What is the meaning of Isaiah 59:15? Setting the scene Isaiah 59 paints a picture of national sin so widespread that it has severed fellowship with God (Isaiah 59:1–2). The prophet is describing Judah, yet the Spirit intends every generation to read the chapter as a mirror. Like Psalm 14:2–3 and Romans 3:10–18, the indictment is universal: when people abandon God’s standards, society unravels. “Truth is missing” • Truth—objective, God-revealed reality—has vanished from public life. Psalm 12:1 describes the same famine of faithfulness: “Help, O LORD, for the godly are no more; the faithful have vanished from among men.” • Lies flourish whenever people suppress God’s truth (Romans 1:25). In Isaiah’s day prophets whitewashed sin (Isaiah 30:10), and leaders twisted words for profit (Jeremiah 9:3–6). • The verse is literally fulfilled whenever courts, classrooms, media, and even churches discard Scripture as final authority. Micah 7:2 laments, “The godly man has perished from the earth…each hunts his brother with a net.” That is the climate Isaiah 59:15 describes. “Whoever turns from evil becomes prey” • In a culture allergic to truth, anyone who repents and walks uprightly becomes a target. “Indeed, all who desire to live godly lives in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (2 Timothy 3:12). • The righteous are “prey” in two ways: – Social hostility—mockery, exclusion, even violence (Jeremiah 15:10). – Institutional injustice—courts and systems punish those who refuse to compromise (Daniel 6:4–17). • Yet God reassures His people: “Who can harm you if you are zealous for what is good?” (1 Peter 3:13). Earthly opposition cannot thwart His ultimate vindication (Romans 8:31–39). “The LORD looked” • God is never passive. “For the eyes of the LORD roam to and fro over all the earth” (2 Chronicles 16:9). He personally inspects the moral state of His people. • His gaze is searching, not distant. Ezekiel 22:30 records the same divine scan: He seeks someone to “stand in the gap.” • The tense is personal and present. He still “looks” today, examining homes, churches, and nations (Revelation 2:23). “There was no justice” • Justice is God-defined righteousness applied to relationships and institutions (Deuteronomy 16:18–20). • When truth collapses, justice follows (Habakkuk 1:4: “Justice never goes forth”). Isaiah denounces courts that “turn justice into wormwood” (Amos 5:7). • The Lord’s displeasure is literal. His holiness reacts to sin the way light dispels darkness (Isaiah 61:8). Because He is just, He must judge; yet because He is merciful, He provides a Redeemer (Isaiah 59:16–20). summary Isaiah 59:15 exposes a society where objective truth has disappeared, the repentant are hunted, and justice is nowhere to be found. God sees it all and is grieved. The verse warns every generation: whenever truth is silenced, injustice rises and the righteous suffer. Yet the same chapter promises that the LORD Himself will intervene, redeem, and restore. Hold fast to His Word, live uprightly, and trust His perfect justice to prevail. |
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