Isaiah 57:1-11
Isa 57:1
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.
God continues his discourse from the last chapter
concerning the apathy and unrighteous nature most had in Judah before they went
into captivity. The righteous
people, those who refused to follow idolatry, were perishing out of the land
which means their influence to the next generation and to others would cease.
All
things have I seen in the days
of my vanity: there is a just man
that perisheth in his righteousness, and there is a wicked
man that prolongeth
his life in his wickedness.
(Ecclesiastes 7:15) The wicked
rulers did not even care that these people were being taken by the LORD.
Those who showed mercy to others were also being taken away.
What was happening was that the more the righteous people had been taken,
the less Godly influence would be available in Judah.
The righteous were being taken away and none of the leaders cared since
their hearts were steeped in wickedness and most wicked people would rejoice
when the Godly are removed from the land making it easier to perform their
wicked deeds when there is no conscience to challenge them.
It is the same in our time when true Christians die, their influence on
others is over and those whom they ministered to will either continue to be
righteous or go in the ways of wickedness.
Isa 57:2
He shall enter into peace: they shall rest in their beds,
each one walking in his uprightness.
When the righteous man dies, they enter into a peaceful
existence as sin and the wicked can no longer touch them.
Resting in their beds teaches that they now rest from all their labors
after a life of uprightness which went opposite of the world system.
And I heard a voice from heaven
saying unto me, Write, Blessed are
the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they
may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them. (Revelation 14:13)
The uprightness would be the imputed righteousness of Christ to the true
believer.
Isa 57:3
But draw near hither, ye sons of the sorceress, the seed
of the adulterer and the whore.
Then those wicked who thought they were safe from the
danger of death are now being summoned to hear what the Lord is warning them
about. Their wickedness in their
false religions was so heinous that they were called the sons of the sorceress
who were the ones who performed magic, and conjuring up of familiar spirits.
Then as with all the false ancient religions, there was always adultery
and prostitution involved. Many of
the whores became pregnant and now they gave birth to sons who have followed in
their mother’s footsteps. Then
these two monikers can also be applied to the unbelievers who lived in Judah who
were not of the true line of Abraham.
They were the ones responsible for leading the people astray.
Lift up thine eyes unto the high
places, and see where thou hast not been lien with. In the ways hast thou sat
for them, as the Arabian in the wilderness; and thou hast polluted the land with
thy whoredoms and with thy wickedness. (Jeremiah 3:2)
Isa 57:4
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,
Then the question is posed to the wicked.
Whom do you sport or jest yourselves against?
The wicked are being brought to task because of their persecution of the
righteous while they are in rebellion to the LORD.
To open their mouth and draw out the tongue is a gesture made by mockers
and scoffers of which the times we live in are loaded with them.
Knowing this first, that there
shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, (2 Peter
3:3) I am writing this part on
August 10, 2021 and on August 12 there is going to be a “Global Middle Finger to
end Christianity” where supposed millions are going to raise their middle finger
to Heaven in hopes to create more atheists.
Are not these children of transgression just like in ancient Israel who
were born not of the truth but of the seed of spiritual whoredom?
They think that gestures like this will somehow end Christianity.
It shows you the perverseness of their thinking and the fact that they do
not know who they are playing with.
Something the ancients and these fools do not understand:
Be not deceived; God is not
mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. (Galatians 6:7)
Isa 57:5
Enflaming yourselves with idols under every green tree,
slaying the children in the valleys under the clifts of the rocks?
Here God speaks to them about their rituals in idolatry.
They enflame themselves or arouse themselves with their idols in the
groves in the forests where they worship them and they had gone so far as to
sacrifice children like Manasseh and others did.
The clifts of the rocks were probably chosen because it was a cooler
place. The valleys may have been
the valleys of Hinnom.
And they caused their sons and their daughters to pass
through the fire, and used divination and enchantments, and sold themselves to
do evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger. (2 Kings 17:17)
And he made his son pass through the fire, and observed
times, and used enchantments, and dealt with familiar spirits and wizards: he
wrought much wickedness in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to
anger. (2 Kings 21:6)
Isa 57:6
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?
In ancient times there was a practice of taking stones
and worshipping them. One of the
Norse gods was represented by a stone.
In fact, Jacob did that when he created a pillar of stones and then
anointed it.
