Moth Eaten Garments and the Everlasting Arm Text: Isaiah 51:4-8
Introduction: Two Kinds of Permanent
We live in a world that is obsessed with permanence, but it looks for it in all the wrong places. Men seek to build institutions that will last, to write laws that are unchangeable, to establish legacies that will echo through the ages. They carve their faces into mountains and put their names on buildings, desperately trying to cheat death and decay. The secular man believes the universe itself is the ultimate permanent thing, the great cosmic machine that just is, and always will be. His hope is in the stuff he can see, measure, and weigh.
But the Word of God comes to us this morning with a bucket of cold, clarifying water. It tells us that everything the world trusts in is temporary, flimsy, and destined for the cosmic dustbin. The very heavens and the earth, the most permanent-seeming things we know, have an expiration date. They are like a garment that will wear out. And the men who rage against God, who set themselves up as the arbiters of truth and justice, are even more fragile. They are like a wool coat in a dark closet, being silently devoured by moths.
Into this world of decay, God speaks of a different kind of permanence. It is the permanence of His salvation and His righteousness. These are not abstract concepts; they are the active, history-shaping power of God, embodied in the person and work of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. This passage in Isaiah is a divine command to adjust our vision. It is a call to stop fearing the temporary and to anchor our souls to the eternal. It teaches us to see the world as God sees it: a stage with a decaying set, populated by perishable actors, upon which He is accomplishing an everlasting salvation.
The central conflict is one of fear. Will we fear the reproach of moth-eaten men, or will we fear the God whose righteousness is forever? Will we be dismayed by the headlines, or will we anchor our hope in the God who is bringing the nations to Himself? This is not just theology for the classroom; it is armor for the Christian life.
The Text
"Pay attention to Me, O My people, And give ear to Me, O My nation; For a law will go forth from Me, And I will set My justice for a light of the peoples. My righteousness is near, My salvation has gone forth, And My arms will judge the peoples; The coastlands will hope in Me, And for My arm they will wait expectantly. Lift up your eyes to the sky, Then look to the earth beneath; For the sky will vanish like smoke, And the earth will wear out like a garment, And its inhabitants will die in like manner; But My salvation will be forever, And My righteousness will not be dismayed. Listen to Me, you who know righteousness, A people in whose heart is My law; Do not fear the reproach of man, Nor be dismayed at their revilings. For the moth will eat them like a garment, And the grub will eat them like wool. But My righteousness will be forever, And My salvation to all generations."
(Isaiah 51:4-8 LSB)
The Global Reach of God's Law (v. 4-5)
The prophecy begins with a summons. God commands His people to listen up, because what He is about to say will redefine their world.
"Pay attention to Me, O My people, And give ear to Me, O My nation; For a law will go forth from Me, And I will set My justice for a light of the peoples. My righteousness is near, My salvation has gone forth, And My arms will judge the peoples; The coastlands will hope in Me, And for My arm they will wait expectantly." (Isaiah 51:4-5)
God is announcing a global project. His "law," the Torah, is not a provincial code for one small nation. It is His instruction, His wisdom, His very Word, and it is destined to "go forth." This is a missionary declaration. This law is not a burden, but a "light of the peoples." It is the revelation of God's character and His standard of justice that illuminates a world darkened by sin and tyranny. Ultimately, this law and this light are perfectly embodied in Jesus Christ, who is the Word made flesh and the Light of the World.
Notice the active, energetic language. "My righteousness is near, My salvation has gone forth." This is not a distant, future hope. In the incarnation, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, the righteousness and salvation of God invaded human history. The kingdom has come and is coming. God's "arms" will judge the peoples. This is a reference to His active power and sovereign rule in the affairs of men, executed by Christ, to whom all authority in heaven and on earth has been given. He is the strong right arm of the Lord.
And what is the result of this divine invasion? The "coastlands will hope in Me." The coastlands represent the Gentiles, the farthest reaches of the earth. And they are not just passively receiving this; they "wait expectantly" for His arm. This is a picture of the Great Commission in action. The gospel goes forth, and the nations, weary of their false gods and corrupt rulers, begin to eagerly await the deliverance and just rule of King Jesus. This is the engine of postmillennial optimism. History is not a random series of events; it is the story of the coastlands learning to hope in Christ.
