The Lord calls upon the apostate Jews of Isaiah’s day to awake and arise, to live up to their privileges and expectations. Even though they have suffered terrible afflictions as a people because of their disobedience, that time will come to an end. The Lord takes credit for their afflictions. It is not happenstance that has thrust them into their terrible situation. The Lord could have protected them if they had trusted in Him. But they trusted instead in political and military alliances - the arm of flesh. And so the Lord let them experience the results of their faithlessness. He has let them sink to the very bottom where only the bitter dregs are left. The cup of trembling is so full of bitterness that it makes them shiver. The people have chosen to drink the bitter dregs because they refused the sweet and wholesome liquid that had originally filled their cup. Having stubbornly wrung out every last bitter drop of those dregs, the Jews will finally be ready to repent and return to the Lord.
When we ignore the commandments and turn our backs on God, He may turn His back on us for a time to let us experience the natural consequences of our choices. He will not continually bail us out if we use our agency against Him. He still loves us, but He wants us to understand the importance of maintaining our relationship with Him. When we ignore His gentle invitations, He uses other means to get our attention. The harder we push away from Him, the bitterer He lets the dregs become for us. His hope is that we will eventually wake up to the bitterness of our situation and desire to return to the sweetness of His presence. When we decide to change, He is right there waiting with open arms to welcome us home. While some may need to wring out the dregs to the last drop before we come to ourselves, we do not have to go that far. The choice is ours.
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