Deeper Commentary
Isaiah 57:1 The righteous perishes, and no man lays it to heart; and merciful men are taken away, none considering that the righteous is taken away from the coming evil- This is probably alluding to what God did to Josiah (2 Kings 22:20 cp. 23:29). The allusion is to Josiah dying in peace without having to witness the Babylonian judgment and exile of Judah. For that is the referent of "the coming evil" in Jer. 22:10; 2 Kings 22:16-20. Perhaps the idea is that nobody much had reflected upon that; and this leads straight on from the criticism of the shepherds in the previous verses. They had not protected the righteous and were not bothered about the death of the faithful. The same word for "righteous" translated 'saints' is found in Ps. 116:15, "Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints". The people were committing the same sins they had before the exile. They had not repented nor been transformed by their experiences; just as so many suffer so much but to no avail. And so the cycle would have to repeat. Or we could conclude that this was happening to the righteous amongst the exiles. They were suffering real persecution even unto death from the false prophets. Jewish tradition claims that Isaiah and Ezekiel died violent deaths at the hands of the Jews, and likely there is some truth in that. We notice the parallel here between "righteous men" and "merciful men". "Mercy" alludes to the covenants which they were faithful to, but they all the same were characterized by "mercy" as the lead characteristic of those who accepted them and were transformed by them internally.
"None understanding / considering" connects with Is. 56:11:
"these are shepherds who can’t understand". The chapter break between
Isaiah 56 and 57 is unwarranted. This is all the same section, beginning
in Is. 56:10. The idea is that the shepherds of the righteous didn't
understand. And yet the righteous were still righteous, despite having bad
shepherds. And that is the case within so much of organized, religious
Christianity today.
Isaiah 57:2 He enters into peace; they rest in their beds, each one who
walks in his uprightness-
The resting of the righteous in their beds could refer to their sleeping in death, at peace and awaiting a certain resurrection to life. For :1 has spoken of their death. The contrast is with the wicked shepherds who are three times mentioned as getting into a "bed" of adultery before the idol shrines (:7,8).
See on Rev. 21:12. RVmg. "each one straight before him". Jer. 31:9 had prophesied of the restoration: “They shall come with weeping, and with supplications will I lead them: I will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters in a straight way, wherein they shall not stumble”. Likewise Is. 63:13 reminded the returnees that when they had been led through the wilderness to Canaan under Moses, they did not stumble [s.w.]. Although these righteous individuals died without seeing the restored Kingdom of God (:1), they entered into peace and would later be resurrected to participate in it. That is the implication I see in these words.
Despite the promise of a "straight way" to Zion, both Ezra and Nehemiah wanted to have a Babylonian military escort on the journey back; they weren’t sure that they would be given “a straight way” with Yahweh’s protection. Neh. 4:10 records that “Judah said, The strength of the bearers of burdens is decayed [s.w. “stumble”, Jer. 31:9], and there is much rubbish; so that we are not able to build the wall”. They were easily discouraged by the words of the surrounding world, by the apparent hopelessness of their task; and thus they stumbled. Ezra 8:21 LXX describes how Ezra fasted for them to be given a “straight way”, as Jeremiah had foretold they could have. He saw the need for them to make the effort to fulfill the prophecy. Note how Ezekiel’s vision of the cherubim featured “straight” progress; the wheels on earth surely connect with how Israel should have been, moving in a straight way back to the land, in harmony with the Angel-cherubim above them likewise moving in a straight way. But they failed to “keep in step with the Spirit”... They were to walk “each one straight before him” (Is. 57:2 RVmg.), as each of the cherubim went straight ahead (Ez. 1:12). Ps. 107:2,7 RV speak of Israel being gathered out of the nations and being led in a “straight way” to Zion, as they had [potentially] been enabled to do on their departure from Egypt. Yet then they spent 38 years walking a distance coverable in just 11 days- because they did not walk in the “straight way”.
