Isaiah 57:1-2

Question: The bracelets in remembrance of Thomas Culp (teacher at HarBer) have Isaiah 57:1-2 written on them. What does this passage mean?

 ¹The righteous perish, and no one ponders it in his heart; devout men are taken away, and no one understands that the righteous are taken away to be spared from evil. ²Those who walk uprightly enter into peace; they find rest as they lie in death. Isaiah 57:1-2

 Then & There: Isaiah is a prophet, meaning God speaks through him to His people. Isaiah writes and speaks to Judah, the southern kingdom of Israelites, during the Assyrian captivity of their northern brothers Israel. Assyria also lay siege to Jerusalem, the holy city for both the northern and southern kingdoms. As they are watching their northern brothers being taken into captivity, God’s main message is this attack was judgment because they, as a people, had turned their back on Him. It was a warning of the coming judgment for the Judah. However, this little caveat is saying that there were a few righteous people, who were a part of the captive Israel. They were suffering all kinds of injustice while the evil men could do whatever they liked. But death, rather than being a punishment as some thought it to be, was a relief and escape from that injustice and evil.

Here & Now: For today, this passage means that while injustice is everywhere, and as a people often turn away from God, there are still a few righteous mixed in there. They suffer injustice undeservingly, but in death, they find relief from the injustice of this world. Thomas Culp experienced an untimely death and will be missed by many, but this passage is one of hope. Rather than death being a punished, he is experiencing relief and escape from injustice and evil. And while he will be missed and we should definitely allow ourselves to grieve his loss, we should also be glad to know that he no longer has to deal with the fallenness of our world.

 What are your thoughts?