http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=isaiah%2053&version=9
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http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=isaiah%2053&version=9
Isaiah is the gospel of the Old Testament, this prophecy is about Jesus.
In the premortal realm, he had been the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the Creator of the earth, the great I AM. From these exalted heights, he descended, coming to earth in the most humble of circumstances that he might be no stranger to our sorrows. Instead of worldly station, he chose to be born in a lowly stable and live the simple life of a carpenter. He grew up in an obscure village in a despised precinct of Palestine. He made himself of no reputation, and was “a root out of a dry ground,” having “no beauty that we should desire him” (Isa. 53:2).
The next verse (52:14), the picture of the Suffering Servant with "visage ... marred," recalls Abraham led out to sacrifice after his long suffering in prison while the princes and the wise men mock. Verse 15, telling of the kings who shut their mouths in amazement, recalls the 365 kings who were astounded to behold Abraham's delivery from the altar. In 53:1 the arm of the Lord is revealed, as it is unbeknownst to the others in the delivery of Abraham. (Cf. Abraham 1:17.) Isaiah 53:2 emphasizes the drought motif, which, as we have seen, is never missing from the rites of the substitute king. In verses 3 to 8 the Suffering Servant is beaten that we may be healed - a substitute for all of us. In verse 8 he is "taken from prison and from judgment" to be "cut off out of the land of the living," exactly as Abraham was according to the traditions. Verse 9 reminds us of Abraham in wicked Canaan, and verse 10 - "it pleased the Lord to bruise him ..." - recalls the description of Abraham as a son being mercilessly beaten by a loving father but never complaining. Finally the reward: Because his soul was placed as an offering, he shall see his progeny, his days shall be lengthened, and he shall prosper greatly (see verses 10-12) - all "because he hath poured out his soul unto death ..." (verse 12). Such was the reward of Abraham, with the assurance also that by the knowledge gained he would be able to sanctify others. (See verse 11.) In the end the Suffering Servant becomes the great intercessor: "he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors" (53:12), just as Abraham does, as the great advocate for sinners living and dead. Thus Isaiah 52:13-53:12, while vividly recalling the suffering of Isaac, is an even better description of Abraham on the altar.
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