Grace Institute: Isaiah: Deliverance from Sin

Deliverance from Sin Isaiah 49-59 Fall 2008

In chapters 41-48, God promises that He will deliver his people from their coming Babylonian captivity. However, the people need more than physical deliverance. The captivity was a result of the sinfulness of the people. Therefore, it is not enough to bring them out of captivity. Their root problem must be dealt with. Chapters 49—59 shows that the Lord will not just save them from exile, but he will save them from the cause of their exile. The Lord will save them from their sin.

This salvation will come through one described as the Servant of the Lord . This is described in a series of four “ Servant Songs” (Lindsey) :

• The Call of the Servant (42:1-9).
• The Commission of the Servant (49:1-13).
• The Commitment of the Servant (50:4-11).
• The Career of the Servant (52:13-53:12).

However, before looking at the salvation offered and affected by the servant, we will begin by looking ahead to chapters 57—59 to see the reason we need this salvation.

The Need for Salvation (Isaiah 56:9—59)

The Sin of Idolatry (56:9—57:21)

Leaders are like Dogs (56:9—57:2)

Isaiah compares to the leadership of Judah as watchdogs who cannot bark. When the beasts of the field come to attack, the watchdog sleeps, silent (56:10-11). The dog is worthless as a guard, but it eats with an appetite that cannot be satisfied (56:11-12).

The result of this self-absorbed leadership is that the righteous people in society are slowly disappearing (57:1—2). The righteous are being destroyed by the injustice in society or are being converted to the sinful ways of the rest of society.

Condemnation of Idolatry (57:3—57:13)

Isaiah condemns the idolatrous practices of the people, describing their false religious practices in detail. They are sorcerers and adulterers (57:3) and mockers (57:4). They “burn with lust among the oaks” (57:5). This is a reference to the sexual prostitution that took place in Canaanite religious practices. He describes how they sacrificed their own children to the gods in the valleys (57:5). This sexual nature of the idol worship is revealed as he states that they have set their bed in the lofty places of sacrifice (57:7), and that they have made themselves naked (57:8).

Unfortunately, these idolaters have reached to the king and have gained influence with him as well (57:9).

The Lord challenges them to trust in their gods. When the difficulties come, let them rescue and save you.

When you cry out, let your collection of idols deliver you. (Isaiah 57:13a ESV)

Comfort for the Contrite (57:14—21)

The arrogant idolaters will not find deliverance from their idols. However, He who takes refuge in the Lord will possess the land (57:13b). The Lord will dwell in the land with those who are of a contrite and lowly spirit.

I dwell in the high and holy place
and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit
To revive the spirit of the lowly,
And to revive the heart of the contrite.
(Isaiah 57:15 ESV)

God will not always be angry at the iniquity of His people (57:17). God will heal and comfort the sinner who is contrite (57:18). For those who humbly recognize their need for deliverance, there will be peace (57:19). However, for the arrogant, the wicked, and the idolater, there will be no peace (57:20-21)

The Sin of Injustice (Isaiah 58)

Improper Fasting (58:1--13)

While the previous chapter condemns those who worship false gods, the Lord will show that even those who worship Him are in need of salvation.

These are people who actively seek after the Lord (58:2). They are people who each day listen and hear the word of God. They fast and they humble themselves (58:3). Yet God does not hear their prayers.

However, at the same time they seek the Lord , they oppress the workers (58:3). This is not the kind of fast that God desires. Proper fasting is not to deprive ourselves, but to provide for others. The fast of God is to share bread with the hungry and to bring the homeless into your home (58:6—7).

If this is the kind of fast in which we partake, then God will hear our prayers and the glory of the Lord will protect (58:8) and provide (58:11).

Improper Sabbath Rest (58:13-14)

The second sin of the religious is seeking pleasure on the Sabbath. God calls on the Sabbath to be a delight in and of itself, thus making it a holy day to the Lord (58:13). The purpose of the Sabbath is not just to have a day off. It is to delight in the Lord , not to delight in our own leisure activities (58:13-14).

As the people fasted and celebrated the Sabbath, their religious practices were self-serving. They derived pleasure and delight not in the God behind these things, but in the practice itself. Fasting was not used to meet the needs of others, but to meet their own needs. Keeping the Sabbath was not to delight in the Lord , but to delight in their own pleasures.

We must also look to our own heart. When come to church, are we seeking our own delight, or do we want to delight in the Lord ? Are we seeking to have our own needs fulfilled or are we seeking to meet the needs of others? Are we seeking a church service which delights us and makes us feel good, or are we coming to church to give God delight in how we treat those who are in need?

