Isaiah Chapter Fifty-Seven Commentary

Contents

I. Introduction

Having exposed the wickedness of God’s watchmen in the previous chapter (Isaiah 56:9-12, cf. Isaiah 56:9-12, NLT, “Isaiah Chapter Fifty-six Commentary“), this chapter finds Isaiah (the Holy Spirit) exposing the lot of the wicked whom said watchmen, by their negligent watching, did not steer away from spiritual ruin; that is, from their very wickedness. Whom said watchmen by their negligent watching but helped bring to spiritual ruin; but helped bring to the misery that attends spiritual ruin, for God’s messenger here tells us that: “…there is no peace for the wicked…”—no peace for the wicked, be they so-called Watchmen, or the Watched. But straightaway at the outset our God’s prophet, by way of illuminating contrast, exposes the lot of the righteous: peace, and rest (and we may add, liberation, and restoration, cf. “Jesus our Jubilee“, “A Letter of Invitation“). Indeed, the Peace, and Rest, of Jehovah God, in this life, and the next, is the lot of the righteous.

We will follow this format:

Verse of Scripture utilizing the YLT text followed by an NASB mouseover of that verse. Key words in the YLT text will be footnoted with a link to a word study based on the Hebrew text, and/or a general discussion relative to the given word (we are not biblical Greek or Hebrew scholars, please consider our grammatical constructions with a critical eye).
Commentary We shall be commenting on this passage keeping before us at all times the crucial fact that every jot and every tittle comprising these verses came forth under the inspiration of the blessed Holy Spirit. We pray that He, by His grace, helps us along the way.

II. Isaiah Chapter Fifty-seven Commentary Verses

57:1-2 The Death of the Righteous is unto Them Peace and Rest

YLT TEXT: The righteous hath perished, And there is none laying [1] it to heart, And men of kindness are gathered [2], Without any considering that from the face of evil Gathered is the righteous one. He entereth into peace, they rest on their beds, Each is going straightforward (Isaiah 57:1-2, cf. Isaiah 57:1-2, NLT).

COMMENTARY: In a closed (exclusive) society as befits the hearers of these words from God, just where would the evil here spoken of be coming from: “…The righteous hath perished, And there is none laying it to heart, And men of kindness are gathered, Without any considering that from the face of evil Gathered is the righteous one…” (red font added)? Satanically motivated, it comes from within the society. Let us note that God is addressing the wicked in this society, yet here He gives us guidelines by which to assess (esp. wickedness in) other societies, a wickedness which we are concerned to understand as the commentary unfolds. Why does this extrapolation to other societies hold? It holds because God’s standards never change—they are consistent across space and time; so it is, necessarily, with deity ( consider “The Alpha and the Omega“).

When God removes His ambassadors from their key places in a (privileged, by Him) society, biblical precedents as related by these verses would indicate that God is about to stress that society, so as to foster a righteous change consistent with His long-term goals there (this is probably the bigger picture that goes beyond the grace of sparing the righteous ambassadors the impending evil [at the hands of the society] and stress [at the hands of God]). Of course we are following a divine pattern here: the ultimate removal of God’s ambassadors out of the midst of wickedness comes at the Rapture, at which time no biblical precedents may guide us as to what unfolds; one thing is certain though, at that time societies en masse will have outright collapsed into wickedness as antiChrist unleashes his satanic goals in a world preconditioned to receive, and quite receptive of, the same ( “Matthew Chapter Twenty-four Commentary,” “Revelation Chapter Thirteen Commentary,” “Revelation Chapter Seventeen Commentary“).

With the balance of the verses serving as a guide, the righteous here spoken of are those who maintained a tight heart-tether to Jehovah God (no idolatry; by service of and faith in Jesus Christ in our day; Jesus alone): “…Each is going straightforward…” Idols are found on the byways, the circuitous paths, not straight, nor leading forward. There is only one straight path, and that is the one on which is found Jehovah God, even His Truth (reality)—precisely for this reason it is the Straight path. This path leads straight to His heart (=Life). Please notice that the straight path is the narrow one, the one not well tread relatively speaking. The byways, where are found many an idol, are broad, are trodden down for their much traffic (Matthew 7:13-14). We will find, particularly in the next verse set, the sort of traffic that populates these broad, well-worn byways—specifically in Isaiah’s day, and not least in our day (the latter because of the persistently Godless character of the human heart, a heart stubbornly bent away from Jehovah God, a heart inclined not toward Him, but toward its lovers [idols]).

