Isaiah 64 | The Wolfe Notes

Welcome, Family! We're spending 2024 with the prophet Isaiah. While we claim no expertise, we're excited to sit with you as we both learn at the feet of Jesus. Each month, we offer a calendar that outlines daily exercises (adapted from Jenn Wilkin's Women of the Word Bible study process) to progress through Isaiah. Download December's calendar to begin with us and witness what we uncovered in our weekly "Wolfe Notes" postings.

Contents:

1. Different Versions Noting and clarifying differences between KJV & NLT.
2. Annotation My thoughts, connections, clarifications, and questions.
3. Research On melting mountains.
4. Summary An approximately twenty-word overview of the chapter.
5. Memorize Why I chose to memorize Isaiah 64:4.
6. Cross References Of Isaiah 64:4.
7. Respond to God's sovereignty.

Different Versions

I read Chapter 64 in the King James Version (KJV) and the New Living Translation (NLT). The KJV is a word-for-word translation while the New Living Translation is a thought-for-thought translation.

Major differences I noticed (*My thoughts alone are in italics and designated with an asterisk.):

Isaiah 64:4

• Comparisons:
• KJV: For since the beginning of the world men have not heard, (1) nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, (2) O God, beside thee, (3) what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him.
• NLT: For since the world began, no ear has heard (1 - omitted) and no eye has seen (2) a God like you, (3) who works for those who wait for him!
• Discrepancies: 
1. "Nor perceived by the ear" (KJV) is absent in the NLT. Likely because of redundancy, but I think it reinforces the idea that we don't understand. It's not only that we haven't witnessed the works of God but also that we don't understand them.
2. "O God, beside thee," (KJV) vs. "a God like you" (NLT). Both translations offer a unique layer of meaning to this verse. The KJV suggests that no one, but God, truly understands what is coming, which calls to mind Ephesians 3:20 KJV: "Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according tot he power that worketh in us,". While, the NLT echoes I Chronicles 17:20 NLT: "'O LORD, there is no one like you. We have never even heard of another God like you!"
3. "What he hath prepared" (KJV) vs. "who works" NLT. The KJV reminds us of God's omnipresence: He has always been and has always had a plan. It also connects with Jesus telling His disciples that He is going to prepare a place for them (John 14:2-3). The NLT reassures us that God is working for us, even in the present. I hear Michael W. Smith singing, "Even when I don't feel it, You're working". 
• Thoughts: The KJV and NLT complement one another. They offer unique perspectives for this verse that together offer a fuller picture of just how awesome our God is!

Isaiah 64:5

• Comparisons:
• KJV: Thou meetest him that rejoiceth and worketh righteousness, those that remember thee in thy ways: behold, thou art wroth; for we have sinned: in those is continuance, and (1) we shall be saved.
• NLT: You welcome those who gladly do good, who follow godly ways. But you have been very angry with us, for we are not godly. We are constant sinners; (1) how can people like us be saved?
• Discrepancy: The KJV offers hope and the NLT doubt.
• Thoughts: Both translations offer a sense of regret, admittance of our sinful nature, and the consequence of it. Yet, the KJV reminds us of the promise God keeps: "we shall be saved". He's always had a plan since the beginning of the world. Indeed, the same Hebrew word for "continuance" is translated "since the beginning" in Isaiah 64:4 and can also mean concealed like the mystery Paul speaks of in Colossians. What's more, it actually comes at the end of the verse. So,  in it's simplest translation, the verse could be rendered: "We sinned. Saved forever." Yet, the NLT expresses the cry of our hearts when we realize we are sinners: "He beat his chest in sorrow, saying, 'O God, be merciful to me, for I am a sinner.'" (Luke 18:13) We know we don't deserve it, but, oh, how we desire it.

Isaiah 64:7

• Comparisons:
• KJV: And there is none that calleth upon thy name, (1) that stirreth up himself to take hold of thee: for thou has hid thy face from us, and (2) hast consumed us, because of our iniquities.
• NLT: Yet no one calls on your name (1) or pleads with you for mercy. Therefore, you have turned away from us and (2) turned us over to our sins.
• Discrepancies: 
1. "That stirreth up himself to take hold of thee" (KJV) vs. "or pleads with you for mercy" (NLT). While both convey a spirit of pleading, when I read the KJV alone, I think of a person admitting they need God and grasping on for dear life, but the NLT leaves me thinking of customary religious rituals instead of a deeply felt need. 
2. "Hast consumed us, because of our iniquities" (KJV) vs. "Turned us over to our sins" (NLT). Consumed feels more permanent while turned us over feels reversible.
• Thoughts: Overall, the KJV's emotive phrasing portrays a dire state of the people while the NLT's language is more colloquial and easier to dismiss. 

Annotation

Notes on my process. *Denotes my thoughts alone. ! Denotes a connection. Researched quick answers are in italics. *R Indicates a topic with more extensive notes under the research heading.

