WWUTT 2184 Our Best Deeds are as Filthy Rags (Isaiah 64:1-12)

In our study of Isaiah, we read this final prayer, a final appeal from God's people, humbling ourselves before Him that He would deliver us and lift us up into His glorious presence when we understand the text.

This is When We Understand The Text, a daily Bible commentary to help encourage your time in the

Word. Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday we feature New Testament Study, an Old Testament book on Thursday and our

Q &A on Friday. Now here's your teacher, Pastor Gabe. Thank you, Becky. In our study of the book of Isaiah, we're up to chapter 64 this week, and we're really getting close to the end.

We've got three chapters left, including this one. Next week we'll be in chapter 65, and then the week after that, maybe chapter 66.

It depends, because the last couple of chapters are longer than this one. This is the final short chapter.

It's just 12 verses that we're looking at here. This continues the prayer that we started last week at the end of chapter 63 with the people of God asking for God's mercy and that He would deliver us from our enemies.

That appeal continues in chapter 64. Then next week in chapter 65,

God answers, and God is speaking through to the end of Isaiah, chapters 65 and 66.

We end with the literal word of God. Of course, all the Bible is the word of God, but Isaiah presenting

God's answer to his people. This is our final appeal that we're reading here in chapter 64 today.

I'm going to begin by reading verses 1 through 7 out of the Legacy Standard Bible. Hear the word of the

Lord. Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains might quake at your presence.

As fire kindles the brushwood, as fire causes water to boil, to make your name known to your adversaries, that the nations may tremble at your presence.

When you did awesome things for which we did not hope, you came down.

The mountains quaked at your presence, for from ancient times they have not heard or given ear, nor has the eye seen a

God besides you, who acts in behalf of the one who waits for him. You meet him who rejoices and does righteousness, who remembers you in your ways.

Behold, you were angry. Indeed, we have sinned. We continued in them a long time, and shall we be saved?

For all of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment, and all of us wither like a leaf, and our iniquities like the wind carry us away.

There is no one who calls on your name, who awakens himself to take hold of you, for you have hidden your face from us and have melted us into the hand of our iniquities.

Now the way this prayer will end, we've got five more verses after what I just read there, but the way that it will conclude is with a question, will you keep silent and afflict us beyond measure?

And so then chapter 65 and 66, as I teased out, is God's answer to that question.

So we may feel in a time when we are appealing to God that he does not hear us, is he going to respond?

And God responds in his good timing and does all that his hand has purposed and everything that he has promised.

Because what we're going to read in God's response is, I make new heavens and a new earth, behold what

I am doing. It's kind of like God's response to Habakkuk, how long are you going to look at these things and do nothing?

And God responding to Habakkuk, watch and see, for I'm about to do something you would not believe even if I told you what it was going to be.

And so we wait patiently for the Lord, knowing that because of what he has accomplished in Christ, he will deliver us from our enemies and will deliver us into his eternal kingdom.

So let's come back to the start of this prayer here in Isaiah 64, beginning in verse one, oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains might quake at your presence.

Kind of interesting that we're reading this right after we had just studied in Mark eight yesterday with the

Pharisees demanding of Jesus for a sign, show us a sign from heaven. And Jesus' response is no sign is going to be given to this generation.

And as we know it from Matthew 16, Jesus' response there is no sign will be given to this wicked generation, but the sign of Jonah, which of course was pointing to Jesus' eventual crucifixion, burial in the ground, and then that he would rise again three days later.

This is the request for a sign from heaven, that's what this is. But it is not in bad faith, like the way that the

Pharisees demanded such a sign. We won't believe in you until you show us a sign from heaven.

That's not this kind of appeal. This is like what John says at the end of revelation, come quickly,

Lord Jesus. That's what this kind of prayer is. We want to see you tear open the heavens, that your judgment would come upon your enemies and that you would rescue your own.

God may it be today rather than tomorrow. But it is not putting upon God, I'm not going to believe in you unless you do this.

