Sin And Death Have Taken Us Captive, Enslaved Us, And Put Us in Bondage. But God Has Given Us a Wonderful Promise: Jesus Christ Has Paid the Ransom to Set Us Free from Captivity.

Wake Up, Wake Up, O Lord! Help Your People

⁹Awake, O Lord! Rise up and robe yourself with strength. Rouse yourself as in the days of old when you slew Egypt, the dragon^a of the Nile. ¹⁰Are you not the same today, the mighty God who dried up the sea, making a path right through it for your ransomed ones? ¹¹The 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.

¹²I, 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? ¹³And 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. ¹⁵For I am the Lord your God, the Lord Almighty, who dried a path for you right through the sea, between the roaring waves. ¹⁶And 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.”^[1] (Isaiah51:9–16) 

Wake Up, Wake Up, O Lord! Awake To Help Your People!

Note that while the cry above was addressed to true believers (vv. 1–8), the cry here is addressed to the Lord. In his vision of the future, Isaiah foresaw that the people would suffer unimaginable, agonizing pain, and the sight of their suffering clearly weighed heavily upon his heart. Although the events lay decades out in the future, the prophet cried out for God to awaken and arise on behalf of His people who would face the coming trials. 

A. Isaiah Called Upon the Lord to Lift His Arm and Power to Deliver His People from Babylon, Just as He Delivered Their Forefathers from Egypt (called Rahab, the mythical sea monster, Jb. 26:12; Ps. 87:4; 89:10; Is. 30:7). When the Lord delivered Israel from Egyptian bondage, He miraculously dried up the Red Sea so the redeemed could safely cross (vv. 9–10). Once again, God’s people would need Him to miraculously deliver them. More than 150 years before the event, God in His sovereignty and mercy revealed to His prophet the terrible sufferings that were coming upon God’s people. Therefore, Isaiah prayed for God to help His dear people and to miraculously deliver them when the sufferings fell upon His people. 

B. As Soon as Isaiah Prayed, The Lord Gave a Most Wonderful Promise: The Ransomed of The Lord Would Return to Zion (Jerusalem). All true believers in Israel would be set free from the intense sorrow and mourning experienced during their captivity. Furthermore, they would be filled with everlasting joy. Gladness and gratification would flood their souls. 

C. Note That the Lord Gave More Than a Promise; He Gave Assurance That He Would Give Them Comfort (Vv. 12–16). God is the God of all comfort. He and He alone could bring solace and security to their souls. He alone had the power to deliver them from captivity and fill them with joy. Considering this fact, God had several questions to ask:

Ø  Why Would His People Fear Mortal Man, Who Withers Like the Grass and Disappears? Even if they were held in captivity, true believers had the promise that the God of comfort would care for them (2 Co. 1:3–4; 1 Pe. 5:7; 5:10).

Ø  Why Would God’s People Forget the Lord Who Created Them and The Universe? He who has this kind of power has the power to comfort them through all the sufferings of life and to fill them with joy (v. 13).

Ø  Why Would God’s People Live in Constant Terror of Oppressors (V. 13)? Many people in the world defied God and persecuted His people, but the God who had the power to create could deliver His people from the terror and threat of oppressors.

Ø  Where Was the Fury of The Oppressor When Confronted by God (V. 13c)? In comparison to the Lord, the strength of the oppressor was as nothing, ridiculously small. 

No Matter What Circumstances the True Believers Found Themselves In, There Was No Room for Fear. It was absurd to fear when their God possessed omnipotent power, the power to do anything. Considering this, God’s people could rest assured that they would be set free (vv. 14–16). They would not die in prison, and they would never lack the necessities of life. Note that four facts guaranteed that God would deliver believers from captivity and provide for them:

Ø  The Lord Has the Power to Deliver Them (V. 15). The same power that stirred up the waves of the sea was available to believers (v. 15).

Ø  The Lord Had Given His Word to His People with many promises and assurances of His love and care for them (v. 16).

Ø  The Lord Protected His People, covering them with the shadow of His hand (v. 16).

Ø  The Lord Was Their Creator, And They Were His People. Therefore, He would neither forget nor forsake them. He would fulfill His purposes for creating them (v. 16). 

Thought 1. God Has Awakened, Risen Up, To Meet Our Need. We are held in bondage to sin and death. We cannot keep from sinning and falling short of God’s glory. Nor can we keep from dying. Death is inevitable; every human being will die. Sin and death have taken us captive, enslaved us, and put us in bondage. But God has given us a wonderful promise: we can be delivered from sin and death. Jesus Christ has paid the ransom to set us free from captivity. No one must continue walking in sin, and no one must die and be separated from God. Through Jesus Christ, we can be saved both from sin and death. Victory over sin and eternal life are priceless gifts bestowed on believers through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. 

V  “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved” (Jn. 3:16–17).

V  “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Ro. 3:23–24).

V  “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, cursed is everyone that hangeth on a tree” (Ga. 3:13).

V  “In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins” (Col. 1:14).

V  “Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works” (Tit. 2:13–14).

V  “Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” (He. 9:12–14).

V  “Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot” (1 Pe. 1:18–19).

V  “And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation” (Re. 5:9).^[2] 

God had performed many powerful miracles in founding Israel, perhaps none more exciting than making a dry path through the middle of the Red Sea (see Exodus 14). Our God is the same God who made that road through the sea. His methods may change, but his love and care do not.

God’s people feared Babylon but not God. They had reason to fear Babylon for the harm it wanted to do, but they should also have realized that God’s power is much greater than Babylon’s. Babylon was interested in making the people captives; God was interested in setting them free. The people had misplaced their fear and their love. Jerusalem should have feared God’s power and loved his mercy.^[3]

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^a 51:9 Egypt, the dragon, literally, “Rahab, the dragon.”

^[1] Taylor, Kenneth Nathaniel. 1997. The Living Bible, Paraphrased. Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House.

^[2] Leadership Ministries Worldwide. 2005. Isaiah: Chapters 36–66. Vol. II. The Preacher’s Outline & Sermon Bible. Chattanooga, TN: Leadership Ministries Worldwide.

^[3] Life Application Bible Notes. 2007. Tyndale.