The Perishable and the Permanent (v. 6)
Next, God provides the ultimate perspective check. He commands us to look at the most stable things we know and see them for what they truly are: temporary.
"Lift up your eyes to the sky, Then look to the earth beneath; For the sky will vanish like smoke, And the earth will wear out like a garment, And its inhabitants will die in like manner; But My salvation will be forever, And My righteousness will not be dismayed." (Isaiah 51:6 LSB)
This is a direct assault on every form of materialism. The materialist puts his faith in the cosmos, in the things that are seen. God says that is a fool's bet. The sky, for all its vastness, will dissipate like a puff of smoke. The earth, for all its seeming solidity, is like an old coat that is fraying at the seams. And the people who populate it, including the powerful and the proud, will die just like gnats. They are here one moment and gone the next.
This is not cosmic pessimism; it is divine realism. God is teaching us to distinguish between the stage and the play. The created order is the stage, and it will be struck when the story is over. But the story itself, the drama of redemption, is what matters.
In stark contrast to this universal decay, God places two unshakable realities: "But My salvation will be forever, And My righteousness will not be dismayed." God's salvation is not a temporary fix; it is an eternal reality. His righteousness, His perfect standard of what is right and true, will never be abolished, overthrown, or frustrated. It is the only thing in the entire universe that is truly permanent. When the heavens have vanished and the earth is gone, the righteousness of God and the salvation He has accomplished in Christ will still be standing. This is the bedrock on which we must build our lives.
The Fearless People of God (v. 7-8)
God now turns this grand, cosmic reality into a direct, personal command for His people.
"Listen to Me, you who know righteousness, A people in whose heart is My law; Do not fear the reproach of man, Nor be dismayed at their revilings. For the moth will eat them like a garment, And the grub will eat them like wool. But My righteousness will be forever, And My salvation to all generations." (Isaiah 51:7-8 LSB)
He is speaking to a specific group: those who "know righteousness" and have His law in their hearts. This is the language of the New Covenant (Jer. 31:33). He is speaking to the church, to those who have been regenerated by the Spirit of God. And what is His central command to this people? "Do not fear the reproach of man."
This is where the rubber meets the road. It is one thing to affirm the eternal nature of God's salvation in a theology class. It is quite another to live it out when your colleagues are mocking you, when the government is threatening you, and when the entire culture is reviling you for holding to the truth. The word "dismayed" means to be shattered, to lose your nerve. God commands us not to buckle under the pressure of human opposition.
And He gives us the reason why. It is because our enemies are perishable. "For the moth will eat them like a garment." Think about that image. A moth does its work silently, secretly, from the inside. While the garment still hangs there looking impressive, it is being hollowed out, weakened, and turned to dust. This is God's verdict on all the proud and powerful systems that set themselves against Him. Their decline is not just a future event; it is a present reality. They are being consumed by their own corruption, sin, and folly.
So, we have a choice. We can fear the impressive-looking but moth-eaten garment, or we can trust in the God whose righteousness is forever. We can be dismayed by the loud revilings of men who are turning to dust, or we can stand firm on the salvation that endures for all generations. The contrast could not be clearer. Their glory is fading; ours is eternal. Their threats are temporary; our security is forever.
Conclusion: Stand on the Rock
The message of Isaiah is a bracing tonic for a fearful church in a hostile world. We are constantly tempted to evaluate our situation based on the world's criteria. We see the power of secular institutions, we hear the confident mockery of unbelievers, and we are tempted to be dismayed. We look at the heavens and the earth and think they are the ultimate reality.
God commands us to see with new eyes. He tells us to look at our enemies and see the moth at work. He tells us to look at the very fabric of the cosmos and see that it is wearing out. And then He tells us to look to His salvation, to His righteousness, to His Son, Jesus Christ, and to see that which is truly permanent, truly unshakable, and truly forever.
Therefore, do not fear. When men reproach you for your faith, remember that they are a dying breed speaking from a decaying platform. When the culture reviles you for holding to God's law, remember that His law is the light of the world, and their revilings are the incoherent shrieks of the darkness. Your foundation is the righteousness of God, which cannot be dismayed. Your future is the salvation of God, which is for all generations. Stand on the Rock, and let the moth-eaten garments of this world unravel as they must.