This is the yearning prayer of the faithful, of the humble that are even admitting, yes, we sinned, we deserve everything that we have coming to us, if your judgment should pour out on us.

But we're asking that you would rend the heavens and show yourself to those who mock you.

That judgment, justice would finally be done in the earth. Verse two, as fire kindles the brushwood, as fire causes water to boil, these comparisons to what the day of Christ or his return would be like.

For, of course, the apostle Paul says in Thessalonians chapter one, that it will be a day of great fire for Jesus will return with his angels and flaming fire.

Peter says the same thing, 2 Peter chapter three, that the earth as it now exists is being stored up for fire for the day of judgment.

And so the prayer continues here in Isaiah 64 too, to make your name known to your adversaries that the nations may tremble at your presence.

This is asking that the glory of God would be done in the earth, that this would be for his namesake.

Remember that 1 John 2, 12 says, little children, you have been forgiven for his namesake.

And as I'm so often quoting, as I'm so fond of quoting from Psalm 23,

I say, lead us in paths of righteousness for your namesake. That's from Psalm 23, three, God does all things for the sake of his great name.

And so this is asking that his name would be proclaimed in the earth. For we know that those who are in God's favor, those of us who, who have the affections of God, if God is going to make his name great in the earth, that's not to our destruction.

That is to our deliverance. And so Lord rescue us and do so for the sake of your great name.

Verse three, when you did awesome things for which we did not hope you came down, the mountains quaked at your presence.

This could simply be metaphorical, or it could be in reference to when God came and addressed his people at Mount Sinai.

Then the mountains indeed quaked when the presence of God came upon the mountain. And it burned as with fire, smoke going up like the smoke of a kiln is the way it's described in Exodus 19.

And there were peals of thunder and trumpet blasts. And the voice of God was so loud, it terrified all of Israel to hear it.

You did awesome things. The mountains quaked. Verse four, for from ancient times, they have not heard or given ear, nor has the eye seen a

God besides you who acts in behalf of the one who waits for him. What other nation would ever be able to declare credibly any way that their

God spoke to them in the way that God spoke to Israel? No nation has ever seen a

God speak like Yahweh. Of course, we know their gods are nonexistent. They don't they don't really exist.

You may be familiar with some of the controversy that has been coming against me lately because of comments that I've made about the

Catholic version of Mary, all the apparitions that they have, like Our Lady of Fatima and Our Lady of Guadalupe.

I've done what videos on them. But these are all pagan manifestations of Mary.

They're not Christian. They're not godly. Mary in heaven does not make herself known or appear to people here on earth and then proceed to tell them to pray to her and build her a temple, which seems to be what these apparitions always want.

If you study the Marian apparitions, it's always pray to me, pray the rosary, build me a temple here or something like that.

Very self -centered Mary, it seems right doesn't really seem to point to her son and say that salvation is in Christ.

Believe in him. It's always me, me, me really has more of of a similarity to the goddesses that the pagans worshipped rather than the true mother of Christ.

Roman Catholics, though they wouldn't say it this way, of course, but they regard her as some kind of goddess. And this goddess of theirs does not talk to them no matter what they claim with regard to these addresses and even miraculous things that she's done, according to the legend of Our Lady of Fatima.

Mary doesn't address anybody. She doesn't come back and speak to anyone. God is the one who has spoken.

And those who are not satisfied with his word are going to be looking toward other things. I need something else.

Show me some other sign from heaven, not Christ appearing in the sky, but something else.

Give me something else instead that I may know that you're there, that I may be satisfied and vindicated in this faith that I say that I have.

It always seems to be rather self -serving. It's always works based. It's never salvific.

And so this is just like the pagans and all the gods that they claim. Their gods are mute.

They do not answer. Remember Elijah contesting with the priests of Baal. Where's your god?

Why doesn't he answer you? Is he on the john? Is he on vacation? Is he taking a nap? Where is he?

No one has seen a god besides you who acts in behalf of the one who waits for him.

Humility, humbleness. This is the one to whom God looks.

