Have you ever been deceived? Have you ever been deceived? To be deceived is to think that something is true but in fact it is not. Have you ever been in a situation where you thought that you were right and then found out that you were wrong? But more important is when you know that you are wrong, how do you respond to that? Are you going to admit or will you keep on doing what you are doing? The nation of Israel in the context of Isaiah 59 was experiencing a similar situation. And as we will see, Israel thought that she was right, but she was wrong. She thought that she was righteous, but she was sinful. But when God exposed to Israel her sins in Isaiah 59, Israel responded well. Today, we are going to learn how to respond when God exposes our sin. Chapter 59 of Isaiah is part of a larger unit that begins with chapter 58. Chapter 58 verse 3 introduces to us what Israel thought was right. Israel cries out and says to God in 58 verse 3, why have we fasted and you see it not? Why have we humbled ourselves and you take no knowledge of it? In other words, as if Israel is saying to God, God, we have done so and so to you, why aren't you paying attention? Do you not care about our fasting and the ways we humbled ourselves before you? Is there something wrong? Israel believed that God should bless them because of their rituals or the things they do. And for this reason, God responds to Israel in the remainder of chapter 58 by pointing out that without any inward reality of faith, God is never pleased. And Israel, like many people, had confused rituals with relationship. outward acts with true obedience to God. Israel believed that she was pleasing God, but she was not. What led Israel to that? From the context of Isaiah 58 and 59, Israel was deceived by her own self-righteousness. And self-righteousness is a moral self-confidence of superiority arising from satisfaction in one's own assessments of things and achievements. In the case of Israel, they believe that they were morally upright and have earned salvation because of strict adherence to moral and religious laws. So a self-righteous person is someone who believes that he is the standard of right and he is the standard of wrong. But what is the theological problem in this? Paul provides an answer in Romans 3, Romans 3, verses 10 through 12. And actually, Paul cites from Psalm 14 and from Isaiah 53 in order to make his point. Paul says, none is righteous. No, not one. No one understands. No one seeks for God. All, all have turned aside. Together they have become worthless. No one does good. This truth is also obvious in Genesis. where Moses said in Genesis 6 verse 5, the Lord saw that the wickedness of men was great in the earth and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. Scripture is clear that humans by nature, they are depraved. So if someone claims self-righteousness, that is simply because he cannot see who he is. And no one can know who he is unless he's exposed to God's holiness. This point was made clear in Isaiah's calling in Isaiah chapter 6. Before God sent Isaiah to prophesize against Israel and the nations because of their sins, Isaiah had to see the ugliness of his own sins first. Isaiah saw a vision where he was standing before the throne of God, and Isaiah heard the angels crying, holy, holy, holy. And when Isaiah was exposed to the holiness of God, Isaiah couldn't respond but with the following words. The first word he said when he was exposed to the holiness of God, he said, woe to me, for I am lost. For I'm a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of people of unclean lips. For my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts." When Isaiah saw his own unrighteousness and confessed that he was a sinner, Isaiah cried for help. He realized that he needed to be cleansed. Isaiah's conviction led to his confession, and his confession led to his cleansing. And there are three stages here that Isaiah experienced, and these three stages are the same stages that we will see in our text concerning Israel. So we can divide our text, or Isaiah 59, into three sections. First point or first section, verse one through eight. This is sin exposed, verses one through eight, sin exposed. Verses nine through 15a, or the first half of verse 15, repentance proclaimed, then from 15b to 21, redemption accomplished. Sin exposed, repentance proclaimed, redemption accomplished. Let's look at the first point in our text, sin exposed, verses one through eight. In this section, Isaiah confronts Israel with a shocking truth. While thinking that she was right, Israel was wrong. And in verse one through eight, Isaiah identifies Israel's real problem, which is sin and its results and its power. Israel, as we read in Isaiah 58-3, thought that there was a problem with God. The people were asking why God does not seem to answer their prayers. Why do they have no sense of his presence and power in their personal lives and in their society? But in verse one, in Isaiah 59, the prophet turns the table against Israel and announces that the real problem is not with God, but with Israel. Isaiah in verse nine of chapter 59 says, behold, which means pay attention. Behold the Lord's hand is not shortened and it cannot save that it cannot save or his ear dull that it cannot hear. Isaiah is telling Israel that her assessment of her own situation is wrong. God has all the power to save and God is all ears. So what is the problem? Then in verse 2, Isaiah tells Israel what is the problem. The prophet says, 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. Israel's problem with God is sin. And Isaiah, the prophet Isaiah used two important words