The Gospel of Isaiah: Highlights of Chapter 59

The Gospel of Isaiah: Highlights of Chapter 59. 

WANTED: An imaginative scribe who can write exquisite poetry. A faithful, articulate believer in Yahweh who can switch from one extreme to another at the Lord’s command… from a sublime vision of God’s glory, to a ridiculous demonstration of shameful nakedness; from confronting the people over their sinfulness, to comforting people with hopefulness; from being an outspoken messenger one minute, to a living object lesson the next; from having one foot in the immediate surroundings one minute, to one foot in the future messianic realm the next. Must be adaptable, thick-skinned, and extraordinarily brave. Person who answers, “Here I am. Send me!” will be especially considered. (from The Jerusalem Post, 740 BC).

“Justice is driven away and righteousness stands on the sidelines, for truth has stumbled in the public square and uprightness cannot enter… The Lord Yahweh saw this and was greatly displeased that there was no justice. And then He was astonished to see that there was no champion, no intercessor, not even one person who would intervene and rescue the oppressed. So by His own mighty power He rescued them. And His own saving justice upheld and supported them. He put on righteousness as His breastplate and strapped on His helmet of deliverance and salvation. He wore garments of warring vengeance, and wrapped Himself in passionate zeal as a cloak… He will come to Zion as a Kinsman-Redeemer to those of Jacob’s tribes who repent of their rebellion,’ says the Lord. ‘And this is my covenant promise with them,’ says Yahweh. ‘From now on my Holy Spirit will rest on you and not depart from your mouth, and my prophetic words will not depart from you, nor your children, nor your children’s children, from now on and forever more,’ says the Lord Yahweh.: (59:14-17 & 20-21).

Justice: Hebrew word is mishpat, which means “saving justice;” treating people equitably and fairly; giving people their human rights in freedom; advocating for what is properly due to others as human beings made in the image of God; defending those who are being treated unfairly, including the powerless, the vulnerable, and those who are unable to defend themselves; exercising righteous judgments with an unerring sense of perfect justice. The Lord sets the ultimate standard for justice in the world, since it is literally impossible for Him to be tainted or unjust. Because of His perfect justice, God is exalted and lifted up to the highest possible level of honor in the world. Because of his perfect justice, God occupies the highest position in the universe and deserves to be glorified. We can trust that the Creator God has built a moral structure into His world. We can trust that there will be eventual accountability to behavior that does not conform to God’s moral absolutes. We see this hinted at now in his principle that we shall reap what we sow. And soon there will be God’s justice when sin will receive the logical consequences: divine punishment. “I will proclaim the name of the LORD. Oh, praise the greatness of our God! For He is the Rock, His works are perfect, and all His ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is He.” (Deuteronomy 32:3-4).

Righteousness. Hebrew word, tzedek, which means moral integrity, virtue, rightness, righteousness. This word embraces both character and conduct; the innermost part of us and the outermost; who we are and what we do.

Truth: Hebrew word, “emet.” Truth is the only absolute in the world. If everything else in the world falls part, only Truth will remain standing; the building blocks of all creation; the framework upon which we build our faith; the true Reality that has established the world’s reality; that which can never be truly altered or changed; that which is universally trustworthy as facts of life; the foundation of what is truly real in our experience; the plumblines from which to measure our lives; that which is common knowledge in God’s mind; that which lines up with God’s perspectives; established facts from God as opposed to a person’s changeable opinions or preferences; that which is solid and certain as opposed to a lie, deceit, an illusion or superstition; the tangible fundamentals issued forth from the intangible mind of God. Truth is always true even when discounted or disbelieved. Since the Almighty God is the ultimate source of all truth, then it follows that the ultimate presence of truth resides in the Trinity of Truth: Father God is Truth, the Lord Jesus is Truth, and the Holy Spirit is Truth. “One word of truth outweighs the world.” (Alexandre Solzhenitsyn, Russian author, early 20th century).

No One to Intervene. Apparently the Lord was looking for a mediator, another Moses to intervene for the people of God, or another Abraham to intercede for people who were not of God. The Lord God looked in vain for a holy champion who could step in and protect the people, prevent them from judgment, keep them from sinning any worse, help them to confess their sins, remain a role model. Yahweh was looking for even one person to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with his God (Micah 6:8). The Lord was searching in vain for a believer who will speak the truth and display righteousness, relieve the oppressed, actively putting into play a saving justice for the people. The Lord said much the same thing in Ezekiel 22:30… ‘I searched for someone who would repair the hole in the wall and stand in the gap before Me for the land, but I found no one. There was no one found who would keep my justice from destroying the nation.” Sometimes it only takes one courageous believer filled with the Holy Spirit, whether through intercessory prayer, bold action, or hopefully both, to make a monumental difference.

