Contemplate these questions as you dwell in Isaiah 26:1-21:

1. This passage contains elements of both judgment and hope. How does Isaiah emphasize the need for God's protection and refuge from His wrath while also highlighting the hope of resurrection and God's power over death? What is the central message for the people in this context?

2. The imagery of being hidden in the cluff of the rock recalls biblical stories like Moses in the cleft of the rock when God's glory passed by. How does this imagery connect with the idea of seeking refuge in Christ? How does Christ provide shelter and protection from God's judgment?

3. In this passage, there is a call to trust in the Lord alone and to remember His name. How can believers today apply this call to trust in God and rely on His eternal nature in the face of life's challenges and uncertainties? How does our trust in Christ impact our response to God's judgment?

Transcript:

As we come to chapter 26 today, it starts out with a little bit of a feeling that maybe this isn't going to be so much about judgment. Maybe it'll be a little bit more positive here than things that we have seen. But then we get into it. And even though the language for us, our modern mindset, I think, reads this a little bit differently as we come to it. And then we see that this is pretty harsh judgment language as well. I'll explain what I mean. We see verse two, Open the gates that the righteous nation that keeps faith may enter in. You keep him in perfect peace whose mind has stayed on you because he trusts in you, trust in the Lord forever. For the Lord, God, is an everlasting rock. That's really awesome. That is great. That can be used in so many ways, in so many prayers. It is a great and comes across as a positive statement. Definitely is a positive statement. But why is it that we are entering in? What are we fleeing? What are we going to? Well, we read here that they are going in and the idea is that they're being protected.

This is a fortress for them. They are being spared by God from the wrath of God. That's the idea that we have here. They're going in, and then all this judgment is going to happen. We see that they are learning that they need to trust in God alone. We see this so deeply in verse 13, Oh, Lord, our God, other lords besides you have ruled over us. That's not a good thing. But what have they realized? But your name alone we bring to remembrance. They're dead. Once again, we have this imagery in Isaiah that God is overall and that God is supreme, that all this other stuff that they have been chasing after, it comes to an end. But God is eternal. God is sovereign. We see they are dead. They will not live. They are shades. They will not arise. To that end, you have visited them with destruction and wiped out all remembrance of them. They have been destroyed. God is once again over all of this. We're seeing this language of judgment once again, this prophetic word from Isaiah. Then we see something positive. We see that there is this idea here that the dead shall live, their bodies shall rise, you who dwell the dust awake and sing for joy.

We have this idea that God has power even over death. We saw that in the last chapter. We see this language here, For your do is a do of light, and the earth will give birth to the dead. This is a positive imagery in the midst of all this judgment, in the midst of everything that's happening, God has power even over death. The passage closes up, reminding people to flee from the wrath to come, verses 20 and 21, Come, my people, into your chambers and shut your doors behind you. Hide yourselves for a little while until the fury has passed by. For, behold, the Lord is coming out from his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity, and the earth will disclose the blood shed on it and will no more cover its slain. We see it there. That is actually some of the harshest language we've actually seen. Come in and protect yourself because this is coming. It's clear God is going to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity. I get a sense here as I read it. What calls to mind for me is this idea of hiding your sofa a little while until the fury has passed by.

I hear that, and my mind immediately goes to Moses hiding in the cluff of the rock. Remember, he couldn't see God, and so he was hidden in the cluff of the rock as God passed by. Why? I get a sense of that imagery here, don't you? This is calling back to mind the people of Israel. God's fury is great. You can't see this, so hide, flee from the wrath to come. God is good. He protects His people. But you need to hide. You need to find shelter. As we think about what this passage means, we once again find joy in the fact that we have that shelter in Christ. We are hidden in the cluffed of the rock that is Jesus. When His judgment passes by, we have His covering. As we consider this, we need to remember that we are to flee to Christ. We're constantly to go to Him, to put our trust in Him because He is the only hope that we have. Just as Isaiah is telling people, You need to get to safety. We need to rest and find joy and peace and happiness and contentment in the truth that we have been hidden in the Lord Jesus Christ.