Isaiah 51:6

The Bible says in Isaiah 51:6, “Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look upon the earth beneath: for the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall wax old like a garment, and they that dwell therein shall die in like manner: but my salvation shall be for ever, and my righteousness shall not be abolished.” The message of this verse is that everything in the world is temporary. But salvation is permanent. Once you are saved, you are saved forever. Once you enter into the eternal bliss of Christ’s kingdom, you will be there forever. Something that is permanent is much more valuable than something that is temporary. Since this is true, it is no wonder that Jesus said in Matthew 16:26, “For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?”

The Bible says in Isaiah 51:7-11, “Hearken unto me, ye that know righteousness, the people in whose heart is my law; fear ye not the reproach of men, neither be ye afraid of their revilings. For the moth shall eat them up like a garment, and the worm shall eat them like wool: but my righteousness shall be for ever, and my salvation from generation to generation. Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the LORD; awake, as in the ancient days, in the generations of old. Art thou not it that hath cut Rahab, and wounded the dragon? Art thou not it which hath dried the sea, the waters of the great deep; that hath made the depths of the sea a way for the ransomed to pass over? Therefore the redeemed of the LORD shall return, and come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy shall be upon their head: they shall obtain gladness and joy; and sorrow and mourning shall flee away.” Isaiah 51:7 is the third time that God says to His believers, “Hearken unto me.” This is both a command and a plea. Of course, the Lord knows that we will greatly benefit if we listen closely to the instructions and to the teachings that He has given. Jesus has spoken to us through His Word, and we need to listen to it and do everything we can to apply His Word to our lives. Jesus said in Matthew 5:18, “For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.” Jesus also said in Matthew 24:35, “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.”

In Isaiah 51:1 the Lord told us to “hearken” to His Word, and then He told us not to fear man. One of the results of being filled with God’s Word is that our faith in Him is built up, and then our courage is also built up. When we think about God’s power, and God’s love for us, and God’s promises through Christ; we become extremely confident that Jesus will take care of us. He will fight our battles. He will deal with our enemies. He will guide us and protect us. Of course, at times we will be hated by the unbelievers. That happens. But we will not fear them when we are full of faith in Christ. Jesus said to His disciples in Matthew 10:26, “Fear them not therefore: for there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; and hid, that shall not be known.” Jesus also said in Matthew 10:28, “And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”

Isaiah 51:8 refers to a principle of life in this world that applies to your enemies as well as to everyone else. It says, “For the moth shall eat them up like a garment, and the worm shall eat them like wool.” Everyone will die. Everyone will pass away. Everyone and everything in this world is temporary. Your enemies are temporary. They are coming to their death. Those enemies, who are all temporary, are being compared to that which is eternal. Through Christ we have already been received into eternal habitations. Why should we be concerned with how human beings treat us? That which is temporary is not so very important compared to eternity.

Isaiah 51:9 reminds us that God will always be God. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and today, and forever. He performed miracles in the past to take care of His believers, and therefore, we can be sure that He will also perform miracles for us. He loves us just as much as He loved those in the past centuries. It says in Isaiah 51:9, “Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the LORD; awake, as in the ancient days, in the generations of old. Art thou not it that hath cut Rahab, and wounded the dragon?” The use of the word “Rahab” in this verse refers to the nation of Egypt. We know how God protected the children of Israel by helping them to pass through the Red Sea. It was a great miracle and a wonderful miracle. We still marvel at the greatness of that miracle. The point that Isaiah is making is that God will do similar things for you, if you trust in Him.

It is interesting to notice that the “dragon” is mentioned in Isaiah 51:9. This dragon was already mentioned in Isaiah chapter 27 as a clear reference to the devil. Of course, the believer’s real enemy is the devil. As it says in Hebrews 6:12, “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” The promise of Isaiah 51:9 is a reminder of the promise made to Adam that the devil will be defeated. Revelation gives a glimpse into the final destiny of the devil. It says in Revelation 20:10, “And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.”

