Isaiah 58:1

Isaiah 58:1 says, Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins.  God commissioned Isaiah to cry out loud about the transgressions of the people of Israel, God’s chosen people.  He was not sent to tell them how good they were or that their actions didn’t matter, but he was sent to tell them the truth about their sinful nature.  When we witness for Jesus Christ, we are sent to call people to repent of their sins and to put their faith in Him.  We are not sent to make them feel good about their sinful nature but are sent to make them aware of their need to repent and put their faith in God.  We should never attempt to overlook sin in a person’s life just to get them to say they believe in Jesus Christ.  We all must confess that we are sinners in need of God’s gracious gift of salvation, and this should be our message when we are witnessing, and we should proclaim it boldly. 

Verse two adds, Yet they seek me daily, and delight to know my ways, as a nation that did righteousness, and forsook not the ordinance of their God: they ask of me the ordinances of justice; they take delight in approaching to God.  God said that even though the people were in a sinful state, they were still ready to hear His message and even to seemingly do what He called on them to do.  There are still people today who go to church regularly and listen to the teachers and preachers but who still do not have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord.  Going through the motions without being saved does a person no good spiritually. 

Verse three continues, Wherefore have we fasted, say they, and thou seest not? wherefore have we afflicted our soul, and thou takest no knowledge? Behold, in the day of your fast ye find pleasure, and exact all your labours.  God said that the people asked Him why He hadn’t seen them when they fasted and afflicted their soul.  Matthew Henry points out that they were attempting to make God be indebted to them.  Since they were going through the motions of worshipping God, they felt that He owed it to them to accept them and not to condemn them.  We can be the most religious person in the world, but God will never owe us anything.  If we are just going through the motions of worshipping God without have a personal relationship with Him, then we should know that it does us no good spiritually.

Verse four states, Behold, ye fast for strife and debate, and to smite with the fist of wickedness: ye shall not fast as ye do this day, to make your voice to be heard on high.  Isaiah said that instead of fasting to worship God, they did so for strife and debate.  Instead of judging their own status with God when they were fasting, they tended to look around at others and point out their sins.  They were being hypocritical.  If we are claiming to worship God but aren’t looking to our own sinful nature while claiming to be better than others, God is not going to be fooled.  We must worship acknowledging that it is by the grace of God that anyone is acceptable to Him, and it is not our purpose to look down on anyone else as being less worthy of God’s love. 

Verse five adds, Is it such a fast that I have chosen? a day for a man to afflict his soul? is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the Lord?  Isaiah said that God asked if what they were doing to call fasting was something that He had directed them to do.  They were going through the motions, making a public display of their fasting, but they weren’t doing so from wanting to bring honor and glory to God.  They were wanting the praise for themselves.  Some people still go through the motions of worshipping God while at the same time only wanting praise for themselves.  Whether fasting or some other act of worship, if we are doing it for our glory and not out of a humble obedience to God, then we are accomplishing nothing spiritually. 

Verse six continues, Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?  Isaiah said that God’s view of fasting was that it changed their lives and the life of others for the good.  They were to let go of wickedness and let the oppressed go free while breaking every yoke.  Our fasting should lead us to act to help others and not be done simply to make ourselves look better than other people.  When we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, He completely frees us from the penalty of sin, and this should inspire us to reach out to others with His plan of salvation.  We should never begin to feel spiritually superior to anyone based on our own goodness. 

Verse seven concludes, Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?  God said that true fasting would lead to helping others, feeding the hungry and clothing the naked.  Fasting was to lead to action and not just be a display of self-sacrifice to bring honor to the one who was fasting.  This is still our commission from God today.  We are to be more concerned about the poor and needy than we are about how much we should be praised for being faithful in going through the motions of worshipping. 

Isaiah 57:12

Isaiah 57:12 says, I will declare thy righteousness, and thy works; for they shall not profit thee.  God was basically saying that the righteousness and works of people would be of no profit to them since they had not been done in accordance with God’s command. We cannot be righteous by our own works, but we can only be made righteous by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross.  Until we accept His sacrifice for our sins, we will never be a part of the kingdom of God.  We can proclaim ourselves to be very righteous and may even do works that would indicate we are, but unless we are born again by putting our faith in Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord, it will all be for nothing. 

