Austin Bible Church
God’s justice judges nations with punitive measures against apostasy, reversionism, and evil. Believers and unbelievers alike living in a nation undergoing progressive degeneracy and increasing rejection of God and His Word will experience suffering in many forms. This suffering is due to the justice of God administering judgment commensurate with the nation’s level of degeneracy and rejection of God's Word called the Five Cycles of Discipline. If this degeneration continues, God will ultimately administer the fifth cycle of discipline to that nation where the nation is destroyed. See the category on the Five Cycles of Discipline.
In Isaiah 59:1, we have one of the earlier messages of Isaiah that warned of the danger of invasion. This was the Sennacherib invasion. “Save” is the hiphil infinitive construct of ישׁע (yâsha‛) and means to be caused to be saved. It is used in the sense of national deliverance. “Nor is His ear so dull” is an idiom for deafness.
“Behold, the LORD'S hand is not so short That it cannot save; Nor is His ear so dull That it cannot hear.” (Isaiah 59:1, NASB)
Why danger of disaster or invasion? In Isaiah 59:2, “iniquities” refers to sins which knock out the believer’s norms and standards in the soul. Mental attitude sins can do it permanently. Alcohol can do it temporarily. Drugs can do it temporarily and permanently. This is interior destruction which leads to weakness and foreign invasion. “That He does not hear” is the same as “If I regard wickedness in my heart (norms and standards) the Lord will not hear” in Psalms 66:18. There is no prayer for their nation. The National Day of Prayer doesn’t cut it either.
“But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, And your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear.” (Isaiah 59:2, NASB)
“If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me:” (Psalms 66:18, KJV)
“If I regard wickedness in my heart, The Lord will not hear;” (Psalms 66:18, NASB)
In Isaiah 59:3, we have the sins of the tongue and overt sins. “Your hands are defiled with blood and your fingers with iniquity” speaks of violence motivated from a lack of respect for authority, a lack of freedom and personal rights, and the mental attitude sins of fear, worry, anxiety, jealousy, bitterness, and hostility. “Your tongue mutters wickedness” is the result of mental attitude sins from constant downgrading of people.
“For your hands are defiled with blood And your fingers with iniquity; Your lips have spoken falsehood, Your tongue mutters wickedness.” (Isaiah 59:3, NASB)
In Isaiah 59:4, we have the breakdown of law and order. There is little objectivity in the country and they are filled with subjectivity. There is little redress of grievance in the court of law. There is no concept of the truth. “Conceive mischief” refers to troublemakers who promote the production of more sin and more confusion.
“No one sues righteously and no one pleads honestly. They trust in confusion and speak lies; They conceive mischief and bring forth iniquity.” (Isaiah 59:4, NASB)
Isaiah 59:5 illustrates the characteristics of a troublemaker using an analogy of two poisonous snakes - the adder and the viper which is a common poisonous snake of the Middle East. These people not only destroyed their own norms and standards, but they maligned others and spoke against any type of authority. They resented authority and were jealous of anyone in a position of authority.
They were bitter against any symbol of authority and would do anything to malign them. That included parents, bosses at work, police officers and of course their pastors. The idea is that if you malign one in authority, this makes you a big person. This is pride. It really makes you a very small and petty person. Isaiah’s Bible class kept the nation from falling apart.
In Isaiah 59:5, “They hatch adders' eggs” is the first snake in the analogy and refers to the venom in the small snakes. The application is that once you have maligned and ridiculed someone, you have hatched a poisonous adder and you have let it loose. You can understand the implications of triple compound divine discipline that would be administered to such a believer.
“Weave the spider’s web” refers to those who will believe your maligning and they have no more sense than a fly flying into a trap. “He who eats of their eggs dies” refers to the sin unto death. You are removed from this earth prematurely by God for disciplinary reasons. “And from that which is crushed a snake breaks forth” refers to a poisonous viper that is released.
“They hatch adders' eggs and weave the spider's web; He who eats of their eggs dies, And from that which is crushed a snake breaks forth.” (Isaiah 59:5, NASB)
In Isaiah 59:6, “Their works are works of iniquity” means they do good deeds while they malign you. They participate in a “act of violence” which refers to uncontrolled mobs participating in riots. When such mobs are controlled, those putting down the riots are heavily criticized. Acts of violence also includes suicide. This is how to destroy a nation without even trying.
“Their webs will not become clothing, Nor will they cover themselves with their works; Their works are works of iniquity, And an act of violence is in their hands.” (Isaiah 59:6, NASB)
In Isaiah 59:7, “Their feet run to evil” means they habitually rush headlong into evil motivated by their mental attitude sins. “They hasten to shed innocent blood” means to make extreme haste. “Run” is the piel of רוּץ (rûts) and means to go mad and destroy other people’s reputations. This is the doctrine of the blackout of the soul. This is negative volition and resulting scar tissue of the soul on a national scale.
“Their feet run to evil, And they hasten to shed innocent blood; Their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity, Devastation and destruction are in their highways.” (Isaiah 59:7, NASB)
“Their thoughts are the thoughts of iniquity” means they think evil. Examples in biblical history are Nebuchadnezzar, Pontius Pilate, and Herod. “Devastation” refers to destruction on a personal basis. “Destruction” refers to destruction on a national basis. The principle here is that you cannot legislate to limit mental attitude sins. History decries that mental attitude sins knock down any nation. The only deterrent is daily Bible class.
