Isaiah · chapter 65 of 66
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Isaiah 65 is the Lord's answer to the prayer of chapters 63 and 64: he let himself be found by those who did not seek him and stretched out his hands to a rebellious people who followed their idolatries. He separates his servants from those who forsake him, promises the former joy and blessing, and announces that he will create new heavens and a new earth, a Jerusalem of joy, without weeping, with houses inhabited, work that bears fruit and peace among the animals.
Isaiah 65 answers the people's plea in chapters 63 and 64, which asked whether the Lord would keep silent. God replies that he has not been silent or absent but that the people have rebelled; and the chapter distinguishes between those who turn to him and those who persist in idolatry. It ends with one of the best-known Old Testament visions of the future of creation.
The Lord says he let himself be found by those who did not seek him and said here I am to a nation that did not call on his name. He spread out his hands all day to a rebellious people who follow their own thoughts, who provoke him by sacrificing in gardens, burning incense on bricks, sitting in tombs and eating pig's flesh, and who say to others: keep to yourself, for I am too holy for you. The Lord will not keep silent but will repay their iniquities and those of their fathers.
But he will not destroy all: as new wine is found in a cluster and they say do not destroy it, for there is a blessing in it, so he will do for his servants. He will bring forth offspring from Jacob; his chosen shall possess the land, Sharon shall be a pasture and the Valley of Achor a resting place for the people who sought him. Those who forsake the Lord and set a table for Gad and Meni, deities of fortune and destiny, he will destine to the sword, because he called and they did not answer.
Therefore the Lord's servants shall eat, drink and rejoice, while the rebellious shall be hungry, thirsty and put to shame. Whoever blesses himself in the land shall bless himself by the God of truth, because the former troubles are forgotten.
Verses 17 through 25 are the great vision: I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things shall not be remembered. I create Jerusalem to be a joy and her people a gladness; no more shall the sound of weeping be heard. No more shall there be an infant who lives but a few days or an old man who does not fill out his days. They shall build houses and inhabit them, plant vineyards and eat their fruit, without laboring in vain. Before they call I will answer. The wolf and the lamb shall graze together, the lion shall eat straw like the ox, and they shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain, says the Lord.
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
The Lord let himself be found by those who did not seek him and said here I am to a nation that did not call on him. Paul quotes this verse in Romans 10:20 in relation to the Gentiles who received the gospel.
The Lord creates new heavens and a new earth, and the former things will not be remembered. The promise is taken up in 2 Peter 3:13 and Revelation 21:1 to speak of the final hope of God's people.
Before they call, the Lord will answer, and while they are still speaking he will have heard. In the new creation communion with God will be so close that prayer is answered before it is spoken.
The wolf and the lamb will graze together and the lion will eat straw, with no harm on all the Lord's holy mountain. The image echoes Isaiah 11:6-9 and presents a reconciled creation.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: Those who did not seek him; he said here I am to a nation that did not call on his name. — Isaiah 65:1
Answer: He spread out his hands to a rebellious people who followed their own thoughts. — Isaiah 65:2
Answer: New wine found in a cluster, of which they say do not destroy it, for there is a blessing in it. — Isaiah 65:8
Answer: New heavens and a new earth, and the former things will not be remembered. — Isaiah 65:17
Answer: The sound of weeping and the cry of distress. — Isaiah 65:19
Answer: The wolf and the lamb; the lion will eat straw like the ox. — Isaiah 65:25
Isaiah 65 begins with a God who seeks those who do not seek him. In a class you can reflect on how God's initiative comes before ours, and on how to live with that gratitude and share it with those who seem far away. The chapter does not soften the judgment on those who hold on to idolatry, but neither does it forget the faithful remnant.
The final vision feeds a concrete hope: houses inhabited, work that bears fruit, children who grow and animals reconciled. This hope encourages us to work today for peace and justice, knowing that God will bring everything to fulfillment. For a group that is suffering, the promise that the former things will not be remembered is a sustaining comfort.
Isaiah 65 answers the people's prayer with a promise of new heavens and a new earth. Chapter 66 closes the book with the Lord who looks to the humble, the final judgment and the gathering of all nations.
They were names of deities of fortune and destiny, for whom a table was set and cups were filled with offerings. In Hebrew the names suggest good fortune and fate, and the Lord plays on those terms by saying he will destine them to the sword. The text denounces trust in luck instead of the God who calls.
Interpreters understand it in different ways. Some see in the picture of a long life with death still present a description of a time of blessing on this earth; others see it as a poetic expression of the final new creation. The New Testament takes up the language of new heavens and a new earth in 2 Peter 3:13 and Revelation 21:1.