Isaiah 57:3 But draw near here- Yahweh drew near to the
returned exiles in judgment for the very issues which Isaiah 57 raises: "I
will come near to you in judgment; and I will be an alert witness against
the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against the perjurers, and
against those who oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow and the
fatherless, and who deprive the foreigner of justice" (Mal. 3:5). But
those who did these things are asked to draw near to Him in judgment. We
are on our way to judgment, and God is on His way to us. Judgment day is
our meeting. Our whole lives are to be lived realizing that we are on our
way to judgment: "Agree with your adversary quickly, while you are with
him in the street. Lest the adversary deliver you to the judge and the
judge deliver you to the officer and you be thrown into prison... For as
you are going with your adversary before the magistrate, on the way give
diligence to be rid of him. Lest he drag you to the judge and the judge
shall deliver you to the officer, and the officer shall throw you into
prison" (Mt. 5:25; Lk. 12:58). As "draw near" in Is. 41:1; 45:20; 48:16,
in an ongoing present sense, this is the language of a summons to
judgment. Judgment is in essence ongoing now, and we shouldn't imagine
that God is not paying attention and will only open the books at judgment
day. And so those amongst the exiles who were advocating paganism are
called to judgment, right then.
You sons of the sorceress, the seed of the adulterer and the prostitute- They were not in God's eyes the true Israel. The same ideas are used by Ezekiel about the exiles (Ez. 16:3,45). The prostitute and sorceress was Babylon; they had so assimilated with Babylon that they were no longer the sons of Zion but of Babylon. The language of sorcery and being sons of a prostitute is that found of Babylon (Is. 47:9-15). They shared Babylon's judgment- after having been urged to flee Babylon lest they share in it. They had been replaced as God's "servants" by the sons of the Gentiles who were now "in" the servant. To call someone's mother a prostitute or a sorceress was the height of rudeness and provocation in their society. It was an almost unthinkable thing to do. But God does it here, concerning His own people who had effectively rejected His Heavenly Fatherhood. And He is saying their father was an adulterer and their mother a whore, whom their father had used. The idea is similar to that in Ez. 16:3,45 (“your father an Amorite, your mother a Hittite”). Again we see how the criticism of the exiles is now repeated about them after they had returned to the land.
We note that "the prostitute" is also a sorceress, and we will read in :9 that the exiles sent their messengers even to sheol, to the underworld, seeking help from the spirits of the dead. And we find just that same parallel between a prostitute and a sorceress who leads men into the occult in Prov. 2:16-18: "The prostitute who has forgotten the covenant of her God; for her house leads down to death, her paths to the spirits of the dead". Their prostitution had a religious connotation to it.
Isaiah 57:4 Against whom do you sport yourselves?- 'To take delight';
and their delight ought to have been in the things of Yahweh rather than
their idols and materialism (Is. 55:2; 58:14; 66:11 s.w.).
Against whom do you make a wide mouth, and stick out your tongue?- The language of persecution and mockery (Ps. 35:21). We note the mocking body movements, as in Ps. 35:21: "They opened their mouth wide against me"; "They shoot out the lip", "they gape upon me" (Ps. 22:7,13). Lacking expletives in their language, this kind of behaviour was common. Quite possibly they didn't actually literally make these contemptuous body movements. But they effectively despised the prophetic word that they could be saved and redeemed into God's reestablished Kingdom. Just as they had done before the exile (2 Chron. 36:16). And this therefore how He saw their behaviour, as if they were sticking their tongues out at God's word.
Aren’t you children of disobedience, a seed of falsehood- See on :3.
Isaiah 57:5 You who inflame yourselves among the oaks- The same word
in Is. 61:3 of how they should have been trees of righteousness. The
continual usage of language about Yahweh worship in the context of idol
worship suggests that they were justifying their idolatry as a form of
idol worship. For at no time did God's people ever formally annul their
relationship with Yahweh. As they had drunken feasts in the name of Yahweh
worship (Is. 56:12), so they inflamed themselves in sexual lust as part of
the same rituals.
Under every green tree; who kill the children in the valleys, under the clefts of the rocks?- Offering of children to idols was continuing even amongst the exiles, and Ezekiel appears to allude to it (Ez. 6:13,21). They did it under clefts of the rocks, thinking it would be hidden. When instead they should have been as Moses, cowering there in fear and respect of Yahweh's majesty and glory.
The language here suggests Canaanite religious practices, especially the child sacrifices specifically in valleys [mentioned in 2 Kings 23:10). The references to wadis, clefts of the rock, terebinths etc. sound very much like the geography of Palestine rather than Babylonia. I suggest therefore that these words are addressed to the returned Jewish exiles in the land; who claimed to do works of righteousness for Yahweh (:12) at the same time as idolatry.
