Isaiah – The fifth Hebrew gospel – Chapter 64

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Isa. 64:1 Oh that You would tear open the shamayim, that You would come down, that the mountains would shake at Your presence.

The prophet longs for a powerful manifestation of יהוהs presence. The imagery of tearing or rending the heavens is symbolic of the barrier between יהוה and man being removed, it brings back memories of Mount Sinai.

2 As when the melting fire burns, the fire causes the mayim to boil, to make Your Name known to Your adversaries, that the nations may tremble at Your presence! 3 When You did awesome things that we did not look for, You came down, and the mountains flowed down at Your presence. 4

Matthew 3:16, where the heavens were “opened” as the Spirit of Elohim descended upon Him. 

Bookends actually because we have the tearing of the temple veil in Matthew 27:51 at Yahusha’s crucifixion, symbolizing the removal of this separation between יהוה and humanity too.

The rending of the heavens symbolizes the breaking of the boundary between the spiritual and physical realms, it’s an apocalyptic intervention of יהוה. The Shamayim represents the realm of the divine, and this tearing signifies Elohim’s stepping into history in a direct, transformative way at the micva of Yahusha.

Fire the symbol of judgment and purification shows the intensity of יהוה’s intervention. It’s burning, it’s severe…it’s intense!

יהוהs presence will consume and purify the earth, just like fire consumes wood and boils water.

Isaiah is pretty much describing Yahusha’s second coming here, when He’ll come in flaming fire, taking vengeance on those who do not know Elohim” (2 Thessalonians 1:8). Yahusha comes as both redeemer and judge which is totally mirrored here…His presence brings both purification and destruction!

The fire of destruction is also the fire of renewal (Malachi 3:2-3).

4. For since the beginning of the olam men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither has the eye seen, O Elohim, beside You, what He has prepared for him that waits for Him. 5. You shall meet with him that has simcha and works tzedakah, who remembers You and Your halachot: see, You were angry; when we sinned in those things for a long time, and now, should we be saved? 

Isaiah now draws upon יהוהs past interventions, especially the BoC events at Mount Sinai, where the mountains trembled when יהוה gave the BoC to.

In 1 Corinthians 2:9 Shaul quotes verse 4…For since the beginning of the olam men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither has the eye seen, O Elohim, beside You, what He has prepared for him that waits for Him; to emphasize that the things יהוה has prepared for those who love Him are beyond human comprehension.  Just as in Romans 8:28, where He speaks of Elohim working all things for good for those who love Him. 

6 But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our tzedakah are as filthy rags; 13 and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away. 

יהוה responds to those who seek Him with righteousness and joy, yet persistent sin has aroused His anger, creating the need for salvation.

So there’s a paradox…יהוה is with those who practice righteousness and remain faithful to His ways…yet there’s a tension between יהוהs holiness and man’s need for repentance.

So in Matthew 5:6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. Yahusha’s message of repentance and salvation echoes Isaiah’s acknowledgment of sin and the need for deliverance right here which is ultimately fulfilled through Yahusha’s atoning death and resurrection (Romans 3:23-25) For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of Elohim; 24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Moshiach Yahusha.

The idea of “meeting” in V.5 is the ultimate reconciliation between יהוה and humanity in the New Heavens and New Earth (Revelation 21:3-4).

Matthew 24:30-31 with Yahusha’s second coming is marked by divine intervention, just like the heavens being “torn” in Isaiah’s plea.    

Revelation 19:11-16: The final return of Yahusha as the conquering King fulfills the desire for Elohim’s righteous intervention as seen right here in Isaiah 64, where He judges the nations and establishes His kingdom.

In V. 7 The phrase “to take hold of” (Hebrew: חָזַק chazak) implies not just passive waiting but an active grappling with Elohim, like Jacob wrestled with the angel (Genesis 32). In the Hebrew, ח (chet) represents a fence or separation, and ז (zayin) represents a weapon or tool, so taking hold of Elohim requires breaking through spiritual barriers. 

7 And there is none that calls upon Your Name, who stirs himself to take hold of You: for You have hidden Your face from us, and have consumed us, because of our iniquities. 8 But now, O vuvh, You are our Abba; we are the clay, and You our Potter; and we all are the work of Your hand. 

V. 8 יהוה is the potter and Israel as the clay…a powerful image of יהוהs sovereignty and creative authority. Our very existence is shaped by His hands.

Romans 9:21, יהוה as the potter has the right to shape vessels as He pleases, whether for honor or dishonor. 

As believers we’re יהוהs workmanship, created in Yahusha for good works (Ephesians 2:10).

So then as dust and clay we have the potential for transformation!

Even though we may have been marred by our sin just as clay can be marred, it can also be reshaped and redeemed!

9 Be not very angry, O vuvh, neither remember iniquity le-olam-va-ed: see, look, we beg You, we are all Your nation. 10 Your kadosh cities are a wilderness; Tzion is a wilderness, Yahrushalayim a ruin. 11 Our kadosh and beautiful Bayit, where our ahvot gave You hallel, is burned up with fire: and all our pleasant things are laid in ruin. 12 Will You restrain Yourself in light of all these things, O vuvh? Will You hold Your response from us, and afflict us very heavily?

This plea for forgiveness is seen in the New Testament in Hebrews 8:12, where יהוה promises, “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.” 

Next…Zion is educed to a wilderness and desolation – the spiritual and physical ruin of the people.

The final verses mourn the destruction of the temple. Of course the burning of the temple represents the loss of the nation’s spiritual identity.

Yahusha said in Matthew 24:2, “Not one stone shall be left here upon another.” why because we as believers are to become the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19), and the destruction of the physical temple points forward to the spiritual temple that will never be destroyed.

In Romans 8:19-23: Shaul speaks of the groaning of creation, awaiting the final redemption. This groaning for Elohim to act and intervene mirrors the very plea in Isaiah 64:12 for יהוה not to restrain Himself and to bring about the final redemption.