Yahweh the Pioneer in Spiritual Warfare. When we strap on God’s protective battle gear, we are putting on something that the Lord God is already wearing: “And He put on righteousness like a breastplate and a helmet of salvation on His head.” (Isaiah 59:17). Yahweh has already established Himself as a victorious warrior, and His armor has been battle-tested. When we put on Jesus, we are putting on the King of Glory: “Who is the King of Glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle! The Lord Almighty – He is the King of Glory!” (Psalm 24:8, 10). The Lord Yahweh has already come to the rescue for His faithful ones who are being oppressed. He has already been on the battlefield against sin and the evil one. When we put on His spiritual equipment for warfare, it is a victorious piece of armor that we can trust in.

“After His baptism, Jesus was taken into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit for the Test, the Temptation. The Devil was ready to give Him the Test. Jesus prepared for the Temptation by fasting forty days and forty nights. That left Him, of course, in a state of extreme hunger, which the Devil took advantage of in the very first temptation…” (Matthew 4:1-3). 

Jesus Wears the Spiritual armor and is Quickly Battle-Tested. Being filled with the Holy Spirit after His baptism, there is no doubt that Jesus was wearing his spiritual armor in the wilderness. He spent His forty days in prayer and fasting. He knew He was about to wrestle against the primary spiritual force of darkness. He knew He would have to stand against the wiles of the devil, against the crafty power of wickedness. So Jesus made sure He was wearing the belt of truth and the breastplate of righteousness. He wore the Good News of peace on His feet. He held up His shield of faith and trust in God to put out the devil’s fiery darts. Jesus wore the helmet of salvation to protect His mind during the ordeal. And, most conspicuously, Jesus wielded the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God. For every fiery dart, Jesus responded with a razor-sharp word from Scripture. For this intense battle with the devil, Jesus wore the full armor of God and was saturated in prayer. Jesus had received His battle plans. He was ready to stand firm against the subtle but deadly strategies of the Adversary. For Jesus was our pioneer in facing off with the devil. He was our trailblazer on the Mount of Temptation, showing us how it’s done.

Zeal in Hebrew Bible – qinah (kin – naw) = the Hebrew word that means intense fervor, fiery passion, an emotion that is greater than mere anger. Zeal in New Testament – zelos (dzay-los) = The Greek word that means spiritually fervent to the point of being hot, seething; the root word refers to boiling water, a glowing solid, or something that is so hot it is bubbling to the surface. Jesus was indeed deeply moved when He saw the Temple being desecrated with cattle, sheep, doves, and dishonest money changers in the Temple courtyard. In fact, He was seething, He was boiling mad with righteous indignation. Various translations put this down as a fiery passion that consumed Him, a zeal that ate Him up and devoured Him. The Hebrew word for zeal and for jealousy come from the same root word and are linked in intensity and purpose. Jesus was zealous on behalf of the Father. Jesus knew that the marketplace in the Temple insulted God, kept others from worship, and so Jesus took it personally for the Father’s sake. Jesus was jealous for the Father’s honor.

Redeemer – Hebrew, Go’el – Kinsman-Redeemer. To buy back; to restore; to recover by purchase; to perform the obligation of the next of kin; to put something back into its original condition; to repay a debt; to advocate for a relative if wrongly accused; the blood relative who will do what is needed for the kin if that person is unable to do it for himself; the first kinsman obligated to help a relative is the brother. The term Go’el was used more generally to mean to rescue from captivity, to deliver from some type of confinement; to ransom from slavery; to bring justice to a loved one’s unjust situation.

THE HOLY SPIRIT: The Spirit of Glory; the Presence of God appearing in Shekinah glory through light, fire, and luminous cloud; God’s divine Presence on earth; the eternal life-giving Third Person of the Holy Trinity; the intimate bond of divine love and truth shared by God the Father and God the Son; the dynamic power of God offered to every human being on earth; the supernatural Presence in the Community of God who is personal without being material; the invisible creative force with divine intelligence who truly knows the mind of God from the inside; the Spirit of God who thus has all knowledge and is present everywhere in the universe; the sacred energy streaming forth from the Father and the Son, pouring love into our hearts (Romans 5:5), producing virtuous qualities in us (Galatians 5:22-23), and gradually transforming each believer into the image of Christ (2 Corinthians 3:18).

