THE BOOK OF ISAIAH
Condemnation or
Comfort: You choose
Isaiah 56-57 1/12/14
SCC
This section is a long and complex oracle that denounces sinfulness in
vivid detail and commends the faith as the only solution for the deep spiritual
needs of life.
When sin corrupt leaders God declares they
are worthless 56:9-12
Verse 9: Here the prophet
summons the “beasts” to invade, meaning foreign armies; the call is rhetorical,
making the point that there is nothing to stop them.
Verse 10: The “watchmen”
have not done their job. These are the prophets and priests who were to warn
the people. But, the prophet says, they are all dumb dogs. Dogs that don’t bark
at danger are not good watchdogs. More than that, they are lazy and greedy,
looking out for themselves first.
Verse 11: As ignorant
shepherds they turn to their own gain, and are looking for the good life,
always a better experience. What a failure the “watchmen” and the “shepherds”
were for Israel. This failure is the main reason for the idolatry that will be
denounced later.
Verse 12: Rather than
caring for the sheep unselfishly, these shepherds went off and got drunk,
repeatedly. They indulged themselves at the expense of their charges and in the
process became enslaved and incapable of fulfilling their responsibilities.
God laments the apathy over the death of the
righteous innocent victims of corruption 57:1-2
Verse 1: the prophet notes
that no one cares that the righteous have died. The meaning here is about
people who died in the exile. The righteous, the devout, are swept away with
the wicked, and no one takes it seriously. Innocent people died. But the text
makes it clear that they died to be spared the greater evil.
Verse 2: in contrast to
the wicked who die, the righteous will enter peace and
find rest as they lie down in death. In the Babylonian exile, as in all wars
and catastrophes, good people died as well as the wicked. And while no one paid
much attention to the distinction God made it clear that for the righteous
death was an entrance into eternal peace. How much better in such a calamity
knowing you were right with God.
God catalogs the indictment against the
idolatrous nation to expose justification for judgment 3-10
Verse 3: begins the
description with “seed” or “offspring” to show that they shared the nature of
adulterers and prostitutes. They were essentially selfish, unfaithful to God,
and wayward. The important thing to note is that Israel did all of these when they
were in their own land and not when they were in captivity. The Babylonian captivity purged idolatry
from Israel.
Verse 4: Evidently the
people these wicked Israelites mocked were the righteous minority among them.
Like children, they ridiculed the righteous for being different from
themselves. They were rebellious and deceitful in their relationship to the
Lord.
Verse 5: This says, “you burn with lust among the oaks.” The groves of trees were
signs of fertility of a local “Baal”; that then became a place to worship—to
practice the fertility cult. They were rebellious and deceitful in that they
practiced fertility worship and child sacrifice. They believed connection with
nature, rather than a spiritual relationship with the Creator, would yield
fertility. They also believed that sacrificing the next generation would
guarantee the preservation of the present generation.
Verse 6: A wadi is a streambed that is dry most of the year but in the
rainy season becomes a rushing torrent. As mountaintops became places of
worship because they were close to heaven and the gods, so wadis
in valleys became places of worship because they were close to Sheol and the dead.
Verse 7: continues this
motif: where they made their bed they sacrificed to pagan deities, meaning, the
practice of the bed was the sacrifice, at least in part.
Verse 8: looking on the
“nakedness” is a euphemism for the male organ, the sign of fertility. Their
idolatry in Canaan was with all kinds of symbols and implements that were
designed to induce fertility. Where they were to have placed the Law—the
doorposts—they had these grotesque images. They forsook the Lord and made a
covenant with the leaders and devotees of the ritual, on whose nakedness they
looked.
Verse 9: they sought
information from pagan shrines—everywhere
but the Lord. They were trying to induce false gods to reveal things;
theirs was a cult of the dead, so they consulted with the dead by this
mysterious seance. One thinks of King Saul in his
greatest need going to the Witch of Endor for
truth—only to have the Lord bring up Samuel to announce his death. They feared
non-entities, and ignored the Omnipotent One.
