The Wheat and the Weeds: Holy Living in a Mixed-up World

The mention of the king and envoys in verse 9 may hark back to Hezekiah’s faithless overtures toward Egypt (Isa 30:1-7) in order to warn future kings not to act that way. The Lord is determined to expose fear of man and failure to fear him (51:12-13). God will give their idols a chance to “rescue” them, which they will not do because they are chaff that the wind will blow away (57:13). God’s tendency to hide and to be silent leads people to question his existence and fail to fear him as they should (v. 11). It is so in our day as well: people cannot see God, and they connect dots in life that “prove” there is no God, so they do not fear him, love him, or trust him. Again, these verses seem to be dealing with preexilic sins during Manasseh’s reign (2 Kgs 21:6), which would lead to the exile in Babylon.

Isaiah 57:13b-19

Suddenly, the text turns back again to the righteous, promising that they will inherit the land and possess God’s holy mountain. God will build up the highway and remove every obstacle for his people to reach him, to dwell with him (v. 14).

Isaiah 57:15 is one of the greatest verses in the book; it describes God’s person and dwelling place, as well as those with whom God desires to dwell. God is revealed as the “High and Exalted One, who lives forever, whose name is holy.” What awesome words! They reveal God’s supremacy above all creation, the infinite gap that separates him from the whole universe. He is eternally alive, and his kingdom will go on forever. How could any sinner ever live in the presence of such a holy God? But because of the atoning work of Jesus Christ on the cross, God is willing to live with oppressed sinners who are lowly of spirit. God promises to revive the spirit of the lowly and the heart of the oppressed who will come to him in repentance and faith.

Verses 16-19 assert that these people so exalted as to live in the presence of this holy God are nothing more than sinners saved by grace. They deserved to be accused for sin, and their sins made God angry with them (v. 16). They were sinfully greedy, stubborn in pursuing the sinful desires of their hearts (v. 17). But God, because of the greatness of his grace and mercy, was willing to heal them of their ways, though he saw every evil thing they did (v. 18). The result of this astonishing healing grace was the creation (out of nothing, as in Gen 1:1) of praise on the lips of these repentant sinners (v. 19). God gives “peace, peace” (perfect peace) to those both “far or near” (Jews or Gentiles who trust in Christ) (Eph 2:17).

Isaiah 57:20-21

But tragically, the wicked will never know this peace. The New Testament speaks of a status of peace with God through justification by faith in Christ (Rom 5:1) and an experience of peacefulness that comes by trusting in Christ Jesus no matter what the circumstances (Phil 4:6-7). The wicked have neither. They are at war with God, and their hearts are constantly restless, churning up “mire and muck” through their filthy lusts and dirty deeds. “‘There is no peace for the wicked,’ says my God” (v. 21). This condemnation from God is in direct contrast with verses 15-19, referring not merely to earthly restlessness but to the eternity of wrath that follows such a life. The wicked in their restless roaming are exactly like their father, the devil, who is frequently portrayed in Scripture as roaming restlessly over the surface of the earth (Job 1:7; 2:2; see also the demons in Matt 12:43).

Christians should expect to live their daily lives in a mixed world, surrounded constantly by those who are refusing to sit at the banquet table of Isaiah 55. But we should also celebrate the amazing grace of God in the new covenant, welcoming by faith in Christ aliens and strangers, eunuchs and the uncircumcised, who would have been excluded in the old covenant. The promise made to the eunuchs in 56:5 is sweet to childless couples who are active in evangelism and missions. Even if they can’t have physical children, they can lead others to Christ and gain “a memorial and a name better than sons and daughters.”

The exposure and condemnation of lazy, self-indulgent leaders is a timeless warning for every generation. Each of us struggles with the fleshly desire to live for food and drink, for earthly pleasures. Leaders have both greater responsibilities and greater temptations in these areas. Elders of local churches should read such descriptions of corrupt leaders and pray that God would protect them from these same kinds of sins.

Isaiah 57:1-2 is a vital reminder that the godly are taken out of this world to be spared from evil and by dying enter into peace in Christ. This will help especially those who grieve over Christians who die young.

Isaiah’s exposure of the Canaanitish idolatry in Isaiah 57:3-13 resonates with us who live in an increasingly pagan Western world.

We should memorize Isaiah 57:15 and realize that we cannot have too high a view of God’s exalted holiness or too amazed a reaction that such a God would dwell with sinners like us.

Finally, Isaiah 57:20-21 accurately diagnoses the reason for the constant strife in the world, both at the personal and the international levels. Nations usually go to war against nations because their godless leaders are restless, seeking consolation in the possessions of their neighbors.