 |  |
Though Israel are at present blind, they "have eyes". Though this favoured people are
at present deaf, they "have ears", and they shall yet, by redeeming love, see and hear and
fulfil their appointed role as the Lord's witness (Isa. 43: 9, 10). We must conclude our
present study at this point and look forward to pursuing the theme of Israel's restoration
when we come to deal with Isa. 43: 9 - 44: 27.
ISAIAH.
#28.
The Lamb of God (Isa. 52: 13 - 56: 8).
The Material sorted and the Structure of Isa. 52: 13 - 53: 12 discovered.
pp. 185 - 188
Isa. 40: opens with the words "Comfort ye" and the section before us provides the
only solid basis for true comfort. To Israel, and indeed to us all, are addressed the words
"O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted . . . . ." (Isa. 54: 11);
and where shall the "afflicted" look for comfort, but away to Him Who was "afflicted" as
their substitute? (Isa. 53: 7). This portion of Scripture includes Isa. 53:, the "holy of
holies" of all the prophets. Whenever we open the sacred page we are on holy ground;
whenever we read the Law and the Prophets we read the scriptures that speak of Christ,
but there are some passages that stand out prominently in this blessed particular, and the
chapter before us was written in the foreknowledge of Calvary, of its suffering and of its
triumph.
The section we are to study is 52: 13 - 56: 8 and it divides into four parts.
A |
52: 13 - 53: 12. He bare the sin of many. His soul an offering.
B
| 54: Restoration. Seed inherit Gentiles. No weapon shall prosper.
A |
55: 1-7. He will abundantly pardon. Your soul--fatness.
B
| 55: 8 - 56: 8. Gathering "others" "all people". Word shall prosper.
The subject is so vast and our means so small that we will concentrate all our attention
for the time being on the first section 52: 13 - 53: 12, leaving the remainder to be
considered in due course.
Before studying any passage in detail we seek the literary structure, for by so doing
we discover the scope and the argument of the passage, and without either structure,
scope or argument, our comments must degenerate to a mere list of unconnected notes on
individual words. The desire to present to the reader the structure of this great passage,
and our ability to satisfy that desire are, however, two widely differing propositions. We
do not propose asking the reader to share with us in this arduous task, neither can we
expect any who have not pursued this path, to be able to enter into the joy of its
discovery. We give a few indications as to how the structure grew, and leave it with the