I. Our Desire: Reveal Yourself, God! (Isaiah 64:1-4)

1. God, we long for a supernatural display of Your power so everyone will know and fear You.
1. ! For thus hath the LORD spoken unto me, Like as the lion and the young lion roaring on his prey, when a multitude of shepherds is called forth against him, he will not be afraid of their voice, nor abase himself for the noise of them: so shall the LORD of hosts come down to fight for mount Zion, and for the hill thereof. Isaiah 31:4 KJV (See also Psalm 104:21 and cross references for this verse.)
2. ! At that moment the curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. The earth shook, rocks split apart, and tombs opened. The bodies of many godly men and women who had died were raised from the dead. Matthew 27:51-52 NLT
3. ? Does God really melt mountains? *R
4. 🎶Will you show me? / Reveal yourself to me / Because of your mercy / I fall down on my knees🎵 ("Here with Me" performed by Mercy Me)
2. You've done great things, but we take them for granted.
1. 🎵Did you feel the mountains tremble?🎶  (performed by Delirious?)
2. ? When did the mountains quake before? Creation? Flood?
3. But now we know, there is none like You.
1. ! I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me: Isaiah 45:5 KJV
2. ! In that day the people will proclaim, "This is our God! We trusted in him, and he saved us! This is the LORD, in whom we trusted. Let us rejoice in the salvation he brings!" Isaiah 25:9 NLT
3. ! Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompence; he will come and save you. Isaiah 35:4 KJV

II. Our Confession: We are Sinners (Isaiah 64:5-7)

1. You clearly laid out Your expectations, we betray You, and though You're angry with us, You still promise salvation.
1. *What a question: How can people like us be saved? Isaiah 64:5 NLT
2. ! But the love [mercy] of the LORD remains forever with those who fear him. His salvation [righteousness] extends to the children's children. Psalm 103:17 NLT [KJV]
2. None of us are pure, our sins keep us from You.
1. ! But what things were gain [valuable] to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea, doubtless, and I count all things but loss [worthless] for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: Philippians 3:7-9 KJV [NLT]
3. And we don't seek You because we feel removed and chastised by You.
1. ! No one is truly wise; no one is seeking God. Romans 3:11 NLT

III. Our Reminder: We are in Relationship with You (Isaiah 64:8)

1. But, God, we are eternally connected: You created us.

IV. Our Plea: Return and Restore Us (Isaiah 64:9-12)

1. So please, remember, we are Yours. Forgive us of our sins and look on us again.
1. ! Keep me as the apple of the eye, hide me under the shadow of thy wings. Psalm 17:8 KJV (See also Proverbs 7:2.)
2. ! After a period of glory, the LORD of Heaven's Armies sent me [Jesus] against the nations who plundered you. For he said, "Anyone who harms you harms my most precious possession {the apple of his eye}. Zechariah 2:8 NLT [Bible Hub] {KJV}
3. The "apple of my eye", translates more closely to "the little man in my eye", or our reflection in His eye because He keeps His gaze upon us. He likewise desires us to keep our focus on Him. - Bible Hub
2. Your people are desolate. We struggle to believe in Your goodness when we see destruction all around us.
1. What do Jerusalem and Zion represent? Why are they frequently mentioned together? The Promised Land? Heaven? (See research on this topic.)
3. Everything beautiful our ancestors had to remember You, is ruined.
1. ! The people of thy holiness have possessed it but a little while: our adversaries have trodden down thy sanctuary. Isaiah 63:18 KJV
4. Haven't we suffered enough? When will You come to save us?
1. ! For the LORD has told me this: "I will watch quietly from my dwelling place - as quietly as the heat rises on a summer day, or as the morning dew forms during the [heat of] harvest." Isaiah 18:4 NLT [KJV] (See cross references.)

Research

*Thoughts that are mine alone are marked with an asterisk and italicized.

Were mountains melted? Isaiah 64:1, 3

Figuratively

Mountains represent stability and permanence. To change the state of a mountain - by flowing, melting, or quaking - shows a period of uncertainty or change.

Historically

• And mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the LORD descended upon it in fire: and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly. Exodus 19:18 KJV
• "LORD, when you set out from Seir and marched across the fields of Edom [representative of enemies of God], the earth trembled, and the cloudy skies poured down rain. Judges 5:4 NLT [Bible Hub]
• Fifteen cubits [twenty-two feet] upward did the waters prevail; and the mountains were covered. Genesis 7:20 KJV [NLT] (See also Isaiah 41:18-29 and Psalm 104:10)
• For the LORD is the one who shaped the mountains, stirs up the winds, and reveals his thoughts to mankind. He turns the light of dawn into darkness and treads on the heights of the earth. The LORD God of Heaven's Armies is his name! Amos 4:13 NLT (See also Psalm 95:4-5.)
• And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent; And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose. Matthew 27:51-52 KJV

Spiritually

He causes the mountains to melt, quake, flow, or tremble. God's transformative power can change the very foundations of the earth, and by extension the lives of His people.

