Isaiah 59
Isaiah 59 addresses the separation between God and His people due to their sins. The chapter begins with a declaration that it is not God’s power or willingness to save that is lacking, but the iniquities of the people that have created a barrier. It highlights the consequences of sin, including injustice, dishonesty, and violence. The chapter also describes the Lord’s response to this condition—He will bring judgment but also salvation to those who repent. This chapter ultimately foreshadows the Redeemer coming to Zion.
Isaiah 59:1-2 (NKJV)
1 Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; nor His ear heavy, that it cannot hear.
2 But your iniquities have separated you from your God; and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear.
God is fully capable of saving, and His power has not diminished. However, it is the people’s sins that have caused separation between them and God, making it seem as though He is not hearing their prayers. This separation is not because God is unwilling, but because sin creates a barrier that prevents a close relationship with Him.
Isaiah 59:3-4 (NKJV)
3 For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies, your tongue has muttered perversity.
4 No one calls for justice, nor does any plead for truth. They trust in empty words and speak lies; they conceive evil and bring forth iniquity.
The people are described as being deeply corrupt—committing acts of violence, deceit, and perversity. There is no pursuit of justice or truth among them, and instead, they rely on lies and falsehoods. Their moral failure brings forth more wickedness, as they conceive evil in their hearts and actions.
Isaiah 59:5-6 (NKJV)
5 They hatch vipers’ eggs and weave the spider’s web; he who eats of their eggs dies, and from that which is crushed a viper breaks out.
6 Their webs will not become garments, nor will they cover themselves with their works; their works are works of iniquity, and the act of violence is in their hands.
The imagery of vipers’ eggs and spider webs illustrates the deadly and futile nature of their evil deeds. Just as one might die from eating a viper’s egg, their actions lead to destruction. Their works are compared to webs that cannot serve as clothing, meaning their efforts in sin are fruitless and cannot provide protection or righteousness.
Isaiah 59:7-8 (NKJV)
7 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.
8 The way of peace they have not known, and there is no justice in their ways; they have made themselves crooked paths; whoever takes that way shall not know peace.
The people are eager to engage in evil, including acts of violence against the innocent. Their thoughts and actions are dominated by sin, leading to ruin. Because they choose injustice and crookedness, they have lost any sense of peace. Their choices prevent them from finding the peace that comes from following God’s righteous ways.
Isaiah 59:9-10 (NKJV)
9 Therefore justice is far from us, nor does righteousness overtake us; we look for light, but there is darkness! For brightness, but we walk in blackness!
10 We grope for the wall like the blind, and we grope as if we had no eyes; we stumble at noonday as at twilight; we are as dead men in desolate places.
The people lament their condition, recognizing that they are far from justice and righteousness. Despite seeking light, they remain in darkness, blinded by their sin. Their moral blindness leads them to stumble as if they were in total darkness, and they feel lifeless and lost, as though living in desolate places without hope.
Isaiah 59:11-13 (NKJV)
11 We all growl like bears, and moan sadly like doves; we look for justice, but there is none; for salvation, but it is far from us.
12 For our transgressions are multiplied before You, and our sins testify against us; for our transgressions are with us, and as for our iniquities, we know them:
13 In transgressing and lying against the Lord, and departing from our God, speaking oppression and revolt, conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood.
The people express their frustration and sorrow over their inability to find justice or salvation. They confess that their sins are many and stand as witnesses against them, acknowledging their guilt. Their rebellion against God and dishonesty have compounded, leading them further into oppression and falsehood.
Isaiah 59:14-15 (NKJV)
14 Justice is turned back, and righteousness stands afar off; for truth is fallen in the street, and equity cannot enter.
15 So truth fails, and he who departs from evil makes himself a prey. Then the Lord saw it, and it displeased Him that there was no justice.
Justice and righteousness are absent from the community, and truth is no longer valued. Those who try to live righteously become vulnerable to attack. The lack of justice and righteousness greatly displeases God, and He is moved by the failure of truth and equity among the people.
Isaiah 59:16-17 (NKJV)
16 He saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor; therefore His own arm brought salvation for Him; and His own righteousness, it sustained Him.
17 For He put on righteousness as a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation on His head; He put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, and was clad with zeal as a cloak.
Seeing that no one among the people was able to bring about justice or intercede, God Himself steps in to act. His power and righteousness become the source of salvation, symbolized by the armor of a warrior. This imagery shows God’s active role in confronting evil and delivering salvation.
Isaiah 59:18-19 (NKJV)
18 According to their deeds, accordingly He will repay, fury to His adversaries, recompense to His enemies; the coastlands He will fully repay.
19 So shall they fear the name of the Lord from the west, and His glory from the rising of the sun; when the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against him.
God’s judgment will be fair and proportional to the evil deeds of His adversaries. He will bring recompense to those who oppose Him, and His judgment will spread to all nations. When overwhelming opposition arises, the Spirit of the Lord will act like a banner, a symbol of protection and defense against the enemy.
Isaiah 59:20-21 (NKJV)
20 “The Redeemer will come to Zion, and to those who turn from transgression in Jacob,” says the Lord.
21 “As for Me,” says the Lord, “this is My covenant with them: My Spirit who is upon you, and My words which I have put in your mouth, shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your descendants, nor from the mouth of your descendants’ descendants,” says the Lord, “from this time and forevermore.”
God promises that a Redeemer will come to Zion and deliver those who repent of their sins. He establishes a lasting covenant, declaring that His Spirit and His words will remain with His people and their descendants forever. This covenant highlights God's commitment to both salvation and the continuation of His truth among His people.