What Appalls God

Isaiah 59:15b is a sharp turn in the chapter. It’s the first time Yahweh does something: He “sees,” and in Scripture when Yahweh sees He’s getting ready to act. Sight means inspection, surveillance, gathering of evidence. God sees in order to judge.

What he sees “astonishes” Him (v 16). The astonishment might come from the transgression and rebellion that fills Judah. What He sees is appalling evil. But verse 16 specifically says that He is astonished that there is “no one to intercede” (NASB; the verb is paga’).

That’s a difficult translation. The verb typically means to “strike” or “rush upon” or even “kill.” Its use in Isaiah 59 has been explained as a reference to the violence of prayer (“no one to assault Yahweh in prayer”) or as an implied reference to a covenant (“no one who will strike a pact with Yahweh”).

The context argues for a more straightforward translation: Yahweh sees the evil of injustice, and is astonished that no one takes action to “strike it down.” What He looks for is a righteous one to make war against Israel’s rebellion. What appalls God is not only injustice, but cowardice and inaction in the face of injustice.

That leads smoothly into 16b-17: Because He finds no one to launch an assault, He puts on His armor to take things into His own hands. He initiates His own war, which is fulfilled in the cross that reveals the righteousness of God.