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.

Isaiah 55:6

Isaiah 55:6 says, Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:  Isaiah said the people of Israel, and those everywhere for that matter, needed to call on God while He was near and could be found.  Actually, God always calls out to people to come to Him, and we just need to respond when He is calling us. Then, He is near and can be found, but if we refuse to listen when He calls, He may one day quit calling, and if He does, then He cannot be found.  We don’t find God, but He finds us. 

Verse seven adds, Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.  If we are to have a personal relationship with God, we must forsake our wicked ways and even give up our unrighteous thoughts.  We have to change from our sinful nature and start to be guided by the righteous leadership of the Holy Spirit.  When we do this, accepting the gift of salvation, we return to a right relationship with God, not through our own righteousness, but through the righteousness of Jesus Christ.  Then, the Heavenly Father will have mercy on us and abundantly pardon us.  He does not just pardon some sins, but He pardons all sins, past, present, and future. 

Verse eight continues, For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord.  God said that His thoughts are not the thoughts of mankind, nor are His ways the ways of mankind.  Our thoughts will always be so much less than the thoughts of God.  Our thoughts are still limited to finite things even when we are thinking about God.  We try to describe Who He is in earthly terms, but God sees from the heavenly perspective.  We could not conceive of a salvation plan that required the death of our son, but God made a plan of redemption that consisted of His only begotten Son dying for sinful people. 

Verse nine concludes, For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.  God made the analogy of the heavens being higher than the earth to compare His thoughts to mankind’s thoughts.  We may think that the earth is a special place, but when compared to the rest of the universe, it is but a small dot.  That is how much higher God’s thoughts are to the thoughts of people.  Our thoughts are but a small dot when compared to God’s, even if we are the most intelligent person in the world. 

Isaiah 55:1

Isaiah 55:1 says, Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.  I believe this is a call to have our spiritual hunger and thirst filled by putting our faith in God.  This promise is to everyone and not just to the people of Israel.  We are never going to be able to buy God’s gift of salvation and the peace that should come with it, but He has freely given it to us through His mercy. 

Verse two adds, Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness.  God said that people were never going to be able to satisfy their spiritual hunger and thirst by their own works.  We may be hard at work trying to find success in the world, and we may even be successful in doing so, but this will never satisfy our soul, which can only be satisfied when we accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord and live by our covenant relationship with Him.  Anything we spend money and even time on outside of the will of God is never going to feed us spiritually. 

Verse three continues, Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David.  God called on people to hear His word and come to Him.  He also said that when they did their soul would live.  I believe that our soul is only fully alive spiritually when we put our faith in Jesus Christ, even though the souls of those who don’t will continue to exist, but they will live in everlasting destruction instead of everlasting peace with God. 

Verse four states, Behold, I have given him for a witness to the people, a leader and commander to the people.  Isaiah said that the coming Messiah, Jesus Christ, would be a witness to all people about what it means to live in obedience to God.  Though He wasn’t a commander and leader of the people at that time, He is the only one qualified to be our spiritual Commander and Leader.  We cannot provide salvation by our own merit, nor can we procure the Living Water and the Bread of Life on our own.  All are a free gift from Heavenly Father through His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, and until we accept Him as our Savior and Lord, we will never have access to the other two.  We cannot earn nor buy the Living Water and the Bread of Life, but they are a free gift from God to those who accept His gift of salvation. 

Verse five adds, Behold, thou shalt call a nation that thou knowest not, and nations that knew not thee shall run unto thee because of the Lord thy God, and for the Holy One of Israel; for he hath glorified thee.  Isaiah said that the people of Isreal were given a land that they knew nothing of and that people from other lands that the people of Israel knew nothing of would come to them because of their God.  It wasn’t because they were better than others spiritually and it certainly wasn’t because they were better physically, but it was because of their relationship to God that they were spiritually better than other people who did not acknowledge God as the only God that there is.  This is still true for followers of Jesus Christ today. 

Isaiah 54:9

Isaiah 54:9 says, For this is as the waters of Noah unto me: for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth; so have I sworn that I would not be wroth with thee, nor rebuke thee.  During Noah’s day, God was very worth, or angry at how the people were acting, and He destroyed all but Noah and his family.  God said He promised then that He would never destroy the world this way again and He never fails to keep His promise.  He said He would not contend with people this way again.  Instead, out of His mercy He sent His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to die in our place.  He does not just destroy people because of the evil they do, but one day they will face everlasting punishment if they do not accept God’s gift of salvation. 

Verse ten adds, For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee.  God promised that even if the mountains departed and the hills were removed that His promise, or word, would never depart.  This will always be true. 

Verse eleven continues, O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted, behold, I will lay thy stones with fair colours, and lay thy foundations with sapphires.  Though the people of Israel then and the church today might be in a sad state materially, there is coming a day when that will change.  God said that He would lay their foundation with precious stones.  The greatest precious stone is not a jewel, but the cornerstone of faith in Jesus Christ.

Verse twelve concludes, And I will make thy windows of agates, and thy gates of carbuncles, and all thy borders of pleasant stones.  God said He was going to make their dwelling place a place of beauty, and this doesn’t mean that we are going to be rich in this world.  Our dwelling place as followers of Christ is heaven.  We are just passing through this world. 

Verse thirteen states, And all thy children shall be taught of the Lord; and great shall be the peace of thy children.  God said their children would be taught about the Lord and they would have great peace if they put their faith in Him.  We need to teach our children about Jesus Christ, and if they accept Him as their Savior and Lord, they will have great peace.  It will not matter how bad things get in the world.  As Christians, we should live at peace in our heart because we know that we have an everlasting home with God. 

Verse fourteen adds, In righteousness shalt thou be established: thou shalt be far from oppression; for thou shalt not fear: and from terror; for it shall not come near thee.  Isaiah said that when the people were living up to their covenant relationship with God that they would be established forever and have no reason to live in fear.  The covenant relationship was never about just obeying God’s commandments, since everyone falls short of doing so, but it is a covenant relationship based on putting our faith in Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord.  The people then put their faith in His coming and we now put our faith in the fact that He did.  When we live in holiness or set apart from the world by our relationship with Jesus Christ, we should always be at peace spiritually. 

Verse fifteen continues, Behold, they shall surely gather together, but not by me: whosoever shall gather together against thee shall fall for thy sake.  Isaiah said that the enemies of God would gather against Him but would fail in defeating His people.  It may seem that the whole world is against us today, but as followers of Christ, they will never be victorious spiritually.  If we at times fail to live by faith, we may be temporarily defeated, but the ultimate victory is ours through our faith in Jesus Christ. 

Verse sixteen says, Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire, and that bringeth forth an instrument for his work; and I have created the waster to destroy.  God said He had created both the smith who created instruments and also the one who could destroy the work of the smith.  No matter how many weapons of destruction people make today, they will never defeat God, since He made those who create them and even the materials that they make them from.  We just need to rest assured in the promise of God that He has redeemed us to be His people forever. 

Verse seventeen adds, No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord.  Isaiah further expanded the promise of God to His people that no enemy will ever prevail against Him. The heritage of God’s people is that their righteousness is not of themselves but of God.  By our own righteousness we fail, but by the righteousness of God we never will.  This righteousness is based on God’s goodness and mercy and our accepting the fact that we can do nothing to deserve it.  He freely makes us righteous when we accept the gift of salvation made possible by the life, death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  He alone lived in complete righteousness.