This section contains several admonitions: “hearken to me” (51: kjv; also 4, 7); “awake, awake” (vv. 9, 17; 52:1–6); and “depart, depart” (vv. 7–12). Except for 51:9–16, which is a prayer addressed to the Lord, each of these admonitions is from God to His people in Babylon.
“Hearken to me” (51:1–8). These three admonitions are addressed to the faithful remnant in Israel, the people described in 50:10. In the first admonition (51:1–3), the Lord told them to look back and remember Abraham and Sarah, the progenitors of the Jewish nation (Gen. 12—25). God called them “alone,” but from these two elderly people came a nation as numerous as the dust of the earth and the stars of the heaven (13:16; 15:5). The remnant leaving Babylon was small and weak, but God was able to increase them into a mighty nation and also turn their ravaged land into a paradise. “Be comforted!” God said to His people. “The best is yet to come!”
In the second command (Isa. 51:4–6), God told them to look ahead and realize that justice would come to the world and they would be vindicated by the Lord. Note the emphasis on the word my: My people, My nation, My justice, My righteousness, My arms, and My salvation. This is the grace of God, doing for His people what they did not deserve and what they could not do for themselves. The “arm of the Lord” is a key concept in Isaiah’s prophecies (30:30; 40:10; 51:5, 9; 52:10; 53:1; 59:16; 62:8; 63:5, 12). Heaven and earth will pass away, but God’s righteousness and salvation will last forever. That righteousness will be displayed in a special way when Messiah returns and establishes His kingdom on earth.
The third admonition (51:7–8) focuses on looking within, where we find either fear or faith. Why should the nation fear men when God is on its side? “Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid” (Isa. 12: nkjv). “Sanctify the Lord of hosts himself, and let him be your fear, and let him be your dread” (8: kjv). To have God’s law in your heart means to belong to Him and be saved (Jer. 31:31–34; Heb. 10:16). The moth and the worm shall destroy the enemy, but God’s salvation will endure. Moths and worms do not do their work conspicuously, but they work efficiently just the same. The seeds of destruction were already in the Babylonian Empire, and the leaders did not know it.
“Awake, awake” (51:9—52:6). “Hearken to me” was spoken to admonish the people, but “awake, awake” is for the rousing of the Lord (51:9–16) and of Jerusalem (vv. 17–23; 52:1–6).
The remnant in Babylon prayed as though God were asleep and needed to be awakened (Ps. 7:6; 44:23; 78:65–72). They wanted God to bare His arm as He did when He defeated Pharaoh and redeemed His people from Egyptian bondage. The return from Babylon was looked upon as another “exodus” (Isa. 43:16–17; 49:9–12), with God wholly in charge and the enemy completely defeated.
God replied to their prayer with words of comfort (51:12–16; see vv. 3, 19). He reminded them again of the frailty of man (see 40:6–8) and the power of God the Creator (51:13). Why should they be afraid of grass when the God of the universe was on their side? Because they are His people, with whom He has deposited His Word, He will release them, protect them, and provide for them. They had an important task to perform and He would enable them to do it.
In the second “wake-up call,” the prophet spoke to the ruined city of Jerusalem (vv. 17–23) and pictured her as a mother in a drunken stupor with no children to help her. In the Bible, judgment is sometimes pictured as the drinking of a cup of wine (29:9; 63:6; Ps. 75:8; Jer. 25:15–16; Rev. 14:10). Jerusalem’s children had gone into captivity, but now they would return and give their “mother” new hope and a new beginning. God will take the cup of judgment from the Jews and give it to their enemies. To put your foot on the neck of your enemies was a humiliating declaration of their defeat, but instead of Babylon “walking on” the Jews, the Jews would “walk on” the Babylonians!
