Isaiah64

The chapter begins with a fervent plea for God to descend with power, rending the heavens and causing mountains to flow, as He has done in the past. The people confess their universal sinfulness, acknowledging that their righteousnesses are as filthy rags, which has caused God to hide His face. Despite their unworthiness, they appeal to God as their Father and Potter, lamenting the desolation of Zion, Jerusalem, and their holy temple, and beseeching Him not to remain silent in their affliction.

A Prayer for God's Dramatic Presence

1
We wish you would tear open heaven and come down, so the mountains would shake at your presence! ​
2
It would be like fire kindling the brush, and the fire then makes the water boil. Then your enemies would know your name, the nations would tremble before you! ​
3
When you did tremendous things that we were not expecting, we wished that you would come down, so that the mountains would shake at your presence!
4
No one has ever heard, no ear perceived, no eye seen, any God but you. You work for him who waits for you. ​
5
You favored those who were glad to do justice, those who remembered you in your ways. When you were angry, we kept sinning; but if we keep your ancient ways, we will be saved. ​

Confession of Sin and Unworthiness

6
All of us are like someone unclean, all our righteous deeds like menstrual rags; we wither, all of us, like leaves; and our misdeeds blow us away like the wind. ​
7
No one calls on your name or bestirs himself to take hold of you, for you have hidden your face from us and caused our misdeeds to destroy us. ​

Appeal to God as Father and Potter

8
But now, ADONAI, you are our father; we are the clay, you are our potter; and we are all the work of your hands. ​
9
Do not be so very angry, ADONAI! Don't remember crime forever. Look, please, we are all your people.

Lament Over Jerusalem’s Desolation

10
Your holy cities have become a desert, Tziyon a desert, Yerushalayim a ruin. ​
11
Our holy, beautiful house, where our ancestors used to praise you, has been burned to the ground; all we cherished has been ruined. ​
12
ADONAI, after all this, will you still hold back? Will you still stay silent and punish us past endurance? ​

Study Notes for Isaiah 64

Verse 1

This lament begins with a desperate plea for a cosmic theophany, asking God to 'rend the heavens.' This imagery recalls the awesome, world-shaking manifestation of God’s power witnessed at Mount Sinai (Exod. 19).

Verse 2

The purpose of this dramatic intervention is twofold: to reveal God’s power ('make thy name known') and to strike fear into the nations who oppose God’s people.

Verse 4

This verse is a profound assurance of God's unique nature. It is famously quoted by Paul in 1 Corinthians 2:9, emphasizing that God’s future plans for those who faithfully await Him are entirely beyond human comprehension.

Verse 5

The speaker contrasts God’s usual favor toward the righteous with the current reality of divine wrath, acknowledging that the people have failed to remember and walk in God's ways.

Verse 6

This powerful confession describes the nation’s spiritual state. 'Filthy rags' (Hebrew: *iddah*) refers to polluted or defiled garments, emphasizing that even the people’s best attempts at self-righteousness are utterly worthless before a holy God.

Verse 7

The people confess not only their sin but their spiritual apathy. The judgment (God hiding His face) is justified because no one is actively seeking or 'stirring up himself' to take hold of God.

Verse 8

The appeal shifts from merit (which they lack) to relationship. Calling God 'our father' appeals to covenant loyalty, while the 'Potter/clay' metaphor stresses God’s sovereign right to shape and remold His people, even after judgment.

Verse 10

The lament grounds the spiritual appeal in the physical reality of the judgment. The 'holy cities' and Jerusalem are a 'desolation,' providing compelling evidence of the severity of God’s wrath.

Verse 11

The 'holy and our beautiful house' refers to the Temple, the central symbol of God’s dwelling place and the heart of Israel's worship, which has been destroyed by fire. This loss is the ultimate sign of divine abandonment.

Verse 12

The chapter concludes with a final rhetorical question, urging God to act. The prophet asks if God can truly remain silent and impassive when His own people and His own house have suffered such complete destruction.

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