuals from Noah to Abraham is very limited. Only when Abraham’s line is blessed do we see significant multiplication in the growth of the faithful. Of course, there are ups and downs in the earthly fortunes of God’s people. In Isaiah’s time the number has dwindled somewhat. Yet, if Zion’s people will look back to Abraham they may understand the Lord’s compassion, who will rebuild her ruins. The deserted land will bloom again and the wastelands will become a garden. Joy and gladness, thanksgiving and singing will be the response of God’s people. In the next three verses they are called to focus on the future to see what the Lord will do through them. Just like Abraham was promised a future and a hope so are God’s people encouraged to not only consider the past, but their future as well.
And what a wonderful future we may hope for in the salvation of the Lord! The last part of verse six tells us that His salvation is forever and ever because His righteousness will never fail. In the next two verses (seven and eight), God’s people were and are encouraged to consider the present in light of both past and future. Well, I don’t know about you, but my week was very interesting indeed. And this passage was very vital in restoring my hope and confidence. Is this not the way we are to draw strength from Scripture and Sacrament? Isn’t it wonderful that the Lord has provided for us the various means of grace? As we gather around the Lord’s table we are encouraged by the Apostle Paul to look back to the cross and consider what Christ has accomplished for us. We are also encouraged to look forward until the Lord comes again. And as we consider past and future, even as we gather to take strength from His table, we may also acquire strength from Christ’s spiritual presence as we gather around His table and remember and hope.
Before Him we may lay our troubles and our hopes. And because we belong to Him, Isaiah tells us in verses nine through eleven to call on the Name of the Lord. “Awake, awake!”, Isaiah calls to God even as we might petition Him in our own day. Isaiah dwells upon God’s gracious acts in the past: His actions against the gods of Egypt, His action in parting the Red Sea. Even so, Isaiah hopes that the ransomed of the Lord will one day return to Zion. Today, do we not also hope for a restoration of God’s people? How much do we pray for a real spiritual revival and a reformation of Christ’s churches? Are we not the very ones who should do so on a planned and regular basis? Of all the churches and congregations in Franklin County, are we not one of a select few who know how God works? Since we indeed know this, should we not be asking the Lord to awake as Isaiah has to make Himself known in our time?
Isaiah’s record continues with the words of the Lord Himself in verses twelve to sixteen. Even as we gather around the table, ought not we to weigh His words carefully? Whenever we take fright from the worldly and the wicked, why should we be concerned? Our God of all comfort is able to ease our pain and our tension. Why should we fear any living mortal and forget the God of heaven? In times of trouble we are promised in verse sixteen that He will put His words in our mouth and cover us with the shadow of His hand. The very Lord who has set the heavens in place, who has laid the foundations of the earth; He it is who says to both testament churches: “You are my people.”
In the second half of our text the Lord calls upon Jerusalem. Here he urges God’s people who have tasted God’s wrath in punishment to consider their condition. How often should we challenge ourselves to consider our continuing sinful condition? Are we not encouraged to examine ourselves whenever we come together around the Lord’s table? Are we not to reflect on our failings and our shortcomings? Certainly, nothing so disastrous as what came to Jerusalem can happen today, can it?
Well, if we consider the past history of our nation, there was the terrible civil war whose impact has burdened our history before, during and after it was finally resolved. One of the long lasting problems of that conflict involved the huge numbers of Christian leaders who threw their lives away for their cause. Reformed churches in particular were hard hit, and the survivors who were not as opinionated became the new leaders for a new era. The religious fervor which was poured into the war has not appeared so widely or with such raw emotional power since. Was the war fever of the Civil War a form of spiritual drunkenness like that pictured here in this portion of Isaiah? Let us hope in the spirit of verse twenty-two that that particular cup has been taken away.
And may we hope that never again will Christians raise their hands against each other in this land. Europe of course went through a period of the same stupidity during World War One. Germans, French and all the others called upon the same God as they gladly destroyed each other in the blood sodden trenches. At least since the Great War, most of our major conflicts have been between the spiritual and the worldly. Indeed, the worldly humanist parties who rejected the God of the continental powers in 1914, have become a major threat ever since. Look at the description of those who oppose God in verse twenty-three. Doesn’t it sound familiar? Sometimes in our various careers we see these same things going on as corporate struggles rather than as national ones. How involved ought we to be? Or can we see these same struggles go on within our families? Again, how involved ought we to be? "How are we to then live?", as Francis Schaeffer once aptly phrased the question regarding the two cups placed before us in this passage.
Two cups, you may ask? Yes, the cup of grace described in the first half and the cup of wrath in the second! Of course, you say, you very much desire the cup of grace. At least at the intellectual level we know enough to choose grace. However, in this age of feelings and emotions, how many times would we rather not be limited to the obedience required from our Lord and our God? I am reminded of the Presbyterian pastor who, before he became Presbyterian, wrote a study bible. His name, of course, was Cyrus Schofield. One of his biographers had a heyday with the inconsistencies in the life of one of the most influential “theologians” for our century. The greatest tragedy of his life was the family he abandoned early on so that he could make his way in the world. How much should the church pay attention to this man whose later tales of his life never ever showed any evidence of shame and repentance for any of his worldly actions? This is not the pattern of Christian life that we find in Augustine’s biography, or the admission of sins by countless other Christians.
What account would we make of our life today as we gather around our Lord’s table? Are we willing to confess our present sins and put away shameful plans and desires? If we are not, which cup do we deserve? Grace or wrath? Your life, past, present and future is very much tied up with the events of the last supper experience which we are about to participate in. Are you truly sorry for your sins; have you confessed them to the Lord? Do you resolve to attempt to do better in the future? Will you put away any wicked desires and plans that can or will cause pain to another? If so, then as a child of God, as the elect of every nation, you are invited to His table to partake of His grace given to us by His death, resurrection and raising up from the dead. Come, repent of your sins and thank Him most graciously for all that He has done. May we know the grace of Christ’s presence even as we partake of the bread and the juice. Amen.
Resources Used:
Ellis, Charles..
The Wells of Salvation.
Thomas, Derek..
Welwyn Commentary Series: God Delivers.
Young, Edward J.
The Book of Isaiah.
Youngblood, Ronald F. The Book of Isaiah: An
Introductory Commentary.
The Holy Bible.
New International Version (1984 Edition)
NOTE: I am not able to automatically
recommend any future editions.
Christ Covenant Reformed (Presbyterian Church in America) -
Box 13926 - Columbus, OH 43213
(c) 2001
29 October 1994
Permission granted to redistribute unedited versions with this notice.