“Behold, the Lord's hand is not
shortened for redeeming, nor heavy His ear from hearing. But your iniquities
have been separating between you and your God, and your sins have hidden The
Presence from you, from hearing.” (Isaiah
59:1-2)
These two verses are fundamental, for they contain multidimensional meanings and messages. God's “hand” represents not only His works but also what inspires His actions. The God of Israel's ways and attributes are immeasurable and unattainable by our comprehension. Hence we don't really have a concrete idea what is “short” or “extended” in the context of Redemption.
Though we may refer to Israel's previous exiles as short or long, waiting for the return to our Land, here the Prophet invites to reflect on the fact that the time for the Messianic era depends on us.
Let's understand that Isaiah is also mentioning God's “hearing” as His understanding of what and whom He has created. He them all, for all comes from Him. Hence the next sentence underlines the reasons we have to separate from His ways and attributes. When we separate from goodness, we separate from God.
The Torah teaches us clearly that, although He created darkness and evil for us to choose Light and goodness, He does not associate with the former. By making evil and darkness a choice and not a reference, we not only make God's Presence hidden from us but impair our understanding for what is good.
God's Redemption is not short of extended, but as much as we make it permanent. God never said or hinted that His promises are limited or temporary, neither His understanding. We also learn from this that we are liable for our actions.
When we follow ego's fantasies and illusions, we not only separate from God's ways and attributes but from those who believe in the latter. Our separation is not only from Him but from all. We end up alone in our attachments, addictions, obsessions, haughtiness, anger, indifference and indolence.
“For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken falsehood, your tongue mutters wickedness. There is none calling in righteousness, and there is none pleading in faithfulness. Trusting in vanity and speaking falsehood, conceiving wickedness and bearing evil.” (59:3-4)
The Prophet points out specific transgressions derived from negative traits and trends in consciousness prompted by ego's fantasies and illusions. Evil and destructive talking as one of the most lethal weapons in the arsenal of wickedness.
In such predicament, truth as justice and righteousness are absent and there is nothing or none to trust. Without truthful values and principles there is nothing to believe or to have faith.
Once again Isaiah denounces vanity as the field of ego's fantasies and illusions, and falsehood as their expression, along with their negative and destructive consequences. The Prophet continues calling our attention to assimilate the premise that we must abandon our negative ways in order to return to God's ways and attributes (59:5-7).
“A way of peace they have not known, and there is no judgment in their paths. Their paths they have made wicked for themselves, none who walks in it have known peace. Therefore judgment has been far from us, and righteousness reach us not. We wait for light but behold darkness, for darkness – in thick darkness we go.” (59:8-9)
The obvious occurs when we live by and for ego's fantasies and illusions, and peace is their first casualty. Judgment as the principle for which we make our choices is next, for in negative trends there is no path, direction or purpose in life. Thus we sow the fruits of our haughtiness, wrath, envy, lust and cruelty, the wicked paths we create for ourselves in which there is no peace.
The bad news is that we end up loosing our free will as the judgment we need to face all aspects and dimensions of life. Light as Love is far from our hearts, and we walk amid the thick darkness in which there is no righteousness.
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