The God Who Finds and the People Who Provoke Text: Isaiah 65:1-7
Introduction: Two Religions
We live in a time of profound spiritual confusion, but it is not a new confusion. At bottom, there have only ever been two religions in the world. The first is the religion of divine accomplishment, which is biblical Christianity. The second is the religion of human achievement, which takes ten thousand different forms but is, at its root, always the same. It is the religion of man trying to climb his way up to God, or to become a god himself, on his own terms.
This passage in Isaiah lays bare the absolute antithesis between these two religions. On the one hand, you have a God of shocking, pursuing grace, a God who takes the initiative, who seeks out those who are not seeking Him. On the other hand, you have a people steeped in the religion of human achievement, a people who are meticulously religious, ostentatiously pious, and yet utterly rebellious. They are busy with their sacrifices, their rituals, their dietary concerns, and their spiritual disciplines, but it is all a self-concocted worship designed to provoke the one true God to His face.
Our secular age thinks it has dispensed with religion, but it has simply exchanged one set for another. The modern man who rejects the God of the Bible does not believe in nothing; he believes in anything. He offers his sacrifices in the gardens of political activism, he burns incense on the bricks of self-improvement, and he sits among the graves of dead philosophies. And at the end of it all, he looks at the Christian with disdain and says, "Keep to yourself, for I am holier than you." He is more tolerant, you see. More enlightened. More authentic. It is the same ancient pride, just dressed up in different clothes.
This passage is a bucket of ice water to the face of all such man-made religion. It shows us that God's salvation is a radical, top-down invasion of grace, and His judgment is a righteous, inevitable response to high-handed, self-righteous rebellion. We must see ourselves in this passage, for we are all prone to one of two errors: either forgetting the sheer grace that sought us when we were hostile, or subtly drifting into a religion of our own making that God finds detestable.
The Text
"I permitted Myself to be sought by those who did not ask for Me; I permitted Myself to be found by those who did not seek Me. I said, ‘Here am I, here am I,’ To a nation which did not call on My name. I have spread out My hands all day long to a rebellious people, Who walk in the way which is not good, following their own thoughts, A people who continually provoke Me to My face, Offering sacrifices in gardens and burning incense on bricks, Who sit among graves and spend the night in secret places, Who eat swine’s flesh, And the broth of offensive meat is in their pots, Who say, ‘Keep to yourself, do not come near me, For I am holier than you!’ These are smoke in My nostrils, A fire that burns all the day. Behold, it is written before Me: I will not keep silent, but I will repay; I will even repay into their bosom, Both their own iniquities and the iniquities of their fathers together,” says Yahweh. “Because they have burned incense on the mountains And reproached Me on the hills, Therefore I will measure their former work into their bosom."
(Isaiah 65:1-7 LSB)
The Pursuing God of Grace (v. 1)
We begin with one of the most stunning declarations of sovereign grace in all the Old Testament.
"I permitted Myself to be sought by those who did not ask for Me; I permitted Myself to be found by those who did not seek Me. I said, ‘Here am I, here am I,’ To a nation which did not call on My name." (Isaiah 65:1)
This is the death knell of any theology that places the initiative for salvation in the hands of man. The natural man does not seek God. As Paul says in Romans, quoting the Psalms, "There is no one who understands, no one who seeks God" (Rom. 3:11). We are not born seekers; we are born rebels and runaways. We are spiritually dead, and dead men don't seek for anything. If we are to be found, it is because God first seeks us.
The Apostle Paul quotes this very verse in Romans 10 and applies it directly to the Gentiles. Israel, the nation that had the oracles of God, the covenants, and the promises, was largely stiff-arming their own Messiah. And so God, in His sovereign freedom, turns to a people who were not looking for Him at all. He says, "Here am I, here am I," to those who were not even calling His name. This is not Plan B. This is the eternal plan of a God who is utterly free in His grace. He is not constrained by our pedigrees or our religious resumes. He bestows His grace where He pleases, and He is pleased to bestow it on the undeserving. That should be the most comforting news in the world to people like us.
This is a radical statement. It means that salvation is not a reward for a diligent search. It is a rescue. It is God breaking into our self-imposed darkness and turning on the lights. No one is saved because they made a good decision. They are saved because God made a gracious decision, and in consequence of that, He grants them repentance and faith. He finds us.
The Rebellious and Religious People (v. 2-5)
In stark contrast to this pursuing grace, God describes the people who should have known better, His own covenant people.
"I have spread out My hands all day long to a rebellious people, Who walk in the way which is not good, following their own thoughts," (Isaiah 65:2 LSB)
Here is the tragedy. While God is graciously calling outsiders, He is patiently pleading with the insiders. The image of spreading out the hands is one of earnest invitation, of a father pleading with his wayward son. And He does this "all day long." This is not a fleeting offer; it is a constant, patient, enduring posture of appeal. But to whom? To a "rebellious people." The Hebrew word here means stubborn, defiant. And what is the nature of their rebellion? It is that they "walk in the way which is not good, following their own thoughts."
This is the very definition of autonomy, which is the heart of all sin. They have rejected God's revealed path and have decided to follow the GPS of their own imaginations. They have become their own standard of what is good. And where does this lead? It leads to a flurry of religious activity that is utterly abominable to God.