• For my anger blazes forth like fire and burns to the depths of the grave. It devours the earth and all its crops and ignites the foundations of the mountains. Deuteronomy 32:22 NLT (See also Psalm 18:7)
• For ye shall go out with JOY, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. Isaiah 55:12 KJV

Prophetically

Jesus will return and unthinkable acts will follow.

• But the day of the Lord will come as unexpectedly as a thief. Then the heavens will pass away with a terrible noise, and the very elements themselves will disappear in fire [melt with fervent heat], and the earth and everything on it will be found to deserve judgment [shall be burned up]. 2 Peter 3:10 NLT [KJV]
• I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the people there was none with me: for I will tread them in mine anger, and trample them in my fury; and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and I will stain all my raiment. For the day of vengeance is in mine heart, and the year of my redeemed is come. Isaiah 63:3-4 KJV
• Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Ephesians 3:20 NLT

*Thoughts: Yes, God can, has, and will melt mountains. He has the power to create, transform, remove, and obliterate - and His greatest desire is for you. Move aside your mountain of stubbornness and pride; let Him work and trust Him through it.

Sources: 

1. Bible Hub commentaries on Isaiah 64:1 and 3
2. Heart of Worship 7 "Mountain-Melting Presence"

Summary

Though admittedly sinners, we plead with You: remember who we are to You. Return and restore us.

Memorize

I chose to memorize Isaiah 64:4 KJV:

For since the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside thee, what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him. 

*Because I want to linger here, to meditate on who He is.

Cross References

*Thoughts that are mine alone are marked with an asterisk and italicized.

Of Isaiah 64:4 KJV.

For since the beginning of the world...

• (*God has always been.) But Moses protested, "If I go to the people of Israel and tell them, 'The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,' they will ask me, 'What is his name?' Then what should I tell them?" God replied to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM. Say this to the people of Israel: I AM has sent me to you." God also said to Moses, "Say this to the people of Israel: Yahweh, the God of your ancestors - the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob - has sent me to you. This is my eternal name, my name to remember for all generations. Exodus 3:13-15 NLT 
• (*God always had a plan for Jesus.) Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Colossians 1:26-27 KJV (See also Ephesians 3:3 and 3:6-10)
• As attested to in the covenant of Genesis 9:12, rewarded by the promised land of Genesis 13:15, and accepted through circumcision in Genesis 17:10-14.

...men have not heard,...

• So Moses told the people of Israel what the LORD had said, but they refused to listen anymore. They had become too discouraged by the brutality of their slavery. Exodus 6:9 NLT (See also Exodus 16:20.)
• Because all those men which have seen my glory, and my miracles, which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have tempted me now these ten time, and have not hearkened to my voice; Surely they shall not see the land which I sware unto their fathers, neither shall any of them that provoked me see it. Numbers 14:22 KJV (See also Joshua 5:6.)
• Yet Israel did not listen to the judges but prostituted themselves by worshiping other gods. How quickly they turned away from the path of their ancestors, who had walked in obedience to the LORD's commands. Judges 2:17 NLT
• Notwithstanding they would not hear, but hardened their necks, like to the neck of their fathers, that did not believe in the LORD their God. 2 Kings 17:14 KJV (17:40; 18:12; 21:9; 22:13)

...nor perceived by the ear,...

• Then the LORD asked Moses, "Who makes a person's mouth? Who decides whether people speak or do not speak, hear or do not hear, see or do not see? Is it not I, the LORD? Exodus 4:11 NLT
• For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them. Matthew 13:17 KJV
• God has told his people, "Here is a place of rest; let the weary rest here. This is a place of quiet rest." But they would not listen. So the LORD will spell out his message for them again, one line at a time, one line at a time, a little here, and a little there, so that they will stumble and fall. They will be injured, trapped, and captured. Isaiah 28:12-13 NLT

...neither hath the eye seen, 

• And thou shalt take no gift: for the gift blindeth the wise, and perverteth the words of the righteous. Exodus 23:8 KJV (See also Deuteronomy 16:19)
• In that day the deaf will hear words read from a book, and the blind will see through the gloom and darkness. Isaiah 29:18 NLT (See also Isaiah 29:9; 35:5; 42:6-7; 42:16, 18-19)
• Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that ,when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.  I John 3:2 KJV (Romans 8:18; Isaiah 65:17)

...O God,...

