Clean Hands – Isaiah 59

“God uses those with clean hands” Pastor Bill

The Lord is the One who cleanses us all.  We approach the cross of Christ in a state of filthy unworthiness.  Even the kindest and gentlest people we know fall short of the glory and holiness of God strictly upon their own merit.  God’s standards of holiness are much higher than anything achievable by human nature alone.  But through Christ and the gift of faith, each believer is given God’s own righteousness.  This is something we could never hope to achieve on our own.

No longer separated from God by sin, He has reconciled each of us to Himself through Christ’s sacrificial death on the cross and resurrection from the dead.

¹⁸ Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation…²¹ For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.  2 Corinthians 5:18,21 (NKJV)

God grants us His righteousness and makes us clean when we believe in and receive Jesus into our hearts.  But it doesn’t take us too long after this to realize that there are still many imperfections and shortcomings in my character, and that these will eventually show up in my thoughts, words, and actions.

The prophet Isaiah pointed out to Israel some of the ways that we fall all short of God’s glory, and seeds of these can still cause a root of bitterness in our hearts today.  While we may not have actual blood on our hands, Jesus pointed out in the Sermon on the Mount that anger at a sister or brother can be regarded in the Lord’s eyes as the same as us having committed a physical act of violence against them.  Iniquity, or wicked thoughts and desires, can be hidden away from others in our hearts, but can never be hidden from God.

² But your iniquities have separated you from your God;
And your sins have hidden His face from you,
So that He will not hear.
³ For your hands are defiled with blood,
And your fingers with iniquity;
Your lips have spoken lies,
Your tongue has muttered perversity.

⁴ No one calls for justice,
Nor does any plead for truth.
They trust in empty words and speak lies;
They conceive evil and bring forth iniquity.  Isaiah 59:2-4 (NKJV)

The Lord sees any evil or even the beginnings of it in the hearts of His people, and it displeases Him.  But He provides the remedy – we bring these failures to the cross of Christ in faith, seeking and receiving His full forgiveness for them. 

As additional sins crop up, and they surely will, do people of faith lose our salvation because of them?  No.  No one is perfect and without sin, and we all need a daily cleansing as we confess our sins before God.  He will forgive us as we seek to turn away from our wrongs, and to forgive those who have wronged us, as well.

Because of peoples’ lack of success in following God’s moral commandments on our own, Isaiah reveals that God decided to do something about it Himself.  He became the sacrifice for our sins in the person of His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus became the foundation of God’s ministry of reconciliation with us.  He brought His own righteousness to us for His eternal glory and for our eternal salvation.

¹⁵ …Then the Lord saw it, and it displeased Him
That there was no justice.
¹⁶ He saw that there was no man,
And wondered that there was no intercessor;
Therefore His own arm brought salvation for Him;
And His own righteousness, it sustained Him. Isaiah 59:15-16 (NKJV)

There was no intercessor, so Jesus became one.

⁵ For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus. 1 Timothy 2:5 (NKJV)

Only in Christ are we made holy enough to dwell forever in the immediate presence of a holy God.  In the meantime, we live out our days as God has ordained for us, washing the iniquity from our hands through Christ, so that the Lord can use us to build up His kingdom on earth. 

God is able to use anything in His universe, living or inanimate, to achieve His will and His purposes.  He can use a rock! But He likes to use people to get things done.  When we are walking with Him, forgiven and cleansed, and seek in our hearts to do the will of the Father, He can do great and wonderful things through us.  May this work touch the lives of others and bring them great blessings of eternal consequence, to the glory of God, who gives us clean hands.

Reflection

Lord, cleanse me of my sin and help me to keep clean hands in You today.  Forgive me for the failures that I bring to You for pardon, and help me to forgive those who commit an offense against me. Use me to perform Your will and achieve Your divine purposes today.  Help me to be pleasing to You.  In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.

Have a blessed day in the Lord today.