Isaiah 57:6 Among the smooth stones of the valley is your portion; they,
they are your lot; you have even poured a drink offering to them- There is a word play between the Hebrew for "smooth stones" and "portion".
The reference may be to some idolatrous practice involving smooth stones.
But the word for "smooth stones" also means deceit or flattery, and is
used about the idols the exiles worshipped in Ez. 12:24. Yahweh was the
portion of His people, but through idolatry done in His Name, He was no
longer their portion (Dt. 4:19; Jer. 10:16). Clearly the idea is
that they had now returned to the land [s.w. "You shall inherit the land
by lot", Num. 33:54] and yet they were worshipping idols in their
inheritance. "They are your lot" could also mean that as an adulteress she should be
stoned with those stones.
You have offered an offering- This again confirms the impression that they were offering to the idols as a form of Yahweh worship.
But shall I be appeased for these things?- Judgment was going to have to come for them (Jer. 5:9), rather than the restoration of the Kingdom which had been possible. Rashi: "in the face of these shall I relent from doing harm to you?". The question is left rhetorical. Could God be appeased? He could not, only His love for His people could appease Himself.
Isaiah 57:7 On a high and lofty mountain you have set your bed; there also
you went up to offer sacrifice- This is surely an allusion to mount
Zion. It could be that the returned exiles committed adultery with their
idols there, and that idea is confirmed in :8; or that they used other high mountains as an equivalent of mount Zion.
If the temple mount is in view, then we have the tragic picture of
the returned exiles committing spiritual adultery in the temple area,
rather than enabling the glorious prophecies of a restored Zion to come
true. They had set up a giant bed of adultery on mount Zion (:8). To 'go
up' to a mountain means to worship. She 'goes up' to this mountain but
also 'goes up' to the bed of adultery (:8). We have here the image of the
prostitute going up a high mountain- clearly showing that the image of
prostitution means 'to worship other gods'. But in :9, she sends
messengers to the grave, alluding to her worship of the dead and seeking
their help and blessing. She "debased" herself to sheol (:9). She
traverses as it were between the "high and lofty" place, and the depths of
the earth. This is the language of God, dwelling in the high and lofty
place- "the high and lofty one that inhabits eternity" (:15) but by
grace, a grace as far as heaven is above earth, lives with the humblest of
hearts on earth. The Hebrew word for "the humble" in :15 is that
translated "debased" in :9. Her gadding about, as it were, between the
heights and the depths, contrasts with the totally 'other' life she could
enjoy- of fellowship with God Almighty by His grace. Life with Him in
joyful humility was a complete inversion of how she was living. What an
honour it is to be able to persuade men and women that there is this
totally 'other' way. May we devote our lives to trying to get others to
accept and live it.
Isaiah 57:8 Behind the doors and the posts you have set up your memorial-
It seems that within the rebuilt temple in Zion there was idolatry going
on (see on :7). Or the door posts could refer to their own homes, where
God's law ought to have been written for a memorial (Dt. 6:9; 11:20); but
instead they effectively had there a memorial to their idols, right at the
heart of domestic life. The verse goes on to imply sexual sin; the
"memorial" may refer to a sign, perhaps a phallic symbol, used by
prostitutes or to signpost a brothel. It contrasts with the eternal sign
or memorial to the righteous (Is. 55:13; 56:5).
For you have uncovered to someone besides Me, and have gone up; you have enlarged your bed, and made you a covenant with them: you loved their bed wherever you saw it- This is the whoredom with other gods amongst the exiles spoken of in Ez. 16:25; they were doing the very things for which they had gone into exile for (Jer. 2:20; 3:2; Hos. 4:12). Covenant relationship with Yahweh is intimate, an exposing of our nakedness before Him in a way we cannot do to anyone or anything else. They had rejected the new covenant which was offered for a covenant with idols. They had made their bed bigger in order to get more lovers into that bed at the same time. For all their loudly proclaimed religious piety, that is in fact what they were doing at the time of the exile and restoration. And she also went to their beds. The Jewish commentator Rashi renders the difficult Hebrew here: "for while with Me, you uncovered [us] and went up [to their bed]". As if she cast off the bedding, got out of bed with God and went to their bed. "Gone up" would refer to going up not to Zion but to the high places of the idols. Or we could read: "for away from me thou hast uncovered and ascended and enlarged thy bed". And she not only had them in her bed, but went to their bed, literally "You loved their bed and provided a place for it". This would imply they were constructing idol shrines in the land upon their return to it.
