Isaiah 59:5

The nation of Israel in the time of Isaiah had become a wicked nation. A nation that was once good was no longer good. People who were once faithful believers and servants of God were now evil. Isaiah chapter 59 describes what kind of a nation they had become. The Bible says in Isaiah 59:5-15, “They hatch cockatrice' eggs, and weave the spider's web: he that eateth of their eggs dieth, and that which is crushed breaketh out into a viper. Their webs shall not become garments, neither shall they cover themselves with their works: their works are works of iniquity, and the act of violence is in their hands. Their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed innocent blood: their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity; wasting and destruction are in their paths. The way of peace they know not; and there is no judgment in their goings: they have made them crooked paths: whosoever goeth therein shall not know peace. Therefore is judgment far from us, neither doth justice overtake us: we wait for light, but behold obscurity; for brightness, but we walk in darkness. We grope for the wall like the blind, and we grope as if we had no eyes: we stumble at noonday as in the night; we are in desolate places as dead men. We roar all like bears, and mourn sore like doves: we look for judgment, but there is none; for salvation, but it is far off from us. For our transgressions are multiplied before thee, and our sins testify against us: for our transgressions are with us; and as for our iniquities, we know them; In transgressing and lying against the LORD, and departing away from our God, speaking oppression and revolt, conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood. And judgment is turned away backward, and justice standeth afar off: for truth is fallen in the street, and equity cannot enter. Yea, truth faileth; and he that departeth from evil maketh himself a prey: and the LORD saw it, and it displeased him that there was no judgment.”

People have gotten pretty bad if the good Lord looks at people and compares them to snakes. They are also compared to spiders and they are said to be violent. Not only do these people do wrong, but they “run to evil.” The works of their hands are wrong, and “their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity.” When this kind of sin spreads in a country the result is a lack of peace and a lack of justice. The land will be known for its spiritual darkness. People will suffer and they will mourn. Sin always brings suffering. Transgressions, iniquities, and sins are mentioned here. So are lies, oppressions, and revolts. There is one last thing to notice about how sinful the land had become. It says in Isaiah 59:15, “he that departeth from evil maketh himself a prey.” In other words, if anyone does try to do the right thing, that person is persecuted simply because they do what is right. Those who hate Jesus also hate the believers in Jesus.

But God is a holy God who is the judge of the whole earth, and He must judge this tremendous amount of sin that is spread throughout a country. That is why it says at the end of Isaiah 59:15, “and the LORD saw it, and it displeased him that there was no judgment.” If the Almighty God is displeased with a community or a country, then we would expect that some bad things are going to happen: judgment is going to come, is it not?

But before God brings judgment, He always brings a chance to repent and to be saved. It says in Isaiah 59:16-18, “And he saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor: therefore his arm brought salvation unto him; and his righteousness, it sustained him. For he put on righteousness as a breastplate, and an helmet of salvation upon his head; and he put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, and was clad with zeal as a cloke. According to their deeds, accordingly he will repay, fury to his adversaries, recompence to his enemies; to the islands he will repay recompence.” Why was there “no man,” and why was there “no intercessor” who would stand up for the people and who would have genuine concern for lost souls?

The same message is given in Psalms 142:4 that says, “I looked on my right hand, and beheld, but there was no man that would know me: refuge failed me; no man cared for my soul.” One reason that there was “no man” is because of how sinful and hard-hearted all of the people had become. Another reason is because no human being is qualified to save others. That is why Jesus came into the world: to save lost souls. No one else could do it. No one else has enough love, enough strength, or enough goodness to be a Savior. There had to be a perfect sacrifice for sin, and only the Son of God is perfect. John the Baptist saw Jesus, and God revealed to John that Jesus was like no other. John pointed to Jesus and said in John 1:29, “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.”

It is important to notice that right after Isaiah 59:17 tells us that the Lord brings “salvation,” it also tells us that He brings “vengeance.” As a matter of fact, we are not only told about God’s vengeance, but we are also told twice in Isaiah 59:18 that God will “repay” His adversaries and that He will bring “recompence to his enemies.” Jesus offers His salvation to everyone in the earth, but to everyone who rejects His salvation, judgment will surely come. It is no wonder that God tells believers not to bring vengeance upon people. Just as Jesus is the only one who is qualified to be the Savior, He is also the only one qualified to be the Judge. And He will repay, when the time is right. It says in Romans 12:19, “Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengence is mine, I will repay, saith the Lord.”