57:3-13 Children of Transgression, A False Seed

YLT TEXT: And ye, come near hither, O sons of a sorceress, seed of an adulterer, Even thou dost commit whoredom [3]. Against whom do ye sport [4] yourselves? Against whom enlarge [5] ye the mouth? Prolong [6] ye the tongue? Are not ye children of transgression? a false seed? Who are inflamed among oaks, under every green tree, Slaughtering the children in valleys, Under clefts of the rocks. Among the smooth things of a brook is thy portion [7], They — they are thy lot, Also to them thou hast poured out an oblation [8], Thou hast caused a present to ascend [8a], For these things am I comforted [9]? On a mountain, high and exalted, Thou hast set thy couch [10], Also thither thou hast gone up to make a sacrifice. And behind the door, and the post, Thou hast set up thy memorial [11], For from Me thou hast removed, and goest up, Thou hast enlarged thy couch, And dost covenant for thyself among them, Thou hast loved their couch, the station thou sawest, And goest joyfully to the king in ointment, And dost multiply thy perfumes, And sendest thine ambassadors afar off, And humblest thyself unto Sheol [12]. In the greatness of thy way thou hast laboured, Thou hast not said, ‘It is desperate [13].’ The life of thy hand [14] thou hast found, Therefore thou hast not been sick [14a]. And of whom hast thou been afraid, and fearest, That thou liest, and Me hast not remembered? Thou hast not laid [consider again note one] it to thy heart, Am not I silent, even from of old? And Me thou fearest not ? I declare thy righteousness, and thy works, And they do not profit thee. When thou criest, let thy gatherings deliver thee, And all of them carry away doth wind, Take away doth vanity, And whoso is trusting [15] in Me inheriteth the land, And doth possess My holy mountain [16].

