Even more Encouragement for Those Walking in Darkness
Isaiah 52:1-12
Let’s turn to Isaiah 52. If you need a Bible, go ahead and raise your hand, and we will bring one to you. Isaiah 52 is on page 613 in the Bibles we are passing out.
These past few weeks we’ve been talking about what to do when we are walking in darkness. Now when Isaiah talks about walking in darkness, he’s not talking about walking in sin. He’s talking about those times when we know what God has promised, but we are not yet seeing God fulfill His promises.
That’s what Israel was going through. Israel has been conquered and taken to Babylon as slaves. But God had promised to free them from slavery and bring them back to the Promised Land. But that had not happened yet. So Israel was walking in darkness; they knew what God had promised, but they had not yet seen Him fulfill His promise.
And this is something every follower of Jesus will experience. God has promised to pour His presence upon us, to work through us to save lost people, to provide finances, to give us guidance – but we all have times when we walk in darkness because we are not yet seeing God fulfill His promises.
Ann Judson walked in darkness. In the early 1800’s she and her husband Adoniram left New England and travelled to Burma to tell people about Jesus. She knew it would be hard, because William Carey had urged them not to go there, and because all previous missionaries had either left or died. But they went – because they longed to help people be forgiven and satisfied in Jesus.
But soon after they arrived, her husband was arrested and thrown into prison, into conditions that were unspeakably horrifying, and she was left all alone. Here’s how she described this season of her life in a letter to her brother:
You, my dear brother, can judge how intense were my sufferings during this time. The worst part was the awful uncertainty of our future. I thought Adoniram would suffer a violent death, and that I would become a slave, and have a miserable existence in the hands of some unfeeling monster.
Ann Judson lived in that uncertainty for a year and a half. She was walking in darkness. Israel was walking in darkness. And some of you are walking in darkness. So what should we do at those times? What does Isaiah call Israel to do? Look at vv.1-2 – and let me warn you that it sounds puzzling:
1 Awake, awake, put on your strength, O Zion, put on your beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city; for there shall no more come into you the uncircumcised and the unclean.
2 Shake yourself from the dust and arise; be seated, O Jerusalem [in a seat of honor]; loose the bonds from your neck, O captive daughter of Zion.
In these verses Isaiah calls Israel to do things that don’t make a lot of sense. She is in chains and captivity -- how can she put on beautiful clothes, shake off the dust, sit in a place of honor, and loosen her chains? What is Isaiah talking about?
When something in the Bible puzzles you, it often becomes clear when you keep reading. So let’s look at vv.3-10 – and then we’ll come back to vv.1-2. In vv.3-10 Isaiah tells Israel what God will do for her. What is God going to do for Israel?
First, He will redeem Israel from Babylon. Start with v.3 –
3 For thus says the LORD: "You were sold for nothing, and you shall be redeemed without money.”
God sold Israel into captivity, not to get money, but to punish Israel for her sins. And God will redeem Israel from Babylon without money: he won’t need to pay someone to do it, by His sovereign power He Himself will do it. God will redeem Israel from Babylon.
We can see the same in vv.4-6 --
4 For thus says the Lord GOD: "My people went down at the first into Egypt to sojourn there, and the Assyrian oppressed them for nothing.
5 Now therefore what have I here," declares the LORD, "seeing that my people are taken away for nothing? [They are oppressed again by Babylon.] Their rulers wail," declares the LORD, "and continually all the day my name is despised.”
6 “Therefore my people shall know my name. Therefore in that day they shall know that it is I who speak; here am I."
Israel has been oppressed by Egypt, and Assyria, and now by Babylon, and her leaders wail, and God’s name is dishonored among the nations. But God will work with such power in freeing Israel from slavery and bringing her back to the Promised Land, that Israel will know beyond a shadow of a doubt that it is God who has spoken these promises.
So in vv.3-6 God repeats the promise that He will deliver Israel from Babylon. But look at what He promises next.
Second, He will personally and visibly return to Zion. You can see that in vv.7-8 --
7 How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, "Your God reigns."
8 The voice of your watchmen--they lift up their voice; together they sing for joy; for eye to eye they see the return of the LORD to Zion.
“Eye to eye they see the return of the Lord to Zion.” “Eye to eye” means seeing as clearly as if we were face to face. Here God promises that He Himself will personally and visibly come to Zion, and we will see Him face to face.
Now this is astonishing. God has not been on earth since Genesis 2, when He walked in the Garden with Adam and Eve. But their sin, and all of our sin since then, caused Him to depart. But here Isaiah says that the day is coming when God will return.
When will this happen? This happens when Jesus is born in Bethlehem, and God’s people could see God face to face in Jesus. And this will happen to an even greater extent at the end of history, when Jesus Christ returns and all of us see God face to face and know Him forever.
Isaiah wants Israel to understand that the day is coming when they will see and know God face to face. That’s in their future.
And then third, He will bring salvation to Jerusalem and the ends of the earth. You can see that in vv.9-10 –
9 Break forth together into singing, you waste places of Jerusalem, for the LORD has comforted his people; he has redeemed Jerusalem.
10 The LORD has bared his holy arm before the eyes of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.
This can’t just refer to Israel’s return from Babylon, because all the ends of the earth wouldn’t see that. This is talking about something even greater. In the future, God will comfort and redeem His people in such a powerful way that all the nations will see and take notice. When will this happen? At the end of history. At the end of history Christ will return and so powerfully comfort and redeem His people in a way that is seen by all the ends of the earth.