“And when the day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all assembled together in one place, when suddenly there came a sound from heaven like the rushing of a violent tempest blast, and it filled the whole house in which they were sitting. And there appeared to them tongues resembling fire, which were separated and distributed, and that settled on each one of them.” (Acts 2:1-3, AMP).

When Isaiah spoke of Yahweh sending His Holy Spirit to rest on believers, he was certainly anticipating the day of Pentecost… We see heavenly fire in spectacular fashion ten days after the ascension of Jesus, fifty days after His death on the Cross. The disciples were all together to pray during Pentecost, also known as Feast of Weeks or Feast of First Harvest. This is one of the three major Jewish feast days as instructed by Yahweh in Deuteronomy 16:16, and this particular Feast was always to be held fifty days after Passover. Pentecost was a time set apart to celebrate the first crops, the first harvests. In later Jewish tradition, Pentecost was also a time to celebrate the giving of Torah to Moses. While praying together, there came into their room a completely unexpected whirlwind, filling the whole house in which they were praying. Along with the powerful blast of wind, tongues of fire settled on each of the disciples. Luke mentions that these little fires were separated, which seems to imply there could have been one pillar of fire that broke off into separate pieces. These individual flames of fire revealed that the mighty God was present upon them in the form of the Holy Spirit. This was a display of God’s real presence, a tangible manifestation, not a mere symbol. This was a fulfillment of John the Baptist’s prophecy in Luke 3:16 when he told the people, “He who is mightier than I will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.” This Pentecost fire is a redeeming fire, not a destructive one. It signaled God’s purifying presence on the disciples’ lives. The Pentecost fire does not burn or consume, instead it illuminates and enlightens, it fills, it kindles the heart and sets it aflame. These Pentecost fires are divine and reveal the holiness of God. Could it be these tongues of fire are flames that split off from the very same, in substance, pillar of fire that guided the Israelites throughout the wilderness?

On the Holy Spirit as the Author of Scripture. It’s not by accident that in this passage Isaiah speaks of the Holy Spirit in the same breath as God’s word in the mouths of the prophets. Thank goodness that, as promised here, God’s Word had never departed from the prophets, since the glorious result is our holy Scripture. Here are some thoughts and passages about the Bible, its inspiration, and the prophetic words kept alive forever for us:

… “The human authors of the Bible often expressed what God had breathed into them through their own personalities in their own words.” (Bible translator Dr. David Stern);

… The Holy Spirit guided the biblical writers to include only what God intended;

… Just as Jesus is the Word made flesh through the mystery of the Incarnation, Scripture is the Word in writing though the mystery of inspiration. Jesus Christ is the incomprehensible union of God and man, and the Holy Scripture is likewise;

… “Inspiration is the process by which various human languages written in sometimes faulty grammar are used by the Holy Spirit to speak God’s Word personally to us. It is a mystery that defies complete understanding. People of faith believe that inspiration truly happens.” (Eugene Peterson).

… “No one can know God’s thoughts except God’s own Spirit.” (1 Corinthians 2:11).

… “The Word of Yahweh burns in my heart like a fire; it’s like a fire in my bones! I am worn out trying to hold it in. I can’t do it!” (Jeremiah 20:9);

… “The Lord spoke to me with a strong hand, and He instructed me.” (Isaiah 8:11).

… “The word of the Lord came expressly to Ezekiel, and the hand of the Lord came upon me.” (Ezekiel 1:3);

… “No word of God was ever made by an act of human will, but of men carried along by the Holy Spirit.” (2 Peter 1:21); other words for inspiration besides “carried along” are moved, brought forth, driven by, incited by;

… “All Scripture is God-breathed, breathed out of God’s mouth, exhaled into the writer. (2 Timothy 3:16);

… “We do not use words that come from human wisdom, but words given to us by the Holy Spirit.” (1 Cor. 2:13);

How the Holy Spirit Inspired the Writers of Scripture: He comes alongside the writer without overwhelming the writer; He guides the writer’s thinking without making the writer mindless; He fills the writer without changing the writer’s personality; He speaks to the writer without dictating word for word as if the writer were a robot; He divinely influences the writer without taking away the writer’s God-given freedom; He directs the writer without dominating the writer; He points the way for the writer without giving the writer blinders.

Isaiah 59 – My Covenant || Bible in Song || ❤️ NO AI! || Project of Love