The Arm of the Lord (Isaiah 59)

Both the wicked and the religious are selfish and in need of salvation. Chapter 59 declares clearly this need for salvation, but also offers hope that the servant of the Lord has the strength to bring about our salvation.

Behold, the Lord 's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, or his ear dull that it cannot hear.

But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God. (Isaiah 59:1-2 ESV)

The Sin that Separates (59:2-8)

In other words, there is a separate between God and us. However, it is not God's fault. It is our iniquity that has caused this.

Our sin has created a gulf between God and us. We have allowed injustice to rule our society (59:4). Our courts and our laws are filled with iniquity and our society sheds innocent blood (59:7).

The Result of Sin (59:9-13)

As justice disappears from society, we hope for light but only find darkness (59:9). We grope like the blind (59:10). We hope for justice and salvation but it is not here (59:11). The result is that our own transgressions against the Lord are multiplied (59:12).

The Lord 's Response to our Sin (59:14-18)

When the Lord seeks the injustice and the lies, he is displeased (59:15). Furthermore, he looked, but there was no man who could intercede (59:16a). None of us is capable of rising above our own sin to save ourselves.

Therefore, the Lord 's own arm had to bring about our salvation (59:16b). He put on his warrior garments of righteousness and salvation, and in His strength he comes to bring justice to the oppressed and salvation to the humble (59:17-19).

When this salvation comes, the redeemer comes to Zion with those who are repentant (59:20). Those who turn from their transgressions and seek the Lord 's salvation will be with Him. The Lord will then give them the Holy Spirit, so that they will never forget the word of the Lord evermore (59:21).

The Anticipation of Salvation (Isaiah 49—52:12)

The Servant is a Light to the Nations (49:1—26)

A Light to the Nations (49:1-12)

Chapter 49 contains the second servant song. In this song, the servant is commission by God from before the time of his birth to bring salvation not just to Israel but also to all the nations.

The Lord calls the servant from the time he is in his mother's womb (49:2, 5). He is formed as a warrior, with a sword and an arrow (49:2). Through the word of His servant, the Lord will be glorified (49:3) bringing Israel back to God (49:6).

However, the servant is called not only to bring salvation to Israel, but to the entire world.
It is too light a thing that you should be my servant
To raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to bring back the preserved of Israel
I will make you as a light for the nations,
That my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth. (Isaiah 49:6 ESV)

The servant of the Lord will be the light unto the nations, the means by which God's salvation is brought to all humanity. Due to the ministry of the servant, all the princes and kings of the world will bow down before the Redeemer and the Holy One of Israel (49:7).

Through the servant, the Lord will bring the captives out of exile, restoring them to their land, and providing all that they need (49:8-12).

God Does Not Forget His People (49:13-50:3)

The salvation of Israel should result in praise to God (49:13). However, they are unable to see God's deliverance, and instead they wonder if God has forgotten them (49:14). Of course, the Lord has not forgotten them. Can a woman forget her nursing child (49:15)? The Lord has engraved them on the palm of his hands (49:16). All they must do is lift up their eyes and see as God gathers them back to himself (49:18).

God will lift his hand so the nations will bring His people back (49:21-22). When they return, then they will know that He is their Lord, and that those who put their trust in Him will not be put to shame (49:23).

Furthermore, through their salvation, not only will Israel know her God, but…

…all flesh shall know
That I am the Lord your Savior,
And your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob. (Isaiah 49:26 ESV)

The Servant Vindicated (50:1-51:8)

The Need for Salvation (50:1-3)

Chapter 50 begins with the Lord justifying their discipline in the exile by using two metaphors: the debtor and the bride. God has sold Israel to her creditors. God has issued a certificate of divorce (50:1).

However, that does not mean that God cannot or will not redeem His people from exile.

Indeed, does he not have the power to deliver? Is his hand too short? (50:2). The answer to the rhetorical question is obvious. Of course, God has the power to deliver. He has power over the sea and over the heavens (50:2b-3).

The Punishment and Vindication of the Servant (50:4-9)

How will God redeem Israel? Through His servant. This servant has the authority to teach (50:4). He has is without sin (50:5), and yet he voluntarily takes on the punishment of sin by being beaten, having his beard plucked out and being spat upon (50:6).

However, the Lord will help the servant through this, and will ultimately persecute those who put Him to shame (50:7). As a result, the servant will be vindicated by the Lord (50:8). The Lord will help the servant and declare him to be innocent (50:9).

God is Faithful to His Salvation (50:10-51:8)

Therefore, those who fear the Lord and obey His servant will be delivered (50:10). However, those who do not will suffer torment (50:11). Those who rely on God will be vindicated as the servant is vindicated.