The Bible says in Isaiah 51:12-17, “I, even I, am he that comforteth you: who art thou, that thou shouldest be afraid of a man that shall die, and of the son of man which shall be made as grass; And forgettest the LORD thy maker, that hath stretched forth the heavens, and laid the foundations of the earth; and hast feared continually every day because of the fury of the oppressor, as if he were ready to destroy? and where is the fury of the oppressor? The captive exile hasteneth that he may be loosed, and that he should not die in the pit, nor that his bread should fail. But I am the LORD thy God, that divided the sea, whose waves roared: The LORD of hosts is his name. And I have put my words in thy mouth, and I have covered thee in the shadow of mine hand, that I may plant the heavens, and lay the foundations of the earth, and say unto Zion, Thou art my people. Awake, awake, stand up, O Jerusalem, which hast drunk at the hand of the LORD the cup of his fury; thou hast drunken the dregs of the cup of trembling, and wrung them out.” The truth that is being presented by the Lord in Isaiah 51:12-13 is that when believers fear human beings, it means that such believers have forgotten God. When we remember God, it means that we remember His power also. And when we remember His power, it means that man has no power. God has all power. That is why the Lord says in Isaiah 51:15-17, “But I am the LORD thy God, that divided the sea, whose waves roared: The LORD of hosts is his name. And I have put my words in thy mouth, and I have covered thee in the shadow of mine hand, that I may plant the heavens, and lay the foundations of the earth, and say unto Zion, Thou art my people. Awake, awake, stand up, O Jerusalem, which hast drunk at the hand of the LORD the cup of his fury;” The Lord performed the great miracle of dividing the sea for the children of Israel. Just to emphasize all that He can do, He calls Himself “the Lord of hosts.” He is all-powerful, and He has innumerable angels at His bidding. Jacob saw angels ascending and descending to and from heaven and the earth. God also has believers that He uses to fulfill His will. There may be thousands or at least hundreds of people on the earth who honestly look to Christ and pray, “Not my will, but thine, be done.” And of course, in reality God uses all people to perform His will. He used the Babylonians to destroy Jerusalem and take away the captives. It was not the Babylonians who was punishing the Israelites so much as it was the Lord who was punishing them. That is why the Lord said in Isaiah 51:17, “O Jerusalem, which hast drunk at the hand of the LORD the cup of his fury.” The Lord used the Babylonians to punish the people of Israel, and then the Lord used King Cyrus to bring them back. God is God, and there is none else.

The Bible says in Isaiah 51:18-23, “There is none to guide her among all the sons whom she hath brought forth; neither is there any that taketh her by the hand of all the sons that she hath brought up. These two things are come unto thee; who shall be sorry for thee? desolation, and destruction, and the famine, and the sword: by whom shall I comfort thee? Thy sons have fainted, they lie at the head of all the streets, as a wild bull in a net: they are full of the fury of the LORD, the rebuke of thy God. Therefore hear now this, thou afflicted, and drunken, but not with wine: Thus saith thy Lord the LORD, and thy God that pleadeth the cause of his people, Behold, I have taken out of thine hand the cup of trembling, even the dregs of the cup of my fury; thou shalt no more drink it again: But I will put it into the hand of them that afflict thee; which have said to thy soul, Bow down, that we may go over: and thou hast laid thy body as the ground, and as the street, to them that went over.” Parents always want their children to grow up and become accomplished and successful. Believers are no different. Of course, we know that Jesus has a specific plan for each person, and by faith we watch God work out His great plan in each person’s life including the lives of our children. Even so, from a human standpoint it is a sad thing when bad things happen to our children, or when they do not realize their potential. It says in Proverbs 17:21, “He that begetteth a fool doeth it to his sorrow: and the father of a fool hath no joy.” It also says in Proverbs 10:5, “He that gathereth in summer is a wise son: but he that sleepeth in harvest is a son that causeth shame.”

In the case of the Israelites, their children could not win the battle against the enemy. The parents equipped the sons for the battle, but the sons lost. As it says in Isaiah 51:20, “Thy sons have fainted, they lie at the head of all the streets.” We can make a spiritual application to this situation. Christian parents do the best they can to prepare their children for the spiritual warfare that life will bring their way, but the enemy is persistent and the spiritual dangers are on every hand. Many “sons have fainted, they lie at the head of all the streets.” But that is not the end of the story. The Lord is still in control and He is merciful because He died for all sins on the cross of Calvary. God tells the Israelites in Isaiah 51:23 that He is going to turn the tables. God is going to bring victory to His children because He loves His children. God said, “But I will put it into the hand of them that afflict thee.” Even though He must chastise His children, He does not stay angry with us forever. The Psalmist wrote in Psalms 89:1, “I will sing of the mercies of the LORD for ever: with my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness to all generations.” The next two chapters of Isaiah will tell us more about the blessings that will come to the people of God, and will go into detail about why those blessings will come: because Jesus suffered and died for us.

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