Isaiah 57

Isaiah 57:1-2 (ESV)

The righteous man perishes,

and no one lays it to heart;

devout men are taken away,

while no one understands.

For the righteous man is taken away from calamity;

he enters into peace;

they rest in their beds

who walk in their uprightness.

These verses remind me of the words of Daniel’s friends as they stood before Nebuchadnezzar. He warned Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego that they would be thrown into the fiery furnace if they refused to bow before his statue. They responded,

O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up (Dan 3:16-18).

They understood and fully believed that God could save them, but if he chose not to, they would still not submit to false worship. Isaiah reminds us that even when the righteous man perishes or is carried away into captivity, he “is taken away from calamity; he enters into peace.” His peace is not dependent on his circumstances.

Righteousness results in peaceful sleep. There is no guilty conscience to keep one awake. There is no fear to plague one’s mind and heart. By contrast, those who are guilty before God are constantly trying to work up positive thoughts. “You were wearied with the length of your way,

 but you did not say, ‘It is hopeless’; you found new life for your strength, and so you were not faint” (Is 57:10). But self-generated positivity only goes so far. “When you cry out, let your collection of idols deliver you! The wind will carry them all off, a breath will take them away” (Is 57:13a). Ultimately the peace of the righteous comes from God. “But he who takes refuge in me shall possess the land and shall inherit my holy mountain” (Is 57:13b). The wicked, despite all their efforts to make life comfortable, and think positively, stand guilty before God and have to answer to him. In the end, there is peace for the righteous, but “‘There is no peace,’ says my God, ‘for the wicked.’”

We need to occasionally stop and ask ourselves the question: What characterizes my life? Am I constantly trying to work up peace and positivity, or an I resting in God’s sovereign grace and mercy? Am I living life my way, or am I living life God’s way? In 1876 Jean S. Pigott penned these words,

Jesus, I am resting, resting,

In the joy of what Thou art;

I am finding out the greatness

Of Thy loving heart.

May that be the truth of my life as well.

A friend asked recently about the difference between the peace of the world and the genuine peace of God. That is a great question. It is the question Isaiah seems to be addressing in this chapter. I think that Isaiah reveals that the peace of God is often experienced in the middle of the storm. The peace of man requires sunny days. The peace of God has nothing to do with external comfort. The peace of man is dependent on external comfort. God’s peace is not dependent on how things turn out. However things go, we trust that God in control, and he has our ultimate good in mind. “Jesus, I am resting, resting.” May that be the reality of your life today.

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Isaiah 57:15 (ESV)

For thus says the One who is high and lifted up,

who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy:

“I dwell in the high and holy place,

and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit,

to revive the spirit of the lowly,

and to revive the heart of the contrite.”

God is, “Our Father who art in Heaven” (Mt 6:9). He is also the one who dwells “with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit” (Is 57:15). He is the God up there. He is also the God right here. He is the God before whom I fall in worship and fear. He is also the God who embraces me in my brokenness and with whom I dance in my times of joy. He is the God who dwells in “unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see” (1Tim 6:16). He is also the God we approach with confidence and boldness “so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” (Heb 4:16). He is the God who is both infinite and intimate.

As the God who is up there, I know that he sees all things. Nothing escapes his attention, and nothing is ever out of his control. Hurricanes don’t take him by surprise. Persecution doesn’t take him by surprise. Believers being beheaded doesn’t catch him unaware. He is “high and lifted up.” He “inhabits eternity” and his “name is Holy.” He is the God who sees the storms of life before the winds ever start to blow. He is sovereign Lord.

As the God who is right here, I know that he is able “to sympathize with our weaknesses” (Heb 4:15). Tommy Walker wrote these lyrics which express the intimacy of God.

He knows my name

He knows my every thought

He sees each tear that falls

And hears me when I call

He is the God of intimate understanding and love.

We cannot divorce these ideas from one another. God is both infinite and intimate. If we ever forget one side of that equation, or overemphasize one aspect over the other, then we slide into error. We must never lose sight of the truth that God dwells “in the high and holy place,

and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit.” He is not just the God who can scale the heights of theological understanding. He is not just the God of the broken. He is always and forever both.