Isaiah 53

Weekly Devotional 4-21-14 Isaiah 53

Isaiah, his name means “The Lord is Salvation”, was God’s prophet to Judah from 739-686 B.C. during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah. Even though Judah (the southern kingdom of divided Israel at the time) had gained in temporal prosperity, it was quickly sliding into spiritual impurity and this necessitated God bringing up Isaiah to speak and prophecy against their sin. Judah’s sin brought God’s chastisement in the form of aggression from her northern counterpart (Israel) and Syria. To counteract this aggression Judah formed an alliance with Assyria. During this period of time Ahaz, Judah’s king, asked the Assyrian king for help (2 Kings 16:7). In a compromise, Ahaz set up a pagan altar in Solomon’s temple showing his heart and the hearts of the people. During his reign, King Hezekiah brought spiritual reform to Judah to some extent, but by this time the course had been set and Judah fell to Babylon and was carried off into captivity.

Isaiah condemned the empty ritualism of his day (e.g. 1:10-15), and the idolatry into which so many of the people had fallen (e.g.; 40:18-20). He foresaw the coming Babylonian captivity of Judah because of her departure from the Lord (39:6-7). Prophesying about Judah’s deliverance from Babylonian captivity, he prophesied that the Babylonian Empire would be overthrown by Cyrus the king of Persia. Looking beyond Judah’s temporal restoration, Isaiah prophesied of Judah’s spiritual restoration and that this restoration would be brought about by one of her sons someday in the then future. Thankfully this restoration includes all who realize their sin and seek God’s forgiveness.

Isaiah’s Testimony follows,

“1Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed? 2For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. 3He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

4Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. 5But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. 6All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. 7He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. 8He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken. 9And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.

10Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. 11He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities. 12Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.”

This was Isaiah’s song of deliverance. It must be the song of all persons too, if they are to be saved. There is deliverance in none other (Acts 4:12).

May each of us fully appreciate Jesus’ sacrifice, detailed in Isaiah 53, and commit ourselves to serving Him. As the sun rises this Sunday, April 20, 2014, may our thoughts turn to the Son who rose from the dead two thousand plus years ago. His rising to newness of life testified of God’s acceptance of His sacrifice as He paid the debt of our sin.

stevelampman@comcast.net stevelampman.com
Transforming Power: The Work of God on Behalf of Man

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