Probing symbolism can help us understand Isaiah better. Let's look at some verses of Isaiah to see an example.
17 ¶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….
22 Thus
saith thy Lord the Lord,
and thy God that
pleadeth the cause of his people,
Behold, I have taken
out of thine hand the cup of trembling,
even the dregs of the
cup of my fury;
thou shalt no more
drink it again:
(Isaiah 51:17, 22-23)
One symbol that is used in
these verses is “the cup of his fury” (his
meaning the Lord). It is also
called “the cup of trembling.”
Another symbol is “the dregs of the cup.”
The cup symbolizes a portion
given to us. Because these
verses tell us the Lord gives this
portion to us, we know that it is something justly given. Calling it “the cup of his fury”
teaches us that this is the portion of the Lord’s anger that we each deserve
and will be given because of our sins.
I don’t know about you, but
I am scared of that. This is why
it is also called “the cup of trembling” to express our point of view, how we
tremble with fear at the prospect of experiencing the Lord’s anger.
The “dregs of the cup”
refers to the sediment left in a cup of wine at the very end. Drinking the dregs means to drink every
last bit, and in terms of the gospel and the symbols Isaiah is using, it would
mean suffering for all our own sins,
every last one.
Thus, when the Lord says He
will take that cup of his fury out of our hand and not make us drink it again,
it implies one of two things—either we have repented, or we have finished
suffering for all our sins. (I much prefer repenting..) It means the Lord is no longer angry
with us. (Yaaay!)
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