seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Isaiah 64:1 [a]Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down,
that the mountains would tremble before you!
2 As when fire sets twigs ablaze
and causes water to boil,
come down to make your name known to your enemies
and cause the nations to quake before you!
3 For when you did awesome things that we did not expect,
you came down, and the mountains trembled before you.
4 Since ancient times no one has heard,
no ear has perceived,
no eye has seen any God besides you,
who acts on behalf of those who wait for him.
5 You come to the help of those who gladly do right,
who remember your ways.
But when we continued to sin against them,
you were angry.
How then can we be saved?
6 All of us have become like one who is unclean,
and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags;
we all shrivel up like a leaf,
and like the wind our sins sweep us away.
7 No one calls on your name
or strives to lay hold of you;
for you have hidden your face from us
and have given us over to[b] our sins.
that the mountains would tremble before you!
2 As when fire sets twigs ablaze
and causes water to boil,
come down to make your name known to your enemies
and cause the nations to quake before you!
3 For when you did awesome things that we did not expect,
you came down, and the mountains trembled before you.
4 Since ancient times no one has heard,
no ear has perceived,
no eye has seen any God besides you,
who acts on behalf of those who wait for him.
5 You come to the help of those who gladly do right,
who remember your ways.
But when we continued to sin against them,
you were angry.
How then can we be saved?
6 All of us have become like one who is unclean,
and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags;
we all shrivel up like a leaf,
and like the wind our sins sweep us away.
7 No one calls on your name
or strives to lay hold of you;
for you have hidden your face from us
and have given us over to[b] our sins.
8 Yet you, Lord, are our Father.
We are the clay, you are the potter;
we are all the work of your hand.
9 Do not be angry beyond measure, Lord;
do not remember our sins forever.
Oh, look on us, we pray,
for we are all your people.
10 Your sacred cities have become a wasteland;
even Zion is a wasteland, Jerusalem a desolation.
11 Our holy and glorious temple, where our ancestors praised you,
has been burned with fire,
and all that we treasured lies in ruins.
12 After all this, Lord, will you hold yourself back?
Will you keep silent and punish us beyond measure?
We are the clay, you are the potter;
we are all the work of your hand.
9 Do not be angry beyond measure, Lord;
do not remember our sins forever.
Oh, look on us, we pray,
for we are all your people.
10 Your sacred cities have become a wasteland;
even Zion is a wasteland, Jerusalem a desolation.
11 Our holy and glorious temple, where our ancestors praised you,
has been burned with fire,
and all that we treasured lies in ruins.
12 After all this, Lord, will you hold yourself back?
Will you keep silent and punish us beyond measure?
a. Isaiah 64:1 In Hebrew texts 64:1 is numbered 63:19b, and 64:2-12 is numbered 64:1-11.
b. Isaiah 64:7 Septuagint, Syriac and Targum; Hebrew have made us melt because o
This is from Bible-studys.org.
In this chapter Isaiah pleads with God to “come down” and intervene in the affairs of nations. God’s presence is described as “melting fire” that causes the nations to “tremble.” Yet the prophet realizes “we are all … unclean” (tame, a technical term for legal impurity).
“All our righteousnesses are as filthy rags” describes the total depravity of mankind. In this condition of sinful depravity, “there is none that calleth upon thy name.” Therefore, Isaiah pleads with God not to judge “thy people” but to extend them mercy.
“Rend the heavens … tremble at thy presence”: Israel’s response to her own complaint, was a plea that God would burst forth to execute vengeance suddenly on His people’s foes (Psalms 18:7-9; 144:5; Hab. 3:5-6), manifesting Himself in judgment again as He did at Mt. Sinai (Exodus 19:18; Judges 5:5; Psalm 68:8; Heb. 12:18-20).
As God’s name is to receive glory through His redemption of Israel, it also is to have widespread recognition because of His judgment against Israel’s enemies (Psalm 99:1).
“None that calleth”: The prophet finds no exception among a people whose iniquities had separated them from God. Such seeking and calling on the Lord as Isaiah describes, cannot occur apart from the powerful conviction and awakening of the sinful heart by the Holy Spirit.
