Isaiah 59 - Bible Study in 5 Minutes

Isaiah 59 Short Summary:

Judah’s sins had separated them from God, and their country was soaked in sin. Isaiah confessed for his people and acknowledged that his fellow citizens were far from being what God wanted them to be. God declared that He would see justice done, even if He had to do it Himself. He told the people He would take vengeance on the wicked and send a Redeemer to save the repentant.

Isaiah 59 Bible Study

TIMELINE:

• The prophetic ministry of Isaiah spanned the reigns of King Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah.

• Isaiah’s ministry is thought to span from 739-681 BC.

KEY CHARACTERS:

• Isaiah – The son of Amoz (1:1). God commissioned Isaiah as His prophet to Judah.

• The People of Judah – They were separated from God because of their sins.  

DEFINITIONS:

• Adder (59:5) – A general term for various kinds of poisonous snakes.

OUTLINE:

• JUDAH FULL OF EVIL AND SEPARATED FROM GOD (59:1-13):

  • In a previous chapter, the people of Judah accused God of abandoning them, but Isaiah reminded them that it was not God’s absence or inability to help them that was preventing them from getting help, it was their sins that were the problem.

  • “The Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, or His ear dull, that it cannot hear; but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear” (59:1-2).

  • The people of Judah had blood on their hands, lies on their lips, and rottenness in their hearts.

  • They were like poisonous snakes and web spinning spiders, always weaving webs and biting others.

  • In their sins they walked in darkness and gloom, unable to find the light. They stumbled in the daylight as if it were midnight.

  • Isaiah confessed for his people, saying, “Our transgressions are multiplied before You [God], and our sins testify against us; for our transgressions are with us and we know our iniquities; transgressing, and denying the Lord, and turning back from following our God, speaking oppression and revolt, conceiving and uttering from the heart lying words” (59:12-13).

• THE REDEEMER COMES TO ZION (59:14-21):

  • The wickedness that permeated Judah displeased the Lord, and He observed that there was no one to intercede and guide Judah back to moral living.

  • God determined to do the job Himself!

  • He would suit Himself with a breastplate, the helmet of salvation, and garments of vengeance to punish the wicked.

  • Like a rushing stream and a strong wind God would overwhelm evil.

  • But God also promised to send a Redeemer to Zion to save those who were willing to turn away from their sins.

  • To those who would repent, God also promised that His Spirit and His words would remain with them forevermore.  

APPLICATION:

• It’s an honor and privilege for humans to be given the opportunity to fight along side the Lord in the cause of righteousness.

• The New Testament writers often portray Christians as soldiers, and their armor is described by Paul in Ephesians 6:10-18.

• We are to suit up in the fight against good and evil.

• Our true struggle isn’t against men, but against “rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Eph 6:12). een on step 1.