Isaiah Chapter 57
The bed of the righteous
Why do the righteous suffer? Why do the righteous perish?
This is a question that many people struggle when they see evil things happen to people who are God-fearing and devout.
It seems that God is unfair and they cannot reconcile their understanding of God’s nature with what they see happening or experience for themselves.
This is what Isaiah 57:1 describes. The righteous perish, and the merciful (the ESV reads “Devout men”) are taken away (meaning they die), and no one understands (the NKJV reads “no one considers”).
Yes, people may struggle to understand why evil befalls the God-fearing.
An answer is given in this verse: the righteous die, so that they are taken away from evil, and they enter into peace.
As strange as this may be to a person of this world, in the perspective of our faith, this makes complete sense. To remain in this world is to remain in a place corrupted by sin and headed towards eventual destruction. To die in the Lord is to rest and be preserved from such evil, and from falling to such evil.
It also is a reminder to me that God’s ways and thoughts are often higher than man’s thoughts. What seems good and bad to us may not be so in God’s eyes.
The bed of the idolators
One big question I had when I was growing up reading the stories of the Israelites was – why did the Israelites like worshipping idols so much?
When I heard from various preachers that it was because the idol worship involved fornication, I was puzzled, because at that time I had not read bible passages stating explicitly that they worshipped idols by fornication.
Reading this chapter, it seems clear to me from the graphic passages that the Israelites did in fact worship idols by fornication.
Verse 5 talks about how they have inflamed themselves with gods under every green tree (other bible verses read “burn with lust among the oaks…”).
Verse 7 talks about the people of God setting up their bed on a lofty and high mountain to offer sacrifice.
Verse 8 mentions that they have uncovered themselves to those other than God and have enlarged their bed and seen the nudity of others.
Today, we know idolatry doesn’t just take the form of praying to other Gods. Spiritual idolatry is committed where we desire, love, serve and trust in something more than the Lord God. We should be careful to ensure that we do not become spiritual idolators; the spiritual equivalent of the Israelites at that time.
In this passage, the beds of the idolators are contrasted with the beds of the righteous. The beds of the righteous are beds of peace, whilst the beds of the idolators will become graves of the idolators because God will destroy them. Holding this close to our hearts, perhaps will be a shield against our hearts which are prone to wander.
Grace and Peace for the Contrite
On the topic of wandering from God, if we fall and backslide in our faith, our guilt may cause us to shy away from seeking God, just like how Adam and Eve hid themselves from the face of God after they ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
We should feel guilty, unworthy and ashamed for our sins.
But God’s grace has opened a new and living way for us (Heb 10:20) to draw near to Him. Hebrews 10:20 seems to echo Isaiah 57:14, where God declares that every obstruction should be removed from the way of the people, which is to be built up. God, through His almighty hand and outstretched arm makes it possible for us to draw near to Him.
God wants us to have a channel to access Him, and this way is accessible for those with a contrite and lowly spirit. Because the sacrifices of a contrite and broken heart, God will not despise.
Persistent backsliding
God sees all of our ways.
He sees us struggling with our sins. He is grieved when we are disobedient. He chides us hoping that we will turn around.
Sometimes (if we are sensitive enough to realize it is the chiding of God) we heed His chiding.
But sometimes, our hearts are stubborn, and we continue in our backsliding, in spite of His chastening. This is the condition Isaiah 57:17 describes:
“For the iniquity of his covetousness,
I was angry and struck him;
I hid and was angry,
And he went on backsliding in the way of his heart.”
Sometimes, we are just like the Israelites. We suffer the consequences of our sins. God hides His face from us, and yet, we still go on backsliding in the way of our heart.
Yet out of God’s mercies, despite the continual backsliding He has seen, God magnanimously declares His intention that He will heal. God declares in Isaiah 57:18
“I have seen his ways, but I will heal him; I will lead him and restore comfort to him and his mourners”
The last words (that I have emphasized) are important. It reminds us that God will extend His grace, but only if we are remorseful over our sins (as though we are mourning for the death of a loved one!).
Having such boundless grace extended to us, let us cherish and hold dearly this grace. Let us repent and be remorseful over our sins. Then let us turn back, and resolve never to commit them again. Let us not squander God’s grace, but repay Him daily, starting from the little things in our lives.
What is one thing you know you struggle to obey God in?
Let today be the day you stop the backsliding!
