Chapter 51

1 An exhortation, after the pattern of Abraham, to trust in Christ, 3 by reason of his comfortable promises, 4 of his righteous salvation, 7 and man’s mortality. 9 Christ by his sanctified arm defendeth his from the fear of man. 17 He bewaileth the afflictions of Jerusalem, 21 and promiseth deliverance.

1. Hearken to me. Isaiah now addresses the devout in Israel, those who sincerely and earnestly looked for the fulfillment of the promises made to the fathers but who had become discouraged because of their delay and apparent failure (see on chs. 49:4, 14; 50:1). They had forgotten how the Lord had led their fathers in ages past (see LS 196). God now invites them to turn to Him and to forget their doubts and misgivings. For those who seek righteousness and deliverance there is but one way to attain these objectives, and that is by faithful obedience to the voice of the Lord.

Righteousness. Heb. sedeq, usually “righteousness,” but also “justice,” “success,” or “deliverance.” He who sows righteousness will reap justice, success, and deliverance. The one is the cause,the other the result. Both shades of meaning may be intended here. The first is emphasized in v. 7, and the second in v. 5. If Israel would only do right, they could expect justice, success, and deliverance.

Whence ye are hewn. Israel was to reflect on the way by which God had led the nation in past ages. From a humble beginning they had become a great nation. As stone is taken from the quarry and shaped into a beautiful temple, so the people of Israel had been brought out of Egypt and Mesopotamia and prepared by God to be His living representatives. How marvelously the Lord had worked in their behalf! Now He would have them take courage, in faith believing that He would do so again.

2. Look unto Abraham. God reminds Israel of their origin as a nation (Gen. 11:28, 31; 12:1, 4, 5). Triumphs of the past should inspire courage in the present and hope for the future (see Hosea 1:10).

Blessed him. Dead Sea scroll 1QIs reads, “I caused him to be fruitful” (see Gen. 17:6; 28:3; 48:4; 49:22).

3. Zion. See on Ps. 48:2; Isa. 40:1.

Like Eden. See Deut. 28:4–6; COL 289.

Melody. Dead Sea scroll 1QIs adds, “And grief and sighing shall flee away.”

4. A law. Heb. torah, which includes all the revealed will of God (see on Deut. 31:9; Ps. 19:7). God here promises to continue making His purposes known to Israel (see Amos 3:7).

My judgment.Divine justice will again be established on earth (see on ch. 42:4, 6), and confidence in god’s rulership will bring in a spirit of peace and security.

5. My righteousness. That is, “deliverance” (see on v. 1). The deliverance God now promises His people will not be long delayed.

The isles. See on ch. 42:4. The restoration of Israel was to be followed by the ingathering of the Gentile nations (see pp. 28–30).

6. The heavens shall vanish. See on ch. 34:4. In place of this clause and the next, Dead Sea scroll 1QIs has, “And see who created these things” (see ch. 40:26). The hour is coming when the atmospheric heavens are to “be dissolved” (2 Peter 3:10, 11). Heaven and earth may pass away, but God’s revealed will (see on Isa. 51:4) abides forever (see Matt. 5:18).

For ever. When God restores the earth to its original state it will not again revert to its present state of moral chaos.

7. Know righteousness. Those who “know righteousness” are here defined as having the law of God—a transcript of His character—in their hearts. His revealed will (see on v. 4) is etched upon their minds, and in character they are like Him (see Gal. 2:20; Col. 1:27; 1 John 3:2, 3).

Fear ye not. See on ch. 41:10, 13.

The reproach of men. See on Matt. 10:28.

8. The moth. See on Matt. 6:19, 20; cf. Isa. 50:9. Sin and sinners will pass away, but righteousness is permanent. Transgression will inevitably bring ruin, but obedience brings life and blessing (Isa. 1:19, 20, 28; John 3:16; Rom. 6:23; see on Matt. 7:21–28).

My righteousness. See on vs. 1, 6.

9. In the ancient days. Representing the devout in Israel, Isaiah pleads with God to repeat the great works of deliverance that marked the days of old (see on vs. 1, 2).

Rahab. A poetical term for Egypt (see on Ps. 87:4; Isa. 30:7). As God has delivered His people in ages past, so may He deliver them now!

The dragon. See Rev. 12:7–9; see on Isa. 27:1.

10. It. That is, the “arm” of the Lord (v. 9).

Dried the sea. A reference to the crossing of the Red Sea (see Ex. 14:21; cf. Isa. 43:16).