here. The two words are iniquities and sins. And the first word translated iniquity means perversion or distortion. And it also, it refers to something that is crooked or something that is wrong. The prophet accuses Israel of turning away from God. The second word Isaiah uses, the word sin, and the Hebrew word means missing the mark. And this word conveys how Israel fails to live up to God's expectations. What Isaiah announces to Israel is that she fails to conform to God's righteous and moral law. not only in action and attitude, but also in moral nature. So when people sin, they sin because they are sinners by nature. So blaming others for what they do is wrong. Why? Because we actually do what we do because of who we really are. And sin also has results. And to God, sin does not go unnoticed. Sin has consequences. And as in Isaiah verse two, it creates a barrier between God and the people. And sin also has caused God to turn away from listening to their prayers. Sin disconnects and separates people from God. It breaks any kind of fellowship with Him. Why? Because sin and holiness do not associate. It's like light and darkness. They do not partner together. But sin does not only create a barrier, as Isaiah says to Israel, but sin makes God to hide his face from them, as verse two says. And the idea of turning or hiding his face has a very profound theological meaning. And it should cause the audience to grieve and reassess their condition before God. Why? Israel knows the five book of Moses very well. Israel knows the Torah. And they know that when God has created Adam and Eve, he created them so that they can live before his face. So that they can live in his presence. So that they can enjoy the presence of God in an uninterrupted communion with him. But sin breaks relationships. especially relationship with God. And when Adam and Eve sinned, they were cast out from the garden and they were cast out from God's presence. So Israel here is facing the same. She is removed from God's favor because of her sin. And God has hidden his face from her. The point here is that sin separates us from God. But what about the power of sin? Verse 3 through 8, they describe what sin can do. And actually, this few verses, verses 3 through 8, they had a great influence on the Apostle Paul. In fact, they shaped the Apostle Paul's theology about sin. And this passage actually does not only apply to Israel, but it applies to the entire human race. And Paul cites this passage in Romans 3 to point out to the total depravity of humankind and its failure to comply with God's moral standards. Now let's look at what sin has caused Israel to do. Isaiah tells Israel in verse 3, for your hands are defiled with blood and your fingers with iniquity. And this is a figure of speech conveying how sin causes people to do violent things. Then Isaiah continues, your lips have spoken lies, your tongue mutters wickedness. Sin also causes people to hold back from telling the truth. And even it drives them to speak and respond with harmful words. Then in verse 4, no one enters suit justly, no one goes to law honestly, they rely on empty pleas, they speak lies. In other words, because society is corrupt, justice is also corrupt. And the legal system only exists so that those who are in power can twist it for their own purposes and for their own benefit. This is what sin can do. And Isaiah proceeds, they conceive mischief and give birth to iniquity. It means that sin overflows. It pours out naturally from their own heart. Then in verse five and six, he compares Israel to snakes and spiders. I don't think if you have a friend of yours and you want to introduce him to another person and you would say, let me introduce you to my friend, he's a snake or he's a spider. I think that's a bad description. It's not a nice description. So he compares Israel to snakes and spiders. And he uses the metaphor of snakes to portray how Israel had become dangerous. Sin is harmful not only to the sinner, but to those who are around him as well. And sin is just like a poison, it spreads everywhere. Then Isaiah uses the metaphor of spiders to portray how Israel has become useless. Then in verse 7 and 8, Isaiah describes in a graphic way how evil is becoming something natural for Israel and something that they are quick to do, something they love to do. And as a result of all of that, peace has departed from them. Sin steals the true peace and the joy that only God can provide. So in the previous eight verses, God exposes Israel's sin. And it is obvious that the heart of Israel's problem is a problem of the heart. Israel thought she was righteous and God accused her for being sinful. Israel thought that she was right, but she was wrong. That is deception and that's what sin causes. Sin is deceptive because it whispers to us into minimizing what God says clearly that is wrong. Sin has the power also to make us numb to God's truth. It even compels us to avoid those who come to us and expose to us our sins. But remember that when God exposed to us our sins, that is because he wants us to return to him. When God exposed our sins, that is one of the most gracious and kind and merciful divine actions. But usually when our sins are exposed, we respond in one of two ways. One, we remain in our condition. We remain in our sinful condition. And if we remain in our sins, Scripture teaches that our hearts are going to become hardened. We will become stubborn. And the hardened heart is the heart that opposes God's truth. And if this is the case, God's word promises judgment. Another way to respond to God when he exposes our sin is that we humble ourselves, admit that we have