The third “wake-up call” (Isa. 52:1–6) is also addressed to Jerusalem and is a command not only to wake up but to dress up! It is not enough for her to put off her stupor (51:17–23); she must also put on her glorious garments. Babylon the “queen” would fall to the dust in shame (47:1), but Jerusalem would rise up from the dust and be enthroned as a queen! Egypt had enslaved God’s people, Assyria had oppressed them, and Babylon had taken them captive, but now that was ended. Of course, the ultimate fulfillment of this promise will occur when the Messiah returns, delivers Jerusalem from her enemies, and establishes Mount Zion as the joy of all the earth (61:4–11).
The city of Jerusalem is called “the Holy City” eight times in Scripture (Neh. 11:1, 18; Isa. 48:2; 52:1; Dan. 9:24; Matt. 4:5; 27:53; Rev. 11:2). It has been “set apart” by God for His exclusive purposes, but when His people refused to obey Him, He ordered it destroyed, first by the Babylonians and then by the Romans.
During the captivity, God’s name was blasphemed because the enemy taunted the Jews and asked them why their great God did not deliver them (Ps. 115; 137). Paul quoted Isaiah 52: in Romans 2:24. But when the remnant is restored, they will know God’s name and seek to honor it.
“Depart, depart” (52:7–12). The defeat of Babylon by Cyrus was certainly good news to the Jews because it meant freedom for the captives (40:9; 41:27). The good news we share today is that Jesus Christ can set the prisoners free (Rom. 10:15). For decades, the remnant had suffered in a foreign country, without an altar or a priesthood, but now they would return to their land, rebuild their temple, and restore their God-given ministry.
It has well been said that “good news is for sharing,” and that is what happens in Jerusalem. The leaders (watchmen) take up the message and sing together to the glory of God (Isa. 44:23). But they not only hear what God has done; they also see it happening! The wilderness will join the song because the desolate cities and “waste places” will be transformed (51:3). The remnant prayed for God’s holy arm to work, and He answered their prayer (v. 9).
Isaiah liked to use repetition: “Comfort ye, comfort ye” (40:1); “awake, awake” (51:9, 17; 52:1); and now, “depart, depart” (52:11). It seems strange that God would have to urge His people to leave a place of captivity, but some of them had grown accustomed to Babylon and were reluctant to leave. The first group, about fifty thousand people, left Babylon in 539–538 BC when Cyrus issued his decree. They were under the leadership of Sheshbazzar, Zerubbabel, and Jeshua the high priest (Ezra 1—2). They carried with them “the vessels of the Lord” (Isa. 52:11), the articles that were needed for the service in the temple. A second group of nearly eighteen hundred people led by Ezra left in 458 BC.
God commanded them to depart because Babylon was a condemned city (Jer. 50:8ff.; 51:6, 45). He warned them not to linger but to get out quickly while they had the opportunity (Isa. 48:20). They did not have to flee like criminals, but there was no reason to tarry. He also cautioned them not to take any of Babylon’s uncleanness with them. “Touch no unclean thing” (52:11) would certainly include the whole Babylonian system of idolatry and occult practices that had helped to ruin the Jewish nation (47:11–15). Paul made the application to believers today in 2 Corinthians 6:14–7:1.
God had a special word for the priests and Levites who were carrying the vessels of the temple: “Come out from it [Babylon] and be pure” (Isa. 52: niv). This is a good command for all of God’s servants to obey. If we defile ourselves, we will also defile the work of the Lord. How tragic for a holy ministry to be a source of defilement to God’s people!
The prophet added a final word of encouragement: “The Lord will go before you, and the God of Israel will be your rear guard” (v. 12; see 58:8). This reminds us of Israel’s exodus from Egypt when the Lord went before them (Ex. 13:21) and stood between them and the enemy (14:19–20). When God’s people obey God’s will, they can always count on God’s leading and protection.
Isaiah has prepared the way for the “heart” of God’s revelation of the Servant Messiah, the fourth Servant Song (52:13–53:12). We must prepare our hearts, for we are walking on holy ground.