Verse thirteen adds, When thou criest, let thy companies deliver thee; but the wind shall carry them all away; vanity shall take them: but he that putteth his trust in me shall possess the land, and shall inherit my holy mountain;  God said that anything they put their faith in to deliver them in times of trouble other than Him would be blown away by the wind.  It would all be vanity, or nothing, no matter how powerful they might think the idols or rulers they called on were. Then, God said that those who put their trust in Him would possess the land and inherit His holy mountain.  He didn’t say they would earn it, but that their faith in Him would give it to them as a free gift.  We have two choices.  We can look to the things of the world for help, or we can put our faith in God.  As Christians, we should never look to the powers of the world for help but should always put our faith in God. 

Verse fourteen continues, And shall say, Cast ye up, cast ye up, prepare the way, take up the stumblingblock out of the way of my people.  Isaiah said the people should call on God to remove the stumbling block from their path.  They had been captive, and they were asking God to deliver them.  We are captives of sin and death until we accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord. Unfortunately, for too many people He is a stumbling block instead of being the One Who removes it. 

Verse fifteen states, For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.  God said He was the Holy One Who lives in the high place and that those who were of a contrite heart and a humble spirit could live there with Him.  I believe this means that those who have confessed their own unworthiness and have come to God in humble obedience by putting their faith in Jesus Christ, the only way to salvation and to living in Heaven with God. 

Verse sixteen adds, For I will not contend for ever, neither will I be always wroth: for the spirit should fail before me, and the souls which I have made.  God said He would not contend with people forever.  He also said He would not always be wroth, or angry at the actions of the people He created.  If God remained angry at the people because of their actions, His spirit would fail Him.  We are saved by putting our faith in Jesus Christ, and once we do so, we are sealed by the Holy Spirit.  If we then sin once again, God may be angry about our actions, but He will not allow this to separate us from Him, because if He did, the Holy Spirit would have failed.  This is my understanding of this verse.  

Verse seventeen adds, For the iniquity of his covetousness was I wroth, and smote him: I hid me, and was wroth, and he went on frowardly in the way of his heart.  God said it was because of the iniquities of people that he was wroth or angry with them.  He still loved His people, but He hated their actions, so He removed His protective hand from them.  People were following their own heart, or desire, instead of following God, and He left them to survive by their own power as He withdrew, or hid, from them.  Just because we call ourselves Christians doesn’t mean that God is going to endorse everything we do.  If we fail to follow God’s commandments and direction for our life, He may allow us to suffer defeat in the world, but if we have truly accepted Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord, we are forever saved and sealed to God by the Holy Spirit, 

Verse eighteen continues, I have seen his ways, and will heal him: I will lead him also, and restore comforts unto him and to his mourners.  God said that even though He had seen the ways of people that lead them away from Him, that He would restore them.  I believe this means He would make a way for them to be restored and not that He would just automatically restore everyone to a right relationship with Him.  If God had not provided a way for us to be restored to Him spiritually even as He saw our sinful ways, we would be without hope. 

Verse nineteen states, I create the fruit of the lips; Peace, peace to him that is far off, and to him that is near, saith the Lord; and I will heal him.  God said that He would bring peace to those who were far off as well as to those who were near since He would provide a way for them to be healed.  I believe this refers to the Jews and the Gentiles being offered a way to be healed by putting their faith in Jesus Christ.  God offers a way to be a peace with Him to all who will accept it. 

Verse twenty adds, But the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt.  God then said that the wicked, those who would not acknowledge Him and His gift of salvation would never find peace.  They would be tossed to and for in the mud and mire of life. 

Verse twenty-one concludes, There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked.  No matter how successful a person who does not believe in God and put their faith in His salvation plan may think they are in the world, there will never be any lasting peace in their life.  Spiritually, they will always be separated from God, and though this refers to those who refuse to accept Jesus Christ, I believe it also refers to anyone who is failing to follow the leadership of the Holy Spirit, who even though they are saved, will never find spiritual peace either.

 

Isaiah 57:7

Isaiah 57:7 says, Upon a lofty and high mountain hast thou set thy bed: even thither wentest thou up to offer sacrifice.  Isaiah said that the people had set up idols on the lofty mountains.  They had first worshipped their idols in the low valleys, somewhat obscured, but then started to worship them on the high mountains for everyone to see.  We may start out worshipping things of the world secretly, and if we do, before long we may be proudly worshipping them for all people to see. 