And Jacob rose up early in the morning,
and took the stone that he had put for
his pillows, and set it up for
a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it. (Genesis 28:18)
Now Jacob did not commit idolatry because he did not worship those stones
but dedicated it to the LORD and even anointed those stones.
In the Old Testament the word for “images” can also be understood as
pillars of stones. Thou shalt not bow
down to their gods, nor serve them, nor do after their works: but thou shalt
utterly overthrow them, and quite break down their images. (Exodus 23:24)
These people were so idolatrous that they began to make
libations to the stones or the pillars and then make meat offerings unto them.
That problem persisted into the time of the New Testament.
Howbeit
there is not in every man that
knowledge: for some with conscience of the idol unto this hour eat
it as a thing offered unto an
idol; and their conscience being weak is defiled. (1 Corinthians 8:7)
Was God going to receive comfort from the fact that his people were now
sacrificing to stones? It was rank
idolatry and God condemned those actions as we read in Exodus 23:24 as Israel
was to destroy those idols not join in.
Isa 57:7
Upon a lofty and high mountain hast thou set thy bed:
even thither wentest thou up to offer sacrifice.
The high and lofty places were where the heathens
practiced their idolatry and Israel had followed in the same manner.
In fact, they set their beds on those mountains which means they had
rested in their idolatry thinking that all was good and that they could rest
knowing that the false gods would watch over them but it was a false peace as no
false gods can ever do anything since they do not exist.
As concerning therefore the eating
of those things that are offered in sacrifice unto idols, we know that an idol
is nothing in the world, and
that there is none other God
but one. (1 Corinthians 8:4)
Isa 57:8
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.
Then public idolatry was not the only thing that Judah
had partook in but they had household idols too where they would practice their
false religions behind the privacy of their home.
Laban had household gods as he searched for them when Jacob left his
home.
And now,
though thou wouldest needs be
gone, because thou sore longedst after thy father's house,
yet wherefore hast thou stolen
my gods? (Genesis 31:30) Think
about it, if they were real gods, how could you steal them?
Unfortunately they placed no difference between the images and the false
gods they represented. They had
made themselves available to the false gods which was spiritual fornication or
prostitution, when they should had made themselves available to God alone
They enlarged the bed in that they had taken in others in the worship of
false religions and therefore enlarged the numbers of those who would join in.
They made a covenant with them that they would always worship those idols
and bring others into it also. They
loved their bed because it made them feel comfortable just like those who walk
with the world system and see themselves prosper from it, there is a comfortable
feeling even though they are totally deceived.
These people felt at home with their idols no matter where the location
was.
Isa 57:9
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.
Another serious sin they committed was that they expanded
their idolatrous network by sending gifts to the rulers and kings of the Gentile
or foreign nations and making pacts with them.
Just like Ahaz made a pact with Tiglath-Pileser.
So Ahaz sent messengers to
Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, saying, I
am thy servant and thy son:
come up, and save me out of the hand of the king of Syria, and out of the hand
of the king of Israel, which rise up against me. (2 Kings 16:7)
This resulted in them falling deeper into idolatry as they would follow
the false idols of the nations they had made contracts with.
False religion is a product of hell and Satan would do anything to divert
the child of God from the path of truth in Christ.
Isa 57:10
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.
Then the people, because of their wideness in accepting
the false religions of the surrounding countries, were not able to attain that
rest they desired instead they became weary.
There was another place where God stated they were weary.
Thou art wearied in the multitude
of thy counsels. Let now the astrologers, the stargazers, the monthly
prognosticators, stand up, and save thee from
these things that shall come
upon thee. (Isaiah 47:13) They
were wearied because of the false religions which did not give a person any
peace whether in soul or in body because there was always work involved in false
religions. They refused to admit
that they were in a hopeless situation because the false religions were only
adding to their burdens and could not give them rest.
They believed that their hands were strengthened by these false religions
and they were satisfied that they thought they were appeasing the false gods by
their works in the groves and in the secret cliffs.
Therefore, they thought they were not grieved but they held on to a
surface satisfaction which could never satisfy their soul.
Come unto me, all
ye that labour and are heavy
laden, and I will give you rest. (Matthew 11:28)
Jesus promised to give rest for the souls of his people because they now
rest in the truth of the gospel which Christ won for the Elect upon Calvary.
The soul can rest in him because he is the truth.
Isa 57:11
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?