Isaiah 59 SIN vs SALVATION The people of Judah apparently became concerned about what was going to happen to them after the Assyrians had conquered the northern tribes of Israel and emptied that country of Jews by dispersing them to all parts of the empire. Other people were made to move in to Israel and ultimately became known as “Samaritans.” That was a mixture of nationalities that the Jerusalem Jews looked down on. “The Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans.” When those Jews of Judah began to feel threatened, they had been accusing God of not responding to their calls for help and deliverance from the enemies who were threatening to defeat them. Isaiah responds to that by making them face up to what was wrong with them.
In the first verses of this chapter there is a description of the appalling moral breakdown of the Jewish society, likely descriptive of the times of Manasseh. So, the reply comes from God through Isaiah that the problem is not that God is not able or willing to respond. He is not weak or deaf, and He certainly can see as well. Their own iniquities and sins made it impossible for Him to help them. They would not do justly to each other, so they couldn’t expect God to protect them because He is separate from sin of any kind. The heart of mankind is deceitful and desperately wicked. God is holy and He cannot excuse or ignore sin. Sin and perfect righteousness cannot mix nor even be together. Sin cuts people off from God who does not tolerate sin in any way.
Therefore, there is a wall of separation that people make so they can cut themselves off from fellowship and life with God. They don’t want God to reign over them, and they deliberately turned away from Him. The long list of sins in the first part of this chapter is like the list in Romans chapter three. The deception of serpents and spider’s webs give us the idea of treachery; being trapped and poisoned. The contrast of the web of a spider and the silk of a worm is made. One is used to trap and destroy, and the other to clothe and beautify. God looks the other way when people choose to sin. They only want God to rescue them from the trouble they cause themselves. The wickedness of the lives of people in the past and present creates a barrier between sinners and the Savior that will forever remain if they die in their sins. When that happens, they will be lost forever because of their own choice to reject the Lord. Hell was prepared for willful and sinful angels who followed Satan. The lake of fire is the place of mans’ choosing when God’s mercy and forgiveness is offered but rejected.
The description of those people who turned away from the Lord is they were like snakes – vipers, that use their bodies for wickedness. But nothing is hidden from the eyes of God. The consequences of this depravity, was made plain to them. They will become victims themselves who made victims of others. All their independence will be taken from them and they would become poverty-stricken oppressed people who will have no justice shown toward them. They will be in spiritual and national darkness, and will have nothing but desolation.
There is a terrible lament made by those who want what they want, on their own terms. They have no ability to do what is right even if they wanted to because righteousness and sin do not coexist. Righteousness and sin are not like taps that can be turned on or off at will. It is one or the other that we must choose. We cannot do both. Those who try that are like blind people who grope for what they cannot do nor want to see. They are as helpless as dead people, and as impatient as a hungry bear. They know what is wrong, and why God does not answer their calls, but they keep on doing the same things over and over. They want justice but do not want to show justice to others. They want truth to be told to them, but they do not want truth in themselves.
As the prophecy continues, it seems like the people of Judah and Jerusalem finally faced up to their sin and wickedness. Even when they attempted to do what was right, they confessed their own personal guilt, but it was falsehood, and they would become victims of other evil people who would dominate that land. No wonder God was displeased with them and all He saw. There was not one man on earth who could save lost sinners. The moral and spiritual failure of the Jews distressed (wondered) Him, because there was no one able to be a mediator between sinful Israel and divine holiness.
“The Lord saw it.” This section of the prophecy brings to us the subject of rescue and salvation. No one could provide salvation, so He provided salvation for sinners Himself. He became the Mediator by bringing salvation with “His arm.” By acting on behalf of others by taking their place Himself, salvation for sinners could be achieved. Our Lord Jesus Christ came in perfect holiness and spotless righteousness of life. He provided justice that satisfied every claim laid against lost sinners who came to Him in faith and accepted Him personally as Savior and Lord. He could do that because His righteousness, even in His manhood, was absolute and pure. There was no dart of the enemy that could penetrate the perfections of His righteousness, or have any effect on Him and the salvation He brought. He defeated all foes. There was never an impure thought that crossed His mind. The garments of His holiness separated Him from all evil that surrounded Him even when He was here found in fashion as a man. God’s demands from us, were met and fully paid for by Him who brought us deliverance in an amazing act of grace.
The second time our Lord Jesus Christ comes, “the enemy” that will come in as a “flood,” will be defeated and God’s people will be delivered. God will defend His people and Israel will be brought into blessing by their “Kinsman- Redeemer,” who is one of their own people. The result of His mercy and grace is that He is able to defeat every foe because of His authority, strength, glory and power that is infinite, and has been used for our salvation. The fear of the Lord will cover the whole world when those enemies face the One whose “banner” of holiness is lifted up to declare the defeat of all the powers of men and hell. In glory the Redeemer will be manifest in all His glory, and the covenant made with Israel so long ago, will be established. Witnesses will testify of God’s greatness, with lips that once were unclean but are cleansed so they are able to speak holy words.