Daily Devotions
Isaiah
"We are all like an unclean thing"
Text: Isaiah 64:6
DEEP CONFESSION
Isaiah’s intercessory prayer is well worth noting. On behalf of Israel, Isaiah confessed the deep sinfulness of the nation!
“But we are all like an unclean thing,
And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags;
We all fade as a leaf,
And our iniquities, like the wind,
Have taken us away.
And there is no one who calls on Your name,
Who stirs himself up to take hold of You;
For You have hidden Your face from us,
And have consumed us because of our iniquities.”
Isaiah 64:6-7
1. Righteousness
a) Israel sought to have an appearance of righteousness.
b) Isaiah was most candid in his confession of the sins of the nation.
2. Before a holy God.
a) Man’s righteousness is compared to “an unclean thing”.
b) Human righteousness may also be compared to “filthy rags”.
3. The grim reality.
a) All were fading away as a leaf.
b) The iniquities have caused the nation to be carried away by the wind.
4. Further confession.
a) No one truly calls on the name of the LORD.
b) Nobody stirs himself to lay hold of God.
Isaiah may be thinking of how Jacob wrestled with God (Genesis 32).
5. God’s response.
a) The LORD had hidden His face from Israel.
b) He had consumed Israel because of its great sinfulness.
Isaiah’s abject grief and sorrow permeated this intercessory prayer to the LORD!