Isaiah 52:9-12 reads, “The Lord hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God. Depart ye, depart ye, go ye out from thence, touch no unclean thing; go ye out of the midst of her; be ye clean, that bear the vessels of the Lord. For ye shall not go out with haste, nor go by flight: for the Lord will go before you, and the God of Israel will be your reward.” When faced with the daunting army of Sennacherib, Hezekiah encouraged the inhabitants of Jerusalem by saying, “With him is an arm of flesh; but with us is the Lord our God to help us, and to fight our battles …” (2 Chronicles 32:8). These two passages support an important principle taught throughout the Bible: the arm of flesh will fail, but the arm of the Lord will never fail.
The arm (and hand) of the Lord is “stretched out” to secure our salvation (Isaiah 53:1; 59:1). Isaiah 52:7 says, “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!” It has been said that “good news is for sharing,” and that is what happened in Jerusalem. The defeat of Babylon by Cyrus was definitely good news to the Jews because it meant freedom for the captives (Isaiah 40:9; 41:27; Daniel 5:30-31). For decades, the remnant had suffered in a foreign country, without an altar or a priesthood, but now they would return to their land, rebuild their temple, and restore their God-given work as a light to the Gentiles.
The good news we share today is that Jesus Christ can set prisoners free from the spiritual bondage of sin (Luke 4:18-19). It requires dying with Christ (Colossians 2:20; 3:3), and the one who is dead to sin has been freed (Romans 6:7, 11). Going further, Paul argued that if we are dead we will live with Him (2 Timothy 2:11). The arm of the Lord can save you through Jesus if you will let Him. He will then exalt you to a place of eternal happiness, so do not neglect the wonderful gift of God’s grace (Ephesians 2:4-6).
Kyle Campbell
