Isaiah 57:1-13--Israel's Futile Idolatry

Isaiah 57:1-13
English Standard Version

Israel's Futile Idolatry
57 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;
2     he enters into peace;
they rest in their beds
    who walk in their uprightness.
3 But you, draw near,
    sons of the sorceress,
    offspring of the adulterer and the loose woman.
4 Whom are you mocking?
    Against whom do you open your mouth wide
    and stick out your tongue?
Are you not children of transgression,
    the offspring of deceit,
5 you who burn with lust among the oaks,
    under every green tree,
who slaughter your children in the valleys,
    under the clefts of the rocks?
6 Among the smooth stones of the valley is your portion;
    they, they, are your lot;
to them you have poured out a drink offering,
    you have brought a grain offering.
    Shall I relent for these things?
7 On a high and lofty mountain
    you have set your bed,
    and there you went up to offer sacrifice.
8 Behind the door and the doorpost
    you have set up your memorial;
for, deserting me, you have uncovered your bed,
    you have gone up to it,
    you have made it wide;
and you have made a covenant for yourself with them,
    you have loved their bed,
    you have looked on nakedness.
9 You journeyed to the king with oil
    and multiplied your perfumes;
you sent your envoys far off,
    and sent down even to Sheol.
10 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.

11 Whom did you dread and fear,
    so that you lied,
and did not remember me,
    did not lay it to heart?
Have I not held my peace, even for a long time,
    and you do not fear me?
12 I will declare your righteousness and your deeds,
    but they will not profit you.
13 When you cry out, let your collection of idols deliver you!
    The wind will carry them all off,
    a breath will take them away.
But he who takes refuge in me shall possess the land
    and shall inherit my holy mountain.

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The sorcerers and false prophets are trying to undo the prophecy of the LORD by asking their false gods to save them and assuming they are more powerful than the LORD and can thwart His plans.  However, it is obvious that they are the ones troubled by the news of impending judgment as they know they are the ones that deserve it, and the LORD lays out the indictment of all the things they have been doing that make them worthy of judgment.  However, the righteous are resting and sleeping comfortably because they know that the LORD will protect them, and, even if He does not save them from death, they will be welcomed into His presence and have perfect peace.  Therefore, the righteous have no need to fret.

God says that there will be some irony for the priests and false prophets--the very places they went to spill the innocent blood of children and to pray for salvation will be the place where their blood will be shed, and no one will save them.  Also, notice the connection between idolatry and sexual immorality.  The two are so connected in the Bible.  The wicked seek to twist and pervert every command of the LORD and all of His good design starting with God making them male and female and the covenant of marriage that was given in the Garden before sin entered the world.  There's also another side to that coin though and it is that those who want to be sexually perverse will find that it is forbidden by the LORD and His commands, so they make a god of their own creation and imagination (even if they call it the LORD like the Israelites did at Mount Sinai) that will allow them to give into their degraded lusts and passions.  Listen carefully to the people of today.  Even though they may not make an idol of gold, silver, wood, or stone, they say things like, "The god that I believe in" that reveal that they have made a god of their own imagination and creation that winks and nods at their sin so that they believe they can continue in sin without guilt or shame--maybe even being like these priests, priestesses, and false prophets who claim that this debauchery is an act of worship.

They have tried to make allies with evil kings and were even willing to try to make a deal with the devil against the LORD to try to keep His plan from coming to pass.  They honestly believed that they could cause the LORD's plans to fail.  Never once did they think that their plans were hopeless and futile, because the LORD gave them over to strong delusions so that they would be caught up in the judgment that they deserved.

God has put up with this foolishness from His "children" for far too long.  He is longsuffering, but that does not mean that there will not come a time for correction, judgment, and acting to protect His children--even if He is protecting them from themselves.  He tells those trusting in their false gods to turn to them and cry out to them for salvation in the day of judgment and see that they have chosen the losing side.  Their idols (and everything and everyone they hoped in) would be destroyed.  However, those who put their hope and trust in the LORD would stand firm in His promises and would one day return to His Holy Mountain (Mount Zion, that is, Jerusalem) and worship Him again in that place and would live there again in the Land that people knew as the place where the Spirit of the LORD resides among His people.