Daily Devotions
Isaiah
"Please hear this, you afflicted"
Text: Isaiah 51:21
A WORD TO THE AFFLICTED
There were many who were terribly afflicted. Living as captive foreigners was no easy task! They need to hear a word of comfort!
“Therefore please hear this, you afflicted,
And drunk but not with wine.
Thus says your Lord,
The LORD and your God,
Who pleads the cause of His people:
‘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.’
And you have laid your body like the ground,
And as the street, for those who walk over.'”
Isaiah 51:21-23
1. The sufferings of the afflicted.
a) They were like drunken people, but not with wine.
b) They were reeling under the effects of great suffering.
2. The word of comfort that God was giving to them.
a) The cup of trembling has been taken away.
b) The dregs of God’s fury will no longer be drunk.
c) That cup of fury would be given to the Captors.
d) They would suffer for all the pain they had caused to their victims.
3. The arrogance of the captors remembered.
a) They said these words to their captives:
“Lie down, that we may walk over you.”
b) Israel had no choice then.
“And you have laid your body like the ground,
And as the street, for those who walk over.”
4. The words of comfort.
a) They were spoken by the LORD their God.
b) These words were spoken as One who defended (“pleaded”) the cause of His people.