Isaiah 57 (v15-18)

It is likely that what Isaiah describes here took place in the reign of Manasseh.  The righteous perished and no one cared (v1).  Manasseh shed much innocent blood, filling Jerusalem from one end to the other (2 Ki. 21:16).  Idolatry in Judah sank to unimaginable depths, including the sacrifice of children (v5).  Again, Manasseh sacrificed children to Molech in the valley of Hinnom on the southern end of the city (2 Chron. 33:6).  The idolatry of the surrounding nations included sexual immorality, often employing male and female prostitutes as part of the temple service.  Shiny, smooth stones were part of determining the will of the gods (v6).  

The one good thing that God could say about the righteous, who were unjustly persecuted, was that at least they would be at rest (v2).  They would not be around when the judgment of God’s wrath would fall on the nation.  At the same time, there would be no rest for the wicked (v21).  Those who did not fear God (v11) would find their idols useless when judgment came (v12-13).  

But those who trust in God will prosper.  A highway will be built for His people to return to Him (v14).  Though they are the despised minority, the almighty God will dwell with those who have humbled themselves (v15).  God promises a day when those who have been beaten down (they perished and no one cared) will be revived in their humble spirits.  Again He speaks words of lovingkindness: “I will not contend forever, nor will I always be angry” (v16).

There is a wonderful truth in vs.17-18: God will “heal the backslider.”  The backslider, being judged by God, would finally humble himself, turning from his sin to trust in God.  The Apostle Paul made a similar declaration about our Lord in Rom. 4:5: He “justifies the ungodly.”  Note the entire verse: “But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness.”  

Isa. 57:17-18 and Rom. 4:5 fit perfectly together.  The one who “works” so that he can be righteous before God is the one who is proud.  He does not recognize that he is unable to be righteous.  But the one who believes in Christ is the one who is of a humble and contrite spirit.  He realizes that he is a sinner and unworthy of God’s salvation and righteousness.  He comes to God empty-handed, dependent on the grace of God.

This was illustrated in a parable of Christ (Lk. 18:9-14).  Two men prayed at the temple.  The Pharisee thanked God for how good he, the Pharisee, was.  The tax collector could not even raise his head but could only say, “God, be merciful to me a sinner.”  Jesus proclaimed that the one who was contrite went to his house that day justified.  Truly, “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart – these, O God, You will not despise” (Ps. 51:17).