Isaiah 51, Part 6 - Awake, awake! Rise up, O Jerusalem
Isaiah 51v17-21
2nd November 2013
In verse 9, Isaiah prayed "Awake, awake! Clothe yourself with strength, O arm of the Lord. Was it not you who dried up the sea, the waters of the great deep, who made a road in the depths of the sea so that the redeemed might cross over?". God responded by promising to comfort and protect his people, to set them free and bring them home. God then turns the prayer back on his people, commanding them to "Awake, awake!".
Isaiah 51:17-20
Awake, awake! Rise up, O Jerusalem, you who have drunk from the hand of the LORD the cup of his wrath, you
who have drained to its dregs the goblet that makes men stagger.
Of all the sons she bore there was none to guide her; of all the sons she brought up there was none to take
her by the hand.
These double calamities have come upon you - who can comfort you? - ruin and destruction, famine and sword
- who can console you?
Your sons have fainted; they lie at the head of every street, like antelope caught in a net. They are
filled with the wrath of the LORD and the rebuke of your God.
So often, including in our generation, it seems that when things are difficult, God's people wait for Him to act, when God is waiting for his people to act. It's true that without God we can achieve nothing of lasting value, but the Bible often promises that God will act in response to us:
Deuteronomy 4:29
But if from there ou seek the LORD your God, you will find him if you look for him with all your heart and
with all your soul.
2 Chronicles 7:13-14
"When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague
among my people,
if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their
wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.
2 Chronicles 15:1-2
The Spirit of God came upon Azariah son of Oded.
He went out to meet Asa and said to him, "Listen to me, Asa and all Judah and Benjamin. The LORD is with you
when you are with him. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will forsake
you.
James 4:8a
Come near to God and he will come near to you.
God's people were under God's judgement. That's why they were in exile, prisoners in Babylon. They'd turned away from Him by turning away from obedience to the scriptures. The question for the English church right now is: have we done the same?
Have we turned away from God by refusing to obey the whole Bible?
I believe the answer to that question is "Yes".
Not every Christian, not every church, but many English Christians and many English churches decide for themselves which scriptures are convenient and which are not, which scriptures fit our pre-existing world view and which do not, which are "politically correct" and which are not. And we reject the uncomfortable ones. We're judging the Bible. How dare we!
If we sit in judgement over the Bible, then God will sit in judgement over us. If we adopt a pick-and-mix approach to doctrine, constructing a world-view partly from the bits of the Bible that we like and partly from our political and cultural preferences (which is syncretism) are we any better than the ancient Israelites who worshipped both Yahweh and the Canaanite false gods?
Eventually, when the Jews had suffered enough, they realised that they'd sinned by ignoring elements of God's law. They repented, and God set them free and blessed them again. Knowing that this would happen, Isaiah was able to prophesy:
Isaiah 51:17-21
Therefore hear this, you afflicted one, made drunk, but not with wine.
This is what your Sovereign LORD says, your God, who defends his people: "See, I have taken out of your hand
the cup that made you stagger; from that cup, the goblet of my wrath, you will never drink again.
I will put it into the hands of your tormentors, who said to you, 'Fall prostrate that we may walk over you.'
And you made your back like the ground, like a street to be walked over."
And, although the English church is weaker and more despised than it has been for many generations, we're not beyond the point where we can admit that we've turned away from God's word, repent efore our Lord, and know His blessing again.
No longer should the church follow the lead set by atheists and agnostics. If we will set our hearts to obey the scriptures, we will lead and not follow, once again.