ISAIAH 59: 15b-21
THE ARMORED ALMIGHTY
[Isaiah 53: 4-12 / Romans 11: 25-29]
The people have just acknowledged and confessed their personal and corporate [national] sins. God now responses with a promise of salvation and transformation. God is a mighty warrior who will come and defeat Israel’s enemies.
Who or what is truly defeating Israel? What is preventing God’s light from dawning on them and His word from residing within them? Sin. Sin is the great enemy that defeats them and hold them captive, keeping them from living the life of God, from being just and righteous. Sin is the undefeated enemy against whom God comes to make war.
God’s victory will be offered as a covenant to the people who repent of their sins. These offsprings of God will speak the words that God places in their mouth as His Spirit empowers them.
I. NECESSARY INTERVENTION, 15b-16a.
II. THE INTERVENTION, 16b-20.
III. THE VICTOR’S COVENANT, 21.
Their tragic condition was not unknown to God as the second part of verse 15 reveals. Now the Lord saw, and it was displeasing in His sight that there was no justice.
Now the LORD saw. The great hope for the world is that our Lord sees! He is not too distant nor too insensitive to man’s situations nor to our need. He sees the world and assesses it. Not only does He see, He cares. The lack of justice among His people "was evil in His eyes."
What God creates and plans is good (Gen. 1). But His people were involved in evil from which they could not extract themselves. If His people were unable to stop their sinning, then God must act.
In verse 16 God looks for one He may use to deliver His people from the inundation of their sin. And He saw that there was no man, and was astonished that there was no one to intercede.
Seeing the seriousness of His people’s need He looks for One who could intervene. God searched for any one who could intercede and "restore the proper way" to His people. God said the same thing in Ezekiel 22:30. He looks to those who intercede on behalf of His people in any and every age.
God was appalled that all were caught in sin’s grasp. Despite God’s horror over their sin He has compassion for those in sin.
II. THE INTERVENTION, 16b-20.
Israel was without a champion so God committed Himself to be their champion and bring salvation to them. (16b) Then His own arm brought salvation to Him, and His righteousness upheld Him.
Israel was totally incapable of helping herself out of her sin. Only a righteous God could help them. This is true of salvation in any era. No one can save himself. Only God can forgive sin and change a person’s heart.
Since this task is impossible for fallen man, God must rescue His people from their sin. With His power (by His . . . arm; 59:1, 40:10) God provided salvation for him (for Israel personified as a man?). God Himself, as the Messiah would personally step in to help (Rom. 11:26-27). His intervention would be to destroy sin’s power over His people.
Because of the people of God’s willful, persistent rebellion they become unable to take action against their sins. Sin separates us from God and then sin pours in to fill the void left when God’s truth no longer fills our life. God though longs to bring His salvation to us.
So God armors Himself for the battle against sin in verse 17. He put on righteousness like a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation on His head; and He put on garments of vengeance for clothing and wrapped Himself with zeal as a mantle.
Like a warrior God prepares to fight for His people. Righteousness is His breastplate-coat of mail and salvation is His helmet. In Ephesians 6:13-17 believers are instructed to put on the Lord’s armor. Once armored God cloaks Himself in a tunic of vengeance. God’s wraps Himself in zeal for right as a covering against all who oppose His will and His purpose.
The God who supplies righteousness and salvation for His people also will zealously execute vengeance on His enemies. Verse 18, According to their deeds, so He will repay. Wrath to His adversaries, recompense to His enemies. To the coastlands He will make recompense.
God will repay the debt resulting from their sinful deeds. In wrath God will recompense His enemies according to their actions whether they be close or at the end of the seas.
(Jer. 25:29; Ezek. 9:6: 1 Pet. 4:17).
Verse 19 tells some results of God’s fierce action. So they will fear the name of the Lord from the west and His glory from the rising of the sun, For He will come like a rushing stream which the wind of the Lord drives.
Because of God’s justice all will fear or reverence the LORD. People everywhere will acknowledge His glory, overpowering majesty, and strength. For His wrath against sin is like a pent-up flood let loose which His Spirit (ruah) drives. Let those who ally themselves with sin take due notice (2:19-22; Rev. 6:15-17).
Verse 20 is for those willing to be awaken out of their sinfulness. "A Redeemer will come to Zion, and to those who turn from transgression in Jacob," declares the Lord.
