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Isaiah 64

Isaiah 64 reflects the prophet’s deep yearning for God’s intervention, expressing a plea for divine presence, forgiveness, and restoration. Isaiah remembers past times when God’s presence was powerfully manifested and longs for a similar outpouring to heal and restore the nation. The chapter emphasizes Israel’s unworthiness and sinfulness while expressing hope in God’s mercy and faithfulness. It closes with an appeal for God not to remain distant and to show compassion for His people.

Isaiah 64:1-4 (NKJV)
1 Oh, that You would rend the heavens! That You would come down! That the mountains might shake at Your presence—
2 As fire burns brushwood, as fire causes water to boil—To make Your name known to Your adversaries, that the nations may tremble at Your presence!
3 When You did awesome things for which we did not look, You came down, the mountains shook at Your presence.
4 For since the beginning of the world men have not heard nor perceived by the ear, nor has the eye seen any God besides You, who acts for the one who waits for Him.

Isaiah longs for God to dramatically reveal Himself, desiring that His presence would shake the very mountains and make the nations tremble. He recalls God’s past interventions, which exceeded human expectations, highlighting God’s uniqueness in acting on behalf of those who trust Him. The appeal reflects a deep yearning for God to act powerfully once again, as He did in the past, to restore Israel and demonstrate His sovereignty to the world.

Isaiah 64:5-7 (NKJV)
5 You meet him who rejoices and does righteousness, who remembers You in Your ways. You are indeed angry, for we have sinned—In these ways we continue; and we need to be saved.
6 But we are all like an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags; we all fade as a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.
7 And there is no one who calls on Your name, who stirs himself up to take hold of You; for You have hidden Your face from us, and have consumed us because of our iniquities.

Isaiah acknowledges that God delights in those who act righteously but laments that Israel has persistently sinned and failed to turn to God. The imagery of their righteousness being like filthy rags reflects their deep spiritual corruption, while their fading like leaves illustrates their helplessness and separation from God. The people are in a state of spiritual despair, with no one calling on God, which leads to a sense of God’s distance due to their sins.

Isaiah 64:8-9 (NKJV)
8 But now, O Lord, You are our Father; we are the clay, and You our potter; and all we are the work of Your hand.
9 Do not be furious, O Lord, nor remember iniquity forever; indeed, please look—we all are Your people!

Isaiah reminds God of His role as the Father and Creator of Israel. The metaphor of clay and potter emphasizes the people’s dependence on God’s shaping hand, despite their sin. The plea is for God not to remain angry or hold their sins against them forever but to remember that they are His people, created and formed by Him. It’s a heartfelt appeal for mercy and forgiveness based on the intimate relationship between God and His people.

Isaiah 64:10-12 (NKJV)
10 Your holy cities are a wilderness, Zion is a wilderness, Jerusalem a desolation.
11 Our holy and beautiful temple, where our fathers praised You, is burned up with fire; and all our pleasant things are laid waste.
12 Will You restrain Yourself because of these things, O Lord? Will You hold Your peace and afflict us very severely?

Isaiah concludes by describing the devastating state of Jerusalem and the temple. Zion, once the center of worship and the pride of the nation, lies in ruins. The destruction of the temple, where their ancestors praised God, is especially painful. The prophet asks if God will remain silent in the face of such desolation and affliction, pleading for a divine response to the people’s suffering and the desecration of their land and temple. This final plea seeks God's compassionate intervention.

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