We are naked before God (Heb. 4:13). But relationship with God is here described as exposing your nakedness before God. The figure therefore speaks of our realization of who we actually are- accepting that we are in fact anyway naked before God. The idea of nakedness with God suggests the situation in Eden before Adam sinned, when man walked naked with God without shame. The conclusion surely is that this to some extent is possible now in covenant, marital relationship with God. It leads to the kind of transparency before God which David achieved in the Psalms, telling God precisely how you are and how you feel, despite those feelings not being very spiritual, and despite not being in a good place spiritually.
Isaiah 57:9 You went to the king with oil and increased your perfumes, and
sent your ambassadors far off, and debased yourself even to Sheol- "The
king" is "Moloch", hence GNB "You put on your perfumes and
ointments and go to worship the god Molech. To find gods to worship, you
send messengers far and wide, even to the world of the dead". By such sin,
they brought themselves down to the grave. Just as they had sent
ambassadors to other nations in seeking help against the Babylonians and
Assyrians, now they were doing just the same. All this arose because
Babylon sent its ambassadors to Judah and they accepted them and later
their gods, as noted on Is. 39. But now they were sending their
ambassadors to the nations, seeking help and relationships rather than
being exclusively for Yahweh.
The connection would be with Ez. 23:16 which speaks of how before and during the exile, the Jews sent messengers to Babylon to get their idols. Now they had returned from Babylon, they were doing just the same. The point is being made time and again that the exile hadn't reformed Judah; they were doing what they had done before it. And here we have another example.
Isaiah 57:10 You were wearied with the length of your way; yet you didn’t
say, ‘It is in vain’. You found a reviving of your strength; therefore you
weren’t faint- Not only is the logic of choosing God's way so powerful, but the way of
the flesh is not satisfying. Sin became a weariness to Israel even before
they reaped the punishment for it (Is. 57:10); their mind was alienated
from the lovers they chose; they left the one they left the God of Israel
for (Ez. 23:17). They always wanted new gods; they were never
satisfied with their idols (Jer. 44:3).
Isaiah 57:11 Of whom have you been afraid and in fear, that you lie, and
have not remembered Me, nor laid it to your heart?- This connects with their
fear of the Babylonian leadership, which meant they didn't take seriously
the offer of restoration to Judah and the reestablishment of the Kingdom
(Is. 51:12). And this resulted in their 'lying', breaking covenant with
Yahweh through not having their covenant with Him laid "in your heart".
One thing that works against truthfulness is the neuroses that come
from fear, the fearful tensions that arise between our real self and the
false self. Fear and truth are opposed. This isn’t merely
psychotherapeutic babble. The life of brave faith, the life that is lived in the
overcoming of fears, the fearless breaking out of our comfort zones… this
is the true life, the life in which we have no need to lie nor believe in
lies. But of course it’s hard, because we think that the truth, the
reality, is what we see around us; whereas faith is believing in what is
not seen. Yet actually what is not seen is the reality, and what
is seen is very often a lie. And the true life is a life of faith
in those things which are not yet visibly seen.
Isaiah 57:12 I will declare your righteousness; and as for your works,
they shall not profit you- This is embedded within condemnation of
Israel for idolatry. So we are to read this as irony, with GNB: "You think
that what you do is right, but I will expose your conduct, and your idols
will not be able to help you". When exactly this happened historically is
hard to say; but it will surely come true at the last day. It was idols
which would "not profit" (s.w. 1 Sam. 12:21; Jer. 2:8, and about the
Egyptians whose idols they accepted, Is. 30:5,6). Their "works" were their
idols; and so we have the abiding lesson that any trust in human works is
effectively idolatry. Our performance based society makes intensely
relevant to us.
Isaiah 57:13 When you cry, let those who you have gathered deliver you;
but the wind shall take them, a breath shall carry them all away: but he
who takes refuge in Me shall possess the land, and shall inherit My holy
mountain- "Those who you have gathered" may refer to their
collections of idols. Finally all these things will be fulfilled when the
wind of the day of judgment reveals all things for what they are (Mt.
