Isaiah 65

Isaiah focused on two aspects in this chapter, firstly to describe the character of God, a very special God and secondly, to describe the condition of the remnant seed as compared to the remnant weed at the end-time. Several aspects of the character of God comes to the fore in this chapter: God approaches the non-approaching (v. 1); there is a written revelation of God’s justice that He will repay everyone according to their deeds (v. 6a-c); that He is a protective God of the remnant seed (v. 8c-e); that He is a God Who hide sins because of repentance (v. 16d-e); that He is a God of speedy actions on the requests of His remnant (v. 24). These are fascinating aspects of God. Even though people did not ask for God He permitted Himself to be sought by them; He permitted Himself to be found by people who did not seek Him (v. 1a-b). He called them to say: “Here am I, here am I” (v. 1c) just like the day He was looking for Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden after they have sinned. The nation did not call on His name (v. 1d). The people are rebellious but “all day long“ He has “spread out My hands” (v. 2a). They walk the way which is not good following their own thoughts (v. 2b). They provoke God to His face and offering sacrifices in gardens and burns incense on bricks (v. 3); sit among graves and spend the night in secret places (v. 4a); the eat swine flesh or ham or pigmeat or pig-sausages (v. 4b); and in their pots are unclean meat (v. 4c) which is lobsters, shellfish, pig, dog-meat or bosingtang, ham, bacon, pig-sausages, viennas, duck, squid, barber-fish, frogs, rabbits, tuna-fish, shark, octopus, and all the list of forbidden animals in Leviticus 11. Even though ceremonial laws are no longer important after Christ, yet, the forbidden animals are still forbidden since they were excluded for practical reasons by Christ, instead of herbivores they were carnivores, raptures, scavengers. They say to God: “Keep to Yourself and do not come near me for I am holier than you” (v. 5a-b). The result of these unholy rebellious actions of the remnant is that it is like smoke in God’s nose, a fire that burns all day (v. 5c-d). There is a written record that God wants justice and that He will repay all according to their deeds (v. 6). God will count both their iniquities and the iniquities of their fathers together (v. 7a). The reason is they have burned incense on the mountains for idols and gods (v. 7b) and on the hills they worshipped these gods and “scorned” God (v. 7c). God will measure their former work into their bosom (v. 7d). Then we learn of God’s intention to protect the remnant “I will act on behalf of My servants in order not to destroy all of them” (v. 8c-d). The result of this protective action of God is that He will bring an “offspring of Jacob and an heir of My mountains from Judah” (v. 9a-b). The Lord will gather them at the Second Coming and “even My chosen ones shall inherit it” [heavenly Zion or heavenly Jerusalem] (v. 9c). “And My servants shall dwell there” (v. 9d). Where in this earth geographically Sharon is “shall be a pasture land for flocks” and where in this earth history Achor is, on the new earth recreated by God, it shall be “a resting place for herds” (v. 10). It shall be “for My people [the remnant seed] who seek Me” (v. 10c). This is the beautiful events that will take place for the faithful remnant but the weeds in the remnant, the unfaithful will have a different destiny in the eschaton. “Those who forsake the Lord, who forget My holy mountain [the sanctuary message in heaven where the throne-room of God is which is also called the mountain of the Lord] who set a table for fortune [magic, spiritism, Satan’s deceptions] and who fill with mixed wine for Destiny” (v. 11) the Lord will destine for the sword and slaughter [of the first coming shock of His glory and for the Hell after the millennium for final eradication]. “I called but you did not answer” which means that throughout their lives from birth to death, they did not pay heed to the call of the Lord (v. 12d). They did evil in the sight of the Lord and “chose that in which I did not delight” (v. 12e-f). When Isaiah opened the next panel of the end-time, he makes a comparison between the remnant seed and what will happen to them and the remnant weed and their events: remnant seed will eat but the remnant weed will be hungry (v. 13b); remnant seed will drink but the remnant weed will be thirsty (v. 13c); remnant seed will rejoice but the remnant weed shall be put to shame (v. 13d); remnant seed will shout joyfully with a glad heart but the remnant weed shall wail with a heavy heart (v. 14a-b); the remnant weed shall wail with a broken spirit (v. 14c); the remnant weed’s name shall be for a curse to the remnant seed (v. 15a); the Lord will slay the remnant weed and the remnant seed will call them by another name (v. 15c); remnant seed shall be blessed by the God of truth on the new earth (v. 16a-b); the remnant seed who shall swear on the new earth shall do so by the God of truth (v. 16c-d); the remnant seed’s former troubles are forgotten by God because God will hide it from His sight (v. 16e-f). We know it is not during this history between the eternity past and eternity future because Isaiah linked the previous events for the remnant seed with the causal particle “for” (ki) “I create new heavens and a new earth” (v. 17a). It is not only in Revelation 21:1 that the concept existed or that it was invented by John on Patmos. This new earth concept was explained to Adam and Eve in Eden already and existed in every generation. People will not remember on the new earth the former things (v. 17b). They will rejoice “forever in what I create for behold I create Jerusalem rejoicing” (v. 18a-b). He creates the remnant seed “her people” gladness (v. 18c). God will be present there just like Joel saw in vision at the end of His book that God is in Zion (Joel 3:17) so here God says “I will also rejoice in Jerusalem and be glad in My people” (v. 18d). Evil will not be present in the New Jerusalem “and there will no longer be heard in her the voice of weeping and the sound of crying” for eternity came and evil does not exist (v. 19b-c). “No longer will there be an infant days” (v. 20a) like they charter the progress of the fetus in days and week schedules in this earthly history because eternity is forever. “Or an old man who does not live out his days” because in the evil of this history, old men are not living out their days, they die before they reach 80 or 90 (v. 20b). For the accursed (v. 20e) “the youth will die at the age of hundred” (v. 20c) meaning that hardly any one get older than a century in this history between eternity past and eternity future “and the one who does not reach the age of one hundred shall be accursed” for that is what the situation is in this history but not so in eternity. One is not suppose to live to a 100 because there is no death in eternity, this is what Isaiah means here. Only the accursed or evil die whether 100 or earlier. “No longer . . .” of verse 20a includes all the this-world conditions listed after the statement and the cherry on the cake of the this-world conditions is the term “accursed” which is the evil or the evil of history before eternity starts. On the new earth created by God “they shall build houses and inhabit, they shall also plant vineyards and eat their fruit” (v. 21a-b). Other people will not inhabit their buildings or eat their fruit (v. 22a-b) for “as the life time of a tree, so the days of My people” which means it is the Ancient Near Eastern concept of longitivity (v. 22c). The remnant seed shall enjoy the work of their hands (v. 22d). They shall not labor in vain or bear children for calamity (v. 23a-b) because calamity shall not exist any longer. The reason is that the remnant seed is “the offspring of those blessed by the Lord and their descendants with them” (v. 23c-d). Isaiah describes against the character of God that before they call God already made it to “come to pass” and while they are still speaking “I will hear” (v. 24). The wolf and the lamb shall graze together and the lion shall eat straw like the ox and dust shall be the snake’s food and no longer mice or insects or frogs (v. 25). “They shall do no evil or harm in all My holy mountain, says the Lord” which is not an excited imagination that gripped Isaiah to be full of symbolical metaphors but reality of future conditions spelled out by God.

Dear God

You approach the non-approaching and keep looking for those who do not care about You. Help us to see Your loving and caring character. Save us from ourselves O Lord. Amen.

Koot van Wyk, (DLitt et Phil; ThD) Kyungpook National University, Department of Liberal Education, Sangju, South Korea; conjoint lecturer of Avondale College, Australia