Verse eight adds, Behind the doors also and the posts hast thou set up thy remembrance: for thou hast discovered thyself to another than me, and art gone up; thou hast enlarged thy bed, and made thee a covenant with them; thou lovedst their bed where thou sawest it.  God said that the people of Israel were also worshipping idols behind closed doors, or in their houses, I believe would be an accurate statement.  They were doing this because they had found another supposed god who appealed to them more than God did.  They were worshipping these idols both publicly and privately instead of worshipping God whose laws should have been written on their doorposts. Matthew Henry says that loving their bed means the temple of an idol and that they were giving themselves up to their lusts.  People today still give in to lusts too often instead of putting their faith in God and following His commandments.

Verse nine continues, And thou wentest to the king with ointment, and didst increase thy perfumes, and didst send thy messengers far off, and didst debase thyself even unto hell.  Isaiah said that another way they disobeyed God was by looking to foreign powers for protection.  God had already proven Himself to be more powerful than any king or country, but the people of Israel had stopped believing that.  As Christians, we can never afford to put more faith in other countries than we do in God.  We also cannot put more faith in anyone in power in our country than we do in God.  They went with ornaments and perfumes, either to make themselves look and smell better or as gifts for these foreign rulers.  We need to be more concerned with our spiritual wellbeing than we are with how we look or how good we smell physically, and we should never attempt to buy the good favor of worldly rulers while we fail to put our faith in God alone. 

Verse ten states, Thou art wearied in the greatness of thy way; yet saidst thou not, There is no hope: thou hast found the life of thine hand; therefore thou wast not grieved. Isaiah said that the people of Israel were wearied in following God’s way, even though they had not said there was no hope in doing so.  They may have known that the way they were living was sinful, but they weren’t grieved by it because they liked the pleasures that the sinful life was bringing them.  Many people today say that they don’t really care what God says, some even saying if there is a God, because they are going to do whatever brings them pleasure.  We as followers of Christ know the greatness of His way, yet we at times may also grow weary of following His way, though we need to pray that we never do,

Verse eleven adds, And of whom hast thou been afraid or feared, that thou hast lied, and hast not remembered me, nor laid it to thy heart? have not I held my peace even of old, and thou fearest me not?  Isaiah said God asked them who they had been afraid of that led them to lie about His goodness.  They were seeking gods that they thought would make them materially wealthy instead of following God Who would make them spiritually wealthy, and He asked what had He ever done to them to make them feel this way.  He had always sought what was best for them if they only obeyed His commandments.  He hadn’t laid it to His heart or turned His love for them off I believe we could say, even when they had turned away from Him.  We will never have a reason to turn away from God based on anything  wrong that He has done to us. 

Isaiah 57:1

Isaiah 57:1 says, The righteous perisheth, and no man layeth it to heart: and merciful men are taken away, none considering that the righteous is taken away from the evil to come.  Isaiah said that righteous men perished, and merciful men were taken away and that no one considered that the righteous men were taken away from the evil to come.  Many of those who have put their faith in Jesus Christ have died as martyrs, but they have only gone on to their heavenly reward, and the world is left worse for their not being here.  We as Christians may one day be killed of our professing Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, but if we are, we will just go to our heavenly home, and the world will be left worse off for our departure. 

Verse two adds, He shall enter into peace: they shall rest in their beds, each one walking in his uprightness.  Matthew Henry says this refers to Christians entering into their forever peace after we die.  We will then walk in the righteousness of Christ and sin will no longer be able to tempt us, since He defeated both sin and death.  We as followers of Jesus Christ just need to remain faithful to Him, and even if we die for our faith in this lifetime, we will go to our forever heavenly home to rest in righteousness.    

Verse three continues, But draw near hither, ye sons of the sorceress, the seed of the adulterer and the whore.  Isaiah then begins to call on the wicked, the sons of sorceresses and the seed of adulterers, to draw near and hear what their fate was to be.  I believe this refers to spiritual adulterers and not just to physical adulterers.  I also believe that the children were not doomed because of the actions or beliefs of their parents, but they were doomed because they too were guilty of these things.  No one will ever be condemned by the sins of others.  We all will either be made righteous by putting our faith in Jesus Christ, or we will be condemned by our own unrighteousness. 

Verse four states, Against whom do ye sport yourselves? against whom make ye a wide mouth, and draw out the tongue? are ye not children of transgression, a seed of falsehood.   Isaiah asked them who they were making sport of and showing contempt to by their worshipping of idols, and the answer is they were doing this to God.  If we allow any idol to lead us away from God, we are showing our contempt for Him.  The people then seemed to think that God was powerless to hold them accountable for their sins, and there are still people who believe that today.