And we're going to hear that later on when we get to Isaiah 66. This is the one to whom I will look. He who is humble and contrite in spirit and who trembles at my word.

And that's really the humility that is in this prayer as well. One who is trembling before God, trembling before his word.

Verse five, you meet him who rejoices and does righteousness, who remembers you in your ways, who walks in the way of God.

Behold, you were angry. Indeed, we have sinned. We continued in them a long time.

And shall we be saved? This is like David praying in Psalm 51, acknowledging his sin before God, but also saying,

God, take not your Holy Spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of your salvation and renew a right spirit within me.

Verse six, for all of us have become like one who is unclean. This is a pretty well -known verse from Isaiah.

Isaiah 64, 6. And notice that it is coming from the humble prayer.

The one who is praying unto God, who is humbling himself before God, the penitent man.

For all of us have become like one who is unclean and all our righteous deeds like a filthy garment.

The best of what we can do is as filthiness before God.

There are times in scripture where men of God are called righteous. Noah was called a righteous man in his day.

You read in Luke chapter one, Zechariah and Elizabeth are called righteous. Of course, it is explained there what is meant by righteousness.

They kept the law of God. But if they were dependent upon their righteous deeds to be able to enter into eternity, they're not going to make it because it said here in Isaiah 64, 6, even our best deeds before a holy

God are as filthy rags and all of us wither like a leaf and our iniquities like the wind carry us away.

Now to explain the filthy garment here, I'm going to get a little graphic, but nonetheless, this is literally what that is referring to.

All of our righteous deeds are like used menstrual cloth. That's literally the way that translates.

I know that's disgusting, but our righteousness compared to God is gross.

God is so much holier than we are. And the more you see the holiness of God, the more you begin to recognize your sin and your unworthiness to stand before God.

But it is he who has made us worthy by giving his son,

Jesus Christ, who died as an atoning sacrifice for our sins by his death on the cross.

And whoever has faith in him, he clothes us in his righteousness, in his righteousness.

We cannot attain a righteousness good enough to stand before God on our own merit. But Christ's righteousness is good and perfect.

It's not as a filthy garment. It is a white garment. This is

Jesus saying to the church at Laodicea in Revelation 3, buy from me white garments to clothe your nakedness so that it may not be seen.

Our righteousness can't clothe our nakedness. Our guiltiness still is exposed before God. It is only when we are wearing the righteousness of Christ that we can stand before him justified.

For otherwise, our iniquities like the wind would carry us away. There is no one who calls on your name,

Isaiah 64, 7. No one seeks for God the way that it's put in Romans 3, who awakens himself to take hold of you.

No one can awaken himself to take hold of God. We are as dead men in our sins and our transgressions as explained in Ephesians 2.

Like Lazarus buried in a tomb, Lazarus can't will himself to get up and walk out. And we are that dead in our sins and our transgressions.

No one awakens himself. There is no one who calls on your name. No one who awakens himself to take hold of you.

We are dead and cannot raise ourselves from it. It is by the

Holy Spirit of God who transforms our heart.

Regeneration is the word that we use for that. We are regenerated from that sinful wretch who doesn't call on the name of the

Lord to now a person who does call on his name, pleading for forgiveness and mercy and his righteousness upon us.

For otherwise, rest of verse 7, you have hidden your face from us and have melted us into the hand of our iniquities.

We would if given over to our own sin, we would not live. We would perish on the day of judgment.

But here's the turn now in the remainder of Isaiah 64, verse 8.

But now, oh, Yahweh, you are our father.

Now, that is an unusual address in the Old Testament. We don't see that very often with God being referred to as father.

It's really Jesus who introduces us to the father. We are known to the father by the son, as Jesus said in Matthew 11.

No one knows the father except the son and anyone to whom the son chooses to reveal him.

And so to be able to call upon God as father here, this is definitely prophetic. This is pointing to a people who will know

God as father. The rest of verse 8, we are the clay and you are the potter.

