CHAPTER 57

(698 B.C.)

GODS CARE FOR THE RIGHTEOUS

¹The righteous perish and no man lays it to heart: and merciful men are taken away, none considering that the righteous is taken away from the evil to come. (The word translated perish does not imply violence, but the context implies a premature death. The righteous disappear are taken from the Earth before their natural time.

The Text is so structured that, in effect, the Holy Spirit is saying that inasmuch as these righteous were not appreciated, but rather hated for their Godly walk, and as such were a rebuke to ungodly but religious Israel, the Lord prematurely took them away in death.

No man lays it to heart, refers to the fact that no one asked what it means no one is disturbed, no one grieves.

And merciful men are taken away, implies that mercy was found only in these few righteous. When these were taken, very little mercy was left in the religious heart of spiritually demented Israel!

None considering that the righteous is taken away from the evil to come, refers to the fact that God may permit the premature death of His servants as an escape from calamities worse than death [I Ki. 14:13; II Ki. 22:20].)

²He shall enter into peace: they shall rest in their beds, each one walking in his uprightness. (The pronoun he refers to the righteous man of Verse 1, while the pronoun they refers to the same. He shall enter into peace, refers to a state of peace. Walking in his uprightness, has to do with walking according to the Word of God, and not according to public opinion, or the false paths of these religious hypocrites.)

THE WICKED AND UNFAITHFUL REBUKED

³But draw near hither, you sons of the sorceress, the seed of the adulterer and the whore. (Sorcery has to do with seeking leading and guidance from anything other than the Word of God. As well, the words, adulterer and the whore, refer to Israel being unfaithful to God, Who was actually their Husband, and taking up with idols.

Paul referred to Believers who placed their trust and faith in anything except Christ and Him Crucified as spiritual adulterers. It is basically the same as this which Isaiah says [Rom. 7:1-4].)

⁴Against whom do you sport yourselves? against whom do you make a wide mouth, and draw out the tongue? are you not children of transgression, a seed of falsehood (he first phrase of this Verse refers to the fact that this opposition was against God, even though it was directed at the true Prophets [Mat. 25:40]. The wide mouth is a statement expressing scorn. A seed of falsehood, refers to the parents who lived a lie and consequently brought forth a lie, referring to their children! [Prov. 22:6]),

⁵Enflaming yourselves with idols under every green tree, killing the children in the valleys under the clifts of the rocks? (The intent of this Verse is beyond belief! Enflaming yourselves with idols under every green tree, pertains to a practice so despicable that it defies description! The reference is to the orgiastic cults in the sacred groves of Palestinian heathenism, which was accompanied by every type of immorality.

The passage, killing the children in the valleys under the clifts of the rocks, spoke of children offered in sacrifice to the god Moloch. This is how far Judah had fallen!)

⁶Among the smooth stones of the stream is your portion; they, they are your lot: even to them have you poured a drink offering, you have offered a meat offering. Should I receive comfort in these? (The question, Should I receive comfort in these? actually says, Shall I endure with patience such cruelties and abominations? or Can I, Jehovah, be comforted, when My people indulge in such practices?)

⁷Upon a lofty and high mountain have you set your bed: even thither went you up to offer sacrifice. (The word bed refers to altars, with sacrifices offered to idols.)

⁸Behind the doors also and the posts have you set up your remembrance: for you have discovered yourself to another than Me, and are gone up; you have enlarged your bed, and made you a covenant with them; you loved their bed where you saw it. (The words, your remembrance, have to do with idolatrous pictures. God commanded His People to put Text of Scripture upon the walls of their rooms. The Hebrews removed these and replaced them with idolatrous emblems, just as today it is the fashion to banish from homes a Bible Text, and instead hang up pictures of the Madonna and child, and ornament the rooms with crosses and crucifixes [Deut. 6:9; 11:20].

You have enlarged your bed, refers to introducing the worship of every false god.

You loved their bed where you saw it, refers to the altars that were set up even in the homes of the people, and even in very conspicuous places. In other words, they paraded their false worship, wanting all to know of their brazen rebellion!)

⁹And you went to the king with ointment, and did increase your perfumes, and did send your messengers far off, and did debase yourself even unto Hell. (Went to the king, refers to Moloch, which in Hebrew means the king. This idol was worshipped with ointments and perfumes.

And did send your messengers far off, refers to ambassadors sent to distant countries to secure the alliance of idolaters and to bring back their idols and set them up in the Temple of God at Jerusalem.

And did debase yourself even unto Hell, refers to taking on the yoke of groveling superstition, which debased them to the lowest point conceivable, with the ultimate destination being Hell.)

¹⁰You are wearied in the greatness of your way; yet said you not, There is no hope: you have found the life of your hand; therefore you were not grieved. (Judah, in straying so far from the Lord, and seeking aid from all quarters, seemingly would have been wearied with her quest; but she would not confess her weariness, even though it never brought forth any positive results, even as sin and sinners never bring forth positive results.)

¹¹And of whom have you been afraid or feared, that you have lied, and have not remembered Me, nor laid it to your heart? have not I held My peace even of old, and you feared Me not? (And of whom have you been afraid or feared, refers to the fact that Judah feared man, especially Assyria.

