A Review of Isaiah 59
by Keith E Gardner
Always using the King James Bible
Isaiah 59:1-2
Chapter 59 opens with verses 1 and 2 which set the tone for most of the chapter. We see in the closing half of the sentence in verse 2 the LORD says “… your sins have hid His face from you, that He will not hear”. This is the LORD telling us of the plight of the lost. It is the consequence of the desire of lost man to determine his own fate without regard for the will of the LORD. Henceforth we have atheist who say there is no God and agnostics who say no one can know whether there is a God. Then we have churches members and the idol worshipers. The churches define God however they may choose and the idol worshipers define Him as any number of idols including the sun, moon and stars. Given this relentless blasphemy, blatant degradation and humiliation can there be any question that Judgment Day is coming?
Isaiah 59:3
In verse 3 we see the LORD explaining His view of us all. All of our hands are defiled with blood and our fingers with iniquity. Upon hearing this most would say their hands are not defiled with blood for they have never hurt anyone. Many even say they have never spoken lies or uttered perverseness however, every person born after Adam and Eve’s sin has hands defiled with blood; at the very least their own. Because nearly every person that was or will be born into this world has been or will be born into sin; as we are nearly all lost from birth: Psalm 58:3-5. The only salvation is the Christ and He has already determined, form before the foundation of the world, who He would save: Ephesians 1:4-5.
Isaiah 59:4-6
Verse 4 is speaking of all the people of the world both elect and lost as until we are called and chosen all mankind desire their own way and that which is not right in the sight of the LORD: Jeremiah 17:9. “None calleth for justice, nor any pleadeth for truth” because we are all lost. We are all consumed by the world which in all of its daily activities belongs to Satan: Matthew 4:8-9. Although the LORD took dominion from Satan at the cross, Luke 10:17-18, He is using him in these last days to further corrupt the corrupt and prepare them for judgment: Revelation 20:1-3. In Revelation 20:1-3 the thousand years is not an actual span of time but it is representative of the total span of time for which Satan was restrained. The little season for which Satan is to be loosed is the end-time period leading to Judgment Day; that end-time period is now. The LORD continues in the two final clauses of the verse describing the activities of lost mankind.
In verse 5 the LORD opens with “They hatch cockatrice’ eggs, and weave the spider’s web”. This is the LORD speaking of the plans and schemes of the wicked or all mankind prior to salvation. The LORD begins the second clause with “he that eateth of their eggs dieth” which is to say if you are caught in their web you will suffer great loss. Your loss may be financial or it may be personal or maybe it will even be you life. The LORD then closes the verse with “…and that which is crushed breaketh out into a viper” which is to say there is no end to their wickedness: Proverbs 4:14-17.
In verse 6 we see the correlation the LORD makes between the webs weaved and the works done by mankind. Reading carefully we can see the two are one. Men are all lost unless and until the LORD saves us: 1 Peter 1:2. No one knows their election status until God brings us His truth through one who is already called and chosen of Him: Acts 8:26-35. Because we are all born of and into sin, Psalm 58:3, God must send us all His truth just as He did with Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch. Prior to the salvation of the LORD all of our works are works of iniquity: Isaiah 64:6-7.
Isaiah 59:7-8
In verses 7 and 8 the LORD is speaking of all mankind and yes, this does include all of His elect. For the elect of God, prior to salvation, are a part of this sin cursed world having all the same desires as anyone else, therefore they must and will be saved by the grace of God: Isaiah 53:3-8. Knowing the LORD wrote the Bible through His called and chosen, Jeremiah 36:1-4, we can know that every word is true. Therefore when we see the last clause of Isaiah 53:8 which reads “for the transgression of my people was He stricken” we can know that my people is only referring to those who are, were or will be called and chosen of God. Everyone else will be given a profoundly critical choice to make. They can humble themselves before our All Mighty God that He will have mercy on them in the end as well as in their lives or they can ignore His supremacy and follow the desires of their own hearts; their ends will be as declared in Isaiah 27:10-11 respectively. In Isaiah 27:10 the LORD is speaking to all the lost who will humble themselves before Him. They are spoken of here as the calf. They are not sheep because they are not called and chosen of God. Even still our Lord GOD will afford them a more comfortable existence, even in the midst of the ensuing spiritual blight, than those who would go their own way. Look at Isaiah 27:11 we see it speaks of the women, the called and chosen of God, who will come and set the lost on fire. We know from verses like Isaiah 62:5 that the LORD often speaks of His called and chosen as women. We can also know the called and chosen of God will take His truth unto the world, Matthew 24:14, and it is the truth of the LORD that will seal the fate of the lost. So there is only wasting and destruction in the paths of those lost who refuse the word of the LORD.
