THE REDEEMER WILL COME TO ZION

Isaiah 59:1-21 / Keywords 59:20

“The Redeemer will come to Zion, to those in Jacob who repent of their sins,” declares the LORD.

 

Sin, Confession and Redemption

59:1 Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save,

    nor his ear too dull to hear.

2 But your iniquities have separated

    you from your God;

your sins have hidden his face from you,

    so that he will not hear.

3 For your hands are stained with blood,

    your fingers with guilt.

Your lips have spoken falsely,

    and your tongue mutters wicked things.

4 No one calls for justice;

    no one pleads a case with integrity.

They rely on empty arguments, they utter lies;

    they conceive trouble and give birth to evil.

5 They hatch the eggs of vipers

    and spin a spider’s web.

Whoever eats their eggs will die,

    and when one is broken, an adder is hatched.

6 Their cobwebs are useless for clothing;

    they cannot cover themselves with what they make.

Their deeds are evil deeds,

    and acts of violence are in their hands.

7 Their feet rush into sin;

    they are swift to shed innocent blood.

They pursue evil schemes;

    acts of violence mark their ways.

8 The way of peace they do not know;

    there is no justice in their paths.

They have turned them into crooked roads;

    no one who walks along them will know peace.

9 So justice is far from us,

    and righteousness does not reach us.

We look for light, but all is darkness;

    for brightness, but we walk in deep shadows.

10 Like the blind we grope along the wall,

    feeling our way like people without eyes.

At midday we stumble as if it were twilight;

    among the strong, we are like the dead.

11 We all growl like bears;

    we moan mournfully like doves.

We look for justice, but find none;

    for deliverance, but it is far away.

12 For our offenses are many in your sight,

    and our sins testify against us.

Our offenses are ever with us,

    and we acknowledge our iniquities:

13 rebellion and treachery against the Lord,

    turning our backs on our God,

inciting revolt and oppression,

    uttering lies our hearts have conceived.

14 So justice is driven back,

    and righteousness stands at a distance;

truth has stumbled in the streets,

    honesty cannot enter.

15 Truth is nowhere to be found,

    and whoever shuns evil becomes a prey.

The Lord looked and was displeased

    that there was no justice.

16 He saw that there was no one,

    he was appalled that there was no one to intervene;

so his own arm achieved salvation for him,

    and his own righteousness sustained him.

17 He put on righteousness as his breastplate,

    and the helmet of salvation on his head;

he put on the garments of vengeance

    and wrapped himself in zeal as in a cloak.

18 According to what they have done,

    so will he repay

wrath to his enemies

    and retribution to his foes;

    he will repay the islands their due.

19 From the west, people will fear the name of the Lord,

    and from the rising of the sun, they will revere his glory.

For he will come like a pent-up flood

    that the breath of the Lord drives along.[a]

20 “The Redeemer will come to Zion,

    to those in Jacob who repent of their sins,”

declares the Lord.

21 “As for me, this is my covenant with them,” says the Lord. “My Spirit, who is on you, will not depart from you, and my words that I have put in your mouth will always be on your lips, on the lips of your children and on the lips of their descendants—from this time on and forever,” says the Lord.

Footnotes

a. Isaiah 59:19 Or When enemies come in like a flood, / the Spirit of the Lord will put them to flight

1. The prophet addresses the community of God’s people and possibly the returnees from exile as well. They tried hard to procure God’s favor and blessing, but it didn’t seem to be happening. It’s not because God’s arm is too short to save or his ear is too dull to hear, but it is because of their iniquities and sins. Their hideous sins were violence, injustice, lack of integrity, lying lips, and conspiracies. All their evil hands, evil thoughts, and evil ways come from a heart full of evil; such people know no peace. Indeed, our sins separate us from God and provoke God’s wrath.

 

2. The prophet confesses his people’s many sins: oppression, revolt, turning backs on him, and lying. As a result, they are in darkness and have become blind and directionless. Justice, righteousness, and truth is nowhere to be found and whoever shuns evil becomes prey. Since there was no one to solve the problem of sin, God’s own arm achieved salvation for him. He redeems those who repent of their sins, let his Spirit dwell in them, and put his words on their lips to make them his witnesses. This looks forward to the new covenant through God’s Messiah, Jesus Christ.

 

Prayer Lord, thank you for sending Jesus, my Redeemer. Please let your Spirit never depart from me and put your words always on my lips.

One Word The Redeemer has come!