Isaiah 59:9

Isaiah 59:9 says, Therefore is judgment far from us, neither doth justice overtake us: we wait for light, but behold obscurity; for brightness, but we walk in darkness.  The people of Israel were complaining about how they were being mistreated.  They couldn’t find justice, but this was because of their own disobedience to God.  They really didn’t want justice, but they wanted mercy instead.  They said they were walking in darkness because they could not find the Light.  They said that they were waiting on the Light, though.  Until we accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord, we will always be walking in the darkness of sin, but we need to ask God for mercy and not justice when we come to Him. 

Verse ten adds, We grope for the wall like the blind, and we grope as if we had no eyes: we stumble at noon day as in the night; we are in desolate places as dead men.  The people of Israel said they were like blind men walking by using the wall to guide them because they were as blind as someone who had no eyes.  They stumbled at noon just like they would at night.  This was all because of their sin and their refusal to see God’s Light when He shined it on them.  If we refuse to see the Light, Jesus Christ, and accept Him as our Savior and Lord, we will remain as spiritually blind as those who have no eyes.  God’s Light will always shine, but we can allow sin to blind us to it.  Until we come to Him in repentance accepting the gift of salvation made available by putting our faith in Jesus Christ, we will remain spiritually blind and in the darkness of sin.

Verse eleven continues, We roar all like bears, and mourn sore like doves: we look for judgment, but there is none; for salvation, but it is far off from us.  They said they were roaring like bears, I believe in their complaints against God, and were mourning like helpless doves.  Still, they didn’t say they were repenting.  We tend to cry out loudly when things aren’t going the way that we want them to go, and we also act as though we are helpless to do anything about our feeling that God has failed us.  Like the people of Israel then, all we have to do is confess our sins and ask God to forgive us.  He will always be not only ready to hear our plea, but He will be actively calling on us to come to Him. 

Verse twelve states, For our transgressions are multiplied before thee, and our sins testify against us: for our transgressions are with us; and as for our iniquities, we know them;  At least the people of Israel were willing to acknowledge that they were guilty of many transgressions and iniquities.  I believe transgressions would be failing to follow God’s laws and iniquities would be sins against other people.  Of course, failing to obey God often leads to our failing to treat other people as we should as Christians. 

Verse thirteen adds, In transgressing and lying against the Lord, and departing away from our God, speaking oppression and revolt, conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood.  The people of Israel then said that they were guilty of transgression and lying because they had departed from God.  If we find ourselves downcast and feeling hopeless because of circumstances in the world or in our life in particular, we as followers of Jesus Christ should first examine our relationship with Him.  It may be that we are no longer living under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and if we aren’t, we need to repent and return to following God’s commandments. 

Verse fourteen continues, And judgment is turned away backward, and justice standeth afar off: for truth is fallen in the street, and equity cannot enter.  Isaiah said that judgment was turned backward, or failing to act as it should by treating everyone the same when they came for justice, which they said was far off.  They added that truth had fallen in the street and equity, or fairness to everyone, couldn’t even enter.  Truth seems to have fallen in the streets today as too often people, even those who profess to be Christians, choose to believe lies instead of hearing the truth.   

Verse fifteen concludes, Yea, truth faileth; and he that departeth from evil maketh himself a prey: and the Lord saw it, and it displeased him that there was no judgment.  Isaiah said that things were so bad that those who spoke the truth were made prey to those who lived by lies.  It is not unusual today to hear about people who are just telling the truth to be threatened with being charged with some crime or the other, but we as Christians should never do this nor support those who may.  Just as God was displeased that there was no fair judgment with His people then, He will still be displeased if that is the case now.

Isaiah 59:1

Isaiah 59:1 says, Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear:  Basically, Isaiah was saying that God would always be able to deliver His people and He would always hear them when they called to Him.  The people of Israel were questioning God’s power because they had been carried away captive and were still enslaved, but Isaiah assured them that God was still all powerful and would always hear them when they called out in faith.  If things are going badly for us as followers of Christ, we should never question the power of God.  He has redeemed us forever if we have put our faith in Jesus Christ, so our earthly situation should never cause us to doubt His power or whether He hears us or not. 

Verse two adds, But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.  Isaiah said that even though God was still the all-powerful God, that the iniquities, or sins, of the people were separating them from Him.  God had not failed to keep His part of the covenant relationship that He had entered into with Israel, but their failure had caused Him to not hear or answer their prayers.  If we as Christians begin to think that God has abandoned us, we don’t need to believe that He is the problem.  If we believe that God isn’t listening to us, we need to look to our own life to find the reason why.  God will never abandon those who are His people, which are those who have put their faith in Jesus Christ. 

Verse three continues, For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies, your tongue hath muttered perverseness.  Isaiah said that the reason they didn’t see God working in their lives was because of their sinful actions and words.  I think we can even add sinful thoughts to the list.  Sin will always separate us from God, even if we are a born-again believer.  This doesn’t mean we will be permanently separated from Him, since He seals us as His when we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, but we may be separated from God’s working in our life. 