Verse five states, Enflaming yourselves with idols under every green tree, slaying the children in the valleys under the clifts of the rocks?  Matthew Henry points out that the people of Israel at that time were once more scorning God and His commandments.  They were inflamed to sin by their worship of idols, which could be found everywhere.  People today worship so many idols, even if they aren’t physical statues, and are scornful to God and His people, 

Verse six adds, Among the smooth stones of the stream is thy portion; they, they are thy lot: even to them hast thou poured a drink offering, thou hast offered a meat offering. Should I receive comfort in these?  Isaiah said that the people were offering drink and meat offerings to these idols, and he said that God asked if they thought He would take comfort from this.  Matthew Henry said they loved their idols more than they loved their children, putting sacrificing to their idols ahead of feeding their children.  People are still looking for comfort by looking to idols in the world today, sacrificing the things that God has blessed them with to these idols instead of to Him, and people too often put this ahead of their love for their children.  We will never find spiritual comfort if we value the things of the world more than we value a relationship with God made possible by accepting His gift of salvation.  Once we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, we should never put our faith in anyone or anything else but God.  Nothing other than a personal relationship with Him will redeem us to God.    

Isaiah 56:6

Isaiah 56:6 says, Also the sons of the stranger, that join themselves to the Lord, to serve him, and to love the name of the Lord, to be his servants, every one that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it, and taketh hold of my covenant;  God then begin to talk about the sons of strangers that came to live by faith in His word.  People of the world may be strangers to us as Christians today, but if they come to God by faith in Jesus Christ, then they are no longer a stranger, but are servants of Jesus Christ, and our brother or sister through their faith in Him. 

Verse seven adds, Even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer: their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine altar; for mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people.  God continued by saying that the stranger, or non-Jew, who put their faith in Him would be brought by Him to His holy mountain and join in genuine worship of Him.  We may not like certain people based on any number of reasons, but if they accept Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and Lord, then they are a part of God’s kingdom forever, and we as Christians need to start viewing them not as strangers but as brothers and sisters in Christ. 

Verse eight continues, The Lord God, which gathereth the outcasts of Israel saith, Yet will I gather others to him, beside those that are gathered unto him.  Isaiah continued by saying that God would not only gather the Jews who had been cast out of the land of Israel and Jerusalem, but He would gather others also. God’s plan was always to offer salvation to everyone and not just to the Jews.  They were simply the ones that He was going to work through to reach the whole world, but they often took the attitude that they alone were worthy of salvation.  We as Christians cannot afford to think the same thing.  We are all but sinners saved by grace, and all other sinners are offered that same gift of salvation.  We as followers of Christ are tasked with reaching out to them with the love of God. 

Verse nine states, All ye beasts of the field, come to devour, yea, all ye beasts in the forest.  There is a switch from assurance that God would deliver them from captivity to a new theme that refers to the punishment they had brought on themselves by their disobeying God.  Isaiah said that the beasts of the fields would devour them.  If we lose God’s protective hand on our lives because we have been disobedient to His commandments, we should not be surprised if we suffer physically from doing so. 

Verse ten adds, His watchmen are blind: they are all ignorant, they are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark; sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber.  Isaiah said that all those who were supposed to be watchmen for God had failed to be good watchman.  He said God pronounced them to be sleeping and slumbering instead of being alert and watchful and referred them as being as dumb as dogs, which Matthew Henry says refers to their greed and never being satisfied with what God provided for them.  There are seaveral times when this prophesy could have meant, but the main thing that we need I believe that we must understand is that we cannot afford to sleeping or drowsing watchmen. 

Verse eleven continues, Yea, they are greedy dogs which can never have enough, and they are shepherds that cannot understand: they all look to their own way, every one for his gain, from his quarter.  Here the fact of their greed is made even clearer.  The ones who were supposed to be watchmen, or shepherds of the flock as Matthew Henry says, were looking only for their own gain, or what was best for them in other words.  With this attitude, they certainly would not have been willing to suffer, much less die, to protect the flock.  As Christians, we can never afford to have the attitude that we are only going to do what is best for us and not have any concern for our fellow believers. 

Verse twelve concludes, Come ye, say they, I will fetch wine, and we will fill ourselves with strong drink; and to morrow shall be as this day, and much more abundant.  Isaiah said the watchmen of people of Israel were content to continue to drink wine and enjoy life, saying that nothing was going to change tomorrow, unless it just got better.  They weren’t concerned with being held accountable for their sins.  This is the attitude of many people in the world today.

