Tyndale Open Study NotesIsaiah 51

This prophecy urges trust in the Lord. Each of its three parts starts with the phrase Listen to Me (Isaiah 51:1, 4, 7).

The rock and the quarry represent Abraham and Sarah (Isaiah 51:2).

Abraham … I blessed him and multiplied him: The exiled community had decreased in number. They needed to have faith that God could restore them again to a healthy and thriving population.

Eden … the garden of the LORD: God’s salvation will one day reestablish conditions like those in which human beings first lived (see Genesis 2–3).

• a law … My justice: The servant's work will succeed because justice will guide God's kingdom on earth (see Isaiah 42:1–4).

• a light to the nations: The nations will accept the Lord and his revelation (see also Isaiah 42:6; 49:6; 60:1–3; 66:19–23; Matthew 4:15–16; Luke 2:32; John 1:4–9; 12:35–50; Acts 13:47).

God is strong enough to crush his enemies and rescue his people, such as when he rescued Israel in the exodus (see Isaiah 51:9; Exodus 6:6; 15:16).

die like gnats: Many wicked people will die on the day of God's judgment.

• My law in your hearts: The Lord wants his people to understand, value, and follow his word (see also Psalm 37:31; Jeremiah 31:33).

• Those who follow the Lord often face ridicule and insults (see also Matthew 5:10–12).

• Awake, awake: God does not sleep. This prayer asks God to act immediately to save his people (see Isaiah 52:1; see especially God’s military clothing in 59:17).

• in generations of old: The exodus from Egypt was an act of redemption. It showed God’s power as he made a path of escape (Isaiah 51:10) for his people (see also 11:15).

• you have forgotten the LORD: The Lord will never forget Israel (see Isaiah 44:21; 49:15), so they should remember him.

• The Creator of the world also created the nation of Israel.

The exile in Babylon brought harsh conditions like imprisonment, starvation, and death.

I am the LORD: The Lord uses this phrase to show he is the covenant God. It assures his people that his words are true and his actions are reliable (see Isaiah 27:3–4).

• My words in your mouth: The focus shifted back to the servant.

• You are My people: Israel was the covenant community.

The prophet called the people of Israel to be done with their past and to anticipate God’s future for them.

• Awake, awake!: Israel used these words in a prayer to the Lord (Isaiah 51:9). Israel's problems were not because God was slow to act. Instead, the people were slow to believe God's promises.

• the cup of His fury: The Lord will give judgment in a just and measured way. He will judge in the right amount and at the right time.

  Those who come under his judgment are described as drinking from a cup of his wrath. This is a picture that shows they must fully experience the results of their sin (see also Matthew 26:39).

Your sons have fainted: This phrase shows how terrible Jerusalem’s destruction was. Even children became weak and collapsed from hunger and suffering.

The book of Lamentations also describes this deep sorrow and pain (Lamentations 1:13, 22; 2:11–12, 19).

God will defend Israel, just as he did when Assyria attacked Jerusalem (Isaiah 38:6).

The Babylonians were the ones who caused destruction, war, and famine (Isaiah 51:19).