7:26,27). Instead of allowing themselves to be gathered by God, back
to the land to Himself (see on Is. 56:8), they instead gathered idols to
themselves. This is the essence of idolatry; a trusting in our own works
(:12), rather than the faith to let God work in us. The allusion may be to
the image vision of Dan. 2. The Jews who associated themselves with
Babylon would share her judgment, and be blown away by the wind; whereas
the faithful remnant would grow into the mountain which would begin as the
holy mount in Zion, and then spread to cover the earth. We note the offer
of possession of the land and mount Zion is now made to "he who
takes refuge in Me", and not "they". This is in line with the refocus of
Yahweh upon individuals rather than the collective, national group (see on
Is. 56:1,2).
Isaiah 57:14 He will say, Cast up, cast up, prepare the way, take up the
stumbling-block out of the way of My people- The context has spoken
of Israel's idolatry, and so the stumbling-blocks to be cleared refer to
their idolatry. This teaches that a level way must be made amongst the Jewish
people, i.e. the stumbling blocks and ‘valleys’ must be removed from their
path. “Cast ye up, prepare the way, take up the
stumbling block out of the way of my people” is therefore a command to
God’s people to undo the generations of false shepherding which Israel
have experienced: “They have caused them to stumble in their ways from the
ancient paths, to walk in paths, in a way not cast up” (Jer.
18:15 s.w. “cast… up” in Is. 57:14). Once we have prepared the way in this
sense in the last days, then the highway is in place over which the Lord Jesus will return.
This is how vital our work is for the Jewish people.
All obstacles in the way of their salvation will be removed; only the wicked who persist in their impenitence are excluded from the promised blessing. The language of a highway being made is used in Is. 40:3 to refer to a literal highway for the return of the exiles through the desert; but now this figure has been reapplied and reinterpreted. It is understood here as meaning a path would be made spiritually for every man who wishes to make the journey from Babylon to Zion; it becomes a figure for the removal of spiritual obstacles to the redemption of God's people, however they are defined. This section began in Is. 56:11 with the lament that "they have each turned to their own way". They "walked in the way of their own heart" but the new way being made was to give them a new way spiritually (Is. 57:17,18). Truly God makes a way where there is no way. And God would lead His people in that way (:18), in response to how they were "backsliding in the way" (:17). He would as it were grab them as they slipped back, and lead them in the way. As promised, "I will heal your backslidings" (Jer. 3:22).
Isaiah 57:15 For thus says the high and lofty One who inhabits eternity,
whose name is Holy: I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also who
is of a broken and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and
to revive the heart of the contrite- The contrast is between
the immeasurable highness of God, and how He loves dwelling with those who
have been brought down to the lowest point. This is repeated in Ps. 34:18;
138:6. The revival of the dry bones of Judah through the gift of the
Spirit is what is in view here. The same word for "revive" is used in Ez.
37:5 "I will cause breath [spirit] to enter into you, and you shall live
[s.w. revive]". But the Jewish exiles refused that, and so the new
covenant and associated gift of the Spirit have now been given to all who
want it. The humbled or depressed spirit initially referred to the exiles-
the idea was that there would be revival and lifting up for those humbled
and brought down / depressed by their own sins and the judgment of them.
These are exactly the types who respond today to the new covenant Gospel.
The dwelling of God "in the high and holy place" clearly alludes to His dwelling in the shekinah between the cherubim, over the ark, in the Most Holy place (Ex. 25:22; 26:34). Access to this was only possible for the High Priest for a few moments each year. But God here says that He show dwells there will dwell "with him also who is of a broken and humble spirit". Just as David felt he lived permanently beneath the wings of the cherubim, so God is here saying that He will dwell permanently with the humble- in contrast to the nervous High Priest entering His presence for a few moments each year.
The idea may be that when and if Yahweh returned to Zion, He would again dwell in the holiest place (LXX), the shekinah would again be seen in the Most Holy place; but no less would He dwell in the hearts of the humble, those with broken spirits like David's after his repentance. This is in line with the refocus of Yahweh upon individuals rather than the collective, national group (see on Is. 56:1,2). We note the juxtaposition of ideas- the exalted lofty one, dwelling in the hearts of men. It's the same idea as in Is. 55:7-9; the God whose thoughts are not the thoughts of men can have His thinking experienced and shared by mere men. Yet the temple system of Ez. 40-48 had no "Most Holy place". Perhaps the idea was that seeing they had refused to rebuild the temple as asked, God would instead send His Spirit into the hearts of repentant people to "revive" them. This is exactly what He offered the exiles under the new covenant. See on :16.
