Isaiah 52 Commentary
“For the uncircumcised and the unclean shall no longer come to you.” Revelation 21:27 repeats the same statement. It was never an event for Isaiah’s immediate future.
Shake yourself free, Jerusalem! Sit on your throne! Undo the chains that bind you. We know these poetic statements refer to some profound truths lying deep in the history of the nation – the history of mankind back in the Book of Genesis.
Adam (humanity) decided to believe a lie and dethroned himself. We lost dominion. We enslaved ourselves.
Then we have references to enslavement in Egypt. Assyria came second, and Babylon followed. Enslavement is a history-long problem!
It’s little wonder that the terms “comfort” and “redemption” appear repeatedly in this volume.
Look at it again. You will see that Jerusalem, or Zion, is a code name for an entity whose identity is only properly defined by the context.
It could be a redeemed, and consequently, a holy nation (group of cleansed individuals) under God’s rule and will. Or, it could refer to an entity (group of individuals) yet to be cleansed. The call to this group is, “Depart! Depart! Go out from there, touch no unclean thing; go out from the midst of her, be clean”
The call remains timeless. Therefore, each generation has its own Jerusalem, a group of individuals under the leadership and lordship of the Holy Spirit. So the text toggles between the past, the present, and the future.
But there is good news. The good news is not about political freedom. It is not even that Israel is finally leaving Babylon. The good news is that “Your God reigns”. Verse 7. It has everything to do with the announcement of the kingdom of God.
“My kingdom is not of this world,” said the LORD Jesus Christ when pressed by Pirate.
The last section deals with the nature of the Servant who brings about this kingdom. It is the story of the Servant-cum-King whose Kingdom is good news to the slaves.
First things first: the Servant will act wisely; he will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted. This is a future event for Isaiah’s time.
The tone changes from future to past, probably now written for the New Testament world that must look at both the manger-born Messiah and Calvary. They are all past events for us.
But we want to remind ourselves of God’s immortality. There are no urgent or emergency Board meetings. Everything is done at once!
Of the Servant, Isaiah says, “He shall be exalted and extolled and be very high.” Concerning the same Servant, Paul says, “Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name.” By Paul’s time, the Servant was truly top!
But it is all in the past! “He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you.” 1 Peter 1:20.
Of course, when He manifested, He didn’t look the type. His speeches were totally strange – new things the world heard.
The story of the Servant-cum-King has made interesting news everywhere. To those who know they are slaves, it is good news. They know salvation has come. They can be free to enjoy a restored relationship with the Creator God.
There is more about the Servant-cum-King but that is for tomorrow.
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