Verse 10: It is interesting
to note in that they believed this all met their needs. They were worn out by
these pursuits, but somehow found strength in them rather than see how hopeless
it all was. People wrapped up in pagan religion, whether Canaanite or modern,
do so for some reason. Satan is able to meet some of their needs, and they then
believe the lie.
God rebukes their idolatry that corrupted
their lives 11-12
Verse 11: Who had
terrified them that they betrayed the truth their covenant partner, and their
concern for Him? Obviously it was not a great threat that had made them
unfaithful but neglect of Him. Perhaps if He had been more active in judging
their sins they would have remembered Him. But, graciously, He had been silent
about their sins, and so they had not paid attention to Him.
Verse 12: What she
considered righteousness, the blending of her elect exclusive calling to be
God’s people and her blatant paganism together, was anything but that.
God promises restoration for the lowly,
humble, and contrite 13-19
Verse 13: In that Day of
Judgment the idols that the Israelites had trusted in, even in captivity, would
be of no help. They would be as useless and lightweight as what the winds blow
away. In contrast, those who made the Lord their refuge from the storms of life
would inherit the land and possess the Zion of the future Millennium.
Verse 14: The speaker is
probably God, but the speech is more important than the speaker. The figure is of
building a roadbed for a highway that would become the route of the Israelites.
In the future someone would give an order to prepare the way so the Israelites
could return to their land and to their God.
Verse 15: The reason for
this proclamation is that God is who He is. He is the utterly transcendent God
in relation to space-time, and character. Yet He is also immanent, dwelling
among repentant and humble people. He dwells among them to encourage and enable
them. The holy God is with His humble. So you should spend some time on “contrite” and
“lowly”. One who is lowly in spirit is one who is humble, surrendered,
depending on God. There can be no service to God apart from these attitudes.
Verse 16: explains how this
happens: God will end His anger, or the human spirit would be devastated. Rather,
those days are shortened (God knows what people can take).
Verse 17: The Lord had
been angry with the proud Israelite because of his desire for unjust gain,
namely, for more and more for himself. This is the essential sin that results
in idolatry. God’s anger led Him to discipline the proud Israelites and to
become inaccessible to their calls for help.
Verse 18: In the exile God
poured out His wrath and punished sinful, rebellious unbelieving Israelites. He
destroyed many; He brought many to their knees. Those who were contrite and
repentant He would forgive and restore to their land, so that they could praise
Him. Most of these had never gone into wicked idolatry like their reprobate
countrymen had.
Verse 19: The result would
be that those delivered would praise the Lord. Consequently, there can be peace
for the humble because God would heal them whether they live near in Israel or
far off among the Gentiles
God declares that the wicked will never find
peace for themselves 20-21
These two verses show that there is no peace whatsoever for the wicked.
They thought they were finding it in their evil works, but they cannot. Their constant
agitation creates many other problems, like the raging sea casts up debris and
mud.
So What?
1. For the wicked, the pagan unbeliever, whether in personal trouble or
not, the message is clear: repent or perish just as Jesus preached there is no
middle ground.
2. For the believer the message is one of comfort—God heals, comforts,
guides, and grants peace, now and in the life to come. This would call for a
greater commitment to the faith.
3. Believers ought to pick up the message the prophet was giving; that
is, we ought to warn the wicked, and hold out the clear promise of fellowship
with the Lord.
4. But one timeless aspect is that God dwells with the humble and the contrite. If people want to show that they are true believers and faithful to the Lord, they must show evidence of repenting, surrender to His will, and walk humbly before Him; then, He will dwell with them, heal them, restore them to life, and bring them peace, comfort, and joy—so that they might turn from mourning to praise. So we might begin by asking people where they find comfort, joy, peace, and fulfillment.