The people Isaiah was prophesying of had strayed far from God’s way and were bent on continuing along their own path. But they did not seem to have a realization of their spiritual adultery because they also were very religious.
“… who say, “Keep to yourself;
Isaiah 65:5 (NRSVUE)
do not come near me, for I am too holy for you.”
Religiosity
It was the same in Jesus’ day. The people were very religious, but they followed their own devices, their own rituals and rules, and customs that had grown up over time.
Every religion, whether it stems from another religion, or stems from the Bible, ends up not only dishonoring God, but also mistreating people when it becomes focused on human devices. It then becomes a mechanism for self-righteous exclusion, for self-exaltation, creating an exclusive club of people who congratulate themselves on being better than others.
It feels so holy, it feels pious, but God says,
“These are a smoke in my nostrils,
Isaiah 65:5 (NRSVUE)
a fire that burns all day long.”
Throughout the book of Isaiah, God is revealed as offended by false holiness, by religiosity. Among the ten core commandments of God, given at Mount Sinai, God directed.
“You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not acquit anyone who misuses his name.”
Deuteronomy 5:11 (NRSVUE)
Rebelling against the authority of God’s mercy and compassion by using Scripture as a hammer, or for setting self-serving conditions, comes as a direct violation against God’s foundational law. Yet that is what the people were doing, using religiosity and the misuse of God’s name, reputation, and words to make themselves feel righteous and holy.
The Liberty of Grace
If the people refused to stop replacing God with idols and rituals, God would give them over to the consequences of their straying.
“See, it is written before me:
Isaiah 65:6-7 (NRSVUE)
I will not keep silent, but I will repay;
I will indeed repay into their laps
their iniquities and their ancestors’ iniquities together,
says the Lord;
because they offered incense on the mountains
and reviled me on the hills,
I will measure into their laps
full payment for their actions.”
Yet even in this severe discipline, God would show mercy
“Thus says the Lord:
Isaiah 65:8 (NRSVUE)
As the wine is found in the cluster,
and they say, ‘Do not destroy it,
for there is a blessing in it,’
so I will do for my servants’ sake
and not destroy them all.”
For the sake of God’s Servant (Messiah) God would hold back from wiping this people away. If there were to be any juice left in any of the grapes, God would protect that vine.
The wrath of God is not indiscriminate. God only destroys that which has already been utterly corrupted by sin, when sin has fully reached its fullness. The faithful who are caught up in the turmoil of God’s judgment can rely upon God, individually, to take care of them, to bring them through it, and ultimately to bless them.
A Promise for the Future
The Plain of Sharon was an historically fertile area. God was going to make that area even more desirable.
I will bring forth descendants from Jacob
Isaiah 65:9-10 (NRSVUE)
and from Judah inheritors of my mountains;
my chosen shall inherit it,
and my servants shall settle there.
Sharon shall become a pasture for flocks
and the Valley of Achor a place for herds to lie down,
for my people who have sought me.
But the Valley of Achor was an historically barren area. Early in Israel’s history, Achor became associated with the stoning of Achan, who had buried treasure in his tent in violation of God’s command. Now God was going to restore even that area of judgment and make it useful to the people of God.
In this process, God would separate those whose hearts truly love God and those who claim to belong to the Lord, but in their hearts,
“… forsake the Lord,
Isaiah 65:11-12 (NRSVUE)
who forget my holy mountain,
who set a table for Fortune
and fill cups of mixed wine for Destiny,
I will destine you to the sword,
and all of you shall bow down to the slaughter;
because, when I called, you did not answer,
when I spoke, you did not listen,
but you did what was evil in my sight
and chose what I did not delight in.”
This is what Jesus said he would do, when he explained
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ Then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; go away from me, you who behave lawlessly.’”
Matthew 7:21-23 (NRSVUE)
True holiness comes from yielding to and serving God, not self
In God’s warning, Isaiah drew sharp contrasts. There would be hunger and thirst for those who reject the Lord, and fullness for those who received God. There would be rejoicing or shame, gladness of heart or anguish and pain, receiving God’s name or loss of any name. Life, or death.
Ultimately, for those who follow the way of God are on the way to God and an eternal destiny of being established. All the former troubles, former transgressions, failings, and failures forgotten forever, for they will remain in the past.
“whoever invokes a blessing in the land
Isaiah 65:12 (NRSVUE)
shall bless by the God of faithfulness,
and whoever takes an oath in the land
shall swear by the God of faithfulness,
because the former troubles are forgotten
and are hidden from my sight.”
Yet, yielding to and serving God means more than just avoiding “sin,” avoiding straying from God or purposefully walking away from God. Yielding also means embracing what delights God, growing more into the person whose heart matches God’s heart. Yielding means trusting that what pleases God will please us too, for our character is maturing. It means opening ourselves up to receive God’s love, to grow in God’s love, and to become ourselves givers of God’s love to others.
Yielding also means receiving God’s instruction—which includes correction—being willing to have our minds changed about what we think we want, or even convinced we need to live a fulfilled life.
God described in verses earlier, in Isaiah 65:2, how the people obdurately walked in a way that was not good, following their own mental constructs, their own philosophies for life instead. When have you and I been relying upon our own devices, our own construct of the way we think things ought to be?
How willing are we, really, to open ourselves up to God and allow the Lord to not only change our minds on this matter or that, but change our hearts, too?