Israel had lost their hold on true doctrine, many scarcely knew the Law
(Is. 57:4,5; 59:3). They got drunk at the temple feasts (Is. 36:10-12;
58:3,4), like Corinth they had an "eat, drink, for tomorrow we die"
mentality (Is. 22:12,13); they committed all manner of sexual perversions,
along with almost every other form of doctrinal and moral apostasy (Is.
5:11-13,24; 8:19; 9:15; 22:12,13; 24:5; 27:11; 28:7; 30:10; 31:6; 44:8-20;
consider the similarities with Corinth). This list is worth reading
through. And consider the terrible implications of their perversion in Is.
66:17. But the early chapters of Isaiah sternly rebuke Israel for their
pride- there is not a whisper of all these other things until
later (Is. 2:11-22; 3:16-20; 5:15; 9:9). And even throughout the later
rebukes, there is the repeated criticism of their pride (Is. 13:11; 16:6;
23:9; 24:4; 25:11; 26:5; 28:1,3,14; 29:4; 30:25; 50:33; 57:15). This is
why Isaiah's prophecies of Christ stress His humility (Acts 8:33), and the
"lofty", "high", "exaltation" of God. These words, common in Isaiah, are
those translated “pride" in Isaiah's condemnations of Israel's arrogance;
as if to say that God was the only one who could be 'proud'.
Isaiah 57:16 For I will not contend forever, neither will I be always
angry; for the spirit would faint before Me, and the souls who I have
made- GNB "I gave my people life, and I will not continue to
accuse them or be angry with them forever". Because God is the creator of
His people, He will not be angry with them forever; He created them and
therefore intends to live eternally with them, and somehow get over the
barrier created by their sin. This continues the allusion to a court case which began in :3.
Yahweh will not endlessly contend in court with sinners- otherwise He
would end up destroying all His creation, those in whom He had placed His
Spirit. He would cut short His quite legitimate contention and judgment of
His people in order to save at least some. Verse 15 has just spoken of God reviving the hearts of the repentant.
The LXX suggests that here we have an extension of that thought: "I will
not take vengeance on you for ever, neither will I be always angry with
you: for my Spirit shall go forth from me, and I have created all breath".
The gift of the Spirit was to be given when the judgment of God finished.
At the end of the 70 years there could have been a restoration based
around the gift of the Spirit to revive the hearts of the repentant (:15).
But they weren't interested in repentance nor in true spirituality (see on
:17).
The prophets spoke of the amazing grace and eternal love of God for Israel, how His wrath endured but for a moment (Is. 54:8; 57:16); and yet Israel asked: “Will He be angry for ever?” (Jer. 3:5). It was more than frustrating for the prophets; they shared God’s feelings of having poured out so great a love, to see it ignored and disregarded, no time to look at it, too busy sowing my seeds, weeding my garden, having coffee… God is angry with sinners, but He will not be angry for ever because “from me proceeds the spirit, and I have made the breath of life”; His passionate, constant outpouring of energy into His creation means He simply won’t be angry with man for ever. But amongst the Jews there was a revulsion against the idea of God having passion, being angry, and His children sharing those same emotions. It’s the same basic approach as the obsession we have today with ‘nice speak’- don’t be too committed, go so far but no further, don’t appear extreme. Here the spirit of the prophets must be our urgent example- we are to have passion for the positions we adopt. And of course that involves us in being careful, Biblical and prayerful about what positions we adopt. It was the passion with which the Lord Jesus held to His positions that so endeared Him to the Father. Because He so loved righteousness and hated iniquity, the Father so highly exalted Him (Heb. 1:9).
Ps. 103:9 says that the reason "He will not always accuse" or legally "contend" is because we are in covenant relationship with Him, and that relationship is based upon grace. I take this to mean in practice that God doesn't always 'take up' with us the issues of our sins. He deals with some sin by overlooking, by not accusing. Just as we also do in a loving relationship. And when He does judge sin, when He does accuse, that judgment [for us who are in covenant relationship with Him] is not proportionate to our sins (Ps. 103:10). A similar idea is in Is. 57:15,16, which seems to be saying that those with whom God lives, i.e. those in covenant relationship with Him, will not be constantly accused of their sins. Their sins are accepted as being an ever present reality, but God will not 'take up the matter' with them regarding these sins- because He lives with them in covenant: "I also live with people who are humble and repentant, so that I can restore their confidence and hope. I gave my people life, and I will not continue to accuse them or be angry with them forever" (GNB).