"A people who continually provoke Me to My face, Offering sacrifices in gardens and burning incense on bricks, Who sit among graves and spend the night in secret places, Who eat swine’s flesh, And the broth of offensive meat is in their pots," (Isaiah 65:3-4 LSB)
Notice the characteristics of their false worship. First, it is continual and brazen. They provoke God "to My face." This is not a sin of weakness or ignorance; it is high-handed defiance. Second, it is syncretistic and pagan. They offer sacrifices "in gardens," which was a hallmark of Canaanite fertility cults, not in the temple as God commanded. They burn incense "on bricks," a Mesopotamian practice, instead of on the golden altar. Third, it is occultic. They "sit among graves and spend the night in secret places," attempting to communicate with the dead, a practice known as necromancy, which is explicitly forbidden. Fourth, it is a deliberate violation of God's clear commands. They "eat swine's flesh," a food declared unclean in the Mosaic law, not for arbitrary health reasons, but as a mark of covenant distinction. Their entire worship system is a custom-built religion, a mash-up of paganism and personal preference, designed to suit their own tastes.
And what is the fruit of this self-made religion? Arrogant, exclusionary pride.
"Who say, ‘Keep to yourself, do not come near me, For I am holier than you!’ These are smoke in My nostrils, A fire that burns all the day." (Isaiah 65:5 LSB)
This is the punchline. After all their occultic, pagan, and disobedient practices, they have the audacity to see themselves as spiritually superior. Their religion has not produced humility, but a foul self-righteousness. This "holier than thou" attitude is the inevitable result of any religion based on human performance. If you believe your standing with God depends on what you do, you will either despair because you can't do enough, or you will become proud by comparing your curated list of accomplishments to others. These people were proud. And God's reaction is visceral. They are not a sweet-smelling aroma of worship; they are "smoke in My nostrils," an irritating, constant aggravation. They are "a fire that burns all the day," a source of settled, righteous anger.
The Inescapable Judgment (v. 6-7)
This kind of brazen, self-righteous rebellion cannot go unanswered. God's patience has a limit, and His justice is as certain as His grace.
"Behold, it is written before Me: I will not keep silent, but I will repay; I will even repay into their bosom," (Isaiah 65:6 LSB)
The sin is not forgotten. It is "written before Me." God keeps meticulous records. The silence of God during a time of rebellion should never be mistaken for indifference or approval. It is the silence of a long-suffering judge who will, at the appointed time, bring down the gavel. And the repayment will be personal and complete. To "repay into their bosom" is a graphic idiom for giving them the full measure of what they have earned, right into their lap.
And this judgment is not just for the current generation. It is covenantal and generational.
"Both their own iniquities and the iniquities of their fathers together,” says Yahweh. “Because they have burned incense on the mountains And reproached Me on the hills, Therefore I will measure their former work into their bosom." (Isaiah 65:7 LSB)
This is a hard teaching for our individualistic age, but it is thoroughly biblical. Sins have consequences that ripple through generations. When a generation of fathers sets up idolatrous patterns of worship and rebellion, they are teaching their sons to do the same. The sons are not judged for the guilt of their fathers' specific sins, as Ezekiel 18 makes clear. But they are judged for embracing, continuing, and ratifying that same sinful tradition. They have inherited a trajectory of rebellion and have gladly walked in it. God is judging the accumulated, corporate rebellion of a covenant-breaking people. The charge is summarized again: idolatry on the high places, which reproaches, or blasphemes, the name of the one true God.
The judgment is not arbitrary. It is a "measuring" of their "former work." God is just. The punishment will fit the crime. They have filled up the measure of their sin, and God will now fill their lap with the consequences.
Conclusion: The Great Exchange
So we are left with this stark contrast. On the one side, a God who finds those who are not looking for Him. On the other, a people who are fastidiously religious but are storing up wrath for themselves. What is the bridge over this chasm?
The bridge is the gospel of Jesus Christ. In the cross, we see this passage perfectly fulfilled in a great and glorious reversal. God is still the one who seeks and saves the lost. He sent His Son to seek and to save that which was lost, which is us. He came to a world that was not asking for Him.
But look at the judgment. Jesus, on the cross, was repaid "into his bosom" for sins He did not commit. He received the full measure of the wrath that we deserved for our idolatry, for our rebellion, for following our own thoughts. The iniquities of His people, past, present, and future, were laid upon Him. He became the smoke in God's nostrils so that our prayers, offered in His name, might become a sweet-smelling aroma.
Therefore, we must flee from the self-righteous, self-made religion described here. Any attempt to make ourselves "holier than you" through our own efforts is to offer sacrifices in gardens and to provoke God to His face. Our only hope is to abandon our own thoughts and our own ways, and to cling to the one who said, "I am the way." Our only righteousness is the righteousness of another, Jesus Christ, freely given to us by grace.
The God who said "Here am I" to the Gentiles is the same God who says "Here am I" to you today through the preaching of His word. The only proper response is not to puff out our chests with our own holiness, but to fall on our faces and say, "God, be merciful to me, a sinner." For He is a God who is found by those who do not seek Him, and that is our only hope.