This was a common phrase used in stirring men to activity or action.
This is what the Holy Spirit is saying to the churches today.
There is a call going forth to the Body of Christ to awake from the state of spiritual slumber and false security - a state of ignorance of God and self as well as a state of stupid insensibility to the dangers that are near.
So many are slumbering on the verge of the breakout of God's judgment and wrath or significant destruction coming on this world.
How would you classify yourself today - as being asleep or awake?
In Isaiah 51:17 and 52:1, the Prophet cried out to the people, saying - "Awake, awake..."
An interesting call, wouldn't you agree?
What he was implying was that they rouse themselves...stir up themselves...shake off their former condition...look up...and raise their expectations of great things from God.
Isaiah 51:17 - in its entirety - says - "Awake, awake, stand up, O Jerusalem, which hast drunk at the hand of the LORD the cup of His fury; Thou hast drunken the dregs of the cup of trembling, and wrung them out." Here we have a picture of Jerusalem as a man totally overcome by the "cup" of the wrath of God - which produced the same effects as inebriation. Calamities of the most appalling kind had come upon her - leaving her "knocked out cold" - with none to sustain or help her.
The wrath of God - that came swiftly upon her - left her reeling, staggering, and totally prostrate in the dust. She bitterly provoked Him to anger with her idolatries and sin. In turn, He sorely afflicted her - or made her drink of the "cup" of His displeasure - which filled her with trembling and great astonishment.
She drank at His "hand" "the cup of His fury" - "the cup of trembling." For her punishment, she was obliged to "drink" or receive from His "hand" the entire portion of suffering - totally exhausting the cup of His wrath - sucking out all the liquid from the "dregs" or sediment - to the very last drop.
But in spite of her stupor of despair, the word of the Lord came to her saying - "Awake, awake, stand up, O Jerusalem..." She which had been thrown down to the ground by the awful fury of God is now called upon to "stand up" and "awake" from her sleep of sorrow. A day of deliverance was dawning for her. She was to recover her senses and come out of that forlorn condition of faintness and dumbfoundedness unto the splendor and power which she once enjoyed.
In Isaiah 52:1, the Prophet continues the call - "Awake, awake; put on they strength, O Zion; put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city: for henceforth there shall no more come into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean." Here Jerusalem is pictured as a woman clad in garments of sorrow...sitting on the ground...covered with dust...mourning over her desolations...downtrodden before her enemies...and long in bondage. The Prophet exhorts her to "awake, awake" - to shake herself from the state of dejection and clothe herself with confidence in the power of God.
Be strong...be bold...become courageous...stir up your spirit...and encourage yourself once again. Arise from your condition - shake off the dust...loose your bands...lay aside the garments representing grief, captivity, and sin...and adorn yourself with strength, holiness, and prosperity.
Like the Prophet Isaiah, the Apostle Paul heard the same call and exhorted the people of God in two of his epistles -
Ephesians 5:14 says - "Wherefore He saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light."
Romans 13:11 adds - "And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed."
We are living in a critical period or season of time. It is the Gospel time...an accepted time...a busy time...a time of crisis and challenge...a time when more is expected...and a time to rise, arm, walk, and work. It is a time to have a deep sense of the nearness of eternity before our eyes and a time to live lives marked by honesty, truth, peace, and contentment. It is not a time to be slothful...drowsy from the sleep of carnal security...careless and indifferent...negligent about our souls or insensible to eternal interests..backward in the performance of our God-given duties...lukewarm about the cause of Christ...overanxious about the cares of this life...weary in spiritual pursuits...or unconcerned about any sin in our lives.
It is time to WAKE UP! A time to rouse yourself from spiritual slumber and slothfulness and get busy in the work of the Lord!
Where do you find yourself in this message?
Is God calling you from the bed of sorrow, affliction, or chastisement?
Lately, have you found yourself drinking from the cup of His wrath and overtaken by the slumber of sorrow?
He is calling you to arise from your despondency and depression. Brush off the dust of mourning and weakness and arise to splendor and power. Put on His strength - which will empower you to refuse the "uncircumcised" and "unclean" that caused you to reap His wrath in the first place.
As you examine your spiritual life, can you honestly say that you are "on-fire" for Him today? Have you grown spiritually over the past year? Are you fulfilling your God-given duties with a greater measure of fervency and zeal? Or have you allowed the "cares and riches and pleasures of this life"(Luke 8:14) to cause your heart to grow cold toward Jesus? Are you where you should be with Him today? Or has the world lulled you to sleep with its "razzle-dazzle" ?
WAKE UP, O SAINT OF GOD!
Do you realize what time it is?
Eternity is right around the corner.
What are you doing for the Kingdom of God?
Who are you living for - Jesus or Money?
"Awake, awake..."
Up! Rouse thee!
No matter what condition you find yourself in today - you don't have to stay there.
Get up...shake the dust off...and start anew.
God is calling you right now!
Whatever you do - don't respond with a "busy signal"!
