Lord seems far away in his glorious, exalted place in heaven. Thus the one praying does not doubt God’s existence, his holiness, or his sovereignty; he just wants to see God act on behalf of his people now. Later it will become evident that sin (64:5–7) has caused a separation (cf. 59:1–2) between a holy God and his sinful people; thus, God cannot act on behalf of his people.

There is a clue here to Isaiah’s message. The Hebrew words translated “are held back” reappear in 64:12, the last verse in the passage, as “restrain yourself.” The same Hebrew word lies behind the two English translations. This prayer begins with Isaiah agonizing over the way God is withholding his compassion from his people, and it ends with Isaiah asking God to stop restraining his love and power. The whole prayer is for God to visit us without holding himself back at all.

Isaiah 64:1 is as good a description of revival as we’ll find: God comes down to us

He’s talking about God shaking up this world and changing his enemies into his worshipers.

But Isaiah isn’t just talking about this. He’s longing for it. The most important word in the whole passage is the first word in 64:1: “Oh.” The most important punctuation mark in the passage is the exclamation point at the end of that sentence (v. 2). Isaiah isn’t theorizing. He’s praying, and with passion.

Instead, it appears that the problem is made up of three aspects: (a) God is not doing what some Hebrews want him to do for his people (63:15–17, 19); (b) because of some enemy, which is not named by country, ethnicity, or location, some sacred cities and sanctuaries in Judah are defiled and trampled (63:18; 64:10–11); and (c) the lamenter(s) admit that “we” have sinned and made God angry (64:5b–7).

The setting of Isaiah’s message shifts to the time of the exile, which earlier passages of the book assumed (11:11–12, 15–16; 14:1–2; 27:12–13; 35:10) and prophesied (5:13; 6:12; 27:8; 39:5–7). This final section of the book begins on an extremely positive note, as God affirmed His commitment to His servant nation and promised them deliverance from exile in seemingly unconditional terms. As the section progresses, it becomes apparent that total restoration would not be automatic. Covenantal renewal, mediated through a special servant viewed as an ideal Israel and a second Moses, was necessary. Anticipating that some would reject God’s offer of reconciliation, the books’ final chapters foresee a final, purifying judgment, out of which a holy community would emerge.

So the prophet Isaiah declares that righteous, covenant-keeping foreigners are more pleasing to Yahweh than unrighteous purebred returnees. But the people of Israel declare themselves unable to be righteous. In response, Yahweh reveals his righteous Warrior (59:15b–21; 63:1–6), who will defeat sin and graciously empower Israel to live righteously and thus become the promised light to the nations.

Chs. 56–66 seem to address yet another situation. Deliverance from captivity is not the issue; rather, the people cannot live righteously and consequently fail their national mission to bring light to the nations. Again, there would be a message here for corrupt Jerusalem during Isaiah’s lifetime, yet it seems more likely to be describing the situation after the return of the exiles, as represented in the books of Ezra, Nehemiah, and Malachi.

V. Righteousness: The Character of Servanthood (56:1–66:24)

A. Righteous Foreigners and Eunuchs (56:1–8)

B. Israel’s Inability to Do Righteousness (56:9–59:21)

1. God’s Accusation Against the Wicked (56:9–57:13)

a. Blind Watchmen (56:9–12)

b. A Righteous Generation Quietly Disappears (57:1–2)

c. A Diatribe Against Worshipers of Idols (57:3–13)

2. Comfort for the Contrite (57:14–21)

3. Declare Their Rebellion (58:1–59:15a)

a. The Sin of Hypocrisy (58:1–2)

b. False Versus True Fasting (58:3–12)

c. Sabbath-Keeping (58:13–14)

d. Failure to Do Righteousness (59:1–15a)

4. The Divine Warrior, Solution to the Problem (59:15b–21)

C. Light to the Nations (60:1–62:12)

1. The Lord’s Light Shines on the Nations (60:1–22)

2. The Messiah Announces Good News of Deliverance (61:1–3)

3. The Lord’s Righteousness Is Displayed to the Nations (61:4–62:12)

a. The People Whom the Lord Has Blessed (61:4–11)

b. Zion’s New Name (62:1–12)

D. Israel’s Inability to Do Righteousness (63:1–66:17)

1. The Divine Warrior (63:1–6)

2. A History of Redemption and Rebellion (63:7–65:16)

a. A Résumé of Redemption and Rebellion (63:7–14)

b. A Cry for Yahweh to Intervene (63:15–64:12)

c. Yahweh’s Response (65:1–16)

3. New Heavens and a New Earth (65:17–25)

4. Unrighteousness and Redemption (66:1–17)

E. Righteous Gentiles (66:18–24)

The present section gives us the lament proper, which is addressed directly to God. We may divide these verses into four sections: 63:15–19; 64:1–5; 64:6–7; and 64:8–12.

