Day 213 (Isaiah 64-66) - Year 4
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Hey, Bible readers, I'm Tara Lee Cobble, and I'm your host for The Bible Recap. Today we finished our 22nd book of the Bible. I know that's only a third of the way through the number of books in the Bible. There are 66. But as far as word count is concerned, we're well over halfway through our trip through Scripture together. Okay, let's wrap up Isaiah. In chapter 64, we encounter a section that I've misunderstood for most of my life.

It's in verse 6, and it says, We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. For years I thought this meant that all my God-honoring works were still tainted by my flesh and displeasing to him.

By the way, that phrase, polluted garment, is actually the Hebrew phrase used in ancient times to refer to a woman's menstrual rag. So that's a pretty intense comparison, if that's what all our righteous deeds are like. That's not just humbling, that's actually demotivating. But that's exactly why context and culture are important to remember, because they help us understand something in this verse that might not be immediately obvious.

In ancient Israel, people who were unclean, like this verse mentions, couldn't enter the temple without first being purified. And when women were having their period, they weren't allowed in the temple either. It sounds harsh, like rejection, but I once heard a female Bible teacher describe it as merciful. Women got to take the week off from working in their homes and go rest in a different tent than the tent they lived in, alongside other women who were going through the same thing.

So there are definitely different perspectives on that whole thing. But back to the point, both the unclean person and the polluted garment were unacceptable in God's sight. And thanks to Isaiah's prophecies, the Israelites are starting to figure out that maybe their righteous deeds aren't so righteous after all.

Isaiah has been pointing out to them that even though they're bringing sacrifices to God, a righteous deed, they're still worshiping idols, a polluted garment. They're fasting, a righteous deed, but they're doing it to be showy and prideful, a polluted garment. They've been doing so-called righteous deeds but with unrighteous motives. That's why it's true for them that their righteous deeds are like filthy rags and unacceptable to God.

What's been so freeing for me to learn is that this doesn't mean God turns his nose about your Bible reading or your volunteering or your tithing. He's pleased with your good works. After all, like we've talked about before, he is the one who is doing them through you. He approves of his work. In case you want to dig a little deeper on this, we'll link to a short article that explains this in greater depth in today's show notes. In chapter 64, there's also a phrase that seems to contradict something we've been talking about a lot lately.

What does God do when his kids sin? Does he run and hide from us? Is he afraid of our sin? We've always said that no, he does not run and hide from his kids. So what does it mean when the people in 64-7 say, you have hidden your face from us?

First, we have to remember that technically, God the Father doesn't have an actual face. He's not a physical, tangible being. John 4:24 says he is spirit. So there's not an actual face for him to cover or hide. He doesn't have actual eyes, but he manages to see everything. Even at the times when he or Israel talk about him hiding his face from them, it's still clear that he's seeing everything because he talks about it and acts on it. So what does this phrase mean?

Have you ever watched someone who couldn't see you? Not in a creepy way, but maybe you walk into the room while your kid is playing with their back turned or sleeping or even misbehaving, and they don't know you're there. They can't see you. You're hidden from their eyes. But you can see them. That's kind of what this is like. But the feeling behind this is actually the most important thing to address.

God being hidden from our eyes is more about the perceived distance we feel from him when we sin, because we know in our hearts that this is a real relationship. We know he's a real person. And what do people do when we wound or offend them? They create distance until the situation is resolved. This is sort of what it's like with God, too, except with an infinitely loving being who has already paid for your sin and isn't holding a grudge.

In any relationship, when we've sinned against someone, it's important that we demonstrate our repentance to turn from our sin. But it's also important that we don't misunderstand. We're not trying to earn God's trust back. God's not trying to figure you out or see what you'll do next. He knows what's in you more than even you do. What we're doing is walking out a relationship in real time, learning and remembering and growing, strengthening the relationship.

And God's apparent distance can serve as the catalyst for our repentance, driving us toward the restoration and deeper intimacy that we aren't feeling in the moment. And not to put too fine a point on it, but if in fact God had removed his presence, we would have zero hope of repentance. Romans 2.4 says it's actually his kindness that produces repentance in us to begin with. So we know he's close, even when he feels distant.

We'll also link to a short article about this in the show notes in case you want to read more. Chapter 65 hovers over God's judgment and his salvation. Punishment for those who don't know him and blessing for those who do. The back half of the chapter points to specific blessings for those who know him. They'll get to live forever with him. Because the thing is, the kingdom of heaven, the kingdom of God, it's not for people who are afraid of hell. It's for people who love God.

And you may have noticed that in addition to God creating earth 3.0, he says he's going to create a new heaven as well. Why? Isn't heaven perfect already? You may remember from earlier in this book, back in chapter 14, that we read about Lucifer falling from heaven. Jesus references the same incident in Luke 10, 18, and John references it again in Revelation 12. The point is, heaven has been tainted by sin too. Heaven isn't perfect.

So heaven must be recreated new just like earth. It's all part of God's plan to restore all of creation. By the way, theologians are divided on whether this section of scripture refers to the eternal kingdom or to a period of time referred to as the millennial reign or a thousand year reign. There are a few philosophies on this that we'll continue to dig into as we read through scripture, but ultimately none of them are as important as knowing that wherever we are and whenever it is, we get to be with God forever.

But here's one interesting aspect of this passage that I think is worth pointing out. When heaven and earth have both been recreated, the place where we'll be living sounds a lot like earth. Jerusalem, in fact. Chapter 66 closes the book with a call to repentance, with more reminders of God's judgment and salvation. And that's where my God shot came in today. I keep thinking about the ways he goes above and beyond in blessing the Gentiles.

First, he promises to send people throughout the world to share the message of his glory to reach the Gentiles.

But then he also says he'll make some of those Gentiles into priests and Levites. Gentiles becoming Levites? That's crazy. They'll be among the high ranking. That's like if you didn't even have a ticket to the concert, but someone walks up and hands you an all-access pass and then tells you you're going to sing with the band. The Gentiles won't be counted as second-class citizens. They'll be serving him in the most exclusive roles.

I wonder how this sat with the Israelites at the time. Maybe it was offensive, just like we talked about yesterday where Jesus read Isaiah 61 in the synagogue and they tried to kill him. God's heart to include others reveals our pride sometimes, but he's bent on loving his enemies. He's on a mission to bring people from every nation into his family, and he's where the joy is.

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