In verse 8 we see the lost have chosen their own path as the LORD says “they have made them crooked paths”. The LORD has given them all a choice and they have elected to go as they did and will. Therefore the LORD has given us all the assurance that whoever chooses the path of those people will not know peace.
Isaiah 59:9-10
In verses 9 and 10 the LORD is telling us of the condition of all mankind before the knowledge of Him. Once He has sent His word to us via His called and chosen we have been enlightened. After we have the true knowledge of God He may judge us at any time and we will only be judged once. We can see this clearly exemplified in 1 Samuel 13:9-14 and again in 1 Kings 21:20-29. In the former case Saul was, as most lost people are, intent on justifying his actions with lies while in the latter case Ahab simply humbled himself admitting the error of his ways. Viewing the deaths of these two lost men, Saul in 1 Samuel 31:1-5 and Ahab in 1 Kings 22:29-37, we see a distinct difference. Saul did not die as a warrior should nor was his dead body afforded the respect and dignity given to Ahab. Although both men were lost our Lord GOD is showing us the distinction between the pattern of demise for those lost without and those lost with the mercy of the LORD.
Isaiah 59:11-12
In verse 11 we are reading Gods perception of all mankind. All men, before salvation, seek their own gods; the atheist, agnostics and those who don’t give God a thought are all gods unto themselves. Every man knows there must be a creator. Therefore if a man denies the existence of the creator that man has ordained himself the creator of at least what he may call his domain. Although congregation members do profess to worship God their gods are not the God of the Bible. This becomes evident as you look at the Catholic faith and all the Protestant faiths with the multitude of interpretations they have drawn from the same early manuscripts. In some faiths they have actually used other writings to justify their interpretations; the apocrypha is one example. There is and only can be one God, Ephesians 4:4-6; so, has anyone ever questioned why there are so many very different faiths?
In verse 12 the LORD continues to describe the condition of all mankind before salvation however, take a look at the final clause of verse 12. Notice this clause reads “and as for our iniquities, we know them”. This brings back to mind a discussion I had with a minister who knew surprisingly little about the word of God. He was trying to get me to attend his church. After a little over half an hour he simply advocated I should attend any church. At that time I could not comprehend him telling me to go to any church however, now I can. Reading the last clause of verse 12 and knowing that misery loves company it becomes clear. This minister knew he was earning a good living teaching lies and he is well aware of the price he must pay for what he has elected to do, therefore it is obvious to me that he simply wants all the company he can get in his misery.
Isaiah 59:13-14
In verses 13 and 14 the LORD continues to give us all the only relevant view of our lives: His. He is the Alpha and the Omega and our omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent LORD therefore it is His perception and only His that will impact us all. “The transgressing and lying against the LORD” spoken of here set the tone for the verse and as we read the remainder of the verse we see the LORD is speaking of all the church communities as one. He says “conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood”. The “words of falsehood” are all the church teachings that are manipulations of the word of God. Although these teachings are “uttered from the heart” we know from verses like Jeremiah 17:9 that the hearts of men are desperately wicked. Therefore it is no great thing for men to conjure lies and accept them as truth.
In verse 14 we see the reason for all the injustice in the world as the heart of every man worsens with every passing day. “And judgment is turned away backward, and justice standeth afar off” as the sincere cry for justice is faint the LORD will withhold His justice until His appointed time. Our Lord GOD takes this approach because “truth has fallen in the streets and equity cannot enter”. Therefore the LORD will refrain from judgment of the world until He will say “it is done”: Revelation 16:17-21.