COMMENTARY: This progeny over which our God sore laments—sons of a sorceress, children of transgression, a false seed—from whom did they issue? Is it not clear that these were born of Satan? He, that wicked one, a deceiver and a murderer from the beginning, the consummate hater of Jehovah God, and humankind whom Jehovah deeply loves; he, infiltrating Jehovah’s Chosen Ones, seeking to sabotage the Messianic lineage. But how?, how could Satan have thought to do this, for our verses make it clear that he had not a little measure of success here? It somewhat unfolded for him because some of the Chosen Ones, exercising their God-given freedom to choose, became traitors (adulterers, same thing), and cast their lot with Satan, he and they, kin in spirit, traitors from the beginning. And thus giving themselves over to him, they became instruments in the way of his God-attacking intents: “…And ye, come near hither, O sons of a sorceress, seed of an adulterer, Even thou dost commit whoredom…” Satan is the issuing sorceress and adulterer in view here. Was he not created chief amongst our God’s angels?, a covering cherub, exceedingly beautiful?, only to fall in love with himself (=a chief form of idolatry; consider Eze 28:13-17, Isa 14:12-14)? He is at the very root of all things evil (all things anti-Jehovah God, same thing)—let us never lose sight of that fact. How this unclean thing must delight in the heart-pain that our God expresses in these verses. Said pain must needs bring one to tears in the light of Calvary—yes Calvary, that unfailing love act of God for His adulterous, chosen people. Praised be your Name great Jehovah God, we do so desire to faithfully engage your exceeding love great God. Dearest reader, if you wish, close your eyes for a moment, and put yourself at the receiving end of the following, as coming from someone whom you deeply love: “… Against whom do ye sport yourselves? Against whom enlarge ye the mouth? Prolong ye the tongue?…” Yes, as coming from someone whom you deeply love, who not only is glaringly unfaithful, but makes sport of it, thus mocking you, with mouth wide open, brazen in it if you will, sticking out the tongue at you, this unfaithful lover of yours… Here is pain in the extreme, as anyone knows who has ever gone through such a thing. Of course one cannot hurt so bad here if one does not love that other person exceedingly, and that is what makes the pain all so acute. This scenario is a small one compared to what our God has gone through not just with the progeny in view in our text, but all of us when we turn our heart away from Him and toward any idol whatsoever. We think that God is expressing to us, and sharing with us, these intimate sort of relational things between He and us here. We are learning things about our unchanging God by way of His convictions in the past here: “… Who are inflamed among oaks, under every green tree, Slaughtering the children in valleys, Under clefts of the rocks. Among the smooth things of a brook is thy portion, They — they are thy lot, Also to them thou hast poured out an oblation, Thou hast caused a present to ascend, For these things am I comforted? On a mountain, high and exalted, Thou hast set thy couch, Also thither thou hast gone up to make a sacrifice. And behind the door, and the post, Thou hast set up thy memorial, For from Me thou hast removed, and goest up, Thou hast enlarged thy couch, And dost covenant for thyself among them, Thou hast loved their couch, the station thou sawest…” Does not Jehovah God undress His heart here so as to show us how He grieves over these things? “…For these things am I comforted?…” Nay, He is not comforted, quite the opposite, He is grieved. But even these worthless deities that they concocted and worshiped and paid homage to (even with the blood of their children), did not settle their insecurities, for they sold themselves to the powers round about them (“Isaiah Chapter Seven Commentary”—this commentary gives some indication that the idolatry discussed above, and the sellout to specifically Assyria possibly addressed here, has in view Ahaz [reigned in Judah from 735-715 BC; see also 2Ki 16. Note that Ahaz built in Jerusalem a replica of an altar he saw in Damascus, and one wonders if this part of Isa 57:8-“…Thou hast loved their couch, the station thou sawest…” is a reference to that]): “… And goest joyfully to the king in ointment, And dost multiply thy perfumes, And sendest thine ambassadors afar off, And humblest thyself unto Sheol…” The total lack of trust in Jehovah God is apparent, and that is our God’s sore grievance against these privileged people (privileged by Him, to know Him—very omnipotence, omniscience, very Father). It can only be that in their weak-faith estimation, our God’s Arm had shortened, and so they persisted, they wearied themselves, to service “other” deities that might settle their insecurities: “… In the greatness of thy way thou hast laboured, Thou hast not said, ‘It is desperate.’ The life of thy hand thou hast found, Therefore thou hast not been sick…” In other words, they found precisely that which they were looking for in this Jehovah-supplanting push, thus satisfying their insecurities, which satisfaction is entirely mental here (that is, there is no substance to support their suppositions)—they were sure that they found in these worthless so-called deities that which they held that Jehovah could not or would not do for them (to the day, for the same reason, Jehovah God is slighted like that; is relegated down in efficacy and import). No problem from their perspective; in their mind all was well now, and all they need do is appease and please these so-called gods. And thus they worked at it, in the extreme. All the while it is necessary, of course, that Jehovah fade off into the background, for these other “gods” must not be provoked. As you can see, this all-too-real scenario keeps getting worse. Why is Jehovah God thus relegated downward and thought to be of no account, in that day?, today? A comparison of pertinent, contemporary “notions” may guide us. The drive for “tangibles” in the thinking of peoples when the stakes are high aside, what we find is that, as touching our day, notions have changed over against Isaiah’s day. Very idolatry and the notion of God itself have changed since the days of Isaiah, quite a lot. In Isaiah’s day, idolatry was alive and well because the very notion of God (deity) was alive and well; thus idolatry at that time centered around a conciliatory deity, be it for blessing or protection or whatnot. Idolatry (in our context) thus betrays a lack of faith in Jehovah God’s omnipotence and omniscience, or is an expression of serious doubt that He would act, let alone act in a timely manner. Today, idolatry is alive and well too, but not because the notion of God is alive and well—an “unhooking” has taken place in this respect in modern times. Moderns have “become” the deity, and God, that is, Jehovah God, for He is the only God, is anything but deity. Stephen Hawking, a well-known modern physicist, ever championing the “deity of science,” embodies said unhooking well. Quoting Hawking, the motto here today is: “…One can’t prove God doesn’t exist, but science makes God unnecessary…” (S. Hawking in an ABC news interview per his recent book The Grand Design; red font added for emphasis). Hawking had in mind, particularly, a creator God. This reflects an idolatry-mindset that is diametrically opposite to that which guided the ancients (and not just ancient Israel). Idolatry we think is predominantly (but not entirely of course because people cozy up to all kinds of idols) an expression centered on the self-deification of the individual in modern times. The “deification of science” quite shows this because science is a human achievement. So what?, whatever the details, idolatry, this irreverence, is an offense directed squarely at God: “…Thou hast not laid it to thy heart, Am not I silent, even from of old? And Me thou fearest not?…”—O!, but wait a minute, of course, let God remove/impose His Arm from/on a (even a modern) society, and some fast come to their senses and seek out (a) God, He suddenly becoming quite “necessary.” And by the one-and-only God’s grace, such come to find Him, even Jehovah God. And thus finding, come to despise their idols and love and serve and fear Him, Jehovah. Many-a-modern would be blessed were God not silent in their life, while many others would do well to listen when He in fact is not silent in their life. Let us leave it at that and prayerfully think about it as fodder for perhaps a theological study.