• Our Creator (Genesis 1:1; Isaiah 40:28); Provider (Matthew 6:26); Peace (Philemon 4:7)
• Who is Faithful (Numbers 23:19); Loving (John 3:16 and Ephesians 3:19); Generous (James 1:17); Powerful (Isaiah 40:23, Job 26:14, and Psalm 145:3); Discerning (Hebrews 4:12 and Psalm 147:5); Patient (2 Peter 3:9); Gracious, Righteous, Compassionate (Psalm 116:5 and 139:17); Just (Psalm 50:6); Perfect (Psalm 18:30); Spirit (John 4:24 and I Corinthians 2:10-12); Light (I John 1:5); All-Knowing (Isaiah 46:10; Psalm 139:16); Eternal (Romans 6:23); Present (Revelation 21:3)

...beside thee,... 

• "You must not have any other god but me." Exodus 20:3 NLT 
• Wherefore thou art great, O LORD God; for there is none like thee, neither is there any God beside thee, according to all that we have heard with our ears. 2 Samuel 7:22 KJV (See also I Chronicles 17:20 and Isaiah 26:13.)
• I thought I should speak to you about it so that you can redeem it if you wish. If you want the land, then but it here in the presence of these witnesses. But if you don't want it, let me know right away, because I am next in line to redeem it after you." The man replied, "All right, I'll redeem it." Then Boaz told him, "Of course, your purchase of the land from Naomi also requires that you marry Ruth, the Moabite widow. That way she can have children who will carry on her husband's name and keep the land in the family." "Then I can't redeem it," the family redeemer replied, "Because this might endanger my own estate. You redeem the land; I cannot do it." Ruth 4:4-6 NLT (*Jesus is our kinsman redeemer. We, the Church, though Gentiles, are His promised bride. He is the only one willing and able to redeem us.)

...what he hath prepared... 

• Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. Matthew 25:34 KJV (See also John 14:3)
• And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28 KJV
• Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Ephesians 3:20 NLT

...for him that waiteth for him.

• And therefore will the LORD wait, that he may be gracious unto you, and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you: for the LORD is a God of judgment: blessed are all they that wait for him. Isaiah 30:18 KJV 
• And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him. Hebrews 11:6 NLT (See also Lamentations 3:25
• Oh how great is thy goodness, which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee; which thou has wrought for them that trust in thee before the sons of men. Psalm 31:19 KJV (See also Psalm 27:14; 37:9; 40:1-3; and Isaiah 40:31)
• Now you have every spiritual gift you need as you eagerly wait for the return of our Lord Jesus Christ. He will keep you strong to the end so that you will be free from all blame on the day when our Lord Jesus Christ returns. God will do this, for he is faithful to do what he says, and he has invited you into partnership with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. I Corinthians 1:7-9 NLT
• Dear brothers and sisters, be patient as you wait for the Lord's return. Consider the farmers who patiently wait for the rains in the fall and in the spring. They eagerly look for the valuable harvest to ripen. You, too, must be patient. Take courage, for the coming of the Lord is near. James 5:7-8 (See also II Peter 3:13-14)

*Thoughts: There are so many layers to this verse! From the beginning, God always had a plan for our salvation that He kept concealed until He revealed it all to Paul. Even now, there are more works God has planned and is waiting to reveal, both now (while we're on earth) and not yet (at the second coming or eternally). Truly, there is no God like You. We can trust Him! We can believe there is more and we can eagerly wait. What we know now is a taste of who You are, our minds are incapable of grasping the whole picture. (Romans 11:33; Job 37:5; Isaiah 40:28; and I Corinthians 13:12).

Respond

God has always had a plan to bring us back into a right relationship with Him. He patiently waits for each one of us to realize who He is (Isaiah 64:1-4), confess our need for Him (Isaiah  64:5-6), plead for His mercy (Isaiah 64:7), and be restored in Him (Isaiah 64:8-12).

I expect God to be there when I need Him, but rarely consider what it means that He's always there thinking of me. Working for me. Waiting for me. As He has been since before the beginning of the world.

While praying, I will praise Him for who He is and what He has done, is doing, and will do (Isaiah 64:1-4). I will confess my sin and my need for Him by thinking about what is distancing me from Him. How am I acting, thinking, and speaking contrary to His will? (Isaiah  64:5-6) Plead for His mercy (Isaiah 64:7). Yield, knowing His plan has always been for our restoration to Him (Isaiah 64:8-12).

In Closing

Father God, as I sit here and consider that Your plans, Your work, Your will has always been for a true relationship with me, I'm stunned. The God of the Universe, the One who has always been and always will be, moves to be with me. And in response, I reject Your ways, doubt Your existence, and ignore Your works. Yet, You love me still. You patiently wait for me to see You, to realize Your truth, and to return. Awaken me to the truth of Your love. Reveal to me who You are more and more each day. Overwhelm me in genuine adoration of who You are and what You do. Let my soul constantly call out the glory and splendor of You: My King, My Savior, My God.

Learning with You,

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*Image Credit: Space Galaxy by STRIEWA at Pixabay