Monday - Isaiah 57 - Peace with the High & Lofty One

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CCORDING to Isaiah 57:1-2, there are times when “good men” die early so that they might escape bad things that are about to happen to everybody else. Notice that thing TO WHICH (not from which) they escape.  They "enter into peace" (Isaiah 57:2). Of course, they find peace beyond the grave because they find God beyond the grave. He is our peace (Isaiah 57:19 & Ephesians 2:14).

Let's define “good men” carefully now though.  Isaiah 57:12 clarifies that the righteous are not righteous by their own strength. So, from where does their righteousness originate?  God said, “I dwell… with him… that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones" (Isaiah 57:15). Ah yes, good men are only as good as they allow God to make them. But at least, praise God, there is peace for the righteous; peace for those who allow God to clothe them with His righteousness.  On the other hand, there is no peace for the ungodly; the unrighteous; the unrepentant; the unbelieving; the unregenerate; the wicked; the lost - of course, all of those actually being the same (57:20-21 & 48:22).

The bulk of this chapter is aimed at these guilty ones; these wayward ones that I labeled so insensitively at the end of the last paragraph. Yet, I'm not as harsh about it as Isaiah was (vs. 3). These "illegitimates" of his day looked for spiritual rest on high and lofty mountains (vs. 7) where they went to worship idols, when, in reality, all they had to do was fall on their faces in humble contrition and they would have found the high and lofty One was there with them already, as close as the reverential mention of His name (vs. 15).