We are nearing the end of the prophecies of Isaiah. In the context of the Babylonian Exile, where Jews were estranged from their homeland after the destruction of the Temple, Isaiah’s words were both a comfort and a warning. God was far from his people because of their sin, but his promise was to draw near again, restoring what had been lost.
God has been faithful to his promise in ways that are astounding. The Israelites should never have been restored to their homeland. Or rather, such a thing hasn’t been seen much in history. Usually people groups conform to the people around them and gradually assimilate. When persecuted, they eventually, like the Zoroastrians, just give in and sell out. Or they, like the Kurds or the Roma, become debased and ignoble. Only the Jews have persisted through every pogrom and persecution, being blessed by the Lord wherever planted, eventually returning again to the Holy Land.
God has been faithful, working his miraculous deeds in our sight. While being faithful to the Jews, he has also raised us up, people grafted into his tree. He has been faithful to us, as well. He has shown us, time and again, his loving faithfulness. I hope that is what comes through as you meditate upon his many promises.
Isaiah 59
Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save,
nor His ear too dull to hear.
But your iniquities have built barriers
between you and your God,
and your sins have hidden His face from you,
so that He does not hear.
For your hands are stained with blood,
and your fingers with iniquity;
your lips have spoken lies,
and your tongue mutters injustice.
No one calls for justice;
no one pleads his case honestly.
They rely on empty pleas; they tell lies;
they conceive mischief and give birth to iniquity.
They hatch the eggs of vipers
and weave a spider’s web.
Whoever eats their eggs will die;
crack one open, and a viper is hatched.
Their cobwebs cannot be made into clothing,
and they cannot cover themselves with their works.
Their deeds are sinful deeds,
and acts of violence are in their hands.
Their feet run to evil;
they are swift to shed innocent blood.
Their thoughts are sinful thoughts;
ruin and destruction lie in their wake.
The way of peace they have not known,
and there is no justice in their tracks.
They have turned them into crooked paths;
no one who treads on them will know peace.
Therefore justice is far from us,
and righteousness does not reach us.
We hope for light, but there is darkness;
for brightness, but we walk in gloom.
Like the blind, we feel our way along the wall,
groping like those without eyes.
We stumble at midday as in the twilight;
among the vigorous we are like the dead.
We all growl like bears
and moan like doves.
We hope for justice, but find none,
for salvation, but it is far from us.
For our transgressions are multiplied before You,
and our sins testify against us.
Our transgressions are indeed with us,
and we know our iniquities:
rebelling and denying the LORD,
turning away from our God,
speaking oppression and revolt,
conceiving and uttering lies from the heart.
So justice is turned away,
and righteousness stands at a distance.
For truth has stumbled in the public square,
and honesty cannot enter.
Truth is missing,
and whoever turns from evil becomes prey.
The LORD looked and was displeased
that there was no justice.
He saw that there was no man;
He was amazed that there was no one to intercede.
So His own arm brought salvation,
and His own righteousness sustained Him.
He put on righteousness like a breastplate,
and the helmet of salvation on His head;
He put on garments of vengeance
and wrapped Himself in a cloak of zeal.
So He will repay according to their deeds:
fury to His enemies,
retribution to His foes,
and recompense to the islands.
So shall they fear the name of the LORD
where the sun sets,
and His glory where it rises.
For He will come like a raging flood,
driven by the breath of the LORD.
“The Redeemer will come to Zion,
to those in Jacob who turn from transgression,”
declares the LORD.
“As for Me, this is My covenant with them,” says the LORD. “My Spirit will not depart from you, and My words that I have put in your mouth will not depart from your mouth or from the mouths of your children and grandchildren, from now on and forevermore,” says the LORD.
Isaiah 60
Arise, shine, for your light has come,
and the glory of the LORD rises upon you.
For behold, darkness covers the earth,
and thick darkness is over the peoples;
but the LORD will rise upon you,
and His glory will appear over you.
Nations will come to your light,
and kings to the brightness of your dawn.
Lift up your eyes and look around:
They all gather and come to you;
your sons will come from afar,
and your daughters will be carried on the arm.
Then you will look and be radiant,
and your heart will tremble and swell with joy,
because the riches of the sea will be brought to you,
and the wealth of the nations will come to you.
Caravans of camels will cover your land,
young camels of Midian and Ephah,
and all from Sheba will come,
bearing gold and frankincense
and proclaiming the praises of the LORD.
