Isaiah 26:1-21
Q.1. What hope did Isaiah give to Israel for its future? What kind of people does God encourage? How do the wicked respond to the Lord? What hope do they have beyond the grave? – (Isa.26:1-14)
The song of triumph that God gave to Isaiah will be sung when God has purged the nation and perfected its faith – 3 The steadfast of mind You will keep in perfect peace, because he trusts in You. 4 Trust in the Lord forever, for in God the Lord, we have an everlasting Rock (Isa.26:3-4 c.f. Isa.25:1-26:2). God will bring low their oppressors when the world experiences His judgments (Isa.26:5-6,9). The wicked do not see the hand of God in the affairs of the world. – 10 though the wicked is shown favour, he does not learn righteousness; He deals unjustly in the land of uprightness and does not perceive the majesty of the Lord. 11 O Lord, Your hand is lifted up, yet they do not see it … (Isa.26:10-11). All the circumstances of life bring a longing in the heart of the righteous for God’s intervention and vindication – 7 The way of the righteous is smooth; O Upright One, make the path of the righteous level. 8 Indeed, while following the way of Your judgments, O Lord, we have waited for You eagerly; Your name, even Your memory, is the desire of our souls. 9 At night my soul longs for You, indeed, my spirit within me seeks You diligently; For when the earth experiences Your judgments the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness (Isa.26:7-9). Isaiah saw no happy future for the ungodly – The dead will not live, the departed spirits will not rise; therefore, You have punished and destroyed them, and You have wiped out all remembrance of them (Isa.26:14). The godly are to regard life through God’s point of view.
Q.2. Has God spared His people from suffering? Is the death if the righteous the end? How should God’s people face tribulation? What has God promised? – (Isa.26:15-21 c.f. Jn.16:33)
God saw an increase in distress in the nation, but likened the way to glory, to a woman writhing in labour pains – O Lord, they sought You in distress; They could only whisper a prayer, Your chastening was upon them (Isa.26:16 c.f. Isa.26:15-18). Yet how glorious is the future for the righteous – Your dead will live; Their corpses will rise. You who lie in the dust, awake and shout for joy, for your dew is as the dew of the dawn, and the earth will give birth to the departed spirits (Isa.26:19). God advised His people, and promised – 20 Come, my people, enter into your rooms and close your doors behind you; Hide for a little while until indignation runs its course. 21 For behold, the Lord is about to come out from His place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity; And the earth will reveal her bloodshed and will no longer cover her slain (Isa.26:20-21). Isaiah moved between present judgment, and future fulfilment involving a faithful remnant of God’s people, Israel. We too must learn to consider future glory, while passing through present trials.