READ: Isa. 51:12–23: I, even I, am He who comforts you … Who are you that you should be afraid of a man who will die, and of the son of a man who will be made like grass? And you forget the Lord your Maker … You are My people. Awake, awake! Stand up, O Jerusalem … See, I have taken out of your hand the cup of trembling, the dregs of the cup of My fury; You shall no longer drink it. But I will put it into the hand of those who afflict you, who have said to you, “Lie down, that we may walk over you.” …
How is it that God’s children can be so afraid of a mere man who oppresses them, yet is still only mortal, while they do not trust the LORD who, in His omnipotence, created all things? The LORD protects His own. Why then should they fear?
Indeed, the LORD will bring about the release of the imprisoned members of His people. He is the Almighty, who reveals Himself to the prophets with a view to the deliverance of His people and the future of His kingdom (v.16).
In verses 17–21 the LORD makes clear that He looks upon His people in the misery of their exile, which was His chastisement. He will bring that misery to an end. Therefore, they must listen to Him (vv.17, 21). The LORD will take vengeance on the enemies of His people for their harsh and cruel treatment.
Here again we read what had already been announced in Deut. 32: the LORD first uses heathen nations to let His people undergo the punishment they deserved for their sins and idolatry—the dregs of the cup of God’s wrath (v.22). But the heathen nations went too far. They acted cruelly, trampling them underfoot (v.23).
They did not acknowledge God as the righteous yet merciful One. They did not act as His servants. Therefore, God now turns against them and gives them the same cup to drink.
Should we see the persecution of the church as punishment?
Sing: Ps. 76:3, 4