Isaiah 64

CHAPTER 64THEME: God’s control of the universe recognized; man’s condition in the universe confessedThis chapter continues the pleading of the hungry hearts for the presence of God in life’s affairs. No child of God today can be immune to such ardent petitions. The Christian can cry with the same passionate desire, “Even so, come, Lord Jesus!” (see Rev_22:20). This, too, is a neglected section of the Word of God. We have attempted to emphasize this section so that you can see why we hold the premillennial viewpoint and why we believe Christ is coming before the Great Tribulation period. The church will be taken out of the world before the Tribulation. The Lord will come at the end of the Tribulation to establish His Kingdom. This is not just a theory. This is what we find in the Book of Isaiah.

We have looked at Isaiah almost verse by verse, and the prophet has presented a very definite program. The Word of God simply does not give isolated verses to prove some particular theory of interpretation, but whatever your or my theory is, it has to fit in place. Some of the theories I hear today remind me of the lady who went into the shoestore to get a pair of shoes. The salesman asked, “What size do you wear?” The lady replied that she could wear a size four, but a size five felt so much better that she always bought a size six or sometimes a seven. There are some theories, as far as the Word of God is concerned, that require a size change because they simply don’t fit.

Isaiah 64:1

GOD’S CONTROL OF THE UNIVERSE RECOGNIZEDThe prophet is a representative of the believing remnant of Israel in that future day. Again he is using the past tense, which is called a prophetic tense. That is, God sees it as having already taken place, and He gives the prophecy to Isaiah from the other side, looking back at the event. The prophet is pleading with God just as the remnant of Israel will do in that day of the Great Tribulation. This Scripture is not written to usthe church is not in view here. It is addressed to the remnant of Israel, but as believers we can identify with them. Our prayer today should be for the return of the Lord. “Even so, come, Lord Jesus.” But it is clear in this section that Isaiah is predicting Israel’s prayer during the Great Tribulation period.

Isaiah 64:2

Just as fire makes water boil, so the presence of God would make the nations tremble. Today the nations are not conscious of the existence of God. There are people who wonder how we can sit down with godless nations like Russia or China. The reason is that we are just about as godless as they are. In our day the nations of the world are not turning to God, nor do they recognize Him. However, as the end of the age approaches, I believe there will be a very real consciousness that God is getting ready to break through. There was that consciousness throughout the world at the time of the birth of Christ, and several Roman historians have called attention to that fact.

Isaiah 64:3

The very mountains meltthat is, become moltenat His presence. The enemies then will cry for the mountains to hide them from “…the wrath of the Lamb” (Rev_6:16).

Isaiah 64:4

Paul expresses this same thought in 1Co_2:9 when he says, “But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.” Paul goes on to say, “But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God” (1Co_2:10). 1Co_2:9 is obviously a quote from Isaiah, but verse 1Co_2:10 tells us that in our day the Holy Spirit will reveal these things unto us. In the day of the Great Tribulation they will have to wait until Christ comes. And even for us it can be said, “For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known” (1Co_13:12). All through this section we can identify with these people, for we have a hope also. We are looking for Him to take us out of the world, and they will be looking for Him to come and establish a kingdom here on the earth. My friend, it seems to me that the only folk who miss this distinction are the theologians. Failure to recognize that Christ is going to take the church up to meet Him in the air and that He is coming down to the earth to establish His Kingdom gives us some upside-down theology.

Isaiah 64:5

Here begins the acknowledgment of sins and, at the same time, an expression of confidence in the redemption of the Savior.

Isaiah 64:6

MAN’S CONDITION IN THE UNIVERSE CONFESSEDThis verse is familiar because it is used very frequently to establish the fact that man has no righteousness per se; that is, man has no righteousness in himself whatsoever. This is not only true of Israel but it is also true of the entire human family. Both Jew and Gentile alike have sinned and come short of the glory of God. “We are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags.” It does not matter what we might consider to be good works. It may sound pretty good to give a million dollars to feed the poor and hungry or to care for little orphans and widows, but in God’s sight anything that the flesh produces is as filthy rags. You cannot bring a clean thing out of an unclean thing. A lost sinner is unable to do anything that is acceptable to Godhe must first come to God His way. This is very difficult for man to acceptespecially the unsaved man who is depending upon his good works to save him.

Isaiah 64:8

God is our Father by creation, but man lost that image. You and I can become sons of God in only one way, and that is through Christ. The New Testament revelation of the sons of God is not by creation at all, but on an entirely different basis. In Joh_1:12-13 we read, “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” “We all are the work of thy hand” is a recognition that God is our Creator. He is the Potter, the One who creates. Now, a man that makes a vessel or a pretty vase is, in a sense, the father of it. In this same way we speak of George Washington as being the father of our country. Paul makes this distinction in his speech in Athens: “For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring. Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man’s device” (Act_17:28-29). Man is the offspring of God in that he was created by Him, but not all men are the born-again sons of God. Paul is saying that since God has created us, we ought not to make an image and say that it is a likeness of God. In doing so we would be attempting to create God, and God has forbidden that.

Isaiah 64:10

The description given in this verse was not true in Isaiah’s day, but it came to pass shortly afterwards when Babylon came against Jerusalem. 2Ki_25:9-10 tell us, “And he burnt the house of the LORD, and the king’s house, and all the houses of Jerusalem, and every great man’s house burnt he with fire. And all the army of the Chaldees, that were with the captain of the guard, brake down the walls of Jerusalem round about.” Isaiah’s prophecy was literally fulfilled.

Isaiah 64:11

Isaiah writes as if this has already taken place, but it didn’t happen until about one hundred years after Isaiah. The temple was destroyed at the same time Jerusalem was destroyed.

Isaiah 64:12

The prophet closes this chapter with a question: Will God refuse to act? The remainder of Isaiah’s prophecy is God’s answer to this question. God rejected Israel only after they rejected Him, but it did not thwart His plan and purpose for them and for the earth. God has carried through with His program, which is yet to be finalized.