Rise up and shake off the dust

“Shake yourself from the dust, arise, O captive Jerusalem; rid yourself of the chains around your neck, O captive Daughter of Zion.” – Isaiah 52:2

Here Isaiah is conveying a word of encouragement to a community he addresses as the ‘Daughters of Zion’ who are interchangeably called ‘Daughters of Jerusalem’. The prophet is addressing the Israelites using feminine language of comfort and hope. The Daughters of Zion were wailing and weeping in the dust of Babylonian captivity. In Jewish day to day usage, ‘Daughter of Zion’ was a complementary title given to any beautiful woman. The term carried with it all the accolades of highest respect and honor. Modern commentators have extended its usage into the New Testament, citing Spiritual Daughters of Zion as those with the unfading inner beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit (1Peter 3:1-6). Anna the Prophetess also features highly as a woman of prayer, hence a Daughter of Zion. Women disciples who followed Jesus Christ all the way to Calvary are the best example of Daughters of Zion the New Testament can furnish us. They were weeping and wailing all the way to the Cross, until Jesus told them not to weep for him but for themselves and their children.

What lessons do we learn from these Daughters of Zion in the book of Isaiah?

1. Daughters of Zion are SHAKERS of dust/problems rather than accumulators of dust/problems. When people throw accusations and gossip of all sorts at you, learn to shake it off. Refuse to accumulate dust over your life. Shake off the dust of DEPRESSION, DISCOURAGEMENT, DISTRESS, DESPAIR; DEMONS; DISEASE and DEATH.

   
   

2. Daughters of Zion are RISERS over whatever circumstance rather than survivors of their circumstances. It is one thing to shake off the dust, it’s another thing to step up to the next level. Change your language from negativity to positivity. I declare a RISE & RISE season for every Daughter of Zion. You shall not be static, but you shall rise to greater heights. You have the capacity and the velocity to rise.

   
   

3. Daughters of Zion are MOVERS with hope for the future rather than campers who wail in despair. It is one thing to RISE UP but its yet another thing to MOVE ON. Terah, Abraham’s father was the first to set out of Ur of the Chaldeans en-route to Canaan. But when he and his crew came to Haran they dwelt there. Sadly, the Bible then says that Terah died in Haran (Genesis 11:31-32). There are many who purpose to go to Canaan but they settle in Haran and eventually die there. Setbacks and heartbreaks at Haran have made many daughters of Zion not to move on. Some are failing to move on because of continually looking in the rear-view mirror: they are busy mourning about their painful past. Learn to let bygones be bygones and move on with your life.

Check out these SHAKERS, RISERS AND MOVERS in the Bible:

• Ruth shook off the dust of widowhood, rose up and moved on

• Mephibosheth shook off the dust of disability and inability, rose up and moved on

• Jabez shook off the dust of pain and poverty, rose up and moved on

• The bleeding woman shook off the dust of sickness, rose up and moved on

• Hannah shook off the dust of barrenness, rose up and moved on

• Peter shook off the dust of prison chains, rose up and moved on

• The prodigal son shook off the dust of destitution, rose up and moved on

Likewise, it is now the time for you to rise up and shake off the dust! Shake off the dust of:

• Sin

• Disobedience

• Pride

• Shame

• Condemnation

• Sickness and disease

• Poverty

• Unbelief and doubt

• Wrong relationships, alliances, people

• The old - including old mindsets

• Regrets, disappointment, failure

• Rejection

• Unforgiveness

• Fear

The gospel proclaims liberty to those bound with fears. Let those weary and heavy laden under the burden of sin, find relief in Christ, shake themselves from the dust of their doubts and fears, and loose themselves from those bands. The price paid by the Redeemer for our salvation, was not silver or gold, or corruptible things, but his own precious blood. The good news is, that the Lord Jesus reigns.

“Jerusalem, the sacred city, put on your glory garments! Never again will the unclean enter your gates!” - Isaiah 52:1 

God insists his people put off their garments of mourning, and their chains of captivity, and to assume their rightful place, as His children, in Jerusalem. Here there were actions required-  a putting off; a shaking off and a rising  up. The people of Israel had entered into a state of mourning, hence why God tells them to rise up out of the dust and dirt. Mourning and repentance were the proper response to their sin. But they did not need to spend the rest of their lives in a state of mourning. God had forgiven them; their time of discipline was over. Now was the time for them to rise up and accept the gift of freedom, redemption, and restoration that God has offered to them. Likewise - you are not struck out yet; it is not over until God says it is over. Someone once said, failure is part of success. The fact that you have failed in something doesn’t mean end of story – it is just another lesson of success that you have learnt about what works and what does not.

God is telling you today to shake yourself from the “dust”; He is telling you to arise from the dust of defeat, failure, discouragement, condemnation and guilt. I don’t know where you are right now in your life. Maybe you have failed on several attempts in business, projects or family matters, and now you are ready to throw in the towel, retreat to depression, have your pity party and feel sorry yourself. Perhaps you have lost a job, a loved one, an opportunity; this is not the time to sit in the dust and feel terrible. Instead, dust yourself off and arise again. Isaiah 60:1 says, “Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee.”

“Dust” in scripture is the food of the serpent, the devil (see Genesis 3:14). Thus, the more you resort to depression and condemnation and feeling sorry for yourself, the more you are feeding Satan; and by that you give him power over your life to frustrate and destroy you. Why do people commit suicide and end their lives? It is this same reason I am sharing with you – they go into depression, lose hope and give up and die.