sinned, and turn to God for help. And if this is the case, God promises hope. And that is exactly how Israel responds to God after her sins have been exposed. Which leads us to the second point, repentance proclaimed. In this section, Israel shifts from blaming God to clear awareness of her own responsibility of her sin. And that is the first step toward a biblical view of repentance. and genuine repentance must be rooted in the realization of how sinful an action, emotion, belief, or way of life is. It is a heartfelt sorrow of sin, a renouncing of it, and a sincere commitment to forsake it and walk in obedience to God. So as we look at verses nine through 11, we will first notice Israel's awareness of her condition before God. Then 12 through 15a, we will see how Israel takes responsibility for her sins. In verses nine through 11, Israel expresses her awareness of her conditions through several metaphors. Verse nine begins with a therefore, which points to all what was previous. As a result of exposing her sins, Israel begins her confession. Israel says in verse nine, therefore justice is far from us and righteousness does not overtake us. The term justice and righteousness in Isaiah are exclusively used to indicate either one of two meanings depending on the context. First, it means, or it denotes the just and the righteous behavior that God expects from his people. In other words, walking in righteousness and walking in holiness with God. Second, it expresses God's righteous act of saving those who are in distress. It refers to his act of reaching out and intervening to help his people. That second sense is what we have in verse 9. Israel realizes that God's intervention on her behalf is far from her. Not because God is unable to save, but because Israel's sin, God is not intervening. And the metaphor here in that verse is abandonment. Israel confesses that God has abandoned her. But God has abandoned Israel because Israel has abandoned God. Then Israel continues her confession and claims, we hope for light and behold darkness, for brightness and we walk in gloom. And the metaphor here is deception. Israel expected one thing from God, but it turned out to be the opposite. They hoped for light, but they found themselves walking in darkness. And Israel confesses that she's on the wrong path. Then in verse 10, Israel says, we grope for the wall like the blind. We grope like those who have no eyes. We stumble at noon as in the twilight among those in full vigor, we are like dead men. We are like dead men. So first, Israel compares herself to a blind person, and a blind person cannot guide himself, and eventually he will stumble. Furthermore, Israel compares herself to a dead man. A dead man has no hope. A dead man has no future. So the metaphor here is hopelessness. Israel admits that if there is hope, it would come from beyond herself. And Israel then continues and expresses her desperate condition in verse 11, stating, we all growl like bears, we moan and moan like doves, we hope for justice, but there is none for salvation, but it is far, far from us. Again, the two metaphors here of bears and doves together, they convey Israel's condition of absence of rest, of distress, of sorrow that is caused by the realization of her condition before God. But in verse 12 through 14, we can see how Israel takes responsibility for her own sins. It is obvious in verse 12 when Israel says, for our transgression, for our transgression, our is a possessive pronoun. It points to ownership. For our transgression are multiplied before you against God and our sins testify against us for our transgression is with us and we know our iniquities. Knowledge here means understanding, means full grasp. We know our iniquities. We know that we have sinned against you. And at this point, Israel does not ignore or deny or blame her failures and her sins on someone else. She takes responsibility for her sins. And genuine repentance begins by taking responsibility of our own sin before God. Not only that, but also Israel in verse 13 admits that though sin harms other persons, ultimately all sin is against God. Israel confessed that she denied the Lord. She turned back from him. How? By planning and carrying out lies to deceive and cause harm to other for her own benefit. That's a mess. And if we live in sin, our life will be a mess. It will be a great mess. Then in verse 14 and 15, Israel repeats what she has already stated in verse 9. Because of sin, justice is turned back. and righteousness stand far away. For truth has stumbled in the public squares and uprightness cannot enter." This last phrase is a figurative expression that means that telling the truth is no longer taking place in public life. Then in verse 15, truth is lacking, no honesty. Truthfulness is no more found in the community. and he who departs from evil make himself a prey. So as a result of a lack of truth and honesty, those who want to tell the truth and live justly, they will suffer for it. They will be hunted like an animal. Israel now realizes that she's wrong. And she realizes that if there is hope for her, it must come from somewhere else. And this passage reminds us that if sin is the root of all these ills within us, then hope cannot be found in us. Hope will not be found in a thing, but in an intervention of a person. one who had not been infected by the disease of sin, and who is willing also to invade our brokenness with the power to do what is necessary to rescue, to deliver, and to restore. But who can do that but God? But the question here, will God intervene? Thankfully, the answer is a resounding yes. And that's the focus of our last point, which