It is a repeated theme that the nature of God's anger is that it doesn't last; unlike human anger which can burn for a lifetime in the hearts of people: "Many a time turned He his anger away, and did not stir up all his wrath. For [because] He remembered that they were but flesh; a wind that passes away and returns not again" (Ps. 78:38,39). Likewise "He will not always chide; neither will He keep His anger forever. Like as a father pities His children, so the Lord pities them that fear Him. For [because] He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust" (Ps. 103:6,13,14). The basis of His turning away from anger is not so much human repentance but His pity on His creatures. As argued in Is. 45:18, Yahweh will not undo His own creation. The continuance of His anger would mean the destruction of the souls which He Himself has made.
Isaiah 57:17 For the iniquity of his covetousness was I angry, and struck
him-
The LXX gives another take: "On account of sin for a little while I grieved him, and smote him, and turned away my face from him; and he was grieved, and he went on sorrowful in his ways". The "little while" would then connect with God's previous description of the exile as but a "little while"; and yet it had not brought His people to repentance. See on :11. GNB speaks of God abandoning His people, which is how Zion [wrongly] felt in Is. 54: "I was angry with them because of their sin and greed, and so I punished them and abandoned them. But they were stubborn and kept on going their own way".
Note God's special hatred of covetousness, a malaise that is ever stronger in our world, bombarded as we are online by visual images of things we would like to have. No longer might we hanker for a holiday in a resort in our own country; now we are bombarded by images of worldwide destinations. Jer. 6:13 shows this was their problem also before the exile, and they had not been reformed: "For from the least of them even unto the greatest of them, every one is given to covetousness". If we enquire why idolatry was so attractive to the Jews, the answer is 'covetousness'. Worship this or that idol, make a sacrifice to this god... and you will get prosperity, good harvests and wealth. The mentality is identical to that behind the attraction of the prosperity Gospel today; it's a covering of crude human covetousness with a religious veneer. We would rather expect God to give their idolatry and marital unfaithfulness to Him as reason for His anger. But rather it was their covetousness which is cited here, the petty materialism which so took a grip upon them that they turned to idols in the hope of some petty material blessing. See on Is. 56:11.
I hid Myself and was angry; and he went on backsliding in the way of his heart- I noted on :16 that the Holy Spirit would have been given to the exiles to change their hearts- if they wanted it and if they were brokenhearted like David for their sins. But they didn't want that transformation- and went on backsliding in the way of their heart / spirit rather than accepting God's heart and Spirit. The implication is that God's hiding of His face during the exile was in fact to elicit their seeking of His face. And yet they refused. And this partially explains the apparent silence of God in our lives; to elicit a more intense search for Him.
Is. 30:20 describes the reestablished Kingdom as a time when Judah's repentant eyes would "see" the God who had taught them through the sufferings of defeat and exile (see note there). Their eyes would no longer be blinded, they would see and perceive the 'hidden' God who had tried to teach them through all their afflictions. Meaning will finally be attached to event, and the problem of evil resolved finally. God had as it were 'hidden' Himself during the exile (Is. 45:15; Mic. 3:4); but now He would be revealed to them. Just as Cain was exiled to the east of Eden (which I have suggested was the eretz promised to Abraham) and been hidden from God's eyes in his exile (Gen. 4:14; Dt. 31:17,18; 32:20 s.w.), so with Judah. The hidden things belong to God and only some are now revealed to us, but in the day of exile's end, all those things, the meaning attached to the events, will at last be revealed (Dt. 29:29 s.w.). Then there will be no need for Jeremiah's Lamentations and struggles about the exile, all developed in the story of the suffering Job, who felt God hidden from him (s.w. Job 3:23; 13:24) just as God was to hide His face from Zion at the time of the Babylonian invasion (Jer. 33:5) and exile (Ez. 39:23,24). Therefore all human attempts to see the hidden God were doomed to failure, as Job was finally taught (Job 34:29 s.w.). But the glorious truth of Is. 30:20 is that finally, the Divine teacher will not be hidden any more and our eyes shall see Him and His ways, as Job did at the end (Job 42:5). And yet Isaiah and his family / school of prophets did look or see the hand of the God who was hiding Himself from Judah (s.w. Is. 8:17). At the restoration, there was to be no need for Judah to feel that their way was "hid from Yahweh" (Is. 40:27 s.w.) any more, as it had been during the exile "for a little moment" when God hid His face (Is. 54:8). Their eyes would see / perceive. But tragically, the exiles didn't; God reflected that "I hid me... and he went on proudly in the way of his heart" (Is. 57:17). Their sins continued to hide His face from them (Is. 59:2; 64:7).
