When Sin Builds Walls Between Us and God
What’s Isaiah 59 about?
This chapter is Isaiah’s unflinching diagnosis of Israel’s spiritual condition – their sins have created a wall between them and God, but the good news is that God himself will tear that wall down. It’s both a wake-up call and a promise of hope wrapped into one powerful message.
The Full Context
Isaiah 59 comes at a crucial turning point in the prophet’s message. The exiles have returned from Babylon, the temple has been rebuilt, but something’s still not right. The people are wondering, “Where are all those glorious promises God made? Why does it still feel like he’s distant?” Isaiah’s answer is uncomfortable but necessary: it’s not that God’s arm has grown too short to save or his ear too dull to hear – the problem is sin.
This chapter sits within the final section of Isaiah (chapters 56-66), where the prophet addresses the post-exilic community’s struggles with disappointment and spiritual complacency. The literary structure is masterful – Isaiah moves from accusation (Isaiah 59:1-8) to confession (Isaiah 59:9-15) to God’s intervention (Isaiah 59:16-21). The chapter serves as both a mirror reflecting Israel’s moral failures and a window into God’s character as the one who steps in when no human solution exists.
What the Ancient Words Tell Us
The opening verse hits like a thunderbolt: lo-qatsrah (God’s hand is not too short) and lo-khavdah (his ear is not too heavy). Isaiah uses physical imagery to address a spiritual crisis. The Hebrew word for “short” here literally means “cut off” – God’s power hasn’t been amputated. His ear hasn’t become khaved (heavy, dull, unresponsive).
But then comes the devastating contrast in verse 2: avonoteikhem (your iniquities) have become mavdilim (separators, dividers). This word mavdil is fascinating – it’s used elsewhere for the separation between light and darkness, between holy and common. Sin doesn’t just make God angry; it creates a fundamental separation, a cosmic divide.
Grammar Geeks
The Hebrew word mavdilim (separating) in verse 2 is the same root used in Genesis 1:4 when God separates light from darkness. Isaiah is saying sin creates the same kind of fundamental division that existed in primordial chaos – it’s that serious.
The catalog of sins in verses 3-8 reads like a crime scene report. Damim (blood) on their hands, aven (wickedness) on their lips, shav (emptiness, vanity) from their tongues. The progression is deliberate – from violent actions to deceptive words to empty speech. Notice how Isaiah moves from what they do with their hands to what comes from their mouths, showing how sin corrupts both action and communication.
What Would the Original Audience Have Heard?
Picture the returned exiles gathered in Jerusalem, perhaps at one of the temple courts. They’ve been back from Babylon for decades now, but the golden age they expected hasn’t materialized. Where’s the glory? Where’s the prosperity? Where’s the evident blessing of God?
Isaiah’s audience would have immediately recognized the legal language he’s using. The word mishpat (justice) and tsedaqah (righteousness) in verse 4 weren’t just theological concepts – they were the foundation of a functioning society. When Isaiah says these are absent, he’s describing a complete breakdown of social order.
Did You Know?
The image of “weaving spider’s webs” in verse 5 would have been particularly striking to Isaiah’s audience. Spider webs look intricate and beautiful but provide no real protection or covering – perfect imagery for the elaborate but ultimately useless schemes people create to hide their sin.
The confession section (verses 9-15) shifts to first person plural – “we,” “us,” “our.” This wasn’t just Isaiah pointing fingers; this was meant to be a communal recognition of guilt. The imagery of groping like blind people along a wall would have been visceral and humiliating for a culture that valued sight and sure-footedness.
Wrestling with the Text
Here’s what’s genuinely puzzling: why does God wait until there’s literally no human solution before he acts? Verse 16 says God “saw that there was no one, and wondered that there was no one to intervene.” The Hebrew word shamem (wondered, was appalled) suggests genuine shock or dismay.
Wait, That’s Strange…
God “wondering” or being “appalled” seems to suggest surprise, but doesn’t God know everything? The Hebrew shamem here might be better understood as divine indignation rather than surprise – God is appalled at human failure to act justly, not caught off guard by it.
This leads to one of the most powerful images in Isaiah: God putting on armor like a warrior. Tsedaqah (righteousness) as a breastplate, yesha (salvation) as a helmet, naqam (vengeance) as clothing, qinah (zeal) as a cloak. This isn’t gentle Jesus, meek and mild – this is God as divine warrior, stepping into the battle because no human champion exists.
The question that emerges is: what does it mean for God to take vengeance? The Hebrew naqam isn’t petty revenge but cosmic justice – the setting right of what’s been made wrong. It’s not God lashing out but God stepping in to restore moral order when human systems have completely failed.
How This Changes Everything
This chapter revolutionizes how we think about the relationship between human failure and divine intervention. It’s not that God is waiting for us to get our act together before he’ll help – it’s that he steps in precisely when we can’t help ourselves.
The promise in verses 20-21 is breathtaking: a Redeemer will come to Zion, and God’s Spirit and words will never depart from his people or their descendants. This isn’t conditional on human performance; it’s grounded in God’s own character and commitment.
Paul picks up this exact passage in Romans 11:26-27, seeing it as a prophecy of Christ’s work. The armor imagery reappears in Ephesians 6, but now it’s armor for believers to wear because Christ has already won the victory.
“Sin doesn’t make God weak; it makes us blind to his strength.”
What transforms everything is realizing that confession isn’t about groveling until God decides to be nice to us. Confession is about aligning ourselves with reality – recognizing the wall that sin has built and trusting that God himself will tear it down. The initiative is always his; our part is simply to stop pretending the wall isn’t there.
Key Takeaway
God doesn’t wait for perfect people to save – he saves people who honestly admit they’re not perfect and need a Redeemer who is.
Further Reading
Internal Links:
External Scholarly Resources:
- Isaiah 40-66 (Anchor Bible Commentary) by Joseph Blenkinsopp
- The Book of Isaiah, Chapters 40-66 (NICOT) by John Oswalt
- Isaiah (Tyndale Old Testament Commentary) by J. Alec Motyer
- The Prophecy of Isaiah by J. Alec Motyer
Tags
Isaiah 59:1, Isaiah 59:2, Isaiah 59:16, Isaiah 59:20, Romans 11:26, Ephesians 6:10, sin, separation, divine intervention, confession, redemption, justice, righteousness, spiritual warfare, covenant faithfulness, post-exilic Israel
