Isaiah 64 Study Notes

64:1-2 Isaiah continued to pray and moved on to his request. God seemed to be up in heaven (see note at 63:15), and Isaiah asked that he come down to help them in their need. When God appears as a warrior, mountains . . . quake (see Nah 1:5) and nations . . . tremble.

64:3-4 The prophet’s request was based on God’s actions in the past. God had made the mountains quake in the past. Indeed, Isaiah’s God is the only God who had acted for his people. The implication is that the rest of the gods are fakes. But only God acts on behalf of the one who waits for him. Confidence in God is a prerequisite for experiencing his saving power. Verse 4 is the basis for Paul’s quote in 1Co 2:9.

64:5-7 Isaiah also confessed sin on behalf of the community, thus justifying God’s judgment against them. Though they were like a polluted garment, they will now obey and experience God’s salvation. Polluted garment means clothes stained by menstrual blood and thus rendered ritually unclean (Lv 15:19-33).

64:8 Isaiah appealed to God as their Father (see note at 63:16). Only rarely and in extreme cases will a human father disown a delinquent child. The prophet also appealed to God as their Creator, using the image of the potter and his clay (see notes at 29:16; 45:9).

64:9 Like Moses, Isaiah asks that God not destroy Israel because of their sin, but instead remember that they are his people.

64:10-12 Isaiah foresaw the time when the Babylonians would destroy the city of Jerusalem and burn the temple in 586 BC. Isaiah appealed to God to turn things around and restore the city and its temple.