Have not I held My peace, refers to the Lord suffering them to go on still in their wickedness not interposing on them severe judgment. Therefore, they had ceased to fear Him, and had feared men instead!

That you have lied, refers to their professed loyalty to Jehovah, but in fact they did not remember Him, nor heartily record His past Goodness and Power; and they misused His long-continued gentleness in not punishing them.)

¹²I will declare your righteousness, and your works; for they shall not profit you. (The word declare refers to the fact that God would expose their hypocritical righteousness and their useless works. He would show that their righteousness, so-called, was in fact unrighteousness.

For they shall not profit you, refers to the eternal Truth that there is no profit in anything other than obedience to Gods Word.)

THE PENITENT ARE REFRESHED; NO PEACE FOR THE WICKED

¹³When you cry, let your companies deliver you; but the wind shall carry them all away; vanity shall take them: but he who puts his trust in Me shall possess the land, and shall inherit My holy mountain (in effect, the Holy Spirit uses sarcasm in telling Judah to cry to their idol gods, and see if they will deliver her!

The words, Let your companies deliver you, refer to the mixture of gods, that if one could not deliver, possibly several could; however, no matter how many gods they produced, all will fail utterly so utterly, that the wind, or rather a breath, shall carry them all away.

Even at this late hour, He says, he who puts his trust in Me shall possess the land, which means to inherit the Promises. This corresponds with Christs great invitation [Mat. 11:28-30]);

¹⁴And shall say, Cast you up, cast you up, prepare the way, take up the stumblingblock out of the way of My People. (The appeal is to the religious leaders of Judah. The Holy Spirit says, Remove the stumblingblock out of the way of My People. The stumblingblock actually was the religious leaders themselves.

It was not an idle threat! Sadly, they would not repent, and this stumblingblock was taken out of the way by Nebuchadnezzar, when he destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple, and took these individuals captive into Babylon.

The same thing happened when Israel rejected Christ. The stumblingblock was then removed, and in such a way that Israel would be without a nation, and would wander as outcasts all over the world for nearly 2,000 years.)

¹⁵For thus says the high and lofty One Who inhabits eternity, Whose Name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also who is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones. (Who inhabits eternity, refers to the fact that God has lived in all the eternity past before the ages of time as we know them now [II Pet., Chpt. 3].

The words, Whose Name is Holy, refer to Gods true Nature.

The Lord condescends to dwell only with those who are humble and have a contrite spirit. To be sure, His Presence is a well of life, springing up within the soul to Everlasting Life [Jn. 4:14].)

¹⁶For I will not contend forever, neither will I be always wroth: for the spirit should fail before Me, and the souls which I have made. (The meaning of the Passage is beautiful! The idea given by the Holy Spirit, For I will not contend forever, refers to Gods Anger that quickly abates. If He were extreme to mark what is done amiss, none could abide it [Ps. 130:3]. If it were otherwise, mans spirit should fail before Me. In other words, man, utterly unable to justify himself, would faint and fade away before the Divine fury. If such were the case, the souls which He has made would all fail, and all likewise perish.

Every effort by the Lord is always with patience, love, compassion, gentleness, and kindness. Every effort is made to restore the wayward one!)

¹⁷For the iniquity of his covetousness was I wroth, and smote him: I hid Me, and was wroth, and he went on frowardly in the way of his heart. (The word covetousness speaks of idolatry here, but yet idolatry that took a different turn.

The words, I hid Me and was wroth, refers to the fact that God, in His dealings with Israel, time and time again, did not unleash His full fury when He smote him, i.e., Israel, but gave many warnings before the final catastrophe.

The froward manner speaks of perverseness and wrong-headedness! Such was Judahs heart and such was the cause of their downfall.)

¹⁸I have seen his ways, and will heal him: I will lead him also, and restore comforts unto him and to his mourners. (So long as Israel practiced idolatry there was no healing; it is only promised to a Repentance which forsakes sin. The action of the statement, I have seen his ways, and will heal him, refers to the fact that God, even though seeing the perverse ways of Israel, still had pity on them, and stood ready to heal them the moment they would turn to Him. The Good Shepherd follows and recalls the wanderers of the flock.)

¹⁹I create the fruit of the lips; Peace, peace to him who is far off, and to him who is near, says the LORD; and I will heal him. (Here God proclaimed peace to the Gentiles, who were far off, and to the Jews, who were near [Eph. 2:13-17]. The message of perfect peace is a Divine Message. It is not of human origination or imagination.

When the Lord heals him, then the fruit of the lips will be praise and thanksgiving.)

²⁰But the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt. (The statement is: the sea is never at rest; it continually casts up mud and dirt. Therefore, it is a true picture of the enemies of Truth. To these there is, and shall be, no peace.)

²¹There is no peace, says my God, to the wicked. (The Divine Title here is Elohim, not Jehovah.

Peace, which God Alone gives, refers to the enmity that has been removed between Him and sinful man, and was done so by and through Christ and what He did for us at the Cross; therefore, this glorious peace can only be obtained by the Believer exhibiting Faith in Christ and what Christ did at the Cross [Rom. 6:3-5; I Cor. 1:17-18, 23; 2:2].)