All the flocks of Kedar will be gathered to you;
the rams of Nebaioth will serve you
and go up on My altar with acceptance;
I will adorn My glorious house.
Who are these who fly like clouds,
like doves to their shelters?
Surely the islands will wait for Me,
with the ships of Tarshish in the lead,
to bring your children from afar,
with their silver and gold,
to the honor of the LORD your God,
the Holy One of Israel,
for He has glorified you.
Foreigners will rebuild your walls,
and their kings will serve you.
Although I struck you in anger,
yet in favor I will show you mercy.
Your gates will always stand open;
they will never be shut, day or night,
so that the wealth of the nations may be brought into you,
with their kings being led in procession.
For the nation or kingdom that will not serve you will perish;
it will be utterly destroyed.
The glory of Lebanon will come to you—
its cypress, elm, and boxwood together—
to adorn the place of My sanctuary,
and I will glorify the place of My feet.
The sons of your oppressors
will come and bow down to you;
all who reviled you
will fall facedown at your feet
and call you the City of the LORD,
Zion of the Holy One of Israel.
Whereas you have been forsaken and despised,
with no one passing through,
I will make you an everlasting pride,
a joy from age to age.
You will drink the milk of nations
and nurse at the breasts of royalty;
you will know that I, the LORD, am your Savior
and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.
Instead of bronze I will bring you gold;
I will bring silver in place of iron,
bronze instead of wood,
and iron instead of stones.
I will appoint peace as your governor
and righteousness as your ruler.
No longer will violence be heard in your land,
nor ruin or destruction within your borders.
But you will name your walls Salvation
and your gates Praise.
No longer will the sun be your light by day,
nor the brightness of the moon shine on your night;
for the LORD will be your everlasting light,
and your God will be your splendor.
Your sun will no longer set,
and your moon will not wane;
for the LORD will be your everlasting light,
and the days of your sorrow will cease.
Then all your people will be righteous;
they will possess the land forever;
they are the branch of My planting,
the work of My hands,
so that I may be glorified.
The least of you will become a thousand,
and the smallest a mighty nation.
I am the LORD;
in its time I will accomplish it quickly.
Isaiah 61
The Spirit of the Lord GOD is on Me,
because the LORD has anointed Me
to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives
and freedom to the prisoners,
to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor
and the day of our God’s vengeance,
to comfort all who mourn,
to console the mourners in Zion—
to give them a crown of beauty for ashes,
the oil of joy for mourning,
and a garment of praise for a spirit of despair.
So they will be called oaks of righteousness,
the planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified.
They will rebuild the ancient ruins;
they will restore the places long devastated;
they will renew the ruined cities,
the desolations of many generations.
Strangers will stand and feed your flocks,
and foreigners will be your plowmen and vinedressers.
But you will be called the priests of the LORD;
they will speak of you as ministers of our God;
you will feed on the wealth of nations,
and you will boast in their riches.
Instead of shame, My people will have a double portion,
and instead of humiliation, they will rejoice in their share;
and so they will inherit a double portion in their land,
and everlasting joy will be theirs.
For I, the LORD, love justice;
I hate robbery and iniquity;
in My faithfulness I will give them their recompense
and make an everlasting covenant with them.
Their descendants will be known among the nations,
and their offspring among the peoples.
All who see them will acknowledge
that they are a people the LORD has blessed.
I will rejoice greatly in the LORD,
my soul will exult in my God;
for He has clothed me with garments of salvation
and wrapped me in a robe of righteousness,
as a bridegroom wears a priestly headdress,
as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
For as the earth brings forth its growth,
and as a garden enables seed to spring up,
so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise
to spring up before all the nations.
Isaiah 62
For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent,
and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not keep still,
until her righteousness shines like a bright light,
her salvation like a blazing torch.
Nations will see your righteousness,
and all kings your glory.
You will be called by a new name
that the mouth of the LORD will bestow.
You will be a crown of glory in the hand of the LORD,
a royal diadem in the palm of your God.
No longer will you be called Forsaken,
nor your land named Desolate;
but you will be called Hephzibah,
and your land Beulah;
for the LORD will take delight in you,
and your land will be His bride.
For as a young man marries a young woman,
so your sons will marry you;
and as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride,
so your God will rejoice over you.
On your walls, O Jerusalem, I have posted watchmen;
they will never be silent day or night.
You who call on the LORD
shall take no rest for yourselves,
nor give Him any rest
until He establishes Jerusalem
and makes her the praise of the earth.