Verse four states, None calleth for justice, nor any pleadeth for truth: they trust in vanity, and speak lies; they conceive mischief, and bring forth iniquity.  Then Isaiah listed some of the things that were happening with God’s chosen people.  They weren’t calling for justice, they spoke with vanity and lies, conceived mischief and brought forth iniquity.  This could be a statement about America today, even though we call ourselves a Christian nation.  We turn away the widows and orphans and put our faith in the rich and powerful too often. 

Verse five adds, They hatch cockatrice' eggs, and weave the spider's web: he that eateth of their eggs dieth, and that which is crushed breaketh out into a viper.  I believe that Isaiah was saying that since they fed on lies, it was deadly to their faith. The cockatrice’s, or adder’s, eggs were poisonous and the spider web trapped things for the spider to feast on.  The people were caught by their own lies which poisoned their faith.  As Christians, we should never allow this to happen in our lives.  We need to reject the lies of the world and not feed on its poisonous fruit. 

Verse six continues, Their webs shall not become garments, neither shall they cover themselves with their works: their works are works of iniquity, and the act of violence is in their hands.  Isaiah said these webs would never be fit garments for His people and they couldn’t cover themselves with their works, because their works were evil.  We will never be able to be righteous in God’s eyes by our own abilities but can only be restored to Him by a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. 

Verse seven says, Their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed innocent blood: their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity; wasting and destruction are in their paths.  Isaiah said God was not protecting them because they were quick to do evil and shed innocent blood and even their thoughts were of iniquity.  Sin always begins with our thoughts not being on God and His mercy but on the world and its evil.  As Christians, we should never have our minds filled with evil thoughts and we should never be quick in doing evil, especially the shedding of innocent blood.  

Verse eight adds, The way of peace they know not; and there is no judgment in their goings: they have made them crooked paths: whosoever goeth therein shall not know peace.  Isaiah said they couldn’t find peace because there was no judgment of the sin they were committing and that they were following a crooked path.  We have to judge sin to be sin and cannot engage in it and still expect God to bless us. 

Isaiah 58:8

Isaiah 58:8 says, Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the Lord shall be thy reward.  This chapter begins with promises to those who put their faith the Messiah, Jesus Christ, either in the fact that He was coming in Isaiah’s day, or the fact that He has come in our day.  He was the great Light, and if we put our faith in Him, we will be made spiritually healthy and made righteous with God by Jesus Christ’s righteousness.  Our righteousness will never be anything we earn by our own goodness, but it will always be a gift from God through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross. 

Verse nine adds, Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity;  Isaiah said that people would call out to the Messiah and that He would say, “Here am I.”  When we call out to Jesus Christ for salvation by putting our faith in Him, He will always hear us and say, “Here am I.”  We just must call out to Him in faith to receive His gift of salvation. 

Verse ten continues, And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noon day:  Isaiah said that if those who put their faith in Jesus Christ would reach out to the hungry and help to satisfy the afflicted soul that their light would rise from obscurity and their darkness would be as bright as noonday.  I believe that God still expects us to reach out to the poor and hungry with both the gospel and help for them physically.  If our light is not burning brightly as Christians today, it may be because we aren’t concerned with the lost people of the world, either their spiritual state or their physical state. 

Verse eleven states, And the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.  I believe that this refers to spiritual satisfaction even in times when we may be suffering physically.  Our soul will be satisfied even in times of physical drought, because we have everlasting life with God if we have accepted Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, and the things of this earth should no longer have power to cause us to stop rejoicing in the Lord. 

Verse twelve adds, And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in.  Isaiah said that after the people returned to living by faith in God that they would begin to rebuild the old places that had been destroyed when they had been disobedient. Though this was talking about a physical restoration of Israel, it also points to the spiritual restoration of people to God forever when they put their faith in Jesus Christ.  Isaiah said that when they returned to God that they would be known as repairers of the breach.  The only way we can repair this breach between God and us is by accepting Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord.  He is the only One qualified to repair that breach, but as Christians it is our responsibility to reach out to others with the gospel, so they might be restored to a right relationship with God. 

Verse thirteen continues, If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words:  Isaiah said that if they put their faith in the coming Messiah that they should then begin to observe the Sabbath, dedicating it to the Lord and not to their own desires.  As followers of Christ, we should keep the Sabbath day, or the Lord’s Day as we observe it, holy to God.  We should never treat it as just another day, but we too often do. 

Verse fourteen concludes, Then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.  Isaiah gave them a promise from God.  If they would obey Him and delight in serving Him, He would provide for them as He had for Jacob.  I don’t believe this meant that they would be materially wealthy but that they would always spiritually delight in God no matter what their physical condition might be.  We should never serve God because we believe that will bring us material blessings.  We should serve Him because He has restored our soul to Him forever through our faith in Jesus Christ, and we can be certain of this because God Himself has spoken it.  The choice is always ours whether to believe this or not.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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.