9 Therefore justice is far from us,
And righteousness does not overtake us;
We hope for light, but behold, darkness,
For brightness, but we walk in gloom.
10 We grope along the wall like blind men,
We grope like those who have no eyes;
We stumble at midday as in the twilight,
Among those who are vigorous we are like dead men.
11 All of us growl like bears,
And moan sadly like doves;
We hope for justice, but there is none,
For salvation, but it is far from us.
12 For our transgressions are multiplied before You,
And our sins [e]testify against us;
For our transgressions are with us,
And [f]we know our iniquities:
13 Transgressing and denying the Lord,
And turning away from our God,
Speaking oppression and revolt,
Conceiving in and uttering from the heart lying words.
14 Justice is turned back,
And righteousness stands far away;
For truth has stumbled in the street,
And uprightness cannot enter.
15 Yes, truth is lacking;
And he who turns aside from evil makes himself a prey.
Now the Lord saw,
And it was [g]displeasing in His sight that there was no justice.
16 And He saw that there was no man,
And was astonished that there was no one to intercede;
Then His own arm brought salvation to Him,
And His righteousness upheld Him.
17 He put on righteousness like a breastplate,
And a helmet of salvation on His head;
And He put on garments of vengeance for clothing
And wrapped Himself with zeal as a mantle.
18 According to their [h]deeds, [i]so He will repay,
Wrath to His adversaries, recompense to His enemies;
To the coastlands He will [j]make recompense.
19 So they will fear the name of the Lord from the west
And His glory from the rising of the sun,
For He will come like a [k]rushing stream
Which the wind of the Lord drives.
20 “A Redeemer will come to Zion,
And to those who turn from transgression in Jacob,” declares the Lord.21 “As for Me, this is My covenant with them,” says the Lord: “My Spirit which is upon you, and My words which I have put in your mouth shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your [l]offspring, nor from the mouth of your [m]offspring’s offspring,” says the Lord, “from now and forever.”
Up to this point, I’ve been impressed (though not in a good way) by the way many Israelites completely missed who the Messiah was supposed to be. Or more precisely, what He would do for Israel (and the world). Several times, God has spoken of a redeemer, His Servant, who would suffer, be scourged, and more.
Yet in this passage, we have the confession of Israel, or at least what they all should have said–even if it was written by Isaiah at the direction of God himself. Likewise, it was impossible to find anyone to intercede for them, who could actually approach God and not die because of their sins. So God promises to bring salvation by His “own arm.”
And in that promise, we have an inkling I think, of what the Jews expected from the Redeemer who would come to Zion. In vv. 17-18, He will put on righteousness like a breastplate, with a helmet of salvation, garments of vengeance, and a mantle of zeal. Especially in v. 18, it seems that God will destroy their adversaries, and pay back their enemies.
Oh wait, except it says, “His adversaries” and “His enemies”, and Rome was not God’s enemy… It reminds me of a video a friend sent me yesterday. A young man (no more than thirteen) was wrestling with the question of why God doesn’t just show the world some big sign so that they all believe in Him? In part, because it wouldn’t require faith anymore, and it would effectively be forcing us to believe.
Sure, we could say, “Oh, that big fireball from heaven didn’t really happen, must have been imagining things…” And maybe some still would, but that’s kind of the point. Whatever God does, He has to leave room for doubt, or it isn’t a choice of our own making. God has to “hide” the truth just enough that we have the potential to have an honest choice. Hard truth, but true nonetheless. So it was with Israel, if God’s Son came down, wowing everyone, and winning over even the religious leaders, who would put Him to death?
How would God destroy sin if there was no one willing to persecute the Messiah, to scourge Him, and finally crucify Him? Without that death, there is no forgiveness of sin, and we are all in hopeless despair. As it was then, so it is now, that God will not force Himself on us, we must choose Him, or we are mere robots, automatons, dumbly walking the path that is before us.
God didn’t create us to be mere robots, He gave us incredible capacity, for love, for mercy, for service, and so much more. He wants us to choose Him, but in the end, it is still up to us. Will we find God, even when He is hiding? Or will we give up, and wander away? Your choice.