In my last post, we examined Stubborn Isra’el in Yesha’yahu 48:1-11. In this post, we examine Isra’el Freed in Yesha’yahu 48:12-22.

¹² Listen to Me, Ya‘akov; Isra’el, whom I have called: I am He who is first; I am also the last. ¹³ My hand laid the foundation of the earth; My right hand spread out the heavens; when I summoned them, at once, they rose into being.

The One who created heaven and earth would surely have the means to deliver His people.

¹⁴ All of you, assemble and listen: which of you has foretold what is coming? Adonai’s friend will do his will against Bavel, using his arm against the Kasdim.¹⁵ It is I who have spoken, I have summoned him, I have brought him, and he will succeed.

The immediate reference to Adonai’s friend would have been to Koresh, King of Persia. But the ultimate fulfillment would be found in Yeshua.

¹⁶ Come close to Me and listen to this: since the beginning, I have not spoken in secret, since the time things began to be, I have been there, and now Adonai Elohim has sent Me and his Spirit.”

Verse 16 is one of the great proof texts of the Trinity. Yesha’yahu concluded this section by affirming that Adonai was the One who had brought Him to the people. Who was the One who was sent? Yeshua. Therefore, here we see God the Father, God the Holy Spirit, and God the Son.

¹⁷ Thus says Adonai, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Isra’el: I am Adonai, your God, who teaches you for your own good, who guides you on the path you should take. ¹⁸ If only you would heed My mitzvot! Then your peace would flow on like a river, and your righteousness like the waves of the sea.

Isra’el’s past judgment was the result of their refusal to follow Adonai.

¹⁹ Your descendants would be numerous as the sand, your offspring countless as its grains. Their name would never be cut off or destroyed from my presence.”

Yesha’yahu had earlier announced that Isra’el’s population would be reduced to a remnant. The allusion to sand goes back to the patriarchal promise that Avraham would have numerous descendants. It was Isra’el’s sin that led to a reduction of the population.

From the days in the Garden of Eden until the present, HaSatan’s greatest lie has been that Adonai is out to condemn and restrict humankind. Here, we see the truth – that He teaches us so that we may profit, prosper, and do well.

The chapter ends with a divine directive to leave Bavel, the nation that was the source of Y’hudah’s oppression. The assumption is that the people should do this after the work of Adonai’s messiah, in this case, Koresh.

²⁰ Get out of Bavel! Flee the Kasdim! With shouts of joy announce it, proclaim it! Send the news out to the ends of the earth! Say, “Adonai has redeemed his servant, Ya‘akov.” ²¹ They weren’t thirsty when He led them through the deserts; He made water flow from the rock for them – He split the rock, and out gushed the water.

Before Koresh ever decreed that the Jews could return to their land, Adonai paved the way. And just as He miraculously provided for His people during their Exodus from Egypt, so He would provide for them in their return from Bavel.

²² But there is no peace, says Adonai, for the wicked. ~ Isaiah 48:12-22 (CJB)

Wow, how many times have we quoted that last verse without realizing it is scriptural?

Though Adonai will bring salvation to His people, He will not back down from His judgment on the wicked. Chapter 48 ends with an absence of peace for the wicked. Chapter 49, however, will prophesy of the coming of the Prince of Peace to the world.

In my next post, we learn about The Servant of the Lord in Yesha’yahu 49:1-7.

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