11. The redeemed. See on ch. 35:10. Isaiah again foretells the return from Babylonian captivity. Similarly, “all Israel” (Rom. 11:26), the spiritual children of Abraham (Gal. 3:29), will be delivered from the tyranny of mystical Babylon (Rev. 18:1–4; 19:1, 2; 21:1–4). Instead of “redeemed, Dead Sea scroll 1QIs reads “scattered [sheep]” (see Jer. 50:17).

12. I, even I. Literally, “I, I.” Repetition of the pronoun emphasizes the Lord as the source of Israel’s confidence. If God is with them, who can be against them (see Rom. 8:31)? There is no other help.

Comforteth. See on ch. 40:1.

As grass. See on ch. 40:6.

13. Forgettest the Lord. This was the cause of all the difficulties that had beset Israel and all they had yet to face. On the danger of forgetting God, see Rom. 1:20–24.

Thy maker. See on ch. 40:12, 26, 28.

Feared continually. See on ch. 41:10.

14. The captive exile. The first clause of the verse reads literally, “speedily the one bowing down shall be released.” Dead Sea scroll 1QIs reads “the distressed one” instead of “the one bowing down.”

Die in the pit. Egypt was once the “pit” in which Israel languished. Similarly, for a time, Babylon was to hold them fast. But no power on earth can thwart God’s purpose to deliver His own when the time comes for their release. For the “pit” as a place of imprisonment see Gen. 37:20; Isa. 24:22; Zech. 9:11. For the same Hebrew word translated “dungeon” see Gen. 40:15; Jer. 38:6.

15. Divided the sea. See on v. 10.

16. My words. That is, the words of God in the mouth of Isaiah.

Plant the heavens. Or, “establish the heavens” (see on ch. 40:12). Isaiah envisions the earth restored to its Edenic state (see Isa. 65:17; 66:22; 2 Peter 3:13).

17. Awake, awake. Compare v. 9, where Israel addresses these words to the Lord. Here God speaks to a reprobate Jerusalem to arouse her from a drunken stupor induced, as it were, by the wine of God’s fury. The meting out of judgment is often likened to the pouring out of a cup of wrath (Ps. 75:8; Jer. 25:15, 16; Eze. 23:32–34; Rev. 14:10). An earnest call is extended to Jerusalem to arouse herself and come to her senses before it is forever too late.

18. None to guide her. Jerusalem’s sons have fallen in battle (ch. 49:20, 21), and she finds herself a forlorn exile (see on ch. 49:21). She has had many children, but none of them is now present to help her. In her time of greatest need she finds herself utterly forsaken. If relief is to be provided it must come from God.

19. These two things. The one, famine and the sword, has brought about the other, desolation and destruction (see Eze. 14:21; Rev. 6:8).

By whom shall I comfort thee? Dead Sea scroll 1QIs, the LXX, the Syriac, and the Vulgate read, “Who will comfort you?”

20. A wild bull. Heb. toХ, a word that occurs only here and in Deut. 14:5, and whose meaning is uncertain. It was apparently a clean wild animal (see Deut. 14:5) identified by some as the wild sheep and by others as the antelope. Jerusalem is described as in a state of siege, its defenders fallen in the streets. They are like a wild animal taken in a net, struggling frantically to escape, and finally overcome with exhaustion.

21. Drunken. For comment see on chs. 29:9; 51:17.

22. My fury. In chastening Israel, God dealt with them as a loving father deals with a wayward son (see Prov. 3:11, 12; Heb. 12:5–11; Rev. 3:19). To Israel the cup had been bitter indeed.

No more drink it. The Lord arises in response to the appeal of v. 17 (see vs. 18, 19), to comfort (see on ch. 40:1) and rescue Jerusalem. The hour of her release is at hand.

23. That afflict thee. The reason for passing the cup of divine fury on to the oppressors of Israel is clearly set forth in chs. 10:5–13; 49:25. The unwonted cruelty of the conquerors of Israel cried for justice.

Ellen G. White comments

1    DA 106; 3T 21

3     Ed 161, 307; GC 302; ML 33; PK 730, 733; SC 104; 6T 24; 7T 52, 230

6     MH 200; 6T 178

6–89T 231

7     PP 338, 341

7, 8 GC 460

8     ML 269

11–16GC 633

12   PP 341

12, 13  8T 114

13   FE 84; PP 596; 5T 25

21–23GC 633

22   PP 341