Isaiah 51:9-11 (KJV)
[9] Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the Lord ; awake, as in the ancient days, in the generations of old. Art thou not it that hath cut Rahab, and wounded the dragon? [10] Art thou not it which hath dried the sea, the waters of the great deep; that hath made the depths of the sea a way for the ransomed to pass over? [11] Therefore the redeemed of the Lord shall return, and come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy shall be upon their head: they shall obtain gladness and joy; and sorrow and mourning shall flee away.
To appreciate the good news in this passage, we would need to understand the destination of the returning: Zion! What is Zion? Verse 11 says: “Therefore the redeemed of the Lord shall return, and come with singing unto Zion …”.
What is Zion?
Hebrews 12:22-23 says: “[22] But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, [23] To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect,”.
In this passage, Mount Zion is referred to as the city of the living God: the heavenly Jerusalem, where also are an innumerable company of angels, as well as the spirits of just men made perfect. Meaning, coming to Zion implies having an heavenly Christian experience among the heavenly community even while on earth. Our Lord Jesus’s life on earth exemplified this. He was on earth, but expressed heavenly possibilities that were beyond normal human abilities. In John 3:13 He said: “And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but He that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.”. He said that though He was on earth, He was actually also in heaven. That’s a practical example of what life looks like when a believer returns to Zion. They are physically on earth, but spiritually in heaven; living as a heavenly being on earth.
But how does this happen to a person? How does one return to Zion? To begin, it is called “return” because this was the kind of life God ordained for humanity to live. It was lost because of the fall into sin when Adam and Eve disobeyed God, but now the opportunity to return to such life is open through Christ Jesus (the Last Adam). Amen!
So how does one return to Zion?
The passage (requoted) says: “[9] Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the Lord ; awake, as in the ancient days, in the generations of old. Art thou not it that hath cut Rahab, and wounded the dragon? [10] Art thou not it which hath dried the sea, the waters of the great deep; that hath made the depths of the sea a way for the ransomed to pass over? [11] Therefore the redeemed of the Lord shall return, and come with singing unto Zion …”.
Reading from verse 9 to 11, it becomes clear that the reason why the redeemed of the Lord can return with singing unto Zion is because of the arm of the Lord. What is the arm of the Lord? Simply put, the arm is the hand. It is the means by which one accomplishes something or does a work. It therefore represents the power or ability to accomplish a work. Meaning, the arm of the Lord represents God’s power or ability to accomplish a work; and as such, it is by the power of God that the redeemed are able to return to the Zion life.
What is the power of God?
Romans 1:16 says: “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.”.
This passage shows that the gospel (the good news), which is the Word of God, is the power of God for accomplishing salvation. Meaning, it is through the Word of God that the redeemed are able to return to the Zion life. How? The Isaiah 51:11 passage says: “Therefore the redeemed of the Lord shall return, and come with singing unto Zion …”, emphasis on “with singing”. It is by “singing the Word of God” that one is able to access the power of God (the arm of the Lord) to be able to return to the Mount Zion level of life.
What does it mean to sing the Word of God?
The word translated to English as “singing” is the Hebrew word “rinnâh” which is also translated in other verses of scripture as: cry, proclamation, shouting. One of the verses where it is translated as “cry” is 2 Chronicles 6:19: “Have respect therefore to the prayer of Thy servant, and to his supplication, O Lord my God, to hearken unto the cry and the prayer which Thy servant prayeth before Thee:”. Another is Jeremiah 7:16: “Therefore pray not thou for this people, neither lift up cry nor prayer for them, neither make intercession to Me: for I will not hear thee.”.
From these two verses, we can see that the word “cry” (which is the same Hebrew word “rinnâh”) points to prayer or intercession. Meaning, when Isaiah 51:11 says the redeemed shall return and come with singing unto Zion, it is not just referring to singing in terms of melody, but actually praying and interceding with the Word of God, which includes prophesying the Word of God to oneself (prophetic prayers). This is how the power of God (the arm of the Lord) is accessed to be able to return to living the heavenly Zion life (the kind of life our Lord Jesus exemplified while on earth, as He said in John 3:13). It is the power of God that makes one able to overcome all the resistance of sin, satan and the flesh (symbolized as Rahab (Egypt), the dragon and the sea in Isaiah 51:10) in order to live the Zion life.
Prayer for today:
Father, help me to pray and prophesy Your word so that I can gain Your power to overcome the enemy and return to living the Zion life as a heavenly being on earth like my Lord Jesus exemplified.
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