It is usual to claim that these verses must be post-exilic, describing the return to a devastated sanctuary (2 Kgs 25:8), but post-exilic experience is against this view: the return was itself proof that the Lord was active in love on behalf of his people.

Isaiah was writing for the exiles in Babylon who would view their situation as somewhat hopeless. They would not be able to sense how God could possibly help them in their distress.

The prophet looks up and calls on God to bare His arm and display His power (Isa. 63:15–64:12). For Abraham’s sake, for Israel’s sake, because God is their Father, he pleads for a demonstration of power just as God did in the ancient days.

There is a clue here to Isaiah’s message. The Hebrew words translated “are held back” reappear in 64:12, the last verse in the passage, as “restrain yourself.”

63:15–16 The initial complaint is against God. The lamenter does not accuse God of some wrong but simply calls for God to “look, take notice” from his distant heavenly abode (as in Ps 80:1–2) in order to find out what is really happening on earth.

The lamenter questions where God’s zeal and might have gone? Where are the “deep rumblings of your innards” and compassion “unto me” (ʾēlay, NIV, “from us”) that are withheld. Zeal refers to God’s strong determination, his absolute commitment to accomplish what he has promised (9:7; 59:17). Might is simply God’s power, often military might, to bring to pass his plans for his people. Inward emotional convictions and compassionate love are two of the central internal motivations that move God to action. These are the characteristic ways of God, the heart of God that the lamenter has failed to observe. J. Oswalt envisions this as a time when the people have returned from exile and are rather helpless when their enemies confront them, not seeing God do many miracles on their behalf.

The phrase הֲמוֹן מֵעֶ֜י (NIV “your tenderness”) literally refers to the “noise of your bowels,” a metaphor for the deepest emotions and convictions that drive behavior. In English people have a “gut feeling” about something, but in Hebrew thinking, this is not an intuition or feeling; it is a driving passion based on convictions.

“Father” is not a frequent name or title given to God in the Hebrew Bible, possibly because people wanted to avoid any fertility connotation of sexual fatherhood. The Israelites are often called “sons, children” (Exod 4:22; Isa 1:2, 4; Hos 11:1–4), and early on God is called both “Creator” and “Father” (Deut 32:8, 18; Ps 103:13). A similar idea is found in Isa 45:9–12 where God is both the Potter as well as Father. It is difficult to know what this title implies in this limited context. Is it an attempt to impose some familial responsibility on God, or is it meant to make an emotional connection to a hurting member of the family? At minimum, this title proclaims that there is a close, personal (“our”), spiritual relationship to God, but it could even include the associated idea that God elected them to be his children.

To say that they are sinning because God will not let them do otherwise is a gross slander of God, which God summarily rejects in 65:1.

In v.16 we have the first two of three references to God as Father (cf. also 64:8). Kidner (“Isaiah,” in loc.) says that this repeated plea “gives this prayer its special intensity, as the sense of estrangement struggles with that of acceptance.” In fact, the sense of relationship with God as seen here goes even deeper than national solidarity. It is the deepest fact of the people’s life.

The Exodus had been followed by the great revelation at Sinai, when the mountain trembled at the presence of God (Exod 19:16–19). On that occasion God descended on the mount (Exod 19:18). Here the prophet graphically conceives of the very heavens being rent by Israel’s God in his eagerness to be once more in the midst of his people. The illustration of v.2 of course sets forth the judgment of God. Pharaoh and the Egyptians had learned the power of God’s name at the Exodus (Exod 13:3, 18). The Sinai revelation had made God’s people tremble; this new disclosure of him would terrify the nations of the world.

He’s asking God, “Where are your passion and your power in our experience down here? Where are your zeal and your might being demonstrated here in our generation? The love you do feel so deeply within yourself you’re withholding from us. Come down!”

If the ancient patriarchs could get into a time machine, hit the fast-forward button, and reappear among the people of God at Isaiah’s time, Abraham and Israel would look at them and say, “Who are you?” The people of God have drifted. They’ve become less than they used to be. They need renewal.