Are all idolaters liars by default? No. How so? An idolater is a liar when at the same time they profess to love Jehovah God: “…And of whom hast thou been afraid, and fearest, That thou liest, and Me hast not remembered?…” God returns to the fearing-Him-theme, showing us its import in His estimation. Of course it is their idol-darling-sugar-daddys that they fear provoking, instead of fearing Jehovah (no love, no fear, of Jehovah). That which they pretended in respect of fearing Jehovah God was necessarily a sham, phony, a lie—their works and so-called righteousness, all of which our God saw as though laid bare (only a fool thinks they can fool God): “…I declare thy righteousness, and thy works, And they do not profit thee…” All junk, a sham, from God’s perspective—He had been relegated down, and their idols, whom they feared, elevated up. Jehovah got the lip service, their idols got the real service. But notice again please, what God says to the liar-idolater: “…And they do not profit thee…” All a waste of time and energy; actually, worse than that, because they offended God, thus their time and energy served to kindle His wrath and seal their doom. Let us lay it to heart. Then in the same breath our God says further: “…When thou criest, let thy gatherings [idols/lovers, before which they trembled] deliver thee, And all of them carry away doth wind [idols are like unto chaff], Take away doth vanity…” Our God is never mocked, not even a little bit (Galatians 6:7-8), He leaves their much-fawned-over-”fate” in the hands of their impotent idols/lovers (!), precisely as they wished (to the idolater the future is but chancy fate, it is never what in fact it really is, namely, the predetermined plan of Jehovah God). Now while Jehovah God is never mocked, not even a little bit, notice too that Jehovah’s faithful are never slighted, not even a little bit—that which the subjects of these verses hoped to secure by way of trusting their idols, namely, the land, mundane, physical things, our God here secures and adds to, indeed, surpasses, with a crown of spiritual things, for those trusting Him: “…And whoso is trusting in Me inheriteth the land, And doth possess My holy mountain…” Thus while the idolater is two-times a loser (because their impotent idols/lovers can secure nothing physical, spiritual), the faithful believer is here two-times a winner ( because omnipotent Jehovah can secure everything, Fig. 1). Amen, and praise to our faithful God Jehovah (“A Letter of Invitation” [red font added]).

