Year 3, Day 48: Isaiah 64

His Name Is Praised

The opening 5 verses of Isaiah 64 are both terrible and awe inspiring.  Within these verses we have a mental flashback to Mt. Sinai: the earth shook and mountains trembled.  We have a call for judgment upon the nations.  We have a call for a supernatural event: the tearing open of the heavens so God and creation no longer need to be separated.

At the same time, however, we have a confession.  Isaiah realizes that all of these things are brought about by God’s hand.  Humanity does not deserve to see God’s presence.  Humanity has not lived in such a way to indicate that any request to live with God should be taken seriously.  Thus, all of the things God has done are not as a reward for human obedience but instead as means to proclaim the glory of God.  Again we see that it is not about us; it is completely about God.

Three Images of Humanity

In Isaiah 64:6-7 we have three unique perspectives on humanity.  Each perspective comes at the “problem of humanity” from a different angle.  Humanity is compared to unclean garments, a dried up leaf, and a substance capable of being melted.

The first comparison is to the unclean garment.  This is a spiritual analogy to humanity.  We are inherently sinful.  It is our nature.  It may not be God’s intention at creation, but because of our free-will we have chosen to walk with our sin.  Even when we repent, our nature is still corrupt.  {And unfortunately will continue to be until Christ’s return when we will be remade in Him!}

The second comparison is to a dried up leaf.  This is a physical comparison to humanity.  As we say on Ash Wednesday, “Remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return.  This point is pretty close to the point that Isaiah is making.  We as human beings are alive for a short time in comparison to creation.  We died, wither, and eventually blow away as though we never existed.  It might not be a very happy perspective on humanity, but it is a real one.

The third comparison is to a substance that is capable of melting.  This is a psychological (or even emotional) analogy to humanity. We as human beings think we are tough.  But the truth is that we melt in the face of temptation.  Our will can be stubborn at times; but truthfully we are weak until we have been trained to be strong.  It is like iron being smelted in a furnace.  Iron ore appears strong, but in reality it isn’t strong at all until it has melted and formed in the skilled hands of a blacksmith.

The Master Potter

As we understand ourselves fully, we are naturally drawn to the potter’s hand and the potter’s wheel.  If we truly believe we are spiritually sinful, physically finite, and psychologically malleable, then it makes sense that we would welcome the idea of a potter molding us and shaping us.  As the disciple appreciates the wisdom of the mentor and iron appreciates the skill of the blacksmith, so should we grow to appreciate the accomplished hand of the potter.  Only the potter can take us and form us.

One of the best aspects of verse 8 is that it is an obvious lesson on humility.  In order to appreciate the potter, we must understand our need for the potter.  But once we understand the need of the potter, we also understand the need for our work to actually be the work of the potter.  In order for the clay to take any kind of meaningful form, it must be through the potter’s hand.  In order for us to truly experience meaning in this life, it has to be at the hand of God.  True lasting meaning only comes when we humble ourselves and see God at work in us.

Humility Expressed

So now we turn to the end of this chapter.  It is a plea, simple and true.  Once we see ourselves as clay in the hands of the potter, we also see all the times that we have been something other than clay.  We see all the times we have tried to be anything but what God wants for us.  We see the times that we have been rebellious in our nature as well as in our deeds.  When we are willing to genuinely look at those times we will be drawn into a state of repentance.

I love how Isaiah ends this chapter.  “Will You, oh Lord, keep silent?”  When we are truly repentant we have the ability to ask this question of the Lord.  For only when we are we repentant do we also have the right frame of mind to listen as well.  When we are humble, we can turn to the Lord and not only see Him at work but also prepare ourselves to feel Him at work as well.

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