Get comfy. I’ll try to keep this succinct, but these are 3 glorious chapters and we’re only gonna cover them once. So get your hot beverage ☕️ and settle in…
In the last post we saw that Israel had gotten itself back into bondage; just like in Egypt. Isaiah is writing prophetically. Judah and Jerusalem have not actually been conquered yet. Assyria did attack during the days of Hezekiah and there were likely a few citizens hauled back to Assyria as slaves, but the southern kingdom of Judah is still very much intact as Isaiah writes this.
It’s not unusual for the Bible to have passages written in past-tense that haven’t yet happened. God, the Author, is outside of time. Remember this passage from a few chapters ago?
“remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose,’”
Isaiah 46:9-10 ESV
SIDE NOTE
This was a favorite text of my Bible College President who was also my professor for Life Of Christ 1 & 2 where we studied the Messianic prophecies in the OT; and particularly Isaiah 53 (which I memorized and wrote as my final exam).
I was doing some eschatology study years ago- Revelation & Daniel mostly, and I prayed something like, “Lord, if You’re revealing this stuff to anyone, could I be one of those people? You’re no respecter of persons so I figure I’m as eligible as anyone. So, if You are, would You help me understand?”
And immediately I could hear my teacher quoting Isaiah 46:9-10 in his powerful baritone. And the part “declaring the end from the beginning” leapt out like a neon billboard. There might’ve been an actual lightbulb 💡 over my head.
☝🏼😃 If I want to understand The End, I need to look at the Beginning because God Himself said THAT is where He “declared” The End!
I literally flipped my Bible from Revelation (where it had been open) to Genesis 1 and I studied the first 12 chapters as lightbulb 💡 after lightbulb 💡 went on and the parallels became apparent. It revolutionized my grasp of the whole of scripture. From that moment it all became a clear, cohesive unit in my head.
I share this long side-note to say: If we want to understand prophecy better, it would help if we borrowed God’s perspective- which is completely outside of time.
Isaiah wrote about Messiah in past, present and future tenses. Let’s get into it.
Isaiah 52 begins with a kind of Second Exodus in verses 1-12. Yahweh calls them out of bondage again. And just like He personally led them out of Egypt in the form of the pillar of cloud and fire, He will go before them and lead them out of this bondage too.
Right on the heels of this promise to personally lead them out, we get the promise of Yahweh’s Servant. I think the implication is that this Servant of Yahweh is the One Who will lead them out of bondage just as the Angel of Yahweh led them out of Egypt. Indeed, we will ultimately discover that the Angel of Yahweh and the Servant of Yahweh are One and the same.
This is the 4th “Servant Song” in Isaiah.
- 42:1-4 – The Gentle Servant
- 49:1-6 – The Rescuing Servant
- 50:4-11 – The Determined Servant
- 52:13-53:15 – The Suffering Servant
Remember how we have seen TWO servants of Yahweh? The bumbling blind one (Israel) and this other one who is perfect? Well, at this point we get some much-needed clarity on the distinction between them.
“Just as many were appalled at you— such was his appearance beyond human disfigurement, and his form beyond the sons of mankind—”
Isaiah 52:14 LEB
The “you” is the people of Judah. The LORD has been speaking to them since verse 1 “Wake up! Wake up, Zion!.” The “you’s” in verses 1-12 are clearly about God’s people.
And in the same way that surrounding nations were appalled at the destruction of Israel, so people will be appalled at the destruction of Yahweh’s Servant. So appalled that His destruction ✝️ will be the subject of countless works of art from its occurrence on into the future.
It’s undeniable. The nation of Israel is not THIS disfigured Servant. This servant is going do something we see almost exclusively in the context of a priest making atonement and purification. He is going to “sprinkle” many nations.
This is the Hebrew word translated “sprinkle.” It appears 24 times in the OT. Besides its use here, it has only 1 appearance (2 Kgs 9:33) that is not in the context of sprinkling blood for atonement. (In that instance it’s still blood spattering, but it’s Jezebel’s blood after being tossed out the window. Ick.) Nazah appears mostly in Leviticus in the instructions to the priests.
“The priest will then sprinkle the blood of the dead bird seven times on the person being purified of the skin disease. When the priest has purified the person, he will release the live bird in the open field to fly away.”
Leviticus 14:7 NLT
(If you missed the blog post on Leviticus 14 and the cleansing of the leper, I encourage you to look it up in the archive.)
The Servant of Yahweh is going to function as a priest dipping His finger in blood and sprinkling it for purification and cleansing from sin. If you have time, it would be awesome to look up those 22 priestly uses of “sprinkle” and see them for the picture of Christ’s atonement that they are. And it is THIS text, Isaiah 52:15 that is the first puzzle piece that clearly connects the Servant of Yahweh to those texts from the Law.
