Adult Class
December 2006-May 2007
Isaiah
Lesson 22: Salvation For The Contrite
The previous chapters dealt with the coming Servant and the salvation He will provide. The invitation will be extended to the whole world, Jew and Gentile alike. However, there is a condition to the acceptance of God’s salvation. He requires true contrition; real repentance. Religious ritual will not take the place of right actions.
Isaiah 56:9-57:13—Judgment on the Wicked
From the very beginning, Isaiah reveals the source of the problem in Israel: the leaders were not doing their jobs. Far from being task-oriented watchdogs, they were self-interested hounds. They were only interested in their own comfort and pleasure and they never considered that danger might threaten. When leaders neglect the good of the community, they betray their trust. The disaster that comes can be laid at their feet, but that is small comfort to those who suffer.
In His mercy, God was systematically causing the righteous to disappear, with untimely deaths routinely occurring. Nobody seemed to see that the righteous would then be safely sheltered from the intense suffering that was to come upon the nation. By contrast, the wicked were being protected and cared for—because they were to experience God’s wrath in its fullness. They deserved the justice that would be visited upon them.
These people were idolaters, confirmed and unswerving. The terrible thing about their actions was that all their idolatry was useless and they knew it. Those idols had never done a single thing to help these people and they never would. Yet instead of abandoning lifeless statues, the people redoubled their strength and continued to bow down to them. And because God did not instantly smite them for their idolatry, they mistook His silence for apathy—or powerlessness.
There are people all around us who presume that God is powerless or that He just doesn’t exist. They have come to that conclusion on the basis of their own observation. God has not yet punished sin, so He either will not or can not. They deliberately ignore His grace and His mercy and push headlong into His wrath (2 Peter 3:3-7).
Isaiah 57:14-21—Acceptance of the Contrite
God points out that He will dwell with those whose hearts are truly contrite (repentant). It is worthwhile noting that David had said something very similar about 300 years earlier (Psalm 51:17). Even though a person’s sins truly deserve His wrath, God notes that He will have mercy and will not maintain His wrath forever. If God refused ever to release His anger, there would be no motivation for man to repent—he would be doomed no matter what.
However, the wicked can’t seem to quit their evil deeds. They know the end that awaits them, but they continue to do as they please. There will be peace for the contrite, but there is no peace for the wicked.
In religious circles today there is much talk of “brokenness.” What people really mean by this is not their faults or their corrupted nature, but their wounds and hurts. In their minds, they are victims, not sinners, and brokenness refers only to the things they have suffered. What they should understand is that their condition is self-inflicted and God offers pardon for their sins. Victims have nothing for which they should repent; but sinners are called to contrition. God has regard for real repentance.
Isaiah 58:1-14—Call to Repentance
The call to repentance issued by God is an individual call. This is not something announced to the nation, but to each individual in the nation. These people were intent on following religious rituals, assuming that God would be pleased with them if they merely undertook the right ceremonies. Yet their lives betrayed their worship. They would bow before God, fast, offer prayers—and then go out and act horribly. They would cheat and oppress their neighbors, act violently and live in hatred.
God pointed out that what He wanted was not fasting, but right actions. He wanted them to take care of each other, to treat each other with genuine regard. James repeated these same sentiments in James 1:27. True religion has never been about the right sacrifices or correct placement of rituals, but of a genuinely submissive life, following God’s desires. God points out here that real repentance will bring real blessing and good things will happen to the individuals and the nation. The repentance has to be genuine, though, and must be reflected in a changed life. That change will be met by God’s divine blessing.
Isaiah 59:1-60:22—Confession and Restoration
The problem these people had (and all people have) was sin. The problem was not national sin, or the sin of the leaders, or of the military commanders or even of the religious leaders. The problem was the sin that every individual bore. Judah’s problems were not the result of God’s inability to save. He was sick to death of their persistent sin and He made up His mind that He would not listen to their pleas any longer. These people seemed to focus on inventing new ways to do what was evil.
As they sinned, their evil choices continued to rebound to their hurt. The whole nation degenerated into snarling brutality—so God decided to intervene on His own. Those who dedicated themselves truly to Him, He would bless and preserve. The wicked would be punished as their sins deserved.
When God acts for the salvation of the people, it will amaze people all over the world. He speaks here in terms that would be particularly appealing to the Jews. Their exile will be ended and the whole world will stream to Jerusalem to bask in the warmth of their righteousness. Caravans will come, bringing expensive gifts and offerings. There will be a great restoration of all God’s good blessings. This will become the perfect society, blessed, protected and desired by everybody. The language used here to discuss the restoration is strikingly similar to language used in Revelation to describe the heavenly realms. Compare, for example, 60:19-22 with Revelation 21:23-27 about the heavenly city.
All of God’s blessing depends upon one overriding concern: the people must repent in truth. Their contrition must be sincere and heartfelt in order to gain the great blessings God has in store. There is salvation for the contrite—but not for the wicked.