Do you see what Isaiah is doing? Israel is walking in darkness. Israel is suffering captivity and slavery in Babylon, knowing that God has promised to deliver her, but not seeing the fulfillment of that promise. So how does Isaiah help her?
He does remind her that God will free her from Babylon. But he wants to lift her eyes higher – he wants her to see something even greater that God will do: God Himself will come to the earth so she can know Him face to face. God will comfort and redeem His people in such a powerful way that all the nations will see and take notice.
Now here’s the good news. This isn’t just for Israel. This is for all of us. All of us can become part of God’s people. Not by trying to be good enough, but by trusting Jesus Christ.
See, we are sinners by nature, and deserve only punishment from God. But God loves us. Oh, how He loves us. And He sent Jesus to die on the Cross to pay for the guilt of our sin.
So the moment you turn to Jesus and receive Him into your life as Savior, Lord, and heart-satisfying Treasure – at that moment you are completely forgiven for all your sin, God’s power starts to change you, Jesus love fully satisfies you, and God becomes your Father who cares for you, provides for you, guides you, does everything for you. That’s how you become part of God’s people.
And because you are trusting Jesus – you will be part of this. The day is coming when God will return to Zion and you will see Him face to face. Imagine seeing the Creator of the universe – who loved you enough to send His Son to die for you. Imagine seeing Him face to face.
And He will so comfort and redeem you that all the nations will be stunned. He will wipe every tear from your eyes. He will free you permanently from every bit of sin. He will give you a new resurrection body, with no more death, no more weakness, no more crying or pain. And just seeing Him, beholding Him, worshiping Him will fill you with joy that will completely satisfy and keep increasing forever and ever and ever.
Here’s the lesson. When you walk in darkness, focus specially on what will happen when Jesus comes back – because that will be the end of all darkness. See, even after Israel was freed from Babylon, she still suffered other seasons of darkness, just like we do. So when we walk in darkness, while we pray for God to help us and we trust His promises, our greatest focus should be on what will happen at the end of history when Jesus comes back.
So how do we do this?
First, wake up to what’s in your future. When you walk in darkness, whether it’s Israel in Babylon, or feeling far from God, or being unemployed, or suffering chronic pain – it’s easy to get spiritually sleepy and forget what’s in our future. So in v.1 Isaiah says “awake, awake!”
Wake up – understand that because you are trusting Jesus Christ the day is coming when He will wipe every tear from your eyes, finally free you from all darkness forever, and welcome you into His presence on the new heavens and earth. Wake up to what’s in your future.
Second, put on strength and beauty. Vv.1-2 –
1 Awake, awake, put on your strength, O Zion; put on your beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city; for there shall no more come into you the uncircumcised and the unclean.
2 Shake yourself from the dust and arise; be seated, O Jerusalem;
When you walk in darkness you can let that darkness define you – so you feel weak, ugly, like you are sitting in the dust. You are spiritually dry. You are sick. You are unemployed.
Well, maybe, but that’s only temporary. That’s not who you are. Because of Christ you will be crowned with glory and honor, you will inherit the earth, you will rule with Christ. That’s who you are. So put on strength! Put on beauty! Rise up from the dust!
Third, take off your chains. I see that at the end of v.2 –
Loose the bonds from your neck, O captive daughter of Babylon.
Israel is enslaved. She can’t physically loose her chains from her neck. But she can emotionally; she can spiritually. And so can we. When we walk in darkness we can let those trials become chains around us. But understand – the day is coming when you will be free from all darkness – so loose the bonds from your neck! Take off your chains.
Fourth, depart from sin. Look also at vv.11-12 –
11 Depart, depart, go out from there; touch no unclean thing; go out from the midst of her; purify yourselves, you who bear the vessels of the LORD.
12 For you shall not go out in haste, and you shall not go in flight, for the LORD will go before you, and the God of Israel will be your rear guard.
Israel can’t depart from Babylon. She’s enslaved. But she can turn from the sin in Babylon. And why should she do that? Because God will soon free her from Babylon.
Same with us. We can’t depart this sinful world. But we can turn from the sin of the world. And why should we do that? Because God will soon transform this sinful world.
And how do we depart from sin? By coming to Jesus just as we are, with our greed and lust and pride, and crying out to Him – and He will come to us and help us. He will forgive us. He will love us.
And He will so satisfy us in Himself that we are freed from pursuing the inferior pleasures of sin – and we will grow in sexual purity, forgiveness toward others, caring for the poor, working hard at our jobs, leading our wives, loving our children, speaking well of others, meditating on God’s Word, and devoting ourselves to prayer.
So depart from sin of this world -- because one day Jesus will bring us into the new heavens and earth which are free from all sin.
When you are walking in darkness, trust the promises of God which pertain to your darkness. Trust Him to provide work, to give you wisdom, to bring you His presence, to deliver you from trials. Trust Him for those things.
But even more than that – set your heart on what He promises to do at the end of history. See that Jesus will come back and put an end to all darkness, welcome you into the new heavens and earth, wipe every tear from your eyes, give you a new resurrection body, and give you the ever-increasing all-satisfying joy of knowing Him forever.
I told you about Ann Judson. This is what sustained her during her time of darkness in Burma. Here’s the whole quote –
You, my dear brother, can judge how intense were my sufferings. The worst part was the awful uncertainty of our future. I thought Adoniram would suffer a violent death, and that I would become a slave, and have a miserable though short existence in the hands of some unfeeling monster.
But God comforted me in ways that were neither few nor small. He taught me to look beyond this world, to that rest, that peaceful, happy rest, where Jesus reigns, and oppression never ends.