As long as you are alive, there is hope for you

You must encourage yourself and try again. What I am giving to you is more than a motivational message – I am firing the living hope of Christ into your spirit to energize you for victorious living. According to scripture at the smell of water, a tree cut can sprout again (Job 14:7-9). Water speaks of the word. Receive the word of God that I am sharing with you to day and rise again. Your roots are still in the ground; you may have been cut, but you are not out. Arise and shine. Put on your smile; speak in other tongues; engage in bold faith declarations. Get back to work and you will succeed.

God tells Israel to do four things:

1. Rise up! The idea in the Hebrew is not that which seems to be implied in this expression to arise and sit down in the same place, but it means to arise from the dust, and sit in a more elevated, or honorable place.

   
   

2. Shake off the dust. The captive daughter of Zion was brought down to the dust of suffering and oppression, and is now commanded to arise and shake herself from that dust, and then, with grace, and dignity, and composure, and security, to sit down; to take again her seat and her rank, amid the company of the nations of the earth, which had before afflicted her, and trampled her to the earth.

   
   

3. Remove the chains from your neck. Jerusalem had been a captive, and confined as a prisoner. She is now called on to cast off these chains from her neck, and to be again at liberty. In captivity, chains or bands were attached to various parts of the body. They were usually affixed to the wrists or ankles, but it would seem also that sometimes collars were affixed to the neck. The idea is, that the Jews, who had been so long held captive, were about to be released, and restored to their own land.

   
   

4. Accept the freedom that I (God) have provided for you. You need to accept the freedom- believe in it and walk in it- walk like someone who’s free. God has called on Israel to prepare themselves to receive the redemption and salvation that He has provided for them. They, in faith, needed to be ready to receive what God had already done for them. God’s work has been done; Israel must take action to accept it. They must lay hold of their faith in order to benefit from God’s blessing to them.

   
   

5. It was time for Israel to take action and act upon what God has told them to do. No more sitting in the dust in a state of self-punishment. No more pity parties, and penance. Now it was time to respond and take action to God’s Message. No more lollygagging, time for moving.

God had given this hope for Israel to look forward to and hold on to: “This is what Yahweh says: In the time of favor I will answer you. In the day of salvation I will help you. I will protect you. I will appoint you as my promise to the people. You will restore the land. You will make them inherit the desolate inheritance. You will say to the prisoners, “Come out,” and to those who are in darkness, “Show yourselves.” They will graze along every path, and they will find pastures on every bare hill. They will never be hungry or thirsty, nor will the sun or the burning, hot wind strike them. The one who has compassion on them will lead them and guide them to springs. I will turn all my mountains into roads, and my highways will be restored. They will come from far away. They will come from the north and from the west, and they will come from the land of Sinim.” - Isaiah 49:8-12 (NOG). Israel needed to remember God’s promise to them. They needed to be looking for His hand of deliverance, but they were not.

I remind you of something that Paul wrote to the church in Corinth, today is the day of salvation. Not tomorrow, but today. “As God’s partners, we beg you not to toss aside this marvelous message of God’s great kindness. For God says, “Your cry came to me at a favorable time, when the doors of welcome were wide open. I helped you on a day when salvation was being offered.” Right now God is ready to welcome you. Today he is ready to save you.” - 2 Corinthians 6:1-2 (TLB). As such, do not delay acting today.  

We can look to the book of James and learn how faith and action work together. And how faith without action is basically dead. James 2:14-24 tells us: “My brothers and sisters, if people say they have faith, but do nothing, their faith is worth nothing. Can faith like that save them? A brother or sister in Christ might need clothes or food. If you say to that person, “God be with you! I hope you stay warm and get plenty to eat,” but you do not give what that person needs, your words are worth nothing. In the same way, faith by itself—that does nothing—is dead. Someone might say, “You have faith, but I have deeds.” Show me your faith without doing anything, and I will show you my faith by what I do. You believe there is one God. Good! But the demons believe that, too, and they tremble with fear. You foolish person! Must you be shown that faith that does nothing is worth nothing? Abraham, our ancestor, was made right with God by what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar. So you see that Abraham’s faith and the things he did worked together. His faith was made perfect by what he did…” 

Let us learn from Israel’s example, and remember that there is a time to mourn, but there is also a time for action. Let us not get stuck in self-punishment, and self-pity. If you have repented of your sin, then take that step of faith. Rise up, shake off the dust, remove those chains of bondage from around your neck and accept the freedom that God has provided for you.

“Leave the broken, irreversible past in God’s hands, and step out into the invincible future with Him.” - Oswald Chambers

Prayer

God Almighty, you have called me to be a person of faith and action. I ask that you help me to be just that. I do not want to get caught up in self-loathing and punishment for those times that I have messed up and failed you. Help me to instead seek your forgiveness in humility, and then accept that forgiveness given freely to me, and move on. Your intention is never to crush me, but to love me. Help me to grasp the greatness of your love, Lord. Help me to rise up, shake off the dust, remove those chains of bondage, and accept the freedom that you have given to me. I want to live out my faith, Lord, so that you will be glorified in my life. Help me to do so, to the best of my abilities. Thank you, Lord. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.