Isa 51:1-6 NASB “Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness, Who seek the LORD: Look to the rock from which you were hewn And to the quarry from which you were dug. (2) “Look to Abraham your father And to Sarah who gave birth to you in pain; When he was but one I called him, Then I blessed him and multiplied him.” (3) Indeed, the LORD will comfort Zion; He will comfort all her waste places. And her wilderness He will make like Eden, And her desert like the garden of the LORD; Joy and gladness will be found in her, Thanksgiving and sound of a melody. (4) “Pay attention to Me, O My people, And give ear to Me, O My nation; For a law will go forth from Me, And I will set My justice for a light of the peoples. (5) “My righteousness is near, My salvation has gone forth, And My arms will judge the peoples; The coastlands will wait for Me, And for My arm they will wait expectantly. (6) “Lift up your eyes to the sky, Then look to the earth beneath; For the sky will vanish like smoke, And the earth will wear out like a garment And its inhabitants will die in like manner; But My salvation will be forever, And My righteousness will not wane.

• Who is God speaking to in these verses?
• Who is the quarry and why is this important for God\s people to hear? Why is this important for you to hear today?
• Verse 3: What is God promising?
• Verse 4-5: What is God offering to His people? What does it mean that the coastlands are waiting expectantly for God’s righteousness, salvation and judgment?
• Verse 6: To What, When and/or Who is God referring to? (John 5:24)

Isa 51:7-8 NASB “Listen to Me, you who know righteousness, A people in whose heart is My law; Do not fear the reproach of man, Nor be dismayed at their revilings. (8) “For the moth will eat them like a garment, And the grub will eat them like wool. But My righteousness will be forever, And My salvation to all generations.”

• Who is God speaking to in Verse 7 (compare 51:1 with 51:7)? (Jer 31:31-33)
• In what ways do you fear the reproach of man? What are you supposed to do, instead?

Isa 51:9-11 NASB Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the LORD; Awake as in the days of old, the generations of long ago. Was it not You who cut Rahab in pieces, Who pierced the dragon? (10) Was it not You who dried up the sea, The waters of the great deep; Who made the depths of the sea a pathway For the redeemed to cross over? (11) So the ransomed of the LORD will return And come with joyful shouting to Zion, And everlasting joy will be on their heads. They will obtain gladness and joy, And sorrow and sighing will flee away.

• Who is speaking now?
• Note Rahab refers to Egypt.
• What are they asking of the Lord?
• Did they understand what God has been saying for 50 chapters previously?
• Can you recall a time when God was working in your life, but you didn\’t see?

Isa 51:12-16 NASB “I, even I, am He who comforts you. Who are you that you are afraid of man who dies And of the son of man who is made like grass, (13) That you have forgotten the LORD your Maker, Who stretched out the heavens And laid the foundations of the earth, That you fear continually all day long because of the fury of the oppressor, As he makes ready to destroy? But where is the fury of the oppressor? (14) “The exile will soon be set free, and will not die in the dungeon, nor will his bread be lacking. (15) “For I am the LORD your God, who stirs up the sea and its waves roar (the LORD of hosts is His name). (16) “I have put My words in your mouth and have covered you with the shadow of My hand, to establish the heavens, to found the earth, and to say to Zion, ‘You are My people.'” (17) Rouse yourself! Rouse yourself! Arise, O Jerusalem, You who have drunk from the LORD’S hand the cup of His anger; The chalice of reeling you have drained to the dregs. (18) There is none to guide her among all the sons she has borne, Nor is there one to take her by the hand among all the sons she has reared. (19) These two things have befallen you; Who will mourn for you? The devastation and destruction, famine and sword; How shall I comfort you? (20) Your sons have fainted, They lie helplessat the head of every street, Like an antelope in a net, Full of the wrath of the LORD, The rebuke of your God. (21) Therefore, please hear this, you afflicted, Who are drunk, but not with wine: (22) Thus says your Lord, the LORD, even your God Who contends for His people, “Behold, I have taken out of your hand the cup of reeling, The chalice of My anger; You will never drink it again. (23) “I will put it into the hand of your tormentors, Who have said to you, ‘Lie down that we may walk over you.’ You have even made your back like the ground And like the street for those who walk over it.”

• What is God’s response to their request in 51:9-11? (See verses 51:12,17, 52:1)
• They recall God’s strength in overcoming Egypt (51:9-11), but God asks them to recall something else (51:13), why? How can you apply this teaching to your life?
• Verses 17-20 describe God’s judgment against His people, but there is a promise for the future (21-23). How does God start this promise (Verse 21)? What does this reveal to you about God’s nature?

Isa 52:1-12 NASB Awake, awake, Clothe yourself in your strength, O Zion; Clothe yourself in your beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city; For the uncircumcised and the unclean Will no longer come into you. (2) Shake yourself from the dust, rise up, O captive Jerusalem; Loose yourself from the chains around your neck, O captive daughter of Zion. (3) For thus says the LORD, “You were sold for nothing and you will be redeemed without money.” (4) For thus says the Lord GOD, “My people went down at the first into Egypt to reside there; then the Assyrian oppressed them without cause. (5) “Now therefore, what do I have here,” declares the LORD, “seeing that My people have been taken away without cause?”Again the LORD declares, “Those who rule over them howl, and My name is continually blasphemed all day long. (6) “Therefore My people shall know My name; therefore in that day I am the one who is speaking, ‘Here I am.'” (7) How lovely on the mountains Are the feet of him who brings good news, Who announces peace And brings good news of happiness, Who announces salvation, And says to Zion, “Your God reigns!” (8) Listen! Your watchmen lift up their voices, They shout joyfully together; For they will see with their own eyes When the LORD restores Zion. (9) Break forth, shout joyfully together, You waste places of Jerusalem; For the LORD has comforted His people, He has redeemed Jerusalem. (10) The LORD has bared His holy arm In the sight of all the nations, That all the ends of the earth may see The salvation of our God. (11) Depart, depart, go out from there, Touch nothing unclean; Go out of the midst of her, purify yourselves, You who carry the vessels of the LORD. (12) But you will not go out in haste, Nor will you go as fugitives; For the LORD will go before you, And the God of Israel will be your rear guard.

• Why does God introduce 52 with “Awake, Awake”? What does this reveal about God’s nature?
• What image of Israel does God show in 51:22-23? What image of Israel does He give in 52:1-2? How do these contrasting images compare to your walk with God? How can you walk in the truth more every day of your life?
• What does verse 3 mean to you?
• What do you see of God\’s character in verses 5-6? What is God\’s purpose for all He has done?
• Who is referred to in verse 7? (Rom 10:15)
• What events can we attribute to fulfilling this prophecy in 7-10?
• How do verses 11-12 apply to Israel during this prophecy and to us as well? (John 14:15-18)

THEME

ATTRIBUTES OF GOD

APPLICATIONS

Joh 5:24 NASB “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.

Jer 31:31-33 NASB “Behold, days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, (32) not like the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them,” declares the LORD. (33) “But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” declares the LORD, “I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.

Rom 10:15 NASB How will they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, “HOW BEAUTIFUL ARE THE FEET OF THOSE WHO BRING GOOD NEWS OF GOOD THINGS!”

Joh 14:15-18 NASB “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. (16) “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; (17) that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you. (18) “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.