Lesson 130

Isaiah 51–52

Introduction

The Lord invited His people to take comfort in His salvation and to awake and remove themselves from the bands of their captivity. Isaiah then prophesied that the Lord would deliver captive Israel.

Suggestions for Teaching

Isaiah 51:1–8

The Lord calls Israel to take comfort in His salvation and righteousness

Write the following statement on the board: Sometimes it is hard to be righteous.

• Do you agree or disagree with this statement? Why?

• What are some of the challenges you have faced or you have seen others face when trying to be righteous?

Explain that in Isaiah 51, we read that the Lord, through Isaiah, addressed people who were trying to be righteous. Invite students as they study this chapter to look for principles that can help them in their efforts to be righteous.

Invite a student to read Isaiah 51:1–2 aloud. Ask the class to follow along, looking for what the Lord counseled those who are trying to be righteous to do. Before students read, remind them that Isaiah often repeated the same concept in different ways, as he did in verses 1 and 2.

• What did the Lord counsel those who are seeking to be righteous to do?

Explain that when the Lord said to “look unto Abraham … and unto Sarah” (verse 2), He was calling on the people of Israel to remember and keep the covenants that He had established with Abraham and Sarah.

• What covenants had the Lord made with Abraham and Sarah? (See Bible Dictionary, “Abraham, covenant of.”)

Write the following incomplete principle on the board: As we remember our covenants and keep them, …

Invite a student to read Isaiah 51:3 aloud. Ask the class to follow along, looking for why the Lord called upon Israel to remember and keep their covenants.

• What did the Lord say He would do for those who would remember and keep the covenants He had made with Abraham and with them? (They would be blessed and comforted.)

• How would you complete the principle on the board using what you have learned from verse 3? (After students respond, complete the principle on the board so it conveys the following truth: As we remember our covenants and keep them, the Lord will bless us and comfort us.)

• What words and phrases did the Lord use to describe how His people would be comforted?

• How has the Lord comforted you (or people you know) during challenging times as you (or they) were faithful to Him through keeping covenants?

Summarize Isaiah 51:4–6 by explaining that the Lord taught Israel that they can have comfort in Him when they are faithful to their covenants because His redemptive power and righteousness are eternal.

To prepare students to identify another principle, invite them to ponder a time when they were trying to be righteous but worried about what others thought of them.

• How might fearing others’ mockery or opinions affect our efforts to be righteous?

Invite a student to read Isaiah 51:7–8 aloud. Ask the class to follow along and look for who the Lord said did not need to fear the mockery or negative opinions of others. Explain that the words reproach and revilings refer to rebukes or mockery.

• According to verse 7, who should not fear what others say or do to them?

• What principle can we learn from this verse? (Students should identify a principle similar to the following: If the Lord’s law is in our hearts, then we have no need to fear the mockery of others.)

• Why did the Lord say that those with His law in their hearts do not need to fear what others say or do to them? (Because the blessings of the Lord’s righteousness and salvation will endure forever, while those who revile against righteousness will no longer be able to hurt us in the next life.)

• What are some things we can do to invite the Lord to place His law in our hearts? (We must choose to love God’s laws and sincerely desire to live them. We must prayerfully open our hearts to God’s law and live the gospel with real intent.)

Isaiah 51:9–52:6

The Lord calls upon Zion to awake and remove themselves from the bands of their captivity

Display an alarm clock or an alarm on a cell phone.

• Why do people use alarm clocks?

Invite students to look at Isaiah 51:9 and to notice the first two words. Explain that as recorded in Isaiah 51:9–10, Isaiah wrote that the Lord’s people were pleading with the Lord to “awake” (verse 9), or to use His power to help them as He had done in the past and fulfill His promises.

Summarize Isaiah 51:11–23 by explaining that the Lord indicated that it was His people who needed to awake.

Invite a student to read Isaiah 52:1–2 aloud. Ask the class to look for what the Lord invited Israel to do to awake from their spiritual sleep.

• What did the Lord invite Israel to do to awake from their spiritual sleep?

You may want to explain that the phrase instructing the people of Zion to “put on thy beautiful garments” (Isaiah 52:1) means that they should clothe themselves with inner purity and sanctity. It means to figuratively remove the clothes of their captivity to sin and instead wear clothes of righteousness and priesthood authority (see D&C 113:7–8).

• What does the phrase “shake thyself from the dust” (Isaiah 52:2) mean? (To get rid of the filth of sin and the influence of the world.)

• What do we need to do to rid ourselves from the effects of our sins?

Explain that the Lord said that His people had figuratively “sold [them]selves” (verse 3) when they had turned away from Him and embraced the wickedness of the world. Invite a student to read Isaiah 52:3 aloud. Ask the class to follow along, looking for what Israel received when they sold themselves through sin.

• What did Israel receive when they turned away from the Lord by sinning? What do we receive when we sin? (Nothing.)

• What do you think the phrase “ye shall be redeemed without money” (Isaiah 52:3) means?

Explain that although we are not redeemed from sin through money, the process of returning to the Lord does have a price. We must be willing to offer Him a broken heart and a contrite spirit and put forth great effort to repent.

• What principle do these verses teach us concerning what we must do to be redeemed from our sins? (Students should identify a principle similar to the following: When we repent and come unto the Lord, He will redeem us from the effects of our sins.)

• How could this principle help someone who is worried about whether or not they can repent of their sins?

Invite students to ponder in what ways they may be spiritually asleep and what they may need to do to awake, repent, and come to the Lord. Invite them to set a goal to act on any promptings they receive.