Even though God’s people were sinning, it would not stop God from sending His promised Redeemer. God will come for the remnant of Israel who have turned from sin, not as a Judge but as a Redeemer (Rom. 11:26).
The promise is that the God who longs to forgive will send a Redeemer to Zion. He declares to those who will repent, who will turn from sin and turn to Him that He will buy them out of their rebellion and sinfulness.
Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1727), that great English scientist, discovered three important "laws of motion." The third one states that "for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction." This principle was used in space exploration. We learned to use powerful thrust rockets burning fuel to propel space capsules through earth’s atmosphere and into space.
A spiritual reality can be compared to this law of motion. For each action against God, there is a reaction. When we sin, there must be punishment. Since God is true to His nature, He will not over ride that law. Yet, as opposing forces were found and marshaled to overcome the force of gravity to allow space travel, hell is not the necessary end of every person. Because God loved us so much, He intervened and allowed Jesus to take our punishment for us. He took the "reaction" our actions
deserve. Praise God that believers are no longer under the law but under grace.
Lord Jesus, thank You for being my Redeemer and for bearing my sins on the cross
[When the Lord executes judgment on His enemies (at Christ’s second coming), the Messiah will go to Zion. He will be the Redeemer ( 41:14) of those Israelites who turn to Him in repentance. Showing their future hope, the nation was being encouraged to repent. Bible Knowledge Com., 1114.]
III. THE VICTOR’S COVENANT, 21.
In verse 21 God’s redemption is conveyed with a covenant promise. "As for Me, this is My covenant with them," says the Lord: "My Spirit which 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 offspring, nor from the mouth of your offspring’s offspring," says the Lord, "from now and forever."
On the basis of the abiding presence of His Spirit and the continuous possession of His Word -which are the basis for YAHWEH’s covenant -God will establish an everlasting relationship (Jer. 31:31-34). In this the covenant the Spirit of God comes on the people as a whole (Num. 11:29) to empower them to speak God’s Word. [See I Sam. 10:6; 16:13; Ezek. 2:2 for the connection between Spirit empowerment and speaking the Word of God in the ministry of the Messiah: Isa. 11:2-4; 61:1-2.] Isaiah’s unclean lips were cleansed so that he might speak the Word of God to his people (Isa. 6). The people’s unclean lips will be cleansed so that they may speak the Word of God to the world.
The first result of the coming of the Holy Spirit on the church at Pentecost was that people from all the nations heard the gospel message. That is a clear parallel to what the prophet says here.,.
Christians today are the first fruits of this prophecy. When the Holy Spirit and God’s word finds dwelling in believers they have the power to overcome their former desires and lifestyle. They can now live a life that is pleasing to God. They can not only distinguish between good and evil they can live out the good.
God wants to make unclean Israel clean in order that His Spirit may take up residence there (32:15-19; 44:3-5). But is that residence an end in itself? No, that residence is in order to realize God’s revelation to the world. Remnant Israel, the servant of God, is to proclaim the Gospel to the entire world.
In order for that purpose to be realized, Israel’s sin must not only be forgiven, it must also be defeated. Israel’s character must be pure like God’s in order that out of her cleanized mouth the breath of God may pronounce the Word of God to the waiting world. When this takes place, glory of the Lord will have risen in Israel and all the nations will come to the brightness of that rising (60:1-3). [Oswalt, Isaiah, 531]
[When the Messiah returns in judgment (v. 18), He will inaugurate His covenant (elsewhere called the New Covenant, Jer. 31:31), pouring His Spirit on believing Israelites (Ezek. 36:27a; Joel 2:29) and instilling His words within them (Jer. 31:33-34; Ezek. 36:27b) Bible Knowledge Com., 1114.]
CONCLUSION / TIME OF RESPONSE
God wants us to recognize our sin, confess our sin and repent of our sin. God longs to bring salvation and rescue us from our enemies but cannot if we persist in sin.
Salvation is experienced as people hear God’s prophetic word pointing out our sin. As we respond to the Word by confessing and turning from our sin, God brings deliverance from sin and empowering to His people. Into these people comes the indwelling of God’s Spirit and God’s word, which will abide in them forever and ever. Amen. [In chapter 60 the Redeemer comes.]
Dennis Davidson, pastorfbc@bellsouth.net