The LORD has sworn by His right hand
and by His mighty arm:
“Never again will I give your grain
to your enemies for food,
nor will foreigners drink the new wine
for which you have toiled.
For those who harvest grain
will eat it and praise the LORD,
and those who gather grapes
will drink the wine in My holy courts.”
Go out, go out through the gates;
prepare the way for the people!
Build it up, build up the highway;
clear away the stones;
raise a banner for the nations!
Behold, the LORD has proclaimed
to the ends of the earth,
“Say to Daughter Zion:
See, your Savior comes!
Look, His reward is with Him,
and His recompense goes before Him.”
And they will be called the Holy People,
the Redeemed of The LORD;
and you will be called Sought Out,
A City Not Forsaken.
Isaiah 63
Who is this coming from Edom,
from Bozrah with crimson-stained garments?
Who is this robed in splendor,
marching in the greatness of His strength?
“It is I, proclaiming vindication,
mighty to save.”
Why are Your clothes red,
and Your garments like one who treads the winepress?
“I have trodden the winepress alone,
and no one from the nations was with Me.
I trampled them in My anger
and trod them down in My fury;
their blood spattered My garments,
and all My clothes were stained.
For the day of vengeance was in My heart,
and the year of My redemption had come.
I looked, but there was no one to help;
I was appalled that no one assisted.
So My arm brought Me salvation,
and My own wrath upheld Me.
I trampled the nations in My anger;
in My wrath I made them drunk
and poured out their blood on the ground.”
I will make known the LORD’s loving devotion
and His praiseworthy acts,
because of all that the LORD has done for us—
the many good things for the house of Israel
according to His great compassion and loving devotion.
For He said, “They are surely My people,
sons who will not be disloyal.”
So He became their Savior.
In all their distress, He too was afflicted,
and the Angel of His Presence saved them.
In His love and compassion He redeemed them;
He lifted them up and carried them
all the days of old.
But they rebelled
and grieved His Holy Spirit.
So He turned and became their enemy,
and He Himself fought against them.
Then His people remembered the days of old,
the days of Moses.
Where is He who brought them through the sea
with the shepherds of His flock?
Where is the One who set
His Holy Spirit among them,
who sent His glorious arm
to lead them by the right hand of Moses,
who divided the waters before them
to gain for Himself everlasting renown,
who led them through the depths
like a horse in the wilderness,
so that they did not stumble?
Like cattle going down to the valley,
the Spirit of the LORD gave them rest.
You led Your people this way
to make for Yourself a glorious name.
Look down from heaven and see,
from Your holy and glorious habitation.
Where are Your zeal and might?
Your yearning and compassion for me are restrained.
Yet You are our Father,
though Abraham does not know us
and Israel does not acknowledge us.
You, O LORD, are our Father;
our Redeemer from Everlasting is Your name.
Why, O LORD, do You make us stray from Your ways
and harden our hearts from fearing You?
Return, for the sake of Your servants,
the tribes of Your heritage.
For a short while Your people possessed Your holy place,
but our enemies have trampled Your sanctuary.
We have become like those You never ruled,
like those not called by Your name.
Isaiah 64
If only You would rend the heavens and come down,
so that mountains would quake at Your presence,
as fire kindles the brushwood
and causes the water to boil,
to make Your name known to Your enemies,
so that the nations will tremble at Your presence!
When You did awesome works that we did not expect,
You came down, and the mountains trembled at Your presence.
From ancient times no one has heard,
no ear has perceived,
no eye has seen any God besides You,
who acts on behalf of those who wait for Him.
You welcome those who gladly do right,
who remember Your ways.
Surely You were angry, for we sinned.
How can we be saved if we remain in our sins?
Each of us has become like something unclean,
and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags;
we all wither like a leaf,
and our iniquities carry us away like the wind.
No one calls on Your name
or strives to take hold of You.
For You have hidden Your face from us
and delivered us into the hand of our iniquity.
But now, O LORD, You are our Father;
we are the clay, and You are the potter;
we are all the work of Your hand.
Do not be angry, O LORD, beyond measure;
do not remember our iniquity forever.
Oh, look upon us, we pray;
we are all Your people!
Your holy cities have become a wilderness.
Zion has become a wasteland and Jerusalem a desolation.
Our holy and beautiful temple,
where our fathers praised You,
has been burned with fire,
and all that was dear to us lies in ruins.
After all this, O LORD,
will You restrain Yourself?
Will You keep silent
and afflict us beyond measure?
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