If the Reformers appeared today and toured the Protestant churches of our nation, would they identify with us?

The rent heavens, trembling mountains and fire are the traditional motifs used to express the coming of the Holy One (Pss 18:7ff.; 46:1ff.).

God wants us to pray with boldness and passion for the growth of his kingdom. Isn’t that what the Lord’s Prayer emphasizes? Before we pray for our daily bread, we’re taught to pray that God’s kingdom will come (Matthew 6:9–13). God also invites us to make our requests about everything known to him (Philippians 4:6). If it matters to us, it matters to him (1 Peter 5:7). God invites us to tell him everything. He’s listening. But how can we overlook the main thing God tells us to pray for—the power of his kingdom today? When we’re passing around prayer requests in our small groups, is his cause the first thing we mention? Are we praying with God’s priorities?

64:1 [63:19b] Earlier the lament has raised the problem of God’s seeming absence or inaction (63:15), so this petition calls for God to respond by becoming actively involved with his people once again. The first wish has a perfect verb “you split” (qāraʿtā). It refers to something that the speaker wishes God had done in the past.

The prayer wishes for a divine theophany of the full glory of God similar to examples of his divine appearances in the past (cf. Deut 5:22–29; 32:22; Ps 18:8–16; Mic 1:3–4; Nah 1:3–6; Hab 3:3–15). In these situations God not only revealed his glory, but he also spoke his words to people, confronted evil, demonstrated his power, and brought salvation. The lamenter wants the glorious light of God’s help (cf. 60:1–3) and the wrath of God’s vengeance on his enemies to be seen by all men (63:1–6). In fact, his wish is that people had seen God in action long ago.

The history of God’s people illustrates how God can do this. In 1735 God visited New England. Jonathan Edwards recorded what he saw in his own town:

The town seemed to be full of the presence of God. It never was so full of love, nor of joy, and yet so full of distress, as it was then. There were remarkable tokens of God’s presence in almost every house. It was a time of joy in families on account of salvation being brought unto them; parents rejoicing over their children as new born, and husbands over their wives, and wives over their husbands.… Our public assemblies were then beautiful.… The assembly in general was, from time to time, in tears while the Word was preached, some weeping with sorrow and distress, others with joy and love, others with pity and concern for the souls of their neighbors.

And God is coming down into our world today. Take China. Chinese Christianity has grown from around one million believers in 1950 to somewhere between 80 to 100 million today—and in the face of persecution.

What was God like, this God of the Exodus and Sinai who revealed himself to his people? He was the God of the unexpected (v.3), for in so many of the plagues the ordinary course of nature was interrupted. He was a unique God, for all other so-called deities are impotent. Paul used the words of v.4 in 1 Corinthians 2:9, in the conviction that God still acts on behalf of those who wait on him.

What does God’s work in the past teach us? Not how predictable he is, but how surprising he is. He never acts out of character. He never contradicts his own Word. But he is never at a loss for new ways to break through.

“Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down and do awesome things we’re not looking for! Surprise us again!”

God’s actions in the past demonstrate that this petition is not based in fantasy (Isa. 64:3–4). Whenever God had manifested himself in the past, dramatic things occurred, from the parting of the Red Sea (Ex. 14:21–22) to the stopping of the rain for three years (1 Kings 17:1).

He asks God to “look down” (63:15) and to “come down” (64:1). This is one of the greatest “revival prayers” found in Scripture. Just as God came down in fire at Sinai (Ex. 19:16–19), so let Him come down again and reveal His awesome power to the nations. They trust in dead idols, so let them see what the living God of Israel can do!

Wait (√ḥākâ) is synonymous with (√qāwâ) (3, cf. 40:31); both, at their purest, refer to patient, confident, expectant faith, a faith truly ‘simple’ in its unwavering trust in the divine promises.

God acts in behalf of those who “wait for him,” that is, those who put their trust in him and not in their own devices (cf. 30:18; 40:31). One evidence of such a trust is a life of godliness. To “remember [his] ways” is not merely an intellectual awareness of God’s character and expectations, nor is it only to give intellectual assent to those matters. Rather, as Deuteronomy shows, it is to live in accord with those “ways” (cf. Deut. 8:10–20).

God acts in behalf of those who “wait for him,” that is, those who put their trust in him and not in their own devices (cf. 30:18; 40:31). One evidence of such a trust is a life of godliness. To “remember [his] ways” is not merely an intellectual awareness of God’s character and expectations, nor is it only to give intellectual assent to those matters. Rather, as Deuteronomy shows, it is to live in accord with those “ways” (cf. Deut. 8:10–20).

