Read Isaiah 57 here (text coming …) or at Bible Gateway.
The Hebrew paragraphs:
56:10-57:2 {s} Blind and dull shepherds/ righteous and merciful taken away from evil to their rest
57:3-14 {s} Adulterous Israel, her unprofitable works/ he who puts his trust in YHVH shall posses the land
57:15-21 {p} God speaks peace and healing to the contrite and humble, but there is no peace for the wicked
The Strong theme:
56:10-57:21 {s+s+p} Peace for the righteous, merciful, contrite, who trusts in YHVH: they shall possess the land, but no peace for the wicked
The Chiastic structure:
That our righteous works cannot save us (vs. 12) is not a new doctrine sprung out of the New Testament, with no precedent in Scripture.
For thus says the High and Exalted One, who inhabits eternity, and holy is His name: “I dwell in the high and holy place, yet with the contrite and lowly of spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.” Isa 57:15
But YHVH, who is high and lifted up, dwells with him who is contrite and lowly of spirit. Notice that it did not say, with him who is perfect?
Contrite is an adjective from Strong’s H1792, דכא daka, “to break in pieces.”
dalet ד = door (enter, move, hang)
kaph כ ך = open palm (bend, open, allow, tame)
aleph א = ox head (strength, power, leader)
The Hebrew Root Word parable is to move back and forth (dalet, as a door moves back and forth on its hinges) in a bowl (kaph, as the shape of a cupped palm) with force (aleph). According to the Ancient Hebrew Lexicon, the concrete noun from this verb is a mortar and pestle, used to crush seeds into a fine powder by a back and forth movement against the stone cup.
Contrite came to English by way of Anglo-French from the Latin verb conterere, meaning “to grind” or “to bruise.” Conterere, in turn, was formed by combining the prefix com-, meaning “with” or “together,” and terere, “to rub.” – Webster’s
A contrite one is someone whose heart is struck, smote by the realization of the horror of their sin, and is crushed in heart because of it. True repentance comes from a contrite heart.
“And whoever falls on this stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder.” Mat 21:44
This word, broken, the Septuagint translators used for, broken, contrite as is found in Isa 57:15. We can voluntarily fall upon the cornerstone, Yeshua, broken because of our sins. His response to the contrite heart, is
“… to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.” Isa 57:15
To revive, Strong’s H2421, חיה chayah, in the grammatical form it appears here, simply means, “to cause to live.” He does not leave us in the broken state He finds us. Aren’t you glad!?!
If there are questions, this is a good resource:
On being lowly in spirit – Christine Miller
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