It Starts Small

From ancient times no one has heard,
no one has listened to,
no eye has seen any God except you
who acts on behalf of the one who waits for him.

Isaiah 64:4

Chapter 64 continues the prayer of Isaiah. He longed for visible divine intervention. Isaiah wanted Israel to be protected from her adversaries. In the first few verses, the prayer was for God to descend with great power. It asked for judgment upon their oppressors. When God gave the Law at Mount Sinai, He showed His might to Israel. He did this through smoke, thunder, and an earthquake. Isaiah felt if the nations who oppressed them saw such a demonstration, they would tremble from fear.

Verse 4 shows the eternal nature of God and that there is no one equal to Him. The Apostle Paul referred to this verse in 1 Corinthians 2:9, although he did not quote it exactly.

 But as it is written,

What no eye has seen, no ear has heard,
and no human heart has conceived—
God has prepared these things for those who love him.

1 Corinthians 2:9

Verse 5 shows that in spite of the awesomeness of God, He will meet those who are righteous.

You welcome the one who joyfully does what is right;
they remember you in your ways.
But we have sinned, and you were angry.
How can we be saved if we remain in our sins?

Isaiah 64:5

Sin, the hindrance to this relationship with God, is addressed beginning with verse 6.

All of us have become like something unclean,
and all our righteous acts are like a polluted garment;
all of us wither like a leaf,
and our iniquities carry us away like the wind.

Isaiah 64:6

Isaiah saw that Israel fell short of God’s requirements, and therefore was unclean, like the garments of a leper. The religious actions of the people did not cleanse them. They did not come with the proper attitude of heart.

Let us pause a moment and think about the words God gave Isaiah. They did not have the proper heart. Therefore, their righteousness was “as filthy rags,” and they faded as dried leaves and could be easily swept away spiritually. Still, they did not pray for mercy.

No one calls on your name,
striving to take hold of you.
For you have hidden your face from us
and made us melt because of our iniquity.

Isaiah 64:7
(Bold for emphasis)

Other translations use the word consumed. The word consumed in other translations indicates that because of their iniquities they had “melted” — all their strength was lost.

Yet Lord, you are our Father;
we are the clay, and you are our potter;
we all are the work of your hands.

Isaiah 64:8

In verse 8, Isaiah spoke to God on behalf of the righteous. He reminded God that He was their Father. They were the product of His own making. Saying they were the clay and God the potter indicated submissiveness and being yielded to God. They wanted God to make them into what they should be.

Lord, do not be terribly angry
or remember our iniquity forever.
Please look—all of us are your people!

Isaiah 64:9

Verse 9 was an eloquent cry for God to mitigate His wrath, which their nation deserved, and give them mercy.

Isaiah looked ahead and saw that their land would be desolate. This included Jerusalem. The Temple would be burned with fire. Isaiah ended his prayer with three questions.

Would God restrain Himself from answering their prayers because of the land’s and Temple’s desolation?

Would He be silent (hold His peace)?

Would He afflict them exceedingly — to the full extreme?

The last two chapters of the Book of Isaiah give the answer. I encourage us to read them after this study is complete. We end this study in chapter 46 because before the clock strikes midnight on the 31st we remember verse 4.

Are you waiting on the Lord?

Are you submitted to the Lord, knowing that He is the potter of your life and therefore in control? You will find peace when you have yielded to Him in that way.

IF there is something I hope we all saw in this study, human nature has not evolved or changed. The people of Isaiah’s time were not different than people of today. We need Jesus. We can not do life without Jesus. Salvation is not just simply avoiding eternal damnation in hell. It is a complete life change and returning to what our original Creator created us for. We can go to church. We can give. We can serve. We can read our bible. We can pray.

But if our heart is not right, it is all in vain. If we do not truly surrender to the Creator’s will, way, and purpose, we will lead lives of desolation.

Pause and reflect. Where are you truly in the scriptures? Are you a stiff necked prideful person who puts on the good show but inside are empty and lost? Are you in the middle of pruning and refinement? Have you arrived?

We love the cliche that Jesus is the reason for the season, but what does that really mean? Is it a cliche to you, or is He the reason for all season in your life?

Do you see how we live in the now and not yet?

Where are you in the now and what bold courageous steps can you make before the New Year even comes?

© Kimberlee Smith 2025 http://www.itstartssmall.com All rights reserved.