Thus, the prayer recognizes God as a potter in control of the clay and pleads for Him to do a saving work . Such a work is what God promised to end His fury, and His memory of sin.
The easy English site has a long commentary on this chapter.These verses contain a series of word pictures that describe the effect of God’s arrival.
The people’s desire was not merely for God to ‘look down’ from heaven. The prayer is now the more urgent request to ‘come down’.
· A ‘hole in the sky’ expresses the thought that the sky hides God from human sight. So the sky seems like a curtain (see Psalm 18:9 and 144:5). To ‘tear a hole’ is a wish that is full of emotion.
· What seems solid and permanent, like a mountain, will shake powerfully (see Exodus 19:18; Psalm 18:7).
Fire is a sign that God is present (see Exodus 3:2; see also Acts 2:3).
But he is not there just to look. He comes to act. Like fire, he makes things happen. Fire causes bushes to burn and water to boil.
· However powerful nations may seem, God is much more powerful. So even powerful nations will shake with fear if God is suddenly present. The purpose of God’s activity is to cause nations to know his greatness. Then they will realise that he is in control of all people and events (see Daniel 4:35).
‘In the past’ refers in particular to the time of Moses when the people escaped from Egypt. The ‘wonderful deeds’ were all for the benefit of God’s people. God did these things as he carried out his purpose to rescue them.
God answers prayer. But he has made rules. First, one who prays must show God an attitude of trust (see Mark 11:24). True trust never puts a limit on what God can do. Secondly, one who prays must eagerly obey God’s instructions.
Although God’s people know these things, their personal behaviour has not changed. As a result, the people have broken off their covenant relation with God.
The people’s efforts to carry out good deeds are without value. They cannot cure their relationship with God by means of kind actions to their friends.
Isaiah 49:19 describes the great damage that enemies have caused all through Judah. In particular, enemies have ruined Jerusalem. They have even ruined the Temple, which stood on the mountain called Zion.
God has promised to replace all that enemies have destroyed. The Lord’s people believe that he performs all his promises in the end. But they cannot understand why such a long delay continues.
· God’s delays are a frequent experience (see Psalm 6:3). But God has a much greater plan than people can even imagine. His measurements of time are not the same as ours (see 2 Peter 3:8-9).
I remember, back in my childhood, when the teacher would leave the room...... and the bullies would start in..... doing things they knew they shouldn't..... while I sat.....perfectly upright in my seat..... writing a note to my friend instead of reading my lesson..... and when that bully jumped up and ran for the window [to throw a wadded up paper out the window at a bird] I wished for the teacher to come back and catch that bully.... who was clearly misbehaving. Now who's at fault here???? I was being good.... quiet.... staying in my seat..... [never mind the note writing....] while that bully was being rude and horrible. It would be proper and right for the bully to get time out..... [never mind the note writing.... I'll read the lesson later.... ].... "come back..... teacher.... and make that bully sit down and make him stop bumping my desk.... [never mind the note writing.... I don't need to read the lesson]... I'm smart... and quiet... and humble... and I am quiet and seated perfectly in my seat [never mind the note writing.... that rule doesn't hurt anyone].... "come back" and take care of that bully.
IMHO.... Isaiah is saying.... be careful how or when you call God to "come back" because none of us.... not one.... not me....not hubby....not my kids.... not my friends.... not my family.... not the teachers, preachers, police officers, doctors, lawyers, mayors, governors..... no one is doing exactly what we should be doing. Even the girl who was sitting beside me was delighting in sin when she giggled at the bully's antics. No one is worth God's time.....God will come back because He promised He would be back.
Like the teacher who left the classroom was working on a schedule.... so is God. The teacher had a task that took her out of the classroom..... but she came back as soon as the task was completed. She was still responsible for us..... and yes she knew the bully would be drawn to the window and the girl sitting beside me would giggle.... she also knew I was probably writing a note instead of reading.... and that's why she called on me right away..... None of us was righteous.... [pious maybe but not righteous]
Isaiah wrote in great detail about Cyrus the Great about 300 years before it happened. Isaiah described Jesus the Christ about 700 years before it happened. Isaiah described the second coming...... and based on the track record of Isaiah's future-casts..... it is going to happen.
Jesus will be back..... Get back in your seat.....