When God revealed himself through the plagues in Egypt and by dividing the Red Sea, his action also proved that he can be trusted to assist his people. Thus, from experience the Israelites know that God is one who acts on behalf of those who trustingly wait for him. They did not get out of Egypt immediately (they had to wait until the 10 plagues were completed); they did not always have enough water to drink in the wilderness; they did not destroy Jericho in one day. In each case the Israelites can look back at their experiences with God and remember how they cried out again and again. Although they had to wait many years before God actually delivered them (Exodus 1–14), in each case God did act. Finally, when Moses came and told them that God planned to deliver them, the Israelites believed what God said (Exod 4:29–31). In a similar manner, Jericho was not conquered by the brilliant strategy of Israel’s elite army. They had to wait and believe that God would defeat the city in his own way, so they marched around it day after day. But, finally, after six days of marching and waiting, God did destroy the walls of Jericho (Joshua 6). These and hundreds of other experiences taught them that if they were obedient, trusted God, and waited for his timing, he would eventually act on their behalf. Earlier in the book of Isaiah, Ahaz was challenged to trust God during the Syro-Ephraimite War (7:1–9), but he failed to do so. Instead, he sent messengers to the Assyrians and trusted them to help him (2 Chronicles 28), so God did not deliver him from his enemies. These past experiences justify calling upon God to do something because the one praying knows that God “will act” on behalf those who wait for him.

Terrible sin led to anger

64:5b–6

Failure to call on God led to God hiding

64:7

The confession of sin continues with the honest admission that uncleanness has infected everyone in the community; no one is righteous, not even one (cf. 1 Kgs 8:46). This shows that the problem being faced by this community was not some outside military force or a problem related to their material circumstances. The central difficulty was the people’s personal inability to avoid what was sinful.

Earlier in 1:15 God states that he will hide his face and not pay any attention to the sacrifices of the people because they are presenting abominations and their hands were full of blood. Isaiah 59:1–2 indicates that the people’s sins have caused God to hide his face from them and not pay attention to their prayers.

Melting means that the people have no power to withstand and fight against these wicked ways; instead, they succumb to temptations and are defeated by iniquity. It is only by the power of God that anyone is able to reject sinfulness and not be defeated by it. God has already explained that he has hidden and will hide his face because of the people’s sinfulness (59:1–2), so it is not surprising to read that he did not answer them. In effect, he was hiding his face from them and not looking on them with favor (57:17) because sin has separated them from God (59:1–2).

The second half of the verse compares sinners to a withered fading leaf on a tree. Elsewhere Isaiah refers to people under God’s judgment as dying plants or withering leaves (1:30; 28:1, 4; 40:7) instead of a living, vibrant plant that is bearing fruit. What happens when leaves fade and dry up? Soon the wind blows, and the useless leaves are carried away. So it is with these people. The person confessing these sins recognizes that “our iniquities, like the wind, carry us away.” The interpretation of this imagery could move in several directions. Is it saying that people are literally dead and sin carries them away to Sheol, or is this symbolism a reference to living an unproductive life in which they are carried away into the paths of evil by their iniquity? At minimum one can say that dried-up leaves are of no use to the tree or anyone else. When a leaf is living and productive, it is securely connected to the branch and the wind does not affect it; but when a leaf dies and loses its connection to the tree, the winds can easily blow it away. It loses control of its fate and all hope for the future.

Verses 5–7 present a many-sided doctrine of sin, remarkably full for an OT passage. Sin is a continual practice; it is defiling, it is destructive, and it creates a barrier between God and man—both from man’s side, for we do not want to pray, and from God’s, because he will not hear us. It is God himself who has determined that it shall have these results (cf. v.7 with 63:17). No wonder the people cry out, “How then can we be saved?” (v.5).

We’re complicated. Isaiah uses four similes—you see the word “like” four times—to help us recover a more realistic self-awareness.

First, we’re like an unclean leper.

This way of praying glorifies God because it expresses our radical need for him. We’re the clay, he’s the potter, and we need his touch to redesign us and reshape us to be more the way he wants us to be. God holds all power over us, like a potter over clay. Does that discourage prayer? Is his sovereignty, the potter-clay relationship—is that a disincentive to prayer? We can pray with confidence for this very reason: We are the clay; he is the potter. He is able to touch us again. We need it, again and again. And God has many methods of touch. Isaiah is not asking that God wouldn’t discipline us but that God wouldn’t discipline us to the extent we deserve, because by God’s own choice we are his people and under his hand.

