Isaiah 57:14-19

4. SMITING

TEXT: Isaiah 57:14-19

14

And he will say, Cast ye up, cast ye up, prepare the way, take up the stumbling-block out of the way of my people.

15

For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy: I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite.

16

For I will not contend forever, neither will I be always wroth; for the spirit would faint before me, and the souls that I have made.

17

For the iniquity of his covetousness was I wroth, and smote him; I hid my face and was wroth; and he went on backsliding in the way of his heart.

18

I have seen his ways, and will heal him: I will lead him also, and restore comforts unto him and to his mourners.

19

I create the fruit of the lips: Peace, peace, to him that is far off and to him that is near, saith Jehovah; and I will heal him.

QUERIES

a.

What is the stumbling-block in the way of His people?

b.

Whose spirit would faint before Him?

c.

Who is the one far off to whom peace is declared?

PARAPHRASE

And it will be said by the Lord, Build up a roadway, Build up a roadway; make a way that is prepared for My people. Take every obstacle over which they might stumble out of their way. This is the declaration of The High and Lofty One who dwells beyond time and space in eternity and who is Absolute Holiness. This One says, I dwell in the realm of Absolute Holiness beyond time and space, but I also dwell in people who are of a broken, penitent and humble spirit. I am the One who supplies the power to regenerate the broken and humble hearted. I have smitten My people time and again, but I will not smite forever (in fact, I am working toward a peaceful reconciliation with those who will be reconciled), for if I smote them forever and did not provide a way of reconciliation then all mankind would perishall the souls I have made. It was on account of My people's greed and defrauding of one another that I smote them. Time after time I withdrew My presence and protection from them but they went right on rebelling and turning away from Me to their own devices. Yes, I have been fully aware of Israel's rebellions, yet, I will accomplish My work of reconciliation and offer Israel healing by My grace. I will offer Myself to Israel for leadership and I will restore blessings to her I promised her long ago. The work of reconciliation and its proclamation will come from Me, says Jehovah, I will accomplish and proclaim peace to everyone in the world who will accept itto Israel who has been in special covenant relationship to Me and to all the Gentiles who have not. This reconciliation will heal all who accept it of the sickness of their rebellion.

COMMENTS

Isaiah 57:14-15 RELIEVED: Although the Lord has recounted the sorceries, sensualities and stupidities of Israel and although He has smitten them in the past (and will smite them again in the captivities), He now addresses Himself to the future reconciliation He is going to accomplish through the Servant which will begin in the restoration from the captivity and be offered to all mankind through covenant relationship. Jehovah will command, Build a roadway, build a roadway. The Hebrew words sollu sollu are from the root word salal which means heap up as in building up a road-bed. In rescuing His people from captivity (the first and imperative step toward messianic fulfillment) Jehovah commands their captors not merely let my people go, but Put your hand to the task, O captors of My people, and assist them by working for their return to their land! And thus it was so! Cyrus and the Persians contributed financially and in other ways to return the Jews to Palestine (cf. Ezra, Chapter s 1-6). The Persians also removed a number of stumbling-blocks (Hebrew mikeshol, obstacle) from the way of the Jews.