Isaiah 59:15-16
In verses 15 and 16 we see the LORD as He looks at this world from beginning to end. “Yea, truth faileth; and he that departeth from evil maketh himself a prey.” In this sentence, and constantly throughout the Bible, the LORD is telling us all mankind have gone askew. Our Lord GOD knows the beginning from the end and as He viewed this world without His intervention He saw all truth failed. Even those who would turn from their wicked ways became the prey in an environment where they were once predators. The LORD saw that His salvation was crucial if any were to be saved. This verse brings to mind a very interesting point. The LORD saved all those who He would save before the foundation of the world: Ephesians 1:4. Looking at Isaiah 59:15 I am led to ponder; could it be that the LORD granted salvation to those who would have departed from their evil and made themselves a prey? In a world gone completely awry such people would be few in number; just like the elect of God. If this were the case it would fit as we would have done nothing to earn salvation; it would still only be by the grace of God. Just as a thief can cease stealing or a murderer would murder no more their hearts are still desperately wicked therefore, they still can’t do a thing to be saved. So the LORD brings judgment and I must consider, is His judgment based in part on what He saw before the world was? Look at Ahab in 1 Kings 21:20-29 and you’ll see that although Ahab did humble himself before the LORD he only did so in the knowledge of the LORD and His intended punishment of Ahab and Jezebel. If the LORD had not sent Elijah to tell Ahab of His intentions toward him, Ahab would not have been humbled. However, the LORD speaks of those who depart from evil and this departure occurs in the absence of the LORD. Once again they simply depart form the evil they do but, they can do nothing about the evil they think so without the LORD they would still be dammed.
In verse 16 we are reading about what the LORD saw as He looked at this world from beginning to end. “He saw there was no man, and I wondered that there was no intercessor.” So, in his great mercy, the LORD makes Himself intercessor at a horrible price but nonetheless He took the sins of all whom He would save upon Himself. “Therefore His arm bought salvation unto him; and His righteousness, it sustained him.”
Isaiah 59:17-18
In verse 17 the LORD is preparing to do spiritual battle with His adversaries. His adversaries are all those of this world who worship another god. For as we know there are only two powers in this world and they are the LORD and Satan. So, no matter what religious beliefs a man holds he is either in one camp or the other. The only way to enter the camp of God is that He grants you salvation. You may enter the camp of Satan anyway you wish: Matthew 7:13-14.
“According to their deeds, accordingly He will repay, fury to His adversaries, recompense to His enemies.” In verse 18 we see the confrontation the LORD is preparing for in verse 17. Unto all who have chosen to follow another god our Lord GOD will pay recompense. No matter how a man may feel or what he may believe it is God who enables us all. Therefore when we take the blessings of the LORD, our health and strength as well as our means and much more, and blatantly refuse to acknowledge Him there is a tab we are running up. Just as at a restaurant, lounge or bar you can’t leave until you pay; neither will you die until you have repaid the LORD; “to the islands He will repay recompense”.
Isaiah 59:19-21
In verse 19 we see the consequence of verse 18 as the LORD says “So shall they fear the name of the LORD from the west, and His glory from the rising of the sun”. Although all mankind will finally learn the fear of the LORD they will not honor or respect Him as their fear will only be of the torment He will bring. “When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him.” This sentence is a testament to the number of people lost in the world today who will not humble themselves before our All Mighty God. Our Lord GOD also refers to all the lost here as him because they are all of one mind and that is the mind of Satan: Revelation 17:12-14. In Revelation 17:12 ten horns is to represent all the people of the world who are not elect of God. They had no power or kingdom as of the time of this writing because they did not exist; however, today is their time as today they do exist. They will be given power with the beast means in the final months of this world as Satan has been given great power and those who are his have been given their kingdoms. This does not mean wealth, fame or glory although some have been given that also, but it means they are allowed to do as they desire without regard for the LORD without punishment from the LORD; for a time.
In verse 20 we see our Lord GOD speaking of the rapture. Zion in this verse is referring to all those the LORD has and will save. This also includes the resurrection of our new spiritual bodies created from the bodies we had and have here on earth.
In verse 21 we have been raptured in soul and spiritual body. Our Lord GOD has made a covenant with us that we will speak His words forevermore. The seed and the seed’s seed mentioned in this verse are all those whom we have bought unto the LORD and those they have bought; the word of the LORD shall not depart out of our mouths.
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