Isaiah 56:9-57:21

Isaiah 56:9-57:21 NIV

Come, all you beasts of the field, come and devour, all you beasts of the forest! Israel’s watchmen are blind, they all lack knowledge; they are all mute dogs, they cannot bark; they lie around and dream, they love to sleep. They are dogs with mighty appetites; they never have enough. They are shepherds who lack understanding; they all turn to their own way, they seek their own gain. “Come,” each one cries, “let me get wine! Let us drink our fill of beer! And tomorrow will be like today, or even far better.”

The righteous perish, and no one takes it to heart; the devout are taken away, and no one understands that the righteous are taken away to be spared from evil. Those who walk uprightly enter into peace; they find rest as they lie in death. “But you—come here, you children of a sorceress, you offspring of adulterers and prostitutes! Who are you mocking? At whom do you sneer and stick out your tongue? Are you not a brood of rebels, the offspring of liars?

You burn with lust among the oaks and under every spreading tree; you sacrifice your children in the ravines and under the overhanging crags. The idols among the smooth stones of the ravines are your portion; indeed, they are your lot. Yes, to them you have poured out drink offerings and offered grain offerings. In view of all this, should I relent? You have made your bed on a high and lofty hill; there you went up to offer your sacrifices. Behind your doors and your doorposts you have put your pagan symbols. Forsaking me, you uncovered your bed, you climbed into it and opened it wide; you made a pact with those whose beds you love, and you looked with lust on their naked bodies. You went to Molek with olive oil and increased your perfumes. You sent your ambassadors far away; you descended to the very realm of the dead! You wearied yourself by such going about, but you would not say, ‘It is hopeless.’ You found renewal of your strength, and so you did not faint.

“Whom have you so dreaded and feared that you have not been true to me, and have neither remembered me nor taken this to heart? Is it not because I have long been silent that you do not fear me? I will expose your righteousness and your works, and they will not benefit you. When you cry out for help, let your collection of idols save you! The wind will carry all of them off, a mere breath will blow them away. But whoever takes refuge in me will inherit the land and possess my holy mountain.”

And it will be said: “Build up, build up, prepare the road! Remove the obstacles out of the way of my people.” For this is what the high and exalted One says— he who lives forever, whose name is holy: “I live in a high and holy place, but also with the one who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite. I will not accuse them forever, nor will I always be angry, for then they would faint away because of me— the very people I have created. I was enraged by their sinful greed; I punished them, and hid my face in anger, yet they kept on in their willful ways. I have seen their ways, but I will heal them; I will guide them and restore comfort to Israel’s mourners, creating praise on their lips.

Peace, peace, to those far and near,” says the Lord . “And I will heal them.” But the wicked are like the tossing sea, which cannot rest, whose waves cast up mire and mud. “There is no peace,” says my God, “for the wicked.”

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Isaiah 56:9 begins a message to the obstinate of Israel who continue in their idolatry and ignore the prophet's warnings, glad tidings, and invitation to accept the grace of God.

The message begins with a call to come and attend to what the Lord has to say. The Lord calls to beasts of field and forest, brute animals with no sense. That is the prophet's way of calling idol worshipers dumb. They behave like dumb animals without higher inclinations. They behave like dogs hungry for the carcass. Specifically the leadership of Israel is guilty of busying themselves in self indulgence, asleep at the helm in their drunkenness. They should have barked an alarm, but they are sleeping off their latest binge. They have no idea what's coming.

The Lord laments that the righteous perish and no one cares. God cares. Though the wicked continue in their revelry, God attends to the upright and takes them out of a fallen world so filled with villainy and suffering.

Commit this to memory:

Isaiah 57:1b NIV

"The righteous are taken away to be spared from evil."

As the leadership of the nation plays, the people suffer. As they enable wickedness in society, the righteous are brought low, surrounded by evil. Peace comes at last in their deaths. But there will be no peace for the wicked.

After calling the wicked to listen to the message of the Lord, they are confronted with their idolatrous ways. Pagan worship included sexual rites intended to invoke the gods to bless the land and flocks with fertile abundance. But the Lord calls idolatry what it is, selfish lust, greed for more. Paul wrote in his letter to the Ephesians about the way of idolaters.

Ephesians 4:19 NIV

Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, and they are full of greed.

The prophet confronts the Idolaters lustful actions in their pagan worship. They build shrines under ever spreading tree, and in the ravines. They set up idols there amidst the smooth rocks. They hang pagan symbols on the doors as part of their superstition. They must gain something from this activity because they continue even though such a life is wearing them out.

The Lord wonders why they heed pagan idols and ideas but ignore the living God. He determines that it must be because He had acted (spoken) in a long while. So now God will act. He will bring judgement upon the Idolaters and they will know the living God has not been sleeping nor is He unaware of their unfaithfulness. Like an indignant husband who caught his wife in bed with another man, the Lord will act swiftly to right the wrong.

A perfect description of idolatry is in Paul's letter to the Romans.

Romans 1:25 NIV

"They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator."

Even though they have given their hearts lesser things, the Lord is gracious. In the midst of the clamour of the Lord's judgement upon this wicked people, those who repent will find Him quick to forgive and embrace them. Even though they are guilty of spiritual adultery, God is willing to forgive those who turn to Him in humility. Even though they continued in their sins, God will heal His wayward people. God will rescue Israel from exile and restore them with godly leadership. Only those who remain in their wickedness will not find peace.

The thing about reading the prophet's is that you have to wade through a lot of confrontational material before you see hope. But having made the journey with open ears and heart, hope springs forth from the page with sudden showers of blessing.

Isaiah 57:15 NIV

For this is what the high and exalted One says— he who lives forever, whose name is holy: “I live in a high and holy place, but also with the one who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite.

Clearly God is jealous for Israel, and for our love too. The first commandant is to have no other gods before us to worship. There is only one God and He is Yahweh, the God of Israel and embodied in Jesus Christ. Instead of trying to fill our mighty appetites with the things of this world like beasts, let us acknowledge that our insatiable hunger is for God. Until we submit to this reality, this truth of human existence, we'll never know lasting peace. But when we do yield and surrender our lives to God, peace comes in abundance now and forever.