Isaiah 65

Passage overview

Isaiah 65 is a chapter in which both a message of judgment and restoration appear as God’s message to His people. The chapter begins with God’s rebuke of Israel’s people for their disobedience and idolatry (verses 1-7). It then connects the blessings promised to the faithful with the hope of a new creation (verses 8-25). In this chapter, God’s plan for mercy and salvation toward human sin, the resulting judgment, and those who remain is proclaimed.

1verse“I am inquired of by those who didn’t ask. I am found by those who didn’t seek me. I said, ‘See me, see me,’ to a nation that was not called by my name.

2verseI have spread out my hands all day to a rebellious people, who walk in a way that is not good, after their own thoughts;

3versea people who provoke me to my face continually, sacrificing in gardens, and burning incense on bricks;

4versewho sit among the graves, and spend nights in secret places; who eat pig’s meat, and broth of abominable things is in their vessels;

5versewho say, ‘Stay by yourself, don’t come near to me, for I am holier than you.’ These are smoke in my nose, a fire that burns all day.

6verse“Behold, it is written before me: I will not keep silence, but will repay, yes, I will repay into their bosom

7verseyour own iniquities and the iniquities of your fathers together”, says the LORD, “who have burned incense on the mountains, and blasphemed me on the hills. Therefore I will first measure their work into their bosom.”

8verseThe LORD says, “As the new wine is found in the cluster, and one says, ‘Don’t destroy it, for a blessing is in it:’ so I will do for my servants’ sake, that I may not destroy them all.

9verseI will bring offspring out of Jacob, and out of Judah an inheritor of my mountains. My chosen will inherit it, and my servants will dwell there.

10verseSharon will be a fold of flocks, and the valley of Achor a place for herds to lie down in, for my people who have sought me.

11verse“But you who forsake the LORD, who forget my holy mountain, who prepare a table for Fortune, and who fill up mixed wine to Destiny;

12verseI will destine you to the sword, and you will all bow down to the slaughter; because when I called, you didn’t answer. When I spoke, you didn’t listen; but you did that which was evil in my eyes, and chose that in which I didn’t delight.”

13verseTherefore the Lord GOD says, “Behold, my servants will eat, but you will be hungry; behold, my servants will drink, but you will be thirsty. Behold, my servants will rejoice, but you will be disappointed.

14verseBehold, my servants will sing for joy of heart, but you will cry for sorrow of heart, and will wail for anguish of spirit.

15verseYou will leave your name for a curse to my chosen, and the Lord GOD will kill you. He will call his servants by another name,

16verseso that he who blesses himself in the earth will bless himself in the God of truth; and he who swears in the earth will swear by the God of truth; because the former troubles are forgotten, and because they are hidden from my eyes.

17verse“For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; and the former things will not be remembered, nor come into mind.

18verseBut be glad and rejoice forever in that which I create; for, behold, I create Jerusalem to be a delight, and her people a joy.

19verseI will rejoice in Jerusalem, and delight in my people; and the voice of weeping and the voice of crying will be heard in her no more.

20verse“No more will there be an infant who only lives a few days, nor an old man who has not filled his days; for the child will die one hundred years old, and the sinner being one hundred years old will be accursed.

21verseThey will build houses and inhabit them. They will plant vineyards and eat their fruit.

22verseThey will not build and another inhabit. They will not plant and another eat; for the days of my people will be like the days of a tree, and my chosen will long enjoy the work of their hands.

23verseThey will not labor in vain nor give birth for calamity; for they are the offspring of the LORD’s blessed and their descendants with them.

24verseIt will happen that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.

25verseThe wolf and the lamb will feed together. The lion will eat straw like the ox. Dust will be the serpent’s food. They will not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain,” says the LORD.

Main Flow and Structure of the Text

  • Verses 1-7: God shows disappointment toward the disobedient people and rebukes them for continuing to remain in idolatry and an evil way. He mentions both the people of Israel and “those who do not call on My name,” indicating that God’s salvation is not limited to a single nation.
  • Verses 8-16: However, God declares that He will save the remnant as if they were a fruitful cluster of grapes. On the other hand, He warns that judgment will come upon those who continue to do evil. In this way, distinct judgment and promises of salvation appear together.
  • Verses 17-25: In the final part, promises are given about the new heavens and the new earth. In this new creation, sorrow, death, and pain disappear, and it describes how God’s people will enjoy eternal peace and joy.

Meditation Points

  • God waited for the people with patience, yet He gives clear warning for continued disobedience. You can meditate carefully on the message of Isaiah, in which grace and judgment coexist.
  • The promise of “new heavens and a new earth” that God gives is a message of hope. No matter what our current situation may be, we can look forward to God’s restoration and peace that He will ultimately bring about.

Try Applying It to Yourself

  • In my life, I can check whether I am truly building a relationship with God, not just because of familiar customs or desire.
  • Remembering that hope in “new heavens and a new earth” can become strength to overcome fear, discouragement, and frustration in my everyday life, I can live through today.