is redemption promised. Redemption promised. Isaiah begins this section by assuring Israel of an important truth that would instill hope in her heart. This truth is found in the second half of verse 15. which says, and the Lord saw it. And the Lord saw it. This same expression, and the Lord saw it, is found also in the book of Exodus, referring to Israel when they were slaves in Egypt. By the way, I am an Egyptian, but I have nothing to do with that. This expression is found in the book of Exodus and refers to Israel when they were slaves in Egypt, when they were under the oppression of the Egyptians, and when they cried out to God. In Exodus 2, verse 25, this is what Moses records. God sow the people of Israel. When Israel cried, God sow it. And this expression, God so it, should prepare the reader for something that is about to happen, mainly a divine intervention. So when Israel was in Egypt and cried to God, God so it and send them Moses to deliver them from their oppression. And in Isaiah 59, when Israel confessed her sinful condition God also saw it, and he will intervene. But what did God see here? Two things. First, in verse 16, God saw that there was no justice. And as a result, that displeased him. In the Hebrew, that was evil in his eyes, in the Hebrew language. God is indeed patient and long-suffering with sinful people, but eventually he will justly deal with the problem of sin and with sinful people. And the second thing that God saw in verse 16, that there was no man and wondered that there was no one to intercede. Wandering here does not mean that God was taken by surprise, for he is never taken by surprise because God is omniscient. He knows everything. Rather, it's an expression of his full realization that he is the only source of hope. God saw that there was not one person, a single human being, who could address this situation appropriately. and there is no one to intercede. To intercede means someone to intervene, to get involved, and who is also able and capable to deal with the situation. And verse 16 provides the solution. It provides the hope Israel was waiting for. And as verse 16 says, then what? His own arm brought him salvation and his righteousness upheld him. In other word, no one can solve the problem of sinful humanity except for God. But how is this going to happen? There is an interesting observation here that we do not want to miss. The phrase, the arm of the Lord or the hand of the Lord and the word intercede. The hand of the Lord or the arm of the Lord and the word intercede. These two words are key words or expressions in Isaiah 53. And for those of you who don't know, Isaiah 53 is one of the most important Old Testament chapters speaking of the coming of the Messiah who will suffer for the sake of his people and who will carry their sins. Isaiah 53, the beginning of Isaiah 53, begins with that question, to whom has the hand of the Lord has been revealed? And then the rest of the chapter explains how the servant of the Lord or how the Messiah will bring God's plan of redemption into fruition through his death and resurrection. But Isaiah concludes, Isaiah 53 concludes with these words. who, here it refers to the Messiah, bore the sins of many and makes intercession for the transgressor. So Isaiah 53 begins with the hand of the Lord. God will accomplish his salvation through the Messiah. And this chapter concludes that the Messiah will die for the sins of many and make intercession for the transgressor. So whoever reads Isaiah 59, this is our chapter, especially when God so that there is no man or someone who intercedes should not be surprised. Why? Because God has already announced in Isaiah 53 that person, that that person exists and this person is his servant, the Messiah. Then verse 17 describes how God will intervene. 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. God in this verse is pictured as a fully equipped warrior. And the clothing is a metaphor of how God will display himself. The imagery conveys three important characteristics of God. First, his righteousness. He is going to fulfill his holy purposes because of who he is. He is righteous. Second, he is a savior. He is going to deliver. He is going to rescue. And third, by putting garments of vengeance, he is coming not only as a savior, but also as a judge. And as a judge, verse 17 elaborates, according to their deeds he will repay wrath to his adversaries. God's response to sin. God's wrath is God's response to sin. Repayment to his enemies, to the coastlands he will render repayment. So God will repay his enemies and he will take vengeance on those who have opposed him. Then in verse 18, Isaiah explains the result of God's judgment. So they shall fear the name of the Lord. And this verse reflects the expectation that all kinds of people will know the Lord and fear his name. For some, his coming will be a joy. And for others, his coming will be terrifying. So if the emphasis in verse 20 is that God is coming as a judge, verse 21 present him as a redeemer and as a savior. And as verse 21 reads, and a Redeemer will come to Zion to those in Jacob who turn from transgression, declares the Lord. A Redeemer is someone who comes to rescue someone who is in a desperate situation. And the Redeemer, according to verse 21, he is coming to a location, to a place, and this place is Zion. Zion is the city that God has chosen to be his eternal dwelling place. It is the city to which all the nations of the earth will come one day and worship Messiah along with Israel. It is the city that God has promised one day to restore and make glorious. Actually, to this city, God says in Isaiah 62, verse one, for