It is the omnipotent Jehovah, the high and lofty One who has decreed this redemption of those He will soon smite in captivity. Jehovah is God without beginning and end. He dwells in absolute unendingness (eternity). He sees all things at once. There is no time with Him. Thus He is able to talk about Israel's captivity and redemption all at the same time. The same perspective is available to human beings through faith in Jehovah. This is hope in the midst of trouble. Jehovah is about to make the Valley of Achor (Trouble) a door of hope (cf. Hosea 2:15; 2 Corinthians 1:3-11). Jehovah is also absolutely holy (righteous, pure, true, just, faithful). He keeps His word. What He is and says is always good. And, although He dwells in the high and holy place, He also dwells with men who are of a contrite and humble spiritfor that is good. The Hebrew word daka-' means literally, bruise, break in pieces, crush, contrite. Men who wish to be filled with the goodness God can supply must first of all be poor in spirit (cf. Matthew 5:3-9; Psalms 34:18; Psalms 51:17; Isaiah 66:2). The Hebrew word shephal means, made low, depressed, thrown down, sit down low, humbled. The Lord could not dwell with the nation as it was during the days of the prophets for it was haughty (Isaiah 2:11; Isaiah 2:17; Isaiah 3:16; Isaiah 10:33; Isaiah 24:4; Ezekiel 16:50; Zephaniah 3:11; Micah 2:3). He exhorted them to be humble (Micah 6:8). The Lord cannot dwell in a church that is haughty either (Revelation 3:17, etc.). How is it that the Lord requires humility and contrition in order to dwell in the human heart on the one hand and then on the other hand promise to revive the spirit of the humble? In this case, of course, the Lord is not going to revive haughtiness. He is going to regenerate. What a man boasts in determines his state of aliveness. If he boasts in himself, he is dead because human power is impotent. If he boasts and trusts in the Lord he is humbled but he has hope because he shall receive an imputed exaltationan imputed righteousness and eternal life. And, of course, the only way an imputed exaltation can be received is by faith in the One who is alone able to impute itGod! That is why David was a man after God's own heart. In his contrition and humility David cried out, Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me. (Psalms 51:10).

Jehovah is going to smite His people in captivity in order to make it possible for those who will to be contrite and humble. Then He is going to redeem them and revive them and form a faithful remnant from among them through which to bring to fruition His ultimate redemptive work in the Suffering Servant.

Isaiah 57:16-19 REASON: The reason for the smiting and the reviving is now proposed. If He should contend forever there would be no redemption for anyone! All have sinned. All deserve eternal punishment. But, amazing grace, God has a divine plan by which He will offer salvation to those who will accept it. He will punish sin in His Son, thereby justifying His holiness and at the same time justifying those who believe (cf. Romans 3:21-26)! Man's salvation originates absolutely in the grace of God! Had it not, all spirits would faint before Him and all the souls that He made would perish.

Certainly, for the iniquity of man's covetousness God was, by His very nature, moved with wrath and condemnation. The question is not, How could a good God send anyone to Hell?. the question is, How could a good God send a sinner to Heaven? He could not. Therefore, He woked out a way to make sinners good enough to go to Heaven. The Hebrew word batsa-' is translated covetousness and means unjust gain, to spoil, to plunder, to defraud, It was this deliberate, often violent defrauding of one's fellow man that moved Jehovah through the centuries to smite Israel. Still she kept on turning away from Him (Heb. shovav) or backsliding. To turn away from God is to go backwards. Many men have thought that turning away from God and the Bible was to advance. But history has proved over and over that turning away from God and the Bible is regression for humanity.

Now the purpose of God's smiting is to heal. This healing is a spiritual healinga healing of the inner man (cf. Isaiah 19:22; Isaiah 53:5; Hosea 5:13; Hosea 6:1; Hosea 14:4; Jeremiah 17:14; Jeremiah 30:17, etc.). God, the divine surgeon, had to use drastic, radical surgery to heal Israel, for she resisted it adamantly (cf. Jeremiah 6:14; Jeremiah 8:11; Jeremiah 15:18, etc.). The healing process began with the smiting at the captivity, continued through the rescue from captivity and the indignation of the post-exilic centuries, and was finally accomplished in the Servant through whose stripes we are healed, (Isaiah 53:5 ff). And that is precisely, we believe, the relationship of Isaiah 57:19 to this context, inasmuch as it appears to be fulfilled in Acts 10:36 and Ephesians 2:17. God's healing was reconciliation of Himself to man (Isaiah 53:1 ff). Reconciliation (healing) in the plan of the God of all mankind was ultimately to be provided for all men. Thus, when peace (reconciliation) was declared to those near and to those afar, it was done in the completed work of the Messiah. Again, the missionary call rings forth from the Gospel prophet of the O.T.

QUIZ

1.

What does the term Cast ye up. imply about the Hebrew return from captivity?

2.

Why stress the nature of God here?

3.

Why emphasize that God dwells in the contrite and humble hearted?

4.

How does God revive the humble hearted?

5.

Why did God have to smite Israel to heal?

6.

Who all are to be recipients of God's healing?

7.

Where is the fulfillment of Isaiah 57:19?