736_What sin really is (Isaiah 59)
Isaiah 59:1-2 Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save,
or his ear dull, that it cannot hear;
2 but your iniquities have made a separation
between you and your God,
and your sins have hidden his face from you
so that he does not hear.
Vs.16-17 He saw that there was no man,
and wondered that there was no one to intercede;
then his own arm brought him salvation,
and his righteousness upheld him.
17 He put on righteousness as a breastplate,
and a helmet of salvation on his head;
he put on garments of vengeance for clothing,
and wrapped himself in zeal as a cloak.
When we try to communicate across a soundproof glass wall, it feels strange. You can see them. You can wave your hands. Your lips move, but your words never reach the other side. The barrier is invisible, yet real. In a similar way, many people experience seasons when God seems distant. They pray, but heaven appears closed. It is easy to wonder, “Has God stopped listening? Has His power diminished?”
That was the very question troubling the Jewish people in Isaiah’s day. Faced with the impending destruction of their city and their nation, they wondered why God seemed absent. Isaiah 59 opens with God’s straightforward answer: “Behold, the LORD’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, or his ear dull, that it cannot hear” (Isaiah 59:1, ESV). He continues, “but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear” (Isaiah 59:2, ESV).
We often think of sin as a mistake, a weakness, or a rule violation. Before God, however, sin is a relational issue. It cuts off the sinner from God. In this case, Israel blamed their troubles on political events, foreign nations, and difficult circumstances. But the real problem was that their hearts were estranged from God because of their disloyalty to him. They had betrayed their covenant with him.
We often explain our spiritual dryness by pointing to stress, disappointment, busy schedules, or painful relationships. While those things are real, it is our sin that poses the greatest obstacle to real prayer. For sin always creates distance.
Beginning in verse 3, Isaiah 59 describes how sin had defiled and corrupted every part of their lives. They were violent, greedy, oppressive, liars, plotters, and evildoers. God sees, not just our actions, but our thoughts, desires, and plans. He sees our hidden motives. Nothing escapes His notice.
The Lord reminded the people in his day that sin begins in the heart. Murder is synonymous with hatred, adultery with lust, and evil words with an evil heart. God’s judgment falls, not on outward behavior but on the sinful heart from where it comes.
And as this chapter shows, personal sin becomes social corruption. Justice disappears. Truth is buried under lies. Violence becomes normal. Integrity is supplanted by deception. Like a contaminated stream entering a river, one person’s sin spreads far beyond its source.
The prophet uses two unforgettable illustrations. He compares the people’s actions to hatching vipers’ eggs and weaving spider’s webs. A viper’s egg hatches into a new viper. A spider’s web may be delicate and beautiful, but is useless as clothing. Just so, sinful living harms others and proves utterly useless in our attempts to build a relationship with God the Holy One. Even our best attempts at self-righteousness can never cover our guilt.
And the consequences of this unfaithfulness are devastating. “Therefore justice is far from us, and righteousness does not overtake us; we hope for light, and behold, darkness” (Isaiah 59:9, ESV). People long for light but find only darkness. They search for direction but stumble like blind men even at midday. They grope along walls, uncertain where to go. Sin not only loads us with guilt but blinds us. It clouds our judgment, robs us of peace, and leaves us confused.
Today we live in an age of astonishing technological progress and unlimited access to information, yet deepening moral degradation. Knowledge is not wisdom. Education cannot transform the heart. One sentence says it all: “The way of peace they do not know” (Isaiah 59:8, ESV). Sin promises freedom but enslaves us to wanting our own way. It promises enlightenment but leaves us in darkness.
Yet, beginning in verse 12, God shows how change can happen. The people finally stop making excuses. They confess, “For our transgressions are multiplied before you, and our sins testify against us” (Isaiah 59:12, ESV). The repeated words-our transgressions, our sins, our iniquities- reveal that they have stopped shifting blame or minimizing their guilt. They confess that God’s verdict is right.
This is the turning point. Convicted by Nathan’s words, David confessed, “I have sinned against the LORD.” The prodigal son confessed to his father, “I have sinned against heaven and before you.” The tax collector simply begged, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!” And all were welcomed, forgiven, and cleansed. As long as we defend ourselves, we remain distant from Him. But when we honestly acknowledge our sin, we discover Him running to meet us on the way with love and acceptance.
However, the prophet reveals what happens when sin abounds. “The LORD saw it” (Isaiah 59:15, ESV). God looked for someone to set things right. He searched for a righteous king, a priest, a prophet, who would guide the people into the paths of righteousness and peace. Yet there was no one. Therefore, “his own arm brought him salvation” (Isaiah 59:16, ESV).
God stepped in to execute righteousness. He is pictured as a divine warrior, armed with righteousness as a breastplate and salvation as a helmet. Centuries later, the apostle Paul would use the same imagery to describe the believer’s spiritual armor. For wickedness will not prevail forever. Righteousness goes before him. When we look for God’s intervention, we must be aware that salvation for the righteous will arrive as judgment on the wicked.
And yet beyond judgment, Isaiah looked ahead to a greater salvation. We needed more than another war leader or political genius, another prophet or reformer. We needed someone to take on Satan himself and defeat our enslaver.
Through the incarnation, the Son of God became our kinsman-redeemer. As Boaz redeemed Ruth and restored her family line as well, the Lord Jesus took part in our flesh and blood. He tasted death, the wages of sin, and made full atonement, so that we might also not only die with him but rise to new life. And so our sins are forgiven for his name’s sake.
He fulfilled the promise: “And a Redeemer will come to Zion, to those in Jacob who turn from transgression” (Isaiah 59:20, ESV). Repentance is not an attempt to earn God’s approval; it is the recognition that we are doing wrong in seeking our own desires. It is the returning to live according to God’s righteousness. And to such, God reveals his salvation. We cannot cling to our sin and to our Savior at the same time. The hands that receive Christ are empty because they have let go of self.
And in the coming of the Son, God revealed his eternal plan to have us with him, not separated from him but enjoying His covenant presence. He does not simply forgive us and send us on our way. He promises that His Spirit and His Word will remain with His people. Through them, he guides us into the delighted and awed recognition of the greatness of his love for us. It is thus that he teaches us to love him, until we are fully conformed to the likeness of Christ.
Let us resist the temptation to measure sin by our own standards. Instead, let us recognize the right judgment of God. Sin is death, for it tears us away from God, the source of our life. Yet His grace is greater still, in giving us life through Christ, in whom is life. The chapter begins with separation but ends with restoration through the grace of God, who entered the world, not to condemn but to save sinners.
If God seems distant today, let us open our hearts to him so that he may search and purify us. Let us confess freely and humbly, turning back to doing his will. Let us look to the Redeemer who came because no one else could save. His arm has not grown weak. His ear has not grown dull. His grace is sufficient, His mercy abundant, and His call to repentance open. He sees our sin more clearly than we do, but he sent the Savior whom we so desperately need. Trusting him, we are assured that in Jesus Christ, every barrier can be removed and fellowship with God fully restored. God bless.