Isaiah 18-44: The despair of the exile, the desire of the nations

Every culture has its own version of "home-coming", a getting together of the family where we rekindle a sense of belonging - a celebration of being together, sharing a common identity, hope and vision. Every people group or nation has an identity that is attached to a physical location, a piece of land - while, we are created in the image of God, we are also wired for communal identity. To be driven away from the land of your identity rips at the very core of your being, the ultimate punishment for a nation. As we have read through Kings and now with Isaiah offering a deep dive into the closing years of Judah, we witness the disintegration of a nation - what is to become of the Abrahamic covenant with the promise that "in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed?" 

As you go through Isaiah 18-44, you see the intermingling of pain and promises. The pain of judgment on Jerusalem intertwined with promises of restoration for Zion, the new Jerusalem. On top of that, you will also read about the fate of various nations as well - Babylon, Assyria, Philistia, Moab, Damascus, Ethiopia, and Egypt. Yahweh's redemptive history works out through Israel in the context of real life geo-political drama - simply put, He has the whole world in His Hands. "He it is who reduces the rulers to nothing, who makes the judges of the earth meaningless." (Isa 40:23).

Connecting the dots
In the current western "evangelical" culture, sometimes we preach the acceptance of the gospel (salvation) but minimize the warnings of the gospel (judgment). Because God is holy and just, you cannot have it both ways - "Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap." (Gal 6:7). In God's economy of justice, no one gets away with anything. While redemptive history may be worked out through the one nation of Israel, God is also at work in world history because He is sovereign over all.

The nations constitute a major theme in Isaiah. Like Israel and Judah, they are subject to God's wrath but also to His mercy and comfort (Isa 14:1-2). They, too, will receive God's blessing (Isa 19:25), enjoy the eschatological banquet (Isa 25:6), and the end of shame and death (Isa 25:7-8). It is as if Isaiah was co-writing together with the apostle John in Revelation: "He will swallow up death for all time, and the Lord God will wipe tears away from all faces" (Isa 25:8) - compare with "and He shall wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there shall no longer be any death" (Rev 21:4). The calling of Israel as a nation is distinctive but not exclusive. "I will make you a light of the nations so that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth." (Isa 49:6).

Despite the impending exile for Judah, God's sovereignty and his covenant lovingkindness will not fail even if Judah remains as a tree stump (Isa 6:13) because "a shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse, and a branch from its roots will bear fruit" (Isa 11:1). God is not finished with His covenant people because He has the salvation of all the peoples of the world in mind. Through prophets like Isaiah, God continues to author redemptive history according to His purpose, plan and providence. 

Activity idea
Look around the various people group in your community. It is easy to be caught up in the culture of the majority that we may miss out on people from a different culture who feels out of place. If Revelation 7:9 speaks of the heavenly church as being from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, then it will a wonderful earthly testimony for the message of the gospel. Make it a point to reach out to the "nations" around you and fulfill the exhortation in Galatians 3:28 - "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus."

Christ in Scripture
Isaiah is full of surprises. In the first part (Isaiah 1-39), he shocks Israel by charging Zion with defilement, desecration, and prostitution, while at the same time opening the gates of Zion to nations instructed in the way of the Lord (Isa 1:21-2:4). He threatens Israel with judgement by the Holy One of Israel yet promises them the comfort and presence of God (Isaiah 1, 12). He envisions a new community of people who are cleansed and consecrated and who experience God's glorious presence (Isa 4:2-6, 12:6). 

Such an era can only come by the agency of the Spirit of God, who comes from on high to renew the Davidic dynasty to be an agent of justice and righteousness (Isa 11:1-9) and to renew the earth as a home of righteousness (Isa 32:15-20). It is no wonder that at Pentecost, before Peter preached the gospel message, out of Jerusalem, devout men from every nation under heaven heard the language of worship in their own language! (Acts 2:4-8). Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world, and the pouring of the Spirit is promised for all mankind and not just the Jews (Acts 2:17). "For God so loved the world, that He gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life." Praise be to God!

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