The Effects of Sin (Isaiah 59)
In Isaiah 58:3 the people asked God: “ ‘Why do we fast, but you do
not see? Why humble ourselves, but you do not notice?’ ” (NRSV).
In contrast, Isaiah 59:1 implies another question, something like:
“Why do we call for the Lord’s hand to save us, but He does not? Why
do we cry to Him, but He does not hear?” Isaiah answers that God is
able to save and hear (Isa. 59:1). His failure to do either, however, is
another matter entirely.
Read Isaiah 59:2. What message is being given here that answers the question in Isaiah 59:1?
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God chooses to “ignore” His people, not because that is His desire
but because “your iniquities have been barriers between you and your
God” (Isa. 59:2, NRSV). Here is one of the clearest statements in the
Bible regarding the effect of sin on the divine-human relationship.
Isaiah spends the rest of chapter 59 elaborating on this point, which is
seen all through human history: sin can destroy our relationship with
the Lord and thus lead to our eternal ruin—not because sin drives God
away from us but because it drives us away from God.
Read Genesis 3:8. How does this example reveal the principle
expressed in the above paragraph?
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Sin is primarily a rejection of God, a turning away from Him. The
sin act actually feeds upon itself in that not only is the act a turning
away from God but also the result of the act causes the sinner to turn
away even more from the Lord. Sin separates us from God, not because God wouldn’t reach out to the sinner (indeed, the whole Bible is almost nothing but the account of God’s reaching out to save sinners) but because sin causes us to reject His divine overtures to us. That is why it is so important that we tolerate no sin in our lives.
In what ways have you experienced the reality that sin causes a
separation from God? What, in your own experience, is the only
solution to the problem?
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