Isaiah 65
by Pastor David Groendyk

Isaiah continues to look forward to that great day when the Messiah and Suffering Servant will bring about salvation for his people. The point of today’s chapter is to make a distinction between the destiny of the wicked who do not worship God and the destiny of the servants who do. The former face punishment from God and will be repaid for their iniquities while the latter will inherit the new Jerusalem.

Verses 1–16 mainly describe the destiny of the wicked. But as we’ve elsewhere in Isaiah, it appears there’s a great reversal going on. The wicked doomed for destruction here are obstinate Israel who knew God but did not follow him. They’re the ones by whom God wanted to be sought (v. 1), the ones to whom God had his hands outstretched (v. 2), the ones who have forgotten God’s holy mountain (v. 11), the ones to whom God called repeatedly (v. 12). And their repayment is sobering: “These are a smoke in my nostrils, a fire that burns all the day. Behold, it is written before me: ‘I will not keep silent, but I will repay.’” It reminds me of the apostle John’s description of hell in Revelation 14 where God says that he will pour out the cup of his anger upon the wicked and that the smoke of their torment will go up forever. The call, then, for believers is what John says next: “Here is a call for the endurance of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus” (Rev. 14:12). Those who have the privilege of knowing God must endure to the end in their faithfulness. And though they will waver and fail at times, they must listen when God calls out to them to return (Isa. 65:12).

Verses 17–25 describe the new Jerusalem that the servants of God inherit. One way the ESV Study Bible describes this chapter is “the eagerness of God for his people’s eternal joy.” God is eager to fulfill his good promises for us! Do you sense that as you read this chapter? Look at all the good things we have to look forward to. There will be no more pain or destruction (v. 25), there will be no more distress or weeping (v. 19), there will be no more death (v. 20), there will be abundance and total protection (vv. 21–23), there will be peace (v. 25), and there will be perfect communion with God (v. 24). Even tucked away in verse 25 is a promise that may be easily overlooked—the serpent’s defeat, which is a promise that stretches all the way back to Genesis 3. All of God’s perfect plan will be accomplished. When reading this section of Isaiah 65 along with Isaiah 25, my mind jumps straight to Revelation 21. God’s people will dwell with God in a way that they have never yet experienced. The curse of sin will be long forgotten, and we will be fully satisfied by God. This is the inheritance that God’s people await—an imperishable, undefiled, unfading inheritance, as Peter calls it. But this is an inheritance set aside only for the true servants of the Lord. Are you one of his servants? Are you actively doing God’s will? How can you know if you are a true servant of the Lord?