57:14-21 There is No Peace, Says My Healing God, for the Wicked

YLT TEXT: And he hath said, ‘Raise up, raise up, prepare a way, Lift a stumbling-block [17] out of the way of My people.’ For thus said the high and exalted One [18], Inhabiting eternity, and holy is His name: ‘In the high and holy place I dwell, And with the bruised and humble of spirit, To revive [19] the spirit of the humble, And to revive the heart of bruised ones, For, not to the age do I strive [20], nor for ever am I wroth [21], For the spirit from before Me is feeble, And the souls I have made. For the iniquity of his dishonest gain [21a], I have been wroth, and I smite [22] him, Hiding [23] — and am wroth, And he goeth on turning back in the way of his heart. His ways I have seen, and I heal [24] him, yea, I lead [25] him, And recompense comforts [25a] to him and to his mourning ones. Producing the fruit [26] of the lips, ‘Peace, peace,’ to the far off, and to the near, And I have healed him, said Jehovah. And the wicked [27] are as the driven out sea, For to rest it is not able, And its waters cast out filth and mire. There is no peace, said my God, to the wicked! (Isaiah 57:14-20, 21 cf. Isaiah 57:14-20,NLT,Isaiah 57:21).

COMMENTARY: Judah went into captivity for the sins of idolatry and immorality (no doubt Judah is to some degree in view here), but these were not entirely their stumbling-block—that block of stumbling consisted of a heart bent away from Jehovah God, thus blocking worship of and obedience to Him, even He, the High and Exalted One, inhabiting eternity, holy: “… And he hath said, ‘Raise up, raise up, prepare a way, Lift a stumbling-block out of the way of My people.’ For thus said the high and exalted One, Inhabiting eternity, and holy is His name…” And it never takes long for such a blockage to lead to idolatry and immorality, for such a heart, devoid of Jehovah God, will always find ways to fill its God-sized void somehow; that is to say, given said void, either gaping, or stuffed full of idols, what impetus is there to worship and obey God? One worships and obeys Jehovah God when one, entirely by His engaging grace, engages that Grace to the best of their ability, and comes to know and appreciate and enjoy Him (precisely then idols become a loathsome thing). Thus, in part, He revealed Himself. That is the tragedy of this commentary: these people, of all peoples, were graced and privileged to know the High and Exalted One, holy, inhabiting eternity, even Jehovah God, intimately. The greater tragedy is when we, of all peoples, who know this great God even more intimately through Jesus Christ, do the same; when we do not engage singularly Him for the long haul. And just who are we? We, are the bruised and humble of spirit, we thus, in this spirit, understood to be in it singularly for Jehovah God for the long haul (the individual is not to be found here): ‘…Blessed are the poor in spirit, for they shall inherit the kingdom of God. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are they who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the…’ (“The Beatitudes”): “…..’ For thus said the high and exalted One, Inhabiting eternity, and holy is His name: ‘In the high and holy place I dwell, And with the bruised and humble of spirit, To revive the spirit of the humble, And to revive the heart of bruised ones’…” But accursed are the wicked, the tragic ones here, goats, turbulent, belching forth their infectious filth folding back even on themselves, for they shall find no peace says my healing God: “…And the wicked are as the driven out sea, For to rest it is not able, And its waters cast out filth and mire. There is no peace, said my God, to the wicked!…” Given a heart-problem stumbling-block, to be lifted: “…’Raise up, raise up, prepare a way, Lift a stumbling-block out of the way of My people.’…”, are we surprised to find a divine appeal to the heart here along the way? “…For, not to the age do I strive, nor for ever am I wroth, For the spirit from before Me is feeble, And the souls I have made…” O do catch it!—here it comes again, appealing, its redundant surety, appealing; here it comes again raw, the wrongs, the redress thereto: “…For the iniquity of his dishonest gain, I have been wroth, and I smite him, Hiding — and am wroth, And he goeth on turning back in the way of his heart. His ways I have seen, and I heal him, yea, I lead him, And recompense comforts to him and to his mourning ones. Producing the fruit of the lips, ‘Peace, peace,’ to the far off, and to the near, And I have healed him, said Jehovah [it’s a done deal as far as God is concerned, already in Isaiah’s day (of course!, consider Gen 3:15, John 19:30)]…” (red font added). O my how wonderful, how great, how worthy of eternal praise our great God is: the far off, the near, ever our God’s Healing (=Salvation) was, and is, on top of everything else so wonderful about it, circumspect (“Isaiah Chapter Fifty-four Commentary”); it was, and is, available and free (“Isaiah Chapter Fifty-three Commentary”, “Isaiah Chapter Fifty-five Commentary”, “A Letter of Invitation”).