In verse 9 of this chapter the writer appears to believe that the Lord is asleep.
Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the LORD; Awake as in the days of old, the generations of long ago. Was it not You who cut Rahab in pieces, Who pierced the dragon?
Isaiah 51:9 NASB
There is a lot going on here. First, the phrase “put on strength” is appealing to the 93rd Psalm where we read about God’s creation. His strength from His righteous right hand is referred to many times in Scripture. Rahab is not the woman from Joshua but a sea creature that was said to have resisted God’s creation. This mythical serpent is also referenced in Job 7 and Psalm 74.
The imagery here undoubtedly refers to the destruction of Egypt. In fact, in Isaiah 30, Rahab the serpent is connected with Egypt.
Even Egypt, whose help is vain and empty. Therefore, I have called her “Rahab who has been exterminated.”
Isaiah 30:7 NASB
The entire verse poetically connects many historical facts about the Lord, but we are still left with one question. Why does the writer ask the Lord to awaken? Many of us have been in this kind of a situation. We know God has the power to act and we know He will be faithful to His promise, however, we are impatient. The writer, presumably Isaiah, is asking the Lord to act now with the same power as He has exemplified in Israel’s long history.
What’s fascinating to me is that the Lord meets Him right there by answering both of Isaiah’s requests to “Awake.”
“I, even I, am He who comforts you. Who are you that you are afraid of man who dies And of the son of man who is made like grass, 13 That you have forgotten the LORD your Maker, Who stretched out the heavens And laid the foundations of the earth, That you fear continually all day long because of the fury of the oppressor, As he makes ready to destroy? But where is the fury of the oppressor?’
Isaiah 51:12-13 NASB
I, even I, says the Lord. He reaffirms who He is and seals His future promises. He appeals to His long history of faithfulness and returns a question to Isaiah. When I am your Lord, why do you continually fear your oppressor? The very same question could be asked of us today. If God is truly your God, what do you have to fear?