In Isaiah 59:8, “way of peace” refers to a spiritual solution to the war between God and man that is caused by sin. Christ removed that barrier once and for all on the Cross. Now, Christ is our peace. “Way of peace” also refers to the Divine Institutions. This is the rule of law and enforcement of written law so a maximum number of people have their privacy, property and rights protected. That is protection within a nation and there must also be protection on the outside by a trained and supported military machine.
“They do not know the way of peace, And there is no justice in their tracks; They have made their paths crooked, Whoever treads on them does not know peace.” (Isaiah 59:8, NASB)
In Isaiah 59:9, “we hope” is the piel imperfect of קָוָה (qavah) and is the strongest word for faith and trust. “We hope for light, but behold, darkness” refers to believers without doctrine who don’t want doctrine but keep on saying, “God will deliver us, this nation won’t be hit, the Rapture will occur or something.”
This is like a believer saying, “Why did God let me marry this guy?” or “Why did God let me marry this woman?” Why try to blame God when you did it of your own volition? It’s very easy to blame God and then cry for God to get you out of the mess that you made. “For brightness, but we walk in gloom” refers to unbelievers who are full of scar tissue and therefore subjective and also refers to believers without much epignosis Bible doctrine in their souls.
“Therefore justice is far from us, And righteousness does not overtake us; We hope for light, but behold, darkness, For brightness, but we walk in gloom.” (Isaiah 59:9, NASB)
In Isaiah 59:10, “We grope along the wall like blind men” refers to the blind using the wall instead of a white cane or a seeing eye dog. This is an idiom for national blindness. “We are like dead men” means they have all but destroyed themselves.
“We grope along the wall like blind men, We grope like those who have no eyes; We stumble at midday as in the twilight, Among those who are vigorous we are like dead men.” (Isaiah 59:10, NASB)
In Isaiah 59:11, they are still hypersensitive in the realm of mental attitude sins. “All of us growl like bears” refers to the screaming angry types that yell and blow off steam at everyone else but themselves. “And moan sadly like doves” refers to the crybaby types. The situation has become increasingly hopeless.
“All of us growl like bears, And moan sadly like doves; We hope for justice, but there is none, For salvation, but it is far from us.” (Isaiah 59:11, NASB)
In Isaiah 59:15, “For truth has stumbled in the street” means that Bible doctrine has been left behind and neglected. “And he who turns aside from evil makes himself a prey” means that those who avoid evil makes themselves outlaws. Everyone is against the positive believer with doctrine in their soul. They try to prosecute them and get rid of them.
“Justice is turned back, And righteousness stands far away; For truth has stumbled in the street, And uprightness cannot enter. Yes, truth is lacking; And he who turns aside from evil makes himself a prey. Now the LORD saw, And it was displeasing in His sight that there was no justice.” (Isaiah 59:14-15, NASB)
In Isaiah 59:18, God is saying that He will punish, but He will also knock out those (Gentiles) who seek to harass Israel.
“According to their deeds, so He will repay, Wrath to His adversaries, recompense to His enemies; To the coastlands He will make recompense.” (Isaiah 59:18, NASB)
In Isaiah 59:19, “from the west” refers to the Egyptians and “from the rising of the sun” refers to the Assyrians. “He will come like a rushing stream” refers to the Assyrians under Sennacherib invading Jerusalem. “Which the wind of the Lord drives” refers to the fifth cycle of discipline as the final stage of national judgment from God. The storm was brewing over Israel and the Lord pushed the storm on and allowed Assyria to take Jerusalem. See category on the Five Cycles of Discipline.
“So they will fear the name of the LORD from the west And His glory from the rising of the sun, For He will come like a rushing stream Which the wind of the LORD drives.” (Isaiah 59:19, NASB)
In Isaiah 59:20, deliverance will come. “Redeemer” refers to the Lord Jesus Christ. “Will come” means to come to deliver when they get back to the Word of God, Bible doctrine. This is looking ahead to our Lord’s Second Advent at the end of the Tribulation. “Those who turn from transgression” refers to the remnant of believer Jews with Bible doctrine in their souls and relying on God's deliverance. Believers growing in Bible doctrine and applying it to their adversity and persecution will save their country. One year later, the Lord Jesus Christ came to Assyria and wiped out 185,000 of Assyria’s best foot soldiers. Isaiah 37:31; Isaiah 33:6; Isaiah 37:36.
“"A Redeemer will come to Zion, And to those who turn from transgression in Jacob," declares the LORD.” (Isaiah 59:20, NASB)
“"The surviving remnant of the house of Judah will again take root downward and bear fruit upward.” (Isaiah 37:31, NASB)
“And He will be the stability of your times, A wealth of salvation, wisdom and knowledge; The fear of the LORD is his treasure.” (Isaiah 33:6, NASB)
“Then the angel of the LORD went out and struck 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians; and when men arose early in the morning, behold, all of these were dead.” (Isaiah 37:36, NASB)
In Isaiah 59:21, “My covenant with them” refers to those believers with Bible doctrine in their souls. “My Spirit which is upon you” refers to Isaiah controlled by the Holy Spirit as he taught the Word of God to those listening to him.
“"As for Me, this is My covenant with them," says the LORD: "My Spirit which is upon you, and My words which I have put in your mouth shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your offspring, nor from the mouth of your offspring's offspring," says the LORD, "from now and forever."” (Isaiah 59:21, NASB)
“My words which I have put in your mouth” refers to the message of the Lord that Isaiah preached. “Shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your offspring, nor from the mouth of your offspring's offspring” refers to Isaiah’s Bible class and the promise of God that there will always be a remnant of Jewish believers on earth.