Isaiah 57 COUNTERFEIT vs CONTRITE The “professional” prophets and the leaders of Judah who were not good leaders, are still the subject of the first thirteen verses of this chapter. They were supposed to be guides of the people of Judah and Jerusalem, but instead were exploiting the people who were righteous and wanted to please God. They were seeking to help other people who were perishing from the injustice imposed on them by idolatrous leaders.
All this was happening before the time of the exile, and when Manasseh was king, he was the worst of all. He “shed innocent blood very much.” Those people were killed for righteousness sake which was exposing the evil of the nation, and totally without reason. However, they were spared the terrible scenes of judgment that came upon the Jews when the siege of Jerusalem took place and the survivors were taken captive in chains to Babylon.
The idolatry that took over the people of Judah was immoral, and sickening to even think about to those who were living for God. Children were born from the unregenerate practices of idolatry, and became like their parents with contempt for God. The people mocked God and stuck out their tongues at thoughts of God. Under trees became places where the immoral activities were practiced because trees had life in them and they were “celebrating life.” They sacrificed their own children to false gods like Moloch, and poured offerings into streams that had movement. The worshippers of Baal had a god for everything that had life and/or moved.
When Paul came to Athens generations later, similar practices were going on there. Today it continues at the shrines of pleasure, loud concerts where ungodly music is played, and even at sports events where some people lose any sense of restraint and say and do things that they would never think of doing anyplace else. The movie industry is rampant with people whose roles in movies should never be seen, and many actors live without morality and integrity. Excessive drinking, addicting drugs and lawlessness are becoming widely accepted as practically normal by millions today. Idolatry continues in the world today unchecked. Parents kill their children before they are born so they won’t interfere with their “freedom of choice” in lifestyle.
People seem to become so totally infatuated with their own beliefs and desires, that they cannot conceive of any serious consequences that will come as a result of what they do. In order to respond to the inborn pangs of conscience, people will put their own theological spin on religion to suit the lifestyle they have chosen. Sexual perversions are practiced by “religious advisors,” and within a short time their parishioners, who follow them instead of the Bible, are “comfortable” with the sin that is practiced.
There will be a day come to this modern world, the same as when the justice and judgment of God came on Judah, that people will call on the idols they worship and live for, to help them get through hard times, and they will realize there is nothing there to help them. The idols of Hollywood, or the sports figures that people idolize, turn out to be as helpless as those carved idols were to people in the past. Those who looked to them as guides for living will find that they were just as lost as those who follow them. In contrast to the counterfeit false leaders who can do nothing to help anyone allay their fears, is the peace and comfort that comes to those who are humble and contrite before God.
The nature of God and His character are summed up by the words Isaiah wrote concerning the One who is eternal in His Being. He inhabits eternity because He has no beginning or end. There is no start or no finish with the Lord. He is limitless in every way. “The High and Lofty One who inhabits eternity,” is in that exalted position that He has always, and will always be in, forever. God has lived and dwelt in all the ages of mankind on earth, and the endless ages before He created the heavens and the earth. He will be the same in the endless ages ahead. The different “ages” emphasize the different ways God has revealed Himself to mankind in His character, His power, His indefinable glory and in His great love. An infinite God has infinite characteristics that will be demonstrated continuously in eternity in which he dwells.
Of marvelous interest and impact to us, and is perhaps of greater concern to us, if that is possible, is the fact that there are two places in which He dwells. Our One God who is High, Lofty, Holy and revealed to us as Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and who has existed forever, dwells in eternity. He is limitless in His being, and yet dwells in a place that is extremely small. He dwells with the contrite and humble spirit of those who know and love Him. He stoops so low as to share with such people His holiness, mercy, grace, kindness and eternal love. His eternal majesty and glory are not compromised when He revives those who have been crushed by life, to where they are actually able to give Him glory. To be able and allowed to glorify God in our bodies and spirits, and to have the presence of divine Persons with us and in us, is the highest pinnacle of human experience.
The reality of such grace as has been shown to us, is beyond description. It enables us to worship, praise, honor and serve Him who “loved us and washed us from our sins with His own blood.” To have a meaningful and personal fellowship with such a God, surpasses any attempt to define or describe such blessing and honor.
In contrast with that, is covetousness which is the heart of idolatry. People because of our sinful nature, want to have and control everything that goes on in our own lives. To submit to God, is rejected by most people because it doesn’t fit with the “up with man,” ideology most people adhere to. The new nature believers have been given when God saved us, produces a desire in the hearts of those who love Him, to praise and honor Him with the “fruit of our lips.” Verbal expressions of praise to the Lord are ways we can give Him glory and honor. That comes from Gentiles who are “far off,” and from Jews who are “near.” The ungodly who see to find their own way without God, turn to idolatry and will have to face its consequences. They will never find peace. They will forever be like the flotsam that the sea pushes up after a storm, and will never find rest, nor contentment. That will not be found in the future. It is offered and able to be found in the present and then there will be lasting peace to the troubled soul.