Isaiah 51

This chapter belongs to the prophecies of comfort and restoration that begin in Isaiah 40. Isaiah 50 closes by urging those who fear the LORD to obey the voice of His servant, and chapter 51 follows with a threefold summons, "Hearken unto me" (vv. 1, 4, 7). Then comes the cry "Awake, awake," which carries over into Isaiah 52.

Outline

• Verses 1–3 Those who follow after righteousness are told to look to the rock from which they were hewn, that is, to Abraham and Sarah. Just as God called Abraham when he was alone and increased him, so He will comfort Zion. He promises to make her wilderness like Eden.
• Verses 4–6 God's law and judgment will become a light to the peoples. Though the heavens vanish like smoke and the earth wears out like a garment, God's salvation and righteousness endure forever.
• Verses 7–8 The people in whose heart is God's law are told not to fear the reproach of men. Those who revile them will perish like a moth-eaten garment.
• Verses 9–11 The people cry out to "the arm of the LORD" to awake and rise. Recalling the days of old, when He cut Rahab, wounded the dragon, and made a way through the sea, they confess that the redeemed will return to Zion with singing.
• Verses 12–16 God answers, "I, even I, am he that comforteth you." He tells them not to fear mortal man or the oppressor, and He promises that the captive exile will soon be set free.
• Verses 17–20 Jerusalem, who has drunk the cup of fury and staggers, is called to awake and stand up. The passage describes the desolation and destruction, the famine and the sword, that Jerusalem has suffered.
• Verses 21–23 God declares that He will take the cup out of Jerusalem's hand and put it into the hand of those who afflicted her.

Key Verses

• Isaiah 51:2 "For I called him alone" — This verse gives the small remnant hope of restoration, grounded in the way God has worked from the very beginning.
• Isaiah 51:6 "but my salvation shall be for ever" — This verse sets the passing created order against God's everlasting salvation.
• Isaiah 51:22 "I have taken out of thine hand the cup of trembling, even the dregs of the cup of my fury" — This verse forms the chapter's conclusion, declaring the end and reversal of judgment.

People and Places

• Abraham and Sarah: The ancestors of Israel, figuratively described as the "rock" and the "pit" from which the people came.
• Zion and Jerusalem: The city of God that will be comforted and restored. From verse 17 onward, the city is personified and addressed directly.
• Eden: A symbol of paradise to which the restored Zion is compared.
• Rahab and the dragon: Sea monsters mentioned in verse 9, a poetic expression for the forces of chaos that oppose God. This Rahab is distinct from Rahab, the woman of Jericho.

Points for Reflection

• Verses 9–10 recall the crossing of the Red Sea. In Isaiah 30:7, Rahab is also used as a name for Egypt. Accordingly, some interpreters read these verses as drawing on the chaos-myth imagery of the ancient Near East, while others read them as a symbol of Egypt.
• Verse 11 is nearly identical to Isaiah 35:10.
• Among scholars, the view that chapters 40–55 form a separate section set against the background of the Babylonian exile is widely held. Conservative tradition, by contrast, holds that the prophet Isaiah foretold the future return from exile.
• The expression "cup of fury" is read in connection with the cup of God's wrath in Revelation 14:10. Christian interpretation also sometimes links it to the "cup" of which Jesus prayed in Gethsemane, understanding Christ to have borne wrath in the place of His people.
• The wearing out of the heavens and the earth in verse 6 is compared with New Testament passages such as 2 Peter 3:10–13 and Hebrews 1:10–12.