“Awake you who are sleeping, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.” Ephesians 5:14
Dear Ones:
In one of the most extraordinary events in the life of Jesus Christ, He “awakens” someone who had died. Though Lazarus, the brother of Martha and Mary, had died, Jesus told His disciples: “Our friend Lazarus sleeps; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep.” (Jn.11:11) The disciples did not understand that Lazarus had truly died until the Lord told them so. So, how is it that Jesus equates “sleep” with death? He does so because of the HOPE that the believer has in the face of death. This hope is the certain expectation of life eternal promised to every believer in Christ. Why then was the raising of Lazarus from the dead, and “sleep,” so monumentally important? It was because Christ ALONE possesses the power and authority to defy death, and give life out of death. It is not only an act of God, but the demonstration of His sovereignty. Jesus declared this by saying: “I AM the resurrection and the life: he that believes in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.” (11:25)
At another time in history, and this concerning the nation of Israel, the Lord again demonstrates that He is the only HOPE for life out of death. The resurrection of Lazarus concerned one man. However, in the book of Isaiah, we find that it concerns a whole nation…that of Israel. Biblical prophecy is a most wonderful, and at times, mysterious thing. It is used to declare future events that God will accomplish, and yet, by the principles revealed in the prophecy, lays a ground work throughout history for us to grasp something of how God works in answer to prayer and faith, always according to His will. One of the great prayers of Isaiah, and probably of believers in Israel in his day, is found in Isaiah 51:9. It refers to the need for the intervention of God, in a context much like the condition of Lazarus in the tomb. As a nation, and with no other source of hope, certainly not in the face of death and destruction, Isaiah prays: “Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the Lord: awake as in the ancient days, in the generations of old.” What is the appeal to God? It is the cry of the helpless heart and soul, an urgent call to God to move, act, have mercy, and intervene to give strength where there is none. The Lord answers this prayer with several great, and exceeding precious promises, one of which is: “The redeemed of the Lord shall return and come with singing unto Zion.” (51:11) Another is, “I, even I, am He that comforts you.” (v.12) And lastly, though so very important, “And I have put my words in your mouth, and I have covered you in the shadow of Mine hand.” (v.16) The revelation of the word of God is the means by which HE wakes up that which is dead, lifeless, helpless and hopeless.
There is a progression in “awakening.” Since God has revealed that He WILL work, He now declares to Jerusalem: “Awake, awake, stand up, O Jerusalem, which hast drunk at the hand of the Lord the cup of his fury.” (51:17) Judgement had come upon Israel because of her refusal to follow the Lord. She had reaped what she had sowed, and the consequent suffering had been immeasurable. She had experienced what Scripture declares: “…the dregs of the cup of trembling.” But now, God tells her, even commands her, to “awake” to a new day, a new beginning, one where she is to rise from the dust of the ground, and stand up.
In a very real way, as the Lord did when He called Lazarus to come forth from the tomb, He declares to Jerusalem: “Awake, awake; put on thy strength, O Zion; put on thy beautiful garments.” (52:1) The call is to break forth into singing, rise from the dust, to a new hope. God has intervened.
Dear Father, We appeal to Your power and authority to give life out of death, this day and forever. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Love, Dad