Isaiah 57:18 I have seen his ways, and will heal him: I will lead him
also, and restore comforts to him and to his mourners- The
"ways" seen by God were the ways of :17, where His people were
"backsliding in the way of his heart", mentally in a downward spiral. But
God can heal and lead men who are even in that dire situation. This is the
power of His Spirit over the human spirit. Because of God's pity for
His creation, seeing their sinful ways, He says He will heal them.
Elsewhere He says this healing will be done after their repentance (Hos.
6:1; 14:4; Jer. 3:22). Now He offers to heal them anyway, on the basis of
His pity felt for them as He observed their miserable, sinful ways.
Likewise Jer. 30:17 speaks of this same healing coming because of how
God's Name is being mocked by the Gentiles who see Judah's sinful ways;
not because of their repentance: "I will restore health to you, and I will
heal you of your wounds, says Yahweh; because they have called you an
outcast, saying, It is Zion, whom no man seeks after".
Is. 53:5 has already explained that "by his stripes we are healed". The death of the suffering servant would lead to healing, in that through the Lord's death, the Spirit is given to His people. It was Judah's backsliding that would be healed (Jer. 3:22; Hos. 14:4), the psychological free-fall of man into sin. The work of the Spirit is therefore fundamentally mental and spiritual, meaning that the [humanly] incurable wounds would be healed (Jer. 15:18 s.w.; Lam. 2:13 "who can heal you?"). Having lamented the lack of spiritual transformation in the people, God now looks forward to how ultimately He will give His Spirit to His people (see on :15-17). He will heal and lead by His Spirit, the Comforter which gives comfort. We would perhaps have expected Him to offer this healing and restoration to those who repented. But these is no mention of this; rather does this follow on from God's statement in :17 to the effect that if He endlessly contends with His sinful people He will end up destroying them. So despite having "seen his (sinful) ways", God now proposes to "heal him" and lead him back to Him, even if he is stubborn to follow. He would "create" peace with Him in order to effect this healing (:19).
Isaiah 57:19 I create the fruit of the lips: Peace, peace, to him who is
far off and to him who is near, says Yahweh; and I will heal them-
See on :18. The idea may be "Peace to him that is far off (in Babylon), and to him that is near"
(in the land). But as explained on :17,18, God appears to be saying that
if He endlessly contends with His sinful people
He will end up destroying them. So despite having "seen his (sinful)
ways", God now proposes to "heal him" and lead him back to Him, even if he
is stubborn to follow. He would "create" peace with Him in order to effect
this healing (:19). And so He is willing to give peace with Him both to
those far from Him, and those who had come near to Him. It was only the
stubbornly and insistently "wicked" who would not be calmed / given peace
(:20). LXX "peace to them that are far off, and to them that are
nigh" is quoted in Acts 2 and Ephesians of God's offer to the Christian
church. Seeing the exiles refused this offer. The offer of healing (:18)
and then peace (:19) is at the heart of the new covenant in Jer. 33:6 "I
will bring it health and cure, and I will cure them; and I will reveal to
them abundance of peace and truth". That new covenant was rejected by the
returned exiles; but has been accepted by all in Christ today.
Isaiah 57:20 But the wicked are like the troubled sea; for it can’t rest,
and its waters cast up mire and dirt- As noted on :15-18, the Spirit
was offered to the exiles, and we have read of the peace this would bring
if it was accepted (:18,19); and I suggested on :18,19 that God was
willing to as it were force through His healing with even those who were
"far off" from Him. But if it were stubbornly refused, then there could be
no peace in the hearts or experience of the unspiritual. The wicked
amongst Israel would be like the sea of the Gentiles, always associated
with casting up and endlessly recycling dirt.
Isaiah 57:21 There is no peace, says my God, for the wicked- See on
:20. "The
wicked" are the Jewish exiles of Is. 48:18 who refused the potential peace with
God which was offered if they repented and returned to Judah to
reestablish His Kingdom of peace.
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