The Jews returned from Babylon to the literal ruins of Jerusalem. The temple had been burned down. Everything was a wreck. And that mattered, because Jerusalem at that time represented the government of God on earth. But the Jews came back to a depressing scene with memories of how great it had once been. So they appealed to God: “Look at this mess, Lord. Look what we’ve been reduced to. Look at how your cause has suffered. And it’s our fault. We deserve nothing. But your name is upon us. So we turn to you.

“Lord, as far as I’m concerned, don’t restrain yourself at all. Have your way with me and with us all, freely and entirely. Just let us be a part of your movement today.”

64:1 mountains. Cf. Exod 19:18–20; Judg 5:4–5; Mic 1:3–4; Hab 3:3–7.

He longed for a new display of the divine power revealed at the Red Sea.

The remainder of the prayer combines lamentation over the people’s current situation, confession of sin, statements of confidence, and petitions for God’s deliverance.

They would pray that the Lord would rend the heavens (the sky is pictured as a piece of cloth He would tear), come down (vv. 1–2; cf. “look down,” 63:15), and execute judgment on the nations. Fire and boiling water picture judgment (cf. Jer. 1:13–14; Mal. 4:1, 5). The awesome things (Isa. 64:3) probably refer to the phenomena of fire, darkness (Deut. 4:11–13), and earthquake (Ex. 19:16–19) when God gave the Mosaic Law. This revealing God- the only God (Isa. 64:4; cf. 1 Cor. 2:10)—acts on behalf of those who believe in Him and who therefore willingly do what is right. Recalling this, the remnant would ask that God work on their behalf. They would confess their sin (Isa. 64:5b), spiritual uncleanness (v. 6a), weakness (v. 6b, like a shriveled leaf), and lack of prayer (v. 7). However, they would not blame God for their dreadful condition; they would know that their wasting away was because of their sins. Therefore they would have to count on God’s faithfulness and promises.

God acts in behalf of those who “wait for him,” that is, those who put their trust in him and not in their own devices (cf. 30:18; 40:31). One evidence of such a trust is a life of godliness. To “remember [his] ways” is not merely an intellectual awareness of God’s character and expectations, nor is it only to give intellectual assent to those matters. Rather, as Deuteronomy shows, it is to live in accord with those “ways” (cf. Deut. 8:10–20).

64:4 wait. Expresses trust (see note on 8:17).

8:17 wait. Hebrew ḥākâ (cf. 30:18; 64:4). put my trust in. Hebrew qāwâ, which the NIV translates in a variety of ways, depending on context: (cf. 25:9 [“trusted in”]; 26:8 [“wait for”]; 33:2 [“long for”]; 40:31 [“hope in”]; 49:23 [“hope in”]; 51:5 [“look to”]; 59:9, 11 [“look for”]; 60:9 [“look to”]; 64:3 [“expect”]). Trusting God involves not rushing ahead of him to solve our problems in our own time, in our own way, and with our own resources, but waiting for him to reveal how he plans to act.

Informed by God’s faithfulness in the past, honest prayers cry out for God’s return to his people. He has pledged himself to them, and what happens to them reflects his character to the world (63:17–19; cf. Ex. 32:11–14). As in this prayer, we often fervently pray that just as God has done “awesome things” in the past, so might he work in our day, even in our struggles (Isa. 64:1–3). Confidence comes from the fact that there is no god like the holy God, who amazingly “acts for those who wait [not “work”] for him” (Isa. 64:4; 1 Cor. 2:9). Such prayers are offered from a posture of confession of sin (Isa. 64:6–7), repenting of our uncleanness and resting only in the finished work of Christ, by whose blood we are made clean once and for all (cf. Heb. 7:27; 9:12–28; 10:10).

Why is God not working wonders? They have sinned (Isa. 64:5–6) and must confess their sins and turn from them. If our righteousness is filthy, what must our sins look like in His sight! According to verse 4, God has planned for His people wonderful things beyond their imagination; but their sins prevent Him from sharing His blessings. (See 1 Cor. 2:9 and Eph. 3:20–21.) Is there any hope? Yes, because God is a forgiving Father and a patient Potter (Jer. 18). He can cleanse us and make us anew if we will let Him have His way.