Isaiah 52:1-12

Awake, awake, O Zion, clothe yourself with strength.  Put on your garments of splendor, O Jerusalem, the holy city.  The uncircumcised and defiled will not enter you again.  2 Shake off your dust; rise up, sit enthroned, O Jerusalem. Free yourself from the chains on your neck, O captive Daughter of Zion. 3 For this is what the Lord says: “You were sold for nothing, and without money you will be redeemed.” 4 For this is what the Sovereign Lord says:  “At first my people went down to Egypt to live; lately, Assyria has oppressed them. 5 “And now what do I have here?” declares the Lord.  “For my people have been taken away for nothing, and those who rule them mock,’” declares the Lord.  “And all day long my name is constantly blasphemed. 6 Therefore my people will know my name; therefore in that day they will know that it is I who foretold it. Yes, it is I.” 7 How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, “Your God reigns!”  8 Listen! Your watchmen lift up their voices; together they shout for joy. When the Lord returns to Zion, they will see it with their own eyes. 9 Burst into songs of joy together, you ruins of Jerusalem, for the Lord has comforted his people, he has redeemed Jerusalem. 10 The Lord will lay bare his holy arm in the sight of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth will see the salvation of our God.  11 Depart, depart, go out from there! Touch no unclean thing! Come out from it and be pure, you who carry the vessels of the Lord. 12 But you will not leave in haste or go in flight; for the Lord will go before you, the God of Israel will be your rear guard.  (Isaiah 52:1-12 NIV)

This passage, like many in Isaiah, is composed of a mixture of commands and promises. Let's look together at the examples. First, the commands:

• awake
• cloth yourself with strength
• put on your garments of splendor
• shake off your dust
• rise up
• sit enthroned
• free yourself from the chains on your neck
• burst into songs of joy together
• depart and go out from there = come out from it
• touch no unclean thing = be pure

Although this is a somewhat long list, it can be condensed by grouping together the commands that are essentially the same idea. If we do this, we see the following pattern:

• Israel in exile is to awake out of her despair and believe God's promise of release from captivity.
• She is to shake off the "dust" of the surrounding paganism and leave Babylonia for the Promised Land.
• She is to "clothe" herself with the strength that comes from believing God's promises and "sit enthroned" upon them.
• She is to let the joy of what she has believed drive away all sadness and hopelessness.

To aid the exiles in doing what he has commanded them to do, God gives them promises.

• The uncircumcised and defiled will not enter Jerusalem (as its rulers) again (v 1).
• Jerusalem was "sold for nothing", and without money it will be redeemed. (v 3)
• When the LORD rescues his people, it will be conspicuous, for "The LORD will lay bare his holy arm in the sight of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth will see the salvation of our God (v 10).
• When Cyrus has conquered Babylon and the Persian king decrees the exiles' right to return to their land, they will not need to flee, as they did from the pharaoh in Exodus 14-15, for "you will not leave in haste or go in flight;  for the LORD will go before you, the God of Israel will be your rear guard" (v 12).

How nice it is, that we who are gentiles, adopted by the mercy of God into the blessings of his people Israel, can claim similar promises to these.

• The Devil and his temptations cannot lord it over us in our "Jerusalem", because God guards the gates of our "city".
• We were not required to buy our own forgiveness and eternal life by good deeds or ritual acts, but it was given to us "without money". For "you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect"  (1 Peter 1:18–19 NIV).
• When Jesus saved you and me from our sins, it was conspicuous to everyone who witnessed the transformation in our lives. With us it was as Paul described the conversion of the disciples in Thessalonica: "You became imitators of us and of the Lord; in spite of severe suffering, you welcomed the message with the joy given by the Holy Spirit. 7 And so you became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia. 8 The Lord’s message rang out from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia—your faith in God has become known everywhere. Therefore we do not need to say anything about it, 9 for they themselves report what kind of reception you gave us. They tell how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, 10 and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead—Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath [of God]" (1 Thessalonians 1:6–10 NIV)
• Like the exiles, we have learned to flee every form of evil and moral impurity. But like them, we do not have to flee in terror from the Devil our former oppressor. Instead, we can "resist the Devil; and he will flee from you" (James 4:7)!

Ancient Israel's experiences with God are a paradigm of our own. Which is one reason we should never neglect reading and praying through the rich teachings of the Old Testament.