Isaiah 51 talks about being drunk but not with wine. (Being drunk in the spirit) It is also from God, but it is His wrath (hot displeasure, indignation, anger) that is being poured out. He is calling to those that are presently being drunk in the spirit. In verses 1, 4, and 7 he is calling to those that are seeking righteousness and are seeking the Lord.
In verse 1 “Listen to Me, you who follow after righteousness, You who seek the LORD”
Verse 4 “Listen to Me, My people; And give ear to Me, O My nation”
Verse 7 “Listen to Me, you who know righteousness, You people in whose heart [is] My law”
The scripture then goes on to talk about some of the manifestations of when you are drunk in the spirit.
Verse 17 “Awake, awake! Rise up, Jerusalem, you who have drunk from the hand of the LORD the cup of his wrath, you who have drained to its dregs the goblet that makes people stagger”
Two of the manifestations are the drinking and that the drinking will cause you to stagger. At many of these meetings the audience is encouraged to “drink it in”.
Verse 19 “These two [things] have come to you; Who will be sorry for you?--Desolation and destruction, famine and sword--By whom will I comfort you?”
Is it possible that being God’s children and participating in this is causing some of the violence and ruin, destruction, famine and hunger and wars that are in the world today?
Verse 20 contains some more manifestations “Your sons have fainted, They lie at the head of all the streets, Like an antelope in a net; They are full of the fury of the LORD, The rebuke of your God”
Is that not what is happening in the churches today where this is being encouraged. People are fainting (lying down and not being able to get up), or like an animal that is caught in a net (thrashing and jerking and causing a disturbance and bringing attention to oneself)
Verse 21 “Therefore please hear this, you afflicted, And drunk but not with wine.”
Verse 21 is very self explanatory.
Verse 22 “This is what your Sovereign LORD says, your God, who defends his people:
“See, I have taken out of your hand the cup that made you stagger; from that cup, the goblet of my wrath, you will never drink again”
I believe that those that are entangled with this movement, those that are seeking righteousness and the Lord, that if they can hear Isaiah 51 and seek after God, they will be delivered.
Verse 23 “I will put it into the hands of your tormentors, who said to you, ‘Fall prostrate that we may walk on you.’ And you made your back like the ground, like a street to be walked on.”
When it talks about being walked on, I believe that is a picture of when we knew what was right, but out of a wrong spirit we bowed down to the leaders of that movement and they literally walked on the backs of the people. It is interesting to note that the word “tormentors” means to “to afflict, grieve, suffer, cause grief.” I know that is what happens in my spirit when I see people in the church walking in theses things. I believe Isaiah 51 is a message for people to be informed of what is happening to hem, but it must be done in a spirit of love so they can receive the truth.
