Isaiah · chapter 57 of 66
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Isaiah 57 laments that the righteous perish unnoticed and sharply rebukes a people given to idolatry and to useless alliances. The Lord, the high and lofty one who inhabits eternity, promises to dwell with the contrite and lowly, to heal those who turn to him and to give peace, but declares that there is no peace for the wicked.
Isaiah 57 continues the third part of the book, addressed to a community that has returned from exile but still faces injustice and idolatrous practices. The chapter alternates between severe rebuke and a tender promise: the holy God who welcomes the broken.
The chapter begins with a lament: the righteous man perishes and no one lays it to heart, devout men are taken away while no one understands that they are taken from the evil to come. They enter into peace and rest in their beds, each one who walked in uprightness. Then the Lord calls the sons of the sorceress, offspring of the adulterer and the prostitute, who mock at the Lord. He accuses them of burning with lust among the oaks and under every green tree, of slaughtering their children in the valleys and under the clefts of the rocks, and of placing their offerings on the smooth stones of the valley. They set their bed on a high and lofty mountain, and there they went up to offer sacrifice,.
They traveled many roads in search of help from others and grew weary, yet they did not say it was in vain. In verses 11 through 13 the Lord asks whom they dreaded and feared that they lied and forgot him. He says he will declare their righteousness and their works, and they will not profit them. When they cry out, let their collection of idols deliver them; the wind will carry them all off, but whoever takes refuge in the Lord will inherit the land and possess his holy mountain.
Verses 14 through 21 turn to grace. The way is to be prepared and obstacles removed from the people. The high and lofty one who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy, says that he dwells in the high and holy place, and also with the one who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly. He will not contend forever, nor will he always be angry. He has seen their ways, but he will heal them, lead them and restore comfort. He creates the fruit of the lips: peace, peace to the far and to the near. But the wicked are like the tossing sea, which cannot be quiet, and its waters toss up mire and mud. There is no peace for the wicked, says my God.
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
The righteous man dies and no one takes it to heart, yet he enters into peace and rests in his bed. For the text the death of the faithful is not a defeat but a rest, after being spared the evil to come.
When the people cry out, let their collection of idols save them; the wind will carry them off, but whoever takes refuge in the Lord will inherit the land. What was made for security weighs less than a breath of God.
The high and lofty one who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy, also dwells with the contrite and lowly in spirit to give them life. God is at once transcendent and near to the broken.
The Lord creates the fruit of the lips and declares peace to the far and to the near, and says he will heal them. God's peace reaches all who turn to him, no matter the distance.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: They are taken away unnoticed, enter into peace and rest in their beds. — Isaiah 57:1-2
Answer: The sacrifice of children. — Isaiah 57:5
Answer: All their idols; the wind will carry them off. — Isaiah 57:13
Answer: With the one who is contrite and lowly in spirit. — Isaiah 57:15
Answer: He will heal them, lead them and restore comfort and peace to them. — Isaiah 57:18-19
Answer: To the tossing sea, which cannot be quiet and tosses up mire and mud. — Isaiah 57:20
Isaiah 57 reminds us that the death of a faithful believer does not go unnoticed by God, even if the world does not notice. A class can talk about how to accompany those who have lost a loved one and remember that the peace of the righteous is a promise from God.
The chapter also warns about false securities: money, alliances, spiritual practices mixed with idolatry. The wind carries them all away. The most comforting image is that of the holy God who stoops to dwell with the lowly. Anyone who feels broken can approach without fear. For the small group it is a good question: where do we look for rest outside God, and what does it mean to come with humility?
Isaiah 57 shows a holy God who rebukes idolatry yet dwells with the contrite and offers peace. Chapter 58 moves from idolatry to empty religious practice: the fast God chooses is not the one the people perform.
It means that God, though he dwells in the high and holy place, draws near to those who acknowledge their need. The text contrasts with the image of a distant God: humility does not push God away but attracts his presence and his life. The New Testament echoes this idea when Jesus calls the poor in spirit blessed (Matthew 5:3).
The phrase appears in 57:21 and also in 48:22, and works as a refrain that closes sections of the book. In the context of chapter 57 it is the final contrast with the peace promised to the far and the near: God's peace reaches those who turn back, but not those who persist in evil.