Isaiah 57

Verses 1-13, “The righteous perishes, And no man takes it to heart; Merciful men are taken away, While no one considers That the righteous is taken away from evil. He shall enter into peace; They shall rest in their beds, Each one walking in his uprightness. 'But come here, You sons of the sorceress, You offspring of the adulterer and the harlot! Whom do you ridicule? Against whom do you make a wide mouth And stick out the tongue? Are you not children of transgression, Offspring of falsehood, Inflaming yourselves with gods under every green tree, Slaying the children in the valleys, Under the clefts of the rocks? Among the smooth stones of the stream Is your portion; They, they, are your lot! Even to them you have poured a drink offering, You have offered a grain offering. Should I receive comfort in these? On a lofty and high mountain You have set your bed; Even there you went up To offer sacrifice. Also behind the doors and their posts You have set up your remembrance; For you have uncovered yourself to those other than Me, And have gone up to them; You have enlarged your bed And made a covenant with them; You have loved their bed, Where you saw their nudity. You went to the king with ointment, And increased your perfumes; You sent your messengers far off, And even descended to Sheol. You are wearied in the length of your way; Yet you did not say, “There is no hope.” You have found the life of your hand; Therefore you were not grieved. And of whom have you been afraid, or feared, That you have lied And not remembered Me, Nor taken it to your heart? Is it not because I have held My peace from of old That you do not fear Me? I will declare your righteousness And your works, For they will not profit you. When you cry out, Let your collection of  idols deliver you. But the wind will carry them all away, A breath will take them. But he who puts his trust in Me shall possess the land, And shall inherit My holy mountain.' ”

Even though the righteous men were being persecuted, and no one cared that they died, God had not forgotten them. The wicked ones were probably delighted to have them gone, but they did not understand that they were in a much better place and were now free from their sinful bodies. The wicked actually ridiculed the righteous, not realizing that were adding to their reward in heaven while storing up their own wrath.  Luke 6:22‭-‬23, “Blessed are you when men hate you, And when they exclude you, And revile you, and cast out your name as evil, For the Son of Man’s sake. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy! For indeed your reward is great in heaven, For in like manner their fathers did to the prophets.”  The Jews were supposed to be betrothed to God, but instead played the harlot with all of their false gods, even offering sacrifices to them that should have been reserved for the one true God. Even when they became weary of their ways, they still would not repent and were hard in their hearts to continue in their unrighteousness.

Verses 14-21, “And one shall say, 'Heap it up! Heap it up! Prepare the way, Take the stumbling block out of the way of My people.' For thus says the High and Lofty One Who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy place, With him who has a contrite and humble spirit, To revive the spirit of the humble, And to revive the heart of the contrite ones. For I will not contend forever, Nor will I always be angry; For the spirit would fail before Me, And the souls which I have made. For the iniquity of his covetousness I was angry and struck him; I hid and was angry, And he went on backsliding in the way of his heart. I have seen his ways, and will heal him; I will also lead him, And restore comforts to him And to his mourners. I create the fruit of the lips: Peace, peace to him who is far off and to him who is near,” Says the Lord, “And I will heal him.” But the wicked are like the troubled sea, When it cannot rest, Whose waters cast up mire and dirt. 'There is no peace,' Says my God, 'for the wicked.' ”

A way shall be made that is (heaped up) above all the wickedness, for God's people to return to Him. It will be free from obstacles that trip people up from following Him. Likewise, we need to remove anything from our lives that will keep us from getting to God. Knowing how difficult it is to find and remain on the road to righteousness, we cannot take any chances with things that will potentially weigh us down and keep us from finishing strong.  Hebrews 12:1‭-‬2, “Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”  Unfortunately, many try to run the race holding onto the things they cannot let go of, because their love for the things of this world is stronger than their love for God. These things, although maybe not sin in and of themselves, become idols leading us to sin against Him. 

When you are self-willed, living the life of your own hand, you become blind to the truth of your present spiritual condition. Many convince themselves that they are all set, because they are being influenced by demonic wisdom. The only way you are ever going to see Jesus, is if you are willing to deny your own desires and desire Him more. Otherwise, what you are doing in this life will not profit you one bit. In fact, it will be a total waste of time, energy, and money to pursue them at the expense of your salvation.  Matthew 16:24‭-‬26, “Then Jesus said to His disciples, 'If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?' ”