Isaiah 57
I. (1-39) Condemnation
A. Chapters 1-12 - ”Prophecies against Israel and Judah
B. Chapters 13-23 - ”Prophecies against the Nations
C. Chapters 24-27 - ”Prophecies of the Day of the Lord
D. Chapters 28-35 - ”Prophecies of Judgment and Blessing
E. Chapters 36-39 - ”Historical accounts
II. (40-66) Consolation
A. Chapters 40-48 - Israel’s God
B. Chapters 49-54 - Israel’s Messiah
C. Chapters 55-66 - Israel’s Opportunity
1. \\#Isa 55:1-56:8\\ An Invitation
2. \\#Isa 56:9-12\\ A Condemnation
3. \\#Isa 57:1-14\\ A Warning - God gives warning to the
people of Isaiah’s day.
I. \\#57:1-14\\ A Warning
A. \\#57:1-2\\ An early Exit
1. \\#57:1\\ "The righteous perisheth" - The verb tense is present
tense. God was allowing some of the righteous to die, probably due
to some of the dire conditions in the land at that time, yet no one
had considered that God had a purpose in it.
2. "none considering that the righteous is taken away from the evil to
come" - By God taking these righteous saints home then, He was
sparing them from the Assyrian judgment which was coming.
3. \\#57:2\\ "He shall enter into peace" - God was speaking of the
righteous man’s eternal PEACE and to their restful death IN THEIR
BEDS.
B. \\#57:3-12\\ A Question - Over the next four verses, God essentially
asks, "Who have you done these things to?"
1. \\#57:3\\ …sorceress… adulterer and the whore" - God is speaking
to the wicked within the land of Israel.
2. \\#57:4\\ "Against whom do ye sport yourselves?" To often those who
are engaged in sinful behavior have not considered who they are
offending.
3. \\#57:5\\ …with idols under every green tree" - False worship to
the fertility gods was practiced in the fields and tree groves. The
fact that it is UNDER EVERY GREEN TREE indicates the false worship
is very common.
4. "slaying the children in the valleys" - Many of Israel’s sins are
being enumerated in these verses - witchcraft, adultery,
prostitution, lying, false worship, and now child sacrifice.
5. \\#57:6-8\\ From "the smooth stones of the stream" to a "lofty and
high mountain" and even "behind the doors… and the posts," Israel
had set up their beds of sin, to prostitute themselves TO ANOTHER
THAN" God. God is condemning Israel for trusting earthly kings and
false gods rather than trusting in Him.
6. \\#57:9\\ "thou wentest to the king with ointment, and didst increase
thy perfumes" - Israel prepared itself to seek help from the kings of
the earth, but God said they had DEBASED or degraded themselves, even
to the pits of HELL itself.
7. \\#57:10\\ "yet saidest thou not, There is not hope… thou wast not
grieved" - Turning to other kingdoms fof help had given Israel a
false hope and kept them from grieving over their sins.
8. \\#57:11\\ "of whom has thou…feared, that thou…hast not remembered
me…?" Who is to be feared more, an enemy or an Almighty God?
9. \\#57:12\\ "I will declare thy righteousness" - Israel had no
righteousness. This is a statement of certain judgment for them.
C. \\#57:13-16\\ A Choice
1. \\#57:13\\ There are two choices:
a. "let thy companies deliver thee" - Israel can turn to the allies,
but "the wind shall carry them all away."
b. "he that putteth his trust in me" - Or Israel can trust the Lord
and he "shall possess the land."
2. \\#57:14\\ "prepare the way, take up the stumblingblock" - If Israel
trusts the Lord, He will prepare a way of deliverance for His people.
3. \\#57:15-16\\ "For thus saith the high and lofty One" - God has a
message.
a, "I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a
contrite and humble spirit" - First, God describes His abode.
b. "to revive the spirit of the humble and… the heart of the
contrite" - Then God describes His desire.
c. \\#57:16\\ "For I will not contend for ever" - God also states
the limit of His patience. The fact that He will not contend
(deal) with Israel forever, neither be WROTH (angry) with them
for much longer, means that their judgment is near.
d. "for the spirit should fail before me, and the souls which I have
made" - Lastly, God describes the judgment. When the spirit and
soul of a man fails, death is at hand.
D. \\#57:17-21\\ A Promise
1. \\#57:17\\ An explanation
a. "For the iniquity of his covetousness was I wroth" - God is
describing what has brought Israel to the place of being
punished. Israel was COVETOUS. desiring the things that other
nations had.
b. "he went on forwardly in the way of his heart" - And Israel was
proud.
2. \\#57:18-19\\ A promise to the repentant
a. \\#57:18\\ "I have seen his ways, and will heal him" - Yet, God
has seen the afflictions that Israel has endured and determined to
one day HEAL HIM. God uses the past tense in seeing Israel’s
trouble, but most of Israel’s afflictions were future as God made
this promise.
b. \\#57:18-19\\ "heal him… lead him… and restore comforts unto
him… peace" - God will give Israel healing from his wounds,
renewed leadership, restored comforts, and peace. This will
occur in the millennium.
3. \\#57:20-21\\ A promise to the wicked
a. \\#57:20\\ "But the wicked" - The wicked have no hope of a better
day. Instead, they are like "the troubled sea." They have "no
rest."
b. \\#57:21\\ "There is no peace" - Neither do they have any peace.
cf \\#Is 48:22\\
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