Isaiah 56:1

Isaiah 56:1 says, Thus saith the Lord, Keep ye judgment, and do justice: for my salvation is near to come, and my righteousness to be revealed.  God called on the people of Israel to keep His judgments, or Laws, and to do good because His salvation was near.  This applied to their deliverance from Babylon, but it also applied to the coming of Jesus Christ to forever set them free.   As followers of Christ today, we need to keep His commandments and to do good because Jesus Christ’s return is near, no matter how long it may take.  Until He does return, we have already been set free from the penalty of sin and death, so we should want to be obedient to God’s commandments and do good in the world.  

Verse two adds, Blessed is the man that doeth this, and the son of man that layeth hold on it; that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it, and keepeth his hand from doing any evil.  God said that the men who did this were blessed, and if their sons did so as well, they would likewise be blessed.  Though it says men and their sons, I believe it applies to women and their daughters as well.  All Christian parents should teach their children about God and pray that they will come to know Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord.  Then, they should all do their best to obey God’s commandments, not to earn salvation or even rewards in heaven, but because it is what God expects of them. 

Verse three continues, Neither let the son of the stranger, that hath joined himself to the Lord, speak, saying, The Lord hath utterly separated me from his people: neither let the eunuch say, Behold, I am a dry tree.  God said the stranger and the eunuch should not think that they were separated from Him.  God’s plan was never for only those born into the nation of Israel to be saved, but for the people of Israel to reach out to the whole world with His gospel.   No matter our situation in life, we have not been barred from coming to God because of it.  Jesus Christ died for the sins of everyone and not just a select few. 

Verse four states, For thus saith the Lord unto the eunuchs that keep my sabbaths, and choose the things that please me, and take hold of my covenant:  Isaiah said that if the eunuch would keep God's sabbaths and obey His laws that he would be a part of His covenant people.  Matthew Henry says they believed this because they could not father children or be fruitful in other words.  I believe this means that if the eunuch had faith in God’s promise to send a Redeemer and not just that he obeyed God’s laws, since no one can become a part of God’s kingdom by their own goodness, and that being fruitful was a blessing and not a requirement for salvation.  This is still true today.  

Verse five adds. Even unto them will I give in mine house and within my walls a place and a name better than of sons and of daughters: I will give them an everlasting name, that shall not be cut off.  God said that if a Gentile or a eunuch came to Him by faith, He would give them a name that was better than being an Israelite, and that was an everlasting name that could not be cut off.  We may join a particular church today, and some may think this makes those who are members somehow better than others, but this will never be the case.  We are better because we are a child of God when we put our faith in Jesus Christ, and we will never be cut off from His kingdom.  We also need to realize that no one is excluded, even if we do not like them. 

Isaiah 55:10

Isaiah 55:10 says, For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater:  God said that when the rain and snow came down that they didn’t do so without a purpose.  They fell to water the earth that it might bring forth fruit and vegetables to provide fruit for people to eat.  At times, we may wish it wouldn’t rain because it spoils our plans, but when we see the devastation that drought can bring on crops that we depend on for food, we realize how important rain is. 

Verse eleven adds, So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.  God said that just as the rain and snow fulfilled their purpose of watering the earth so that crops might grow, so His word when it went out of His mouth would not return to Him void.  He said that His word would accomplish what He sent it forth to do.  This does not mean that everyone will do what God calls them to do, but that His word will force people to make a choice.  They either respond to His call or reject it, but His word does not fail in either case.  It is still the truth, even if everyone rejects it.  Since God gives people free-will, His word can only go forth to call us to repentance, but it will never make us repent. 

Verse twelve continues, For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.  God said when people accepted His call to salvation that they would go out with joy and peace, and the hills would break out with singing and the trees would clap their hands if the people didn’t.  As followers of Christ, we are to be a joyous people who are spiritually at peace and we should be singing praises to God wherever we go. 

Verse thirteen concludes, Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree: and it shall be to the Lord for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.  Isaiah said that there was going to be a time when good things came Israel’s way instead of the bad that they had been experiencing.  Fir trees were going to replace thorns and myrtle trees were going to replace briars.  Matthew Henry says this means the replacement of the evil nature of people with a good nature once they accepted the gospel and put their faith in Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord.  God said this was an everlasting sign that those who put their faith in Jesus Christ would never be cut off.  This is still His promise to us today.