And yes – I know that the LXX has “marvel” instead of “sprinkle” and that some translations (NLT) go with that concept, (“He shall startle many nations.”). And it does fit the context very well- being “astonished” in verse 14. Perhaps the LORD wanted both ideas preserved.
The chapter break is unfortunate. Because the final statement of chapter 52 is what the opening question of chapter 53 is responding to.
“so he shall sprinkle many nations; because of him, kings shall shut their mouths. For they shall see what has not been told them, and they shall consider with full attention what they have not heard.”
Isaiah 52:15 LEB
“Who has believed our message, and to whom has the arm of Yahweh been revealed?”
Isaiah 53:1 LEB
How does someone see what has not been reported to them? How does someone consider or understand something they haven’t heard about? The following commentary from Blue Letter Bible is helpful:
So, who believed the message? And to whom (consequently) was the power/ability (arm) of Yahweh revealed? Israel as a whole rejected the message. The Gentiles believed. The Gentiles had no history of prophets telling them about this coming Redeemer. They hadn’t heard. Yet they believed the Gospel.
The “Arm of the LORD” wasn’t just an event. He was a person. A person with some very specific characteristics which Isaiah gives in verses 2-12.
- Root out of dry ground may reference His virgin birth and the barrenness of the kingly line of David
- Humble birth and appearance
- Despised and abandoned by people
- Would suffer great pain
- So badly disfigured that the sight was unbearable
- Despised and disregarded
- People assume He is punished by God
- Pierced (Hebrew: “bored”)
- Beaten & bruised in a humiliating way
- Carries the weight of all sin
- Harassed and brow-beaten or verbally insulted and beaten down, yet responds with silence
- Willingly defenseless
- Manhandled from prison first, then to face judgement (which is the reverse of the usual- judgment first then prison)
- “Cut off from the land of the living” – i.e. killed. Dead. (And not for any guilt on His part, so: death of an innocent man)
- Dies among “the wicked” yet buried among “the rich”
- Gives Himself up to be a “guilt offering”
- This One who is killed ALSO lives to see His offspring and His life (days) are restored and prolonged with power and authority in His hand
- He looks upon His own suffering with satisfaction
- He has the power to justify many and bears their wrongdoing
- He is placed in position of highest authority and power because He poured out His life unto death for sinners to bear their sins
THAT is the Gospel. Sitting right here, clear as day, in the Old Testament.
No wonder the next section begins with a command to SING! And “Break into joyful song!”
Jerusalem is described as an abandoned, barren woman… A poor, desolate widow. It’s too late for her. Her dreams of a happy home filled with children and grandchildren are nothing but ashes…
But then something wonderful happens…
The Creator Himself will be her Kinsman Redeemer. Like Boaz, He will marry the widow and she who was barren will have so many babies they’ll have to start adding on to the house!
That’s what the Gospel does. When sinners trust in the chosen Servant of Yahweh and He bears away their sins, they are born from above. Born of the Spirit. Born in Zion. And it is the remnant of Israel who will birth the Messiah and the Apostles who bring the Gospel to the nations.
“‘For a brief moment I abandoned you, but with great compassion I will take you back. In a burst of anger I turned my face away for a little while. But with everlasting love I will have compassion on you,’ says the Lord, your Redeemer.”
Isaiah 54:7-8 NLT
The people of Israel will need to cherish these words in the upcoming years of exile.
But the LORD goes on to describe a Jerusalem made of precious stones. It sounds suspiciously like the Holy City, the NEW Jerusalem, the Heavenly City. And that is indeed what He’s describing.
This prophecy says, It’s not going to be about the earthly city. There is a better city coming- one that can never be surrounded in a siege or destroyed by invaders.
In this world, cities fall. Jerusalem will fall. And God says He’s the One Who allows this happen.
“I have created the blacksmith who fans the coals beneath the forge and makes the weapons of destruction. And I have created the armies that destroy. But in that coming day no weapon turned against you will succeed. You will silence every voice raised up to accuse you. These benefits are enjoyed by the servants of the Lord; their vindication will come from me. I, the Lord, have spoken!”
Isaiah 54:16-17 NLT
Note the distinction of “BUT, in that coming day…” There is a day ahead when Jerusalem will face the armies that destroy. And there won’t be a thing they can do about it. But that is not the end of the story. There is another day coming. It’s the day when God’s people are restored; the day when the gates of the bejeweled City are opened. No weapon crafted by Earth or Hell can succeed in attacking the Eternal City of God. And any accusations raised about the residents by “the accuser of the brethren” will be shut down. Or, as Paul put it:
“There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”
Romans 8:1 KJV
“This is the inheritance of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of Me, says the LORD.” That is why there is no condemnation. Christ Jesus is perfectly righteous. And if you are IN Christ Jesus you are enveloped within the Righteous One. His righteousness counts as yours.
That IS something to sing about.
To The Reader 