Year 3, Day 43: Isaiah 59

Some Things Never Change

I know it’s really not funny.  But I had to laugh as I read the opening section of Isaiah 59.  You see, a few days ago I was sitting in my living room with some young ladies from my congregation.  We were talking about the relevance of the Bible.  One of my spiritual friends said something to the effect that “what makes the Bible so cool is that the Bible speaks to the basic needs of all people.”  In other words, while the form of life may change, the underlying principles of life do not.  We all want to be loved.  We all want to feel like we belong.  We all want to feel connected to the lives of other people.  Sure, we may do it over Facebook, iPhone, and Skype instead of slipping on our sandals, running down the dirt path, and slipping into our neighbor’s mud hut.  But the basic tenets of life are still the same.

So I read these opening verses.  And what do I read?  “Your lips have spoken lies; your tongue mutters wickedness.  No one enters suit justly; no one goes to law honestly; they rely on empty pleas, they speak lies, they conceive mischief and give birth to iniquity.”  Are these words not appropriate for Western culture of the 21st century?  Yes, they may well have been true for Isaiah.  They have probably been true over and over again throughout the course of human history.  They are true now and will likely be true again and again and again.  The circumstances of life may change, but the basic tenets of life do not.

How many absolutely stupid lawsuits do we hear about people twisting the law to suit their needs?  How many public figures say words that manipulate the truth so that it is a version of truth acceptable to their own ears?  How many empty pleas for help are out in the world – people who don’t truly need help but rather just want a free ride?  Does not many of our cultural “pastimes” really just promote mischief and iniquity?  Do we know a way of peace?  Do we even recognize justice when we see it anymore?

We all say we long for love – but what do we do as a culture towards achieving that goal?  We say we want justice, but what do we do as a culture to strive towards it?*  We say we long for some kind of salvation, but where do we as a culture turn to try and find it?

The Humans Stumble

So I continued reading in Isaiah 58.  Here’s what I read when I got to verses 14-15: “Justice is turned back and righteousness stands far away; for truth has stumbled in the public squares, and uprightness cannot enter. Truth is lacking, and he who departs from evil makes himself a prey.”  Truth has stumbled in the public squares – uprightness cannot enter.  Again I feel as though we hit another set of verses that demonstrates the continuity of human existence.  Is that not a theme that runs throughout the whole of the human collective?  Those who depart from evil makes himself a prey.  How many warriors for good have you seen fall as a victim to our culture – or any culture?  The circumstance of life may change with time, but the basic tenets of life do not.

The Lord Takes Action

But then we hit another blessed verse.  In verse 15b we hear that the Lord has looked upon the world and realized that nobody can bring about salvation.  So what does the Lord do?  The Lord Himself prepares for battle.  He puts on righteousness.  He puts on salvation.  He puts on vengeance.  He puts on zeal.  And then He does something about the human condition.  He does it because we cannot.  Those verses speak loud and clear to the coming of God’s Messiah in Jesus Christ!  As verse 20 declares, “A Redeemer will come to Zion, to those who turn away from their transgression.”  Oh what an absolutely sweet verse.

Then we hit a small but beautiful section of prose at the end of this chapter.  Much like in Jeremiah 31:31-34, the Lord promises to make a new covenant with His people.  This new covenant will be based on the fact that God’s own Spirit will rest upon us.  Because the Spirit of God will rest upon us, His Word shall never depart from us.

If that paragraph isn’t talking about Christ’s ultimate work here on this earth I don’t know what is.  Jesus Christ comes to earth.  Jesus dies for our sake.  To those who turn away from their transgression God provides the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit keeps the Word of the Lord upon us day in and day out.  Because the Holy Spirit dwells within and among us, God’s Word does not depart from our midst.  Such a beautiful ending to a chapter that began so darkly.

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*As an example of how we “appear to want justice” but really don’t want justice: I saw a really neat picture on Facebook that struck a chord with me.  I’m going to make a stand for the sanctity of life here.  Here’s what the post said:

• Piping Plover (it’s a bird) eggs – protected by federal law.
• Loggerhead Sea Turtle eggs – protected by federal law.
• Humpback Chub (it’s a fish) eggs – protected by federal law.
•  Human fetus – not protected by federal law.

Is western culture really concerned with justice in this case?  Is not the statement that is being made that the federal government considers the human fetus “expendible?”  Where is the justice in that?