11 “Of whom were you worried and fearful
When you lied, and did not remember Me
[n]Nor give Me a thought?
Was I not silent even for a long time
So 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.
But the wind will carry all of them up,
And a breath will take them away.
But he who takes refuge in Me will inherit the land
And will possess My holy mountain.”14 And it will be said,
“Build up, build up, prepare the way,
Remove every obstacle out of the way of My people.”
15 For thus says the high and exalted One
Who [o]lives forever, whose name is Holy,
“I dwell on a high and holy place,
And also with the contrite and lowly of spirit
In order to revive the spirit of the lowly
And to revive the heart of the contrite.
16 “For I will not contend forever,
Nor will I always be angry;
For the spirit would grow faint before Me,
And the breath of those whom I have made.
17 “Because of the iniquity of his unjust gain I was angry and struck him;
I hid My face and was angry,
And he went on turning away, in the way of his heart.
18 “I have seen his ways, but I will heal him;
I will lead him and restore comfort to him and to his mourners,
19 Creating the [p]praise of the lips.
Peace, peace to him who is far and to him who is near,”
Says the Lord, “and I will heal him.”
20 But the wicked are like the tossing sea,
For it cannot be quiet,
And its waters toss up refuse and mud.
21 “There is no peace,” says my God, “for the wicked.”
This passage reminds me a bit of the parable Jesus shared about the wheat and the tares (weeds), as they were separated and the weeds tossed into the fire. We see a contrast here also, but there are some confusing statements about who is being restored and with whom God will stop contending.
First, we have God rebuking his people as they denied Him, forgot Him, and even lied about Him (v. 11). Reminds one a lot of Peter denying Jesus, but God tells them not to come to Him now, but to go beg their worthless idols for salvation (v. 13). From there we have a mention of those who take refuge in God, who will inherit the land (v. 14).
Okay, so we have idol worshippers contrasted with those who trust in God, what next? God continues the train of thought as He speaks of the lowly (humble) and contrite of spirit. He will revive them, and will even dwell with them (Immanuel indeed).
Finally, in v. 16, God says He won’t contend with them forever, or be angry forever, or the spirit would “grow faint”. God says that He was angry because of the wickedness of unjust gain, and because they kept going their own way. But eventually (v. 18), God will heal him, and lead him, and bring comfort to him?
Yet then who are these in v. 20, who are still wicked, and who cannot find peace? It seems in this passage that we see all of God’s people punished for the wickedness of the many. None of them would escape the desolation of conquering armies, and many who followed God would be led into captivity. They would all experience the wrath of God, wicked and devout alike.
And so God tells us that He won’t be angry with them forever, lest even the faithful perish and wither. Since God was all-knowing, He may have seen that if He left them in captivity, even the faithful would forget Him and turn away. Thus God promises restoration, that He would lead them once more. Nevertheless, in the midst of this restoration, there were those hard of heart who would not listen to God’s voice.
They were like the tossing sea, clouded up with mud, who refused to heed the word of God. And indeed, just as it probably was in that day of release from captivity, so it was when Jesus came to “proclaim liberty to the captives”, though I’m getting ahead of myself a bit with Isaiah 61…
So it is also today, we can listen to this world, and the whirlwind of distractions and noise, or we can listen and follow God. We will not find peace in this world, but when we choose God, then He will lead us. Whether we think ourselves near to God, or so very far away and unworthy, we are all in reality unworthy of His goodness.
Yet He promises us “peace, peace”, a double-helping, and healing for our broken and sin-stained hearts. Take your burdens to Him today, all who are weary, and find rest for your souls.