The Bible says in Isaiah 59:19-21, “So shall they fear the name of the LORD from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him. And the Redeemer shall come to Zion, and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob, saith the LORD. As for me, this is my covenant with them, saith the LORD; My spirit that is upon thee, and my words which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed's seed, saith the LORD, from henceforth and for ever.” Isaiah 59:19 says “they” shall fear the name of the Lord. Who is being spoken of here? If we look at the previous verse in Isaiah 59:18 then we see who are God’s “adversaries” and God’s “enemies.” You are either a servant of Christ, or you are part of the system of antichrist. Jesus said in Matthew 12:30, “He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad.” Whoever is against Jesus will one day bow down before Jesus. Those who do not have reverential fear will one day have a terrible fear of God when they bow before Him in judgment. The Bible says in Romans 14:11, “For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.” Speaking of the last judgment, the Bible says in Revelation 20:11-15, “And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.”

There are several wonderful promises given in Isaiah 59:19-21. One of the promises in Isaiah 59:19 says, “When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him.” First notice how powerful the enemy can be. A “flood” is a terribly destructive event. A flood covers everything and destroys everything in its path: both life and possessions. Let’s make sure that we know just who is the enemy. The Bible says in Ephesians 6:12, “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” Our enemy is no person: our enemy is all of the evil spiritual forces that could possibly come against us. They are much too powerful for us to take on, but they are not too powerful for Jesus, of course. Jesus has all power. The evil spiritual forces live in fear of our mighty Savior. The fact that Isaiah 59:19 says that “the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him” is an emphasis on the fact that this is a spiritual warfare. This is a spiritual battle that we are involved in as believers in Jesus, and therefore we must rely upon the Lord’s protection. He will keep the flood of evil from over-flowing us. Jesus told us o pray, “Keep us from evil, for thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.” He promises to always answer that prayer.

God also promises in Isaiah 59:20, “the Redeemer shall come to Zion, and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob, saith the LORD.” Literally Zion represents the nation of Israel. Spiritually, Zion represents the believers in Jesus. “The Redeemer” who is Jesus Christ, will come to both the nation of Israel and to the believers. By saying that He is our Redeemer tells us once again that He pays the price for our sins so that we can be forgiven of our sins. But forgiveness is not automatic. We still must “turn from transgression.” That is repentance. We have a change of mind and a change of heart concerning the way in which we have been going. When we repent, we regret that we have sinned, we ask the Lord Jesus to forgive us, and we make every effort to avoid the same mistakes. Forgiveness is wonderful because it takes away the burden, and it takes away the guilt, and it takes away the punishment. But there is no forgiveness without repentance. Jesus said in Luke 13:3, “Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.”

The Lord made several promises in Isaiah 59:21 when He said, “My spirit that is upon thee, and my words which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed's seed, saith the LORD, from henceforth and for ever.” This is an eternal promise. It will last “for ever.” God says that He will give us two things: His Spirit and His words. It is critical that we are filled by the Spirit and led by the Spirit of Christ. Our own personality, abilities, and efforts are not enough. The work of God must be done by the Spirit of God as He leads us. It is also critical that we have God’s Word. The work of God is done through His Word. God has given us His Word. It is called the Bible. As it says in Second Timothy 3:16, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God.” God exists, and He has given us the written truth about His existence and about His will for us. He uses His Word. He speaks through His Word. Without His Word, His work cannot be accomplished. That is why there are so many attacks upon the Word of God. Atheists attack the Word of God. Liberal theologians attack the Word of God. Weak and unwise Christians sometimes unknowingly attack the Word of God by accepting new translations that have been compiled from Greek texts that were put together by the unbelieving liberal theologians. That is one of the reasons to keep using the King James version of the Bible. It will never change, and therefore it stands strongly against any of the translation changes that are attempts to weaken the Word of God. You need the Spirit and you need the Word in order to serve Christ and do His work. He has promised in Isaiah 59:20 that He will give you the Spirit and the Word. He has also promised that He will give them to your children and to your grand children “from henceforth and for ever.”

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