Isaiah 57:6-10

2. SENSUALITY

TEXT: Isaiah 57:6-10

6

Among the smooth stones of the valley is thy portion; they, they are thy lot; even to them hast thou poured a drink-offering, thou hast offered an oblation. Shall I be appeased for these things?

7

Upon a high and lofty mountain hast thou set thy bed; thither also wentest thou up to offer sacrifice.

8

And behind the doors and the posts hast thou set up thy memorial: for thou hast Uncovered thyself to another than me, and art gone up; thou hast enlarged thy bed, and made thee a covenant with them; thou lovedst their bed where thou sawest it.

9

And thou wentest to the king with oil, and didst increase thy perfume, and didst send thine ambassadors far off, and didst debase thyself even unto Sheol.

10

Thou wast wearied with the length of thy way; yet saidst thou not, It is in vain; thou didst find a quickening of thy strength; therefore thou wast not faint.

QUERIES

a.

What is the portion called among the smooth stones?

b.

Where is behind the doors and the posts?

c.

How could they be wearied and yet find quickening of strength?

PARAPHRASE

You stupid people. You go down into the valleys and take the stones worn smooth by the rains and winds and make them your gods. You have declared that these rocks are the focus of all your existence. You worship rocks with wine and grain offerings. Do you think this is acceptable to Me, the Living God? You have not allowed any obstacle to deter you from entering into the gross sexual immoralities connected with your idolatry. You laboriously carry your beds up steep mountains and set them there to aid in your indulgence. Up there you also haul all your offerings and sacrifices. The scripture plaques that are supposed to be where they can be seen on the door-posts of your homes you have deliberately hidden behind the posts. You have done this because you have committed yourselves to total intimacy in idolatry and immorality. You take off your clothes and climb into your large beds up among the groves of the hills along with those prostitutes you have paid to have sexual intercourse with you. This is your consuming passion, Israel! You spared yourself no trouble in developing these abominable practices as your way of life. A long time ago you sent merchants and envoys to pagan kings trading your goods for their gods. You continued to go out of your way to make yourself more and more comfortable to heathen practices. You allowed yourself to be debased with a rottenness like that of the grave in order to practice your immorality. All this made you physically and psychologically weary but you never admitted the stupidity of it all because you found a certain intoxicating, exhilaration in your rebellious immorality. So, you kept it up!

COMMENTS

Isaiah 57:6-8 PRESENT: The depravity of the rulers and leaders infected the whole nation. The smooth stones of the valley apparently are to be linked to the idolatry being practiced. Perhaps they were using these smooth stones to build altars (which in itself was forbidden; not even to Jehovah was an altar to be built anywhere except in Jerusalem) to pagan gods. They might have been using the smooth stones to chisel into images of Molech or other idols. The question of Jehovah through His prophet is, almost incredulous, Do you actually believe this is acceptable to Me, the Living God!? Worshiping rocks!? The worship of Molech (in Hebrew the word means, governing), god of the Ammonites, was best noted for its gross sexual orgies and sacrifice of children. It was already forbidden by Moses (Leviticus 18:21; Leviticus 20:1-5); allowed by Solomon to please his foreign wives (1 Kings 11:7); principally worshipped in the valley of Hinnom (Gehenna) (2 Chronicles 33:6). The words Moloch, Molech, Milcom (1 Kings 11:5) and Malcam (Zephaniah 1:5) are all variations of the same image. (See Minor Prophets, by Clinton Gill, College Press, pgs. 22-38; and Ezekiel 16:20; Ezekiel 23:37-39; Jeremiah 7:9-11; Jeremiah 7:31; Jeremiah 19:4-13; Psalms 106:35-42; for further information on the worship of Molech.)

Setting up a bed upon a high and lofty mountain indicates extensive and elaborate preparations were made by the Hebrews in order to engage in these Canaanite fertility-cult practices. There were special groves of trees, well-kept flower gardens and elaborately furnished temples high up in the hills of Jehovah's holy land where the men and women went to worship at the throne of flesh. Great amounts of labor and money were spent building and maintaining these whore-houses. The worship of flesh is not dead! Great amounts of labor and money are expended today to build and maintain modern sophisticated whore-houses. The Anglo-saxon fertility cult has its groves, prophets, priestesses, publishing-houses, and temples today in both America and Great Britain.

One might wonder how the Hebrew people could ever succumb to such gross depravity. They had the Law of Moses. They even copied some of those Laws and fastened them to the doorposts of their houses so they might be reminded constantly of Jehovah's presence and His revealed will. Verse eight tells the tragic story! These people had deliberately taken these memorials of scripture off their door-posts and hidden them behind the posts. Out of sight, out of mind! The Hebrew people had long ago rejected the word of God (2 Kings 17:19; 2 Chronicles 36:16; Amos 2:4, etc.). Incredibly, the books of the Law of the Lord had even been lost at one point in Judah's history (cf. 2 Kings 22:8 ff). These people had prostituted themselves to pagan gods. What they were doing was no accident. It was not because they had been socially deprived, or because they were born in a ghetto. They voluntarily chose to uncover themselves to another. This is a figurative description of the intimacy with which they joined themselves to their idols. They really gave themselves to idolatry; they married their pagan gods (made. a covenant). That is not unique. People today marry their possessions, their jobs, their recreation. These Jews loved their idol-beds (orgies). They were not forced into idolatry.

Isaiah 57:9-10 PAST: Judah's past history was replete with instances of her kings and leaders going to pagan kings for help in bringing idolatry into the land of Jehovah (cf. 2 Kings 16:10 ff; 2 Chronicles 28:22 ff; Isaiah 30:1 ff; Amos 5:25-27, etc.). Ezekiel's graphic parody of Judah's idolatry (spiritual adultery) pictures the nation, the bride of Jehovah, as an adulterous nymphomaniac! She did not play the part of a normal prostitute accepting pay for her adultery. She went after her lovers, paying them to practice spiritual harlotry with her (Ezekiel 16:23-34)! Judah could not invent enough idolatry on her ownshe had to send ambassadors to other nations to copy their idolatry for themselves. Sheol symbolized the grave, the place where human flesh rots. Graves were associated with that which was unclean according to the Mosaic Law. Isaiah declares Judah debased herself even unto rottenness, corruption and death by joining herself so intimately and wholly to idolatry.

Judah expended great effort, millions of shekels, and willingly allowed herself to be humiliated before pagan kings in her insatiable lust for idolatry. Judah wore herself out running after every opportunity to engage in it. Prophets likened Israel's pursuit of idolatry to a wild ass in heat (cf. Jeremiah 2:23-24; Hosea 8:9 ff). Pursuing idolatry as Judah did was expensive, exhausting and debasing, but she never would admit the obvious: It is vain. As a matter of fact, she found a certain intoxication and exhilaration in it. Sin and rebellion is enticing because it intoxicates with a false sense of power. Man in rebellion against God falsely assumes an exhilarating sense of sovereignty. His brain, intoxicated with this false sovereignty, is philosophically and psychologically addled and he will not admit the stupidity of his rebellion. He floats in a fantasy-land of philosophical inebriation like the drunkard. He has a false sense of strength. This was Judah. She would not admit the stupidity of idolatry (cf. Isaiah 44:9-20) because she was inebriated with the indulgent pleasure and false sovereignty she felt in practicing it.

QUIZ

1.

What were the people doing with the smooth stones?

2.

What was involved in the worship of Molech?

3.

To what pains did these people go to practice their idolatry?

4.

Would the Hebrew people reject the Law of Moses?

5.

To what extent did Judah go after idolatry?

6.

What is so invigorating about sin and idolatry?