To prove this, God asks them to look to their own past. Specifically, they should look to Abraham and Sarah (51:2). God was faithful to His promise to Abraham, so we know He will be faithful to all who trust in Him. The heavens and the earth will disappear (51:6), but God's salvation will be forever. People will die and decay, but God's righteousness will last forever (51:8).

Awake! Put on Your Strength (51:9-52:12)

In light of the trustworthiness of the Lord's salvation, Isaiah calls on his listener to wake up!

• “Awake, awake, put on strength… awake as in days of old” (51:9).
• “Wake yourself, wake yourself, stand up, O Jerusalem” (51:17).
• “Awake, awake, put on your strength, O Zion” (52:1).

Just as the Israelites were delivered as they crossed the Red Sea (51:10), so the ransomed of the Lord will come into Zion with joy (50:11). However, the people are asleep. They have forgotten their Maker (51:13), and they have forgotten that they are His people (51:16).

While the Lord has indeed brought about devastation and destruction (51:20), He will now withhold his judgment (51:22), and He will redeem them.

No longer will foreigner tread on Zion. Just as God brought His people back from Egypt, he will return them again (52:4). In that day, Israel will know their God (52:6).

To declare the greatness of this message, Isaiah tells of a messenger or herald who brings good news, announcing Israel's salvation. With the reality that God will bring back His people, the message and the truth behind this is simple: “Your God reigns” (52:7). The return of the exiles is proof of the sovereignty of God.

As the people return, they rejoice at the comfort of the Lord (52:9), and all the nations of the earth will see God's salvation (52:10).

The Means of Salvation (Isaiah 52:13—53)

In the final servant song, we discover that the deliverance through the servant of the Lord does not come as we expect. We learn that the people of Israel do not need salvation from exile. The exile is a result of a deeper problem from which the people need deliverance. The servant comes to deliver his people from their sin. This salvation does not come through strength and glory but through weakness and humility.

For the Christian there is no ambiguity as to the identity of the servant in chapter 53. Jesus declares himself to be the fulfillment of this servant song.

For I tell you that this Scripture must be fulfilled in me: 'And he was numbered with the transgressors.' For what is written about me has its fulfillment." (Luke 22:37 ESV)

The fourth servant song is one of the most clearly stated pictures of the atoning sacrifice of Jesus in all of scripture, New or Old Testament. This glimpse 700 years into the reveals the reason for and the results of the crucifixion of Jesus. This glimpse provides us the most eloquent and beautiful explanation of the doctrine of atonement in all of scripture.

Unexpected Sacrifice (52:13—15)

Astonishment at the Appearance of the Servant (52:13-15)

At the beginning of the servant song, we see the servant lifted and up and exalted because the servant does the wise and proper thing. The exaltation of the servant acts as a bookend to this song. Before we see the unexpected and unbelievable suffering of the servant, we have to be reminded that the coming act of sacrifice is the proper ministry of the servant and that God will indeed reward him for his sacrifice.

However, the sacrifice of the servant is clearly not what the world expects. The people are astonished that this is the servant of the Lord for his appearance will be so grotesque that he barely looks human. The kings will be dumbfounded and startled for what they are about to see and hear about the servant is not what is expected.

The Humility of the Servant (53:1-3)

Who can believe this? Can you believe who it is in whom the power of God has been revealed? The coming of the servant in this fashion is unbelievable.

First, he comes from an unexpected place, and his appearance was nothing special. He does not appear on the world stage coming in glory for the entire world to see. Nobody would pick this guy out of a crowd. There is no majesty or beauty in him that would identify him as the servant of the Lord.

Secondly, the unseemly nature of his death left people thinking that this could not be the servant of the Lord . Therefore, people despised him and rejected him.

Even though Jesus performed miracles and signs, the people of his day did not believe in Him (John 12:37-38). They were expecting the glory of God to come not from such humility and such disgrace. They could not believe.

Reason for the Sacrifice (53:4—9)

He Bore Our Punishment (53:4-6)

As the servant experiences the punishment for our sin, we assume that God has also rejected Him and that he is smitten by God. However, he was taking our sins and our punishment. We are the sinners, not Him. He is just bearing the results of our curse.

The cross was the great stumbling block to the Jews of the first century. In Deuteronomy 21:23, Moses declares that everyone who hangs on a tree is cursed. Therefore, since Jesus is hung from a cross, he cannot be the servant of God because he has been cursed by God. The apostle Paul in Galatians explains that indeed, Jesus was indeed cursed by God. However, he was taking our curse so that we might be redeemed.

Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us--for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree" (Galatians 3:13 ESV)

The servant does not undergo the wrath of God for his doing, but because he is bearing our grief and carrying our sorrows. He is wounded for our transgressions. He is crushed for our iniquity. He took on our punishment. As a result, his chastisement brings to us peace and healing.

Every one of us is sinful and incapable of finding peace with God. All of us have left the path and gone astray on our own way. However, all of our sin has been put onto this servant.

He Suffered Willingly (53:7-9)

The servant, therefore, was innocent. Nonetheless, for our sake, he went voluntarily to endure our punishment. He went with his mouth silent, like a lamb to the slaughter.

Therefore, the people of his generation could not see that his death was for their own transgressions. He was just like a common criminal, buried in a rich man's tomb. They could not see that he was innocent.

The apostle Peter shows us that the innocent suffering of Jesus is an example of how we should live. Just as Jesus suffered for doing what is right so our calling is to suffer for doing what is right as well.

If when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God. For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. (1 Peter 2:20-22 ESV)

If Jesus suffered for doing what is right, we should expect the same. This is the result of living a humble and godly life. Furthermore, it is for this reason that Jesus died, that we might live righteously.

He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. (1 Peter 2:24 ESV)

Results of the Sacrifice (53:10—12)

One of the most powerful statements in this entire son is that it pleased the Lord to crush his servant (53:10). It is not just that the servant was willing to be sacrificed, but the Lord was willing to sacrifice Him. But why would the Lord want to see his servant crushed?

First, it is through this crushing that our sins are forgiven, and that we are made righteous before Him (53:11). The servant willingly took on our sin. In exchange, we are able to take on his righteousness. Just as the Jesus became our sin, so we can become the righteous of Jesus.

For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:21 ESV)

Secondly, because he bore our sins, he now can make intercession for us. He can uniquely identify with us, for he has been identified with our sin and our suffering. Therefore, he can now mediate between God and us. Hebrews explains this role by calling Jesus our perfect priest.

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.

Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. (Hebrews 4:15-16 ESV)

Finally, it pleased the Lord to crush his servant because it is through the path of suffering that the servant will be exalted (5:10b, 12a). Having endured our punishment, he shall now prosper at the hand of the Lord . He will receive the spoils of the strong.

And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name. (Philippians 2:8-9 ESV)

The sacrifice of Jesus demonstrates once and for all that the path to glory comes through humility. When we seek our life, we lose it, but when we lose our life, we find it. Jesus is the embodiment of his maxim; the first shall be last and the last first. The crucifixion and glorification of Christ affirms the key theme of Isaiah. God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.

The Invitation to Salvation (Isaiah 54—56)

The Everlasting Love of the Lord (Isaiah 54)

Having established that forgiveness will come through the servant of the Lord , Isaiah now calls the people to enter into the salvation and grace he offers.

He uses the analogy of a husband and wife. The Lord , their maker and redeemer is their husband (54:5). For a while, they were estranged when she wandered from her husband (54:6, 8). However no longer will his wife be disgraced (54:4). She who was barren will now have children and will prosper (54:2—3).

Just as God promised Noah that there would be no further judgment from the flood, so now God promises that he will no longer judge his people (54:9). While he was angry for awhile, he now demonstrates his compassion with an everlasting and steadfast love (54:8, 10).

In overflowing anger for a moment I hid my face from you, but with everlasting love I will have compassion on you," says the LORD, your Redeemer. (Isaiah 54:8 ESV)

Seek the Lord ! (Isaiah 55)

In light of his everlasting love and compassion, the Lord calls out for his people to return to him to find forgiveness and satisfaction.

If the come, he will give them free food that satisfies (55:1-2). If they incline their ear, their soul will live (55:3) as he re-establishes the Davidic covenant (55:4) and makes them a glorified nation (55:5).

However, for this salvation to be effective, they must respond to his call.

"Seek the LORD while he may be found; call upon him while he is near; (Isaiah 55:6 ESV)

If they seek after the Lord and repent of their sin, He will have compassion on them and will “abundantly pardon” their sin (55:7).

Isaiah reminds them that this is no provincial god who is making this offer. This is the transcendent God, whose ways are incomparable (55:8-9). His word does not come back empty, but what he sets out to do he will accomplish (55:10-11). Therefore, when he redeems his people, all of creation will participate in this redemption and shall praise God (55:12).

Salvation Available to All (Isaiah 56)

However, this salvation and this call belong not just to Israel to but those of any nation who seek justice and righteousness (56:1-2). There will be a place for foreigners who join themselves to the Lord (56:3, 6). They shall be given a place in his house (56:4-5) and he will gather them to himself as well (56:8).

The salvation of God, made possible through the death of His servant is available to any who seek after him.