Zion's sake, I will not keep silent. And for Jerusalem's sake, I will not be quiet until her righteousness goes forth as brightness and her salvation as a burning torch. A promise that is not yet fulfilled. So the Redeemer is coming to Zion to restore the city, but not only that, he is also coming to those in Jacob who turn from transgression. And Jacob here refers to the nation of Israel. Those who turn from their transgression refer to the multitude of Israelites who would offer genuine repentance when the Redeemer returns. And for those, the Redeemer will provide deliverance and forgiveness of sins. Then in verse 21, Isaiah introduces additional encouraging words and promises from the Lord to Israel, to those who turn from their sins. Isaiah verse 21 says, and the Lord says, and as for me, this is the Lord speaking, this is my covenant with them. This is my covenant with them. Them here refers to who? It refers to those who would repent from their sins in verse 20. And it refers to the nation. Then God says, My spirit that is upon you and my word that I have put in your mouth shall not depart out of your mouth or out of the mouth of your offspring or out of the mouth of your children's offspring, says the Lord, from this time forth and forevermore. There is an important observation here that we can easily miss because the language in English does not make it clear. Look at the second person pronoun here in after my covenant with them. We know that them here refers to the nation. Then God says, my spirit is upon you. Logically, you here should refer to who? To them, to the nation. But you here is not plural. You here is singular. All the you and yours in that passage, they are all in the singular. They are not in the plural. So all those pronouns, are referring not to the nation, but they're speaking of someone, somebody, to an individual, not to the nation. When he says, my spirit is upon you, he's speaking about an individual. Who is that individual? Once again, the prophet Isaiah makes allusions to the servant of the Lord, the messianic figure, who has the spirit of the Lord on him. For instance, in Isaiah 61, verse one, the servant of the Lord says, the spirit of the Lord is upon me because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. Actually, Jesus applies this verse to himself in the synagogue in Luke 4, verse 18. And also, God says about his Messiah in Isaiah 42, verse 1, Behold my servant whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights, I have put my spirit upon him, and he will bring forth justice to the nations. So the you in verse 21 here refers to the person, to a person. And most likely that person is the Messiah or the servant of the Lord. So the point of this passage is that in the same way, God's spirit and word are in his anointed Messiah, God extends this promise to all the Messiah's spiritual offspring. That means that the Messiah's spiritual offspring will experience a complete and permanent internalization of God's Spirit and Word. And again, another final observation here is the word offspring. This is a key word in Isaiah and also goes back to Isaiah 53. The offspring would refer to those who would believe in the death of the Messiah, in the death of the servant on their behalf, according to Isaiah 53 and verses 10, where it says, when his, his here referred to the Messiah or the servant, when his soul makes an offering of guilt, he shall see his offspring. That is a glorious promise to those who trust in God's anointed Messiah. So to conclude, Isaiah 59 explains how the nation of Israel one day will realize her condition and will confess her sins. And one day in the future, Israel will experience a national repentance. And when that takes place, the Redeemer, Jesus Christ, the Messiah, will come to redeem the nation God has chosen. And then he would establish his kingdom. And the Apostle Paul affirms this truth in Romans 11, 26. After dedicating three chapters speaking about God's plan for Israel, and these chapters are Romans 9 through 11, after dedicating three chapters speaking about God's plan for Israel, he concludes this section by stating that all Israel will be saved. And in order to support his argument that all Israel will be saved, Paul goes back to Isaiah 59, our chapter for this morning, and specifically verses 20 to support his argument that the Redeemer will come to Zion to save those who are from Jacob. Paul cites Isaiah 59 verse 20 in order to point to one important truth. God is faithful to his promises. And Paul affirms this truth in Romans 11 29 when he says, for the gifts and calling of God are irrevocable. Israel's future hope is not based on her faithfulness, but on God's faithfulness who will keep his promises to restore his nation. God's promises never fail. Do you believe in that? Do you trust in God's promises? In his first coming, Christ has provided salvation and his salvation is extended to those who turn from their sins and put their faith in his life and substitutionary death and resurrection. But Christ will come again to judge and to fulfill God's promises for Israel. And from today's passage, we can learn how dangerous a sinful life is and where it can lead. And Israel realized that, but God exposed to Israel her sins so that she can turn to God. So when God exposed to us our sins, that is to turn to Him. But when we turn to Him, we need to know that when we turn to Him, we have hope. And that hope is found only in the Redeemer. Today's passage is a reminder that God extends forgiveness to every humble and repentant soul. So will you align yourself with God and seek the Redeemer, or will you choose something else?