Isaiah 52:7–15

Isaiah prophesies of the Lord delivering captive Israel

Explain that anciently during times of war, people would anxiously await news from the battlefield. This news would have been brought by runners traveling on foot.

Anciently, runners would deliver news from the battlefield.

• How do you think these messengers were received when they brought news that the battle had been won and peace had been established? Why?

Explain that as recorded in Isaiah 52:7–8, Isaiah compared these battlefield messengers with Jesus Christ and the message of salvation that He gave and would give. The messengers Isaiah described also include prophets and those who would share the gospel message of peace and salvation and spread the joyful news that Jesus Christ has won the battle against sin and evil.

Invite students to read Isaiah 52:7–8 silently, looking for how those who share the message of salvation with others are described. Explain that publisheth means to proclaim or tell. Those who initially publish the message of salvation and the “watchmen” spoken of in verse 8 are prophets.

• What do you think it means that those who share the message of the gospel with others are considered to have “beautiful” feet by those who receive their message? (This is an expression of gratitude for those who bring them the gospel message, which fills them with joy and peace; see also Mosiah 15:15–18.)

Invite a student to read Isaiah 52:9–10 aloud. Ask the class to follow along, looking for how those who receive the gospel message will feel.

• How will those who receive the gospel message of redemption and salvation feel?

• What principles can we learn from these verses about sharing the gospel with others? (Students may identify a variety of principles, but make sure it is clear that when we share the message of the gospel, we offer joy to others.)

Ask students what tools and methods are available for us today to publish the gospel and share it with our friends and family.

• When have you used one of these tools or methods to share the gospel with others? How did your sharing the gospel bring joy to them?

• What have you learned about the Savior as you have seen the gospel bring joy to others?

Invite students to write in their study journals the names of those with whom they have felt prompted to share the gospel. Invite students to set a goal to share the gospel with those on their list so those people can experience joy.

Establish who is speaking to whom and why

To help students better understand the context and content of the scriptures they are studying, periodically explain or remind students who is speaking, to whom this person is speaking, and why this person is speaking.

Remind students that Isaiah 51–52 records Isaiah’s words to the Lord’s covenant people, who had been asleep spiritually. He taught them that they needed to awake by repenting and coming unto the Lord to be redeemed from their sins. Invite a student to read Isaiah 52:11–12 aloud. Ask the class to follow along, looking for how these verses help us understand what we need to do to awake, repent, and come to the Lord.

• According to verse 11, what do we need to do to be clean and to come unto the Lord so we can be redeemed from our sins? (We need to leave the wickedness of the world behind.)

• According to verse 12, what promise is given to those who seek to leave the wickedness of the world and be clean? (You may need to explain that the phrase “the God of Israel will be your rearward” refers to the protection God will give to those who come to Him.)

• Why would this promise be comforting to someone desiring to leave a lifestyle of sin?

Conclude with your testimony of the principles identified in the lesson today.

Commentary and Background Information

Isaiah 51:17–23. Who were the two “sons” who fainted?

“For centuries the covenant people of the Lord have ‘drunk at the hand of the Lord the cup of his fury,’ or in other words, they reaped the results of their refusal to heed His word and this ‘wrung them out’ (Isaiah 51:17). And the days of judgments for Israel are not finished yet. In the battle of Armageddon, the Jewish nation will once again undergo great oppression and judgment. …

“The text of 2 Nephi 8:19–20 taken from the brass plates suggests that the two sons may be the two witnesses of Revelation 11:1–6 who will keep the armies from defeating the Jews (see also D&C 77:15). …

“By means of these two servants of God and the miracles they work, God will remove from Israel’s hand ‘the cup of trembling, even the dregs of the cup of my fury.’ The promise is ‘thou shalt no more drink it again’ (Isaiah 51:22). Instead, the cup of fury shall be given to those who have trampled on and walked over the covenant people of the Lord. It will then be their turn to know suffering. (See v. 23.)” (Old Testament Student Manual: 1 Kings–Malachi, 3rd ed. [Church Educational System manual, 2003], 195).

Isaiah 52:1–2. How do these verses apply to the latter days?

What does the phrase “put on thy strength, O Zion; put on thy beautiful garments” (Isaiah 52:1) mean? “The phrase ‘put on her beautiful garments’ refers, of course, to the inner sanctity that must be attained by every member who calls himself or herself a Saint” (Ezra Taft Benson, “Strengthen Thy Stakes,” Ensign, Jan. 1991, 2). As recorded in Doctrine and Covenants 113:7–10, the Prophet Joseph Smith (1805–44) taught that the command in Isaiah 52:1 for Zion to put on strength was a command to those in the last days to “put on the authority of the priesthood” (D&C 113:8) to establish Zion and redeem Israel. He also taught that the Lord’s command to “loose thyself from the bands of thy neck” (Isaiah 52:2) was a command for scattered Israel “to return to the Lord” (D&C 113:10).

Isaiah 52:7–8. “Him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace”

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught that the true publisher of peace and good tidings is the Lord Jesus Christ, through whom salvation comes:

“As the Book of Mormon prophet Abinadi made clear in a slight variation of Isaiah’s exclamation:

“‘O how beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that is the founder of peace, yea, even the Lord, who has redeemed his people; yea, him who has granted salvation unto his people’ [Mosiah 15:18; emphasis added].

“Ultimately it is Christ who is beautiful upon the mountain. And it is His merciful promise of ‘peace in this world,’ His good tidings of ‘eternal life in the world to come’ [D&C 59:23] that make us fall at His feet and call His name blessed and give thanks for the restoration of His true and living Church” (Jeffrey R. Holland, “The Peaceable Things of the Kingdom,” Ensign, Nov. 1996, 82).