And all of us are the work of your hand. Now, it is true that every single person is the work of God, but this is specifically in reference to those who are

God's people. We are the work of your hand. You have made us your people.

Do not be angry beyond measure, oh, Yahweh, nor remember iniquity forever. Behold, look now, all of us are your people.

Verse 10, your holy cities have become a wilderness. Zion has become a wilderness.

Jerusalem, a desolation. Why? Why is Zion a wilderness and Jerusalem a desolation?

Because God isn't there. That's why Zion can be called a wilderness because the presence of God is not there.

Remember that I said before, Zion is the mountain where God dwells. Wherever God dwells, that's Zion. Jerusalem is the city that God inhabits.

But when the Jews, when Judah had done wickedly, God left the temple, his presence up and departed from there.

And as Ezekiel saw in his vision, it was as though God went up on a mountain and watched for Jerusalem to be destroyed.

His presence was no longer there with his people and they were conquered by their enemies. And so now

Zion is a wilderness, Jerusalem a desolation. This is asking that God's presence would come back to his people again.

Our holy and glorious house, verse 11, where our fathers praised you has been burned by fire and all our precious things have become a waste place.

Once again, because God is not there. So the gloriousness of the temple is but trash, but a filthy garment, as said earlier, because God's presence isn't there.

The building in and of itself is not glorious. What made it glorious was that God was there.

And so verse 12, will you restrain yourself at these things? Oh, Yahweh, will you keep silent and afflict us beyond measure?

So the question that's being asked here is, will you return to your people again? And the answer to that is, of course, yes, the coming of Jesus Christ, Emmanuel, God with us,

God coming to his people. And we may be in a state today where we're asking a question like that.

God, will you keep silent? Will you return? Are you coming back to us again that we may dwell with you and it may be fulfilled, as said in the book of Revelation, I will be their

God. They will be my people and he will dwell with us in our midst. When will that day come again?

And I pray that it is sooner rather than later. And I'm sure you do as well. Praying with the

Apostle John, Lord Jesus, come quickly. Now we end with this question, almost like Job pleading before God, right?

And God responds. He answers as he answered Job in the whirlwind. So we're going to get a response from God in Isaiah chapters 65 and 66.

We're going to start on 65 next week. We'll see how far we get. With this answer, because this is a little bit longer.

It's twice as long. The chapter is longer than the one we just looked at. But we will hear as in Isaiah 65, 17 for behold,

I am creating a new heavens and a new earth and the former things will not be remembered or come upon the heart, but be joyful and rejoice forever in what

I create for behold, I create Jerusalem for rejoicing and her people for joy.

My friends, even in our present, we can have joy in the Lord. Joy is not dependent upon our circumstances.

Happiness. Yeah, that might be dependent upon circumstances. Happiness is cheap. You can decide you want to be happy today and it can be taken from you in an instant.

Somebody gives you a negative comment or you receive news that you weren't expecting. Something doesn't go the way that you were hoping it would for you today.

But joy, even in our sorrow, we can have joy. We can know that our sins are forgiven, that we have everlasting life with God.

Whatever may happen to us today, cannot compare with the glory that awaits. This Paul says in the book of Romans.

And so may we be humble before God today, confess your sins to him and ask that he would cleanse you and restore to you the joy of his salvation.

And we long for that day and anticipate the return of Christ. And the day that we will be with him forever in glory.

Oh, what a day of rejoicing that will be. Heavenly Father, we thank you for what we have read here.

And I pray that even these promises that we have read sustain us today, maybe even convicting our hearts that we recognize sin, that we must confess before God, that we humble ourselves before you.

We do not think of ourselves more highly than we ought to think, nor do we think that we don't have anything to confess.

There is always something for which we need to be humble before God. And we ask for your mercy and your compassion upon us.

God, we ask that you would come and your judgment would be poured out on your enemies, that your name would be made great in the earth.

You do this for the sake of your glory. May we desire the justice of Yahweh to be done.

And God, that you would lift us up from our low places, that we may be seated with Christ in God in the heavenly places.