Isaiah 64: We Are the Clay
The prophet pleads for God to tear open the heavens and come down, confessing the people's sin and resting in God as Father and potter.
Isaiah 64 (WEB)
1 Oh that you would tear the heavens, that you would come down, that the mountains might quake at your presence,
2 as when fire kindles the brushwood, and the fire causes the waters to boil; to make your name known to your adversaries, that the nations may tremble at your presence!
3 When you did awesome things which we didn’t look for, you came down, the mountains quaked at your presence.
4 For from of old men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither has the eye seen a God besides you, who works for him who waits for him.
5 You meet him who rejoices and works righteousness, those who remember you in your ways. Behold, you were angry, and we sinned. We have been in sin for a long time; and shall we be saved?
6 For we have all become as one who is unclean, and all our righteousness is as a polluted garment: and we all fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.
7 There is no one who calls on your name, who stirs up himself to take hold of you; for you have hidden your face from us, and have consumed us by means of our iniquities.
8 But now, Yahweh, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you our potter; and we all are the work of your hand.
9 Don’t be furious, Yahweh, neither remember iniquity forever: see, look, we beg you, we are all your people.
10 Your holy cities are become a wilderness, Zion has become a wilderness, Jerusalem a desolation.
11 Our holy and our beautiful house, where our fathers praised you, is burned with fire; and all our pleasant places are laid waste.
12 Will you refrain yourself for these things, Yahweh? Will you hold your peace, and afflict us very severely?
Isaiah 64 (KJV)
1 Oh that thou wouldest rend the heavens, that thou wouldest come down, that the mountains might flow down at thy presence,
2 As when the melting fire burneth, the fire causeth the waters to boil, to make thy name known to thine adversaries, that the nations may tremble at thy presence!
3 When thou didst terrible things which we looked not for, thou camest down, the mountains flowed down at thy presence.
4 For since the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside thee, what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him.
5 Thou meetest him that rejoiceth and worketh righteousness, those that remember thee in thy ways: behold, thou art wroth; for we have sinned: in those is continuance, and we shall be saved.
6 But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.
7 And there is none that calleth upon thy name, that stirreth up himself to take hold of thee: for thou hast hid thy face from us, and hast consumed us, because of our iniquities.
8 But now, O Lord, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand.
9 Be not wroth very sore, O Lord, neither remember iniquity for ever: behold, see, we beseech thee, we are all thy people.
10 Thy holy cities are a wilderness, Zion is a wilderness, Jerusalem a desolation.
11 Our holy and our beautiful house, where our fathers praised thee, is burned up with fire: and all our pleasant things are laid waste.
12 Wilt thou refrain thyself for these things, O Lord? wilt thou hold thy peace, and afflict us very sore?
Isaiah 64 (ASV)
1 Oh that thou wouldest rend the heavens, that thou wouldest come down, that the mountains might quake at thy presence,
2 as when fire kindleth the brushwood, and the fire causeth the waters to boil; to make thy name known to thine adversaries, that the nations may tremble at thy presence!
3 When thou didst terrible things which we looked not for, thou camest down, the mountains quaked at thy presence.
4 For from of old men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen a God besides thee, who worketh for him that waiteth for him.
5 Thou meetest him that rejoiceth and worketh righteousness, those that remember thee in thy ways: behold, thou wast wroth, and we sinned: in them have we been of long time; and shall we be saved?
6 For we are all become as one that is unclean, and all our righteousnesses are as a polluted garment: and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.
7 And there is none that calleth upon thy name, that stirreth up himself to take hold of thee; for thou hast hid thy face from us, and hast consumed us by means of our iniquities.
8 But now, O Jehovah, thou art our Father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand.
9 Be not wroth very sore, O Jehovah, neither remember iniquity for ever: behold, look, we beseech thee, we are all thy people.
10 Thy holy cities are become a wilderness, Zion is become a wilderness, Jerusalem a desolation.
11 Our holy and our beautiful house, where our fathers praised thee, is burned with fire; and all our pleasant places are laid waste.
12 Wilt thou refrain thyself for these things, O Jehovah? wilt thou hold thy peace, and afflict us very sore?
Summary
The prayer of the previous chapter continues with a passionate cry: “Oh that you would tear the heavens, that you would come down,” so that the mountains would quake and the nations tremble at God's presence. The prophet remembers how God once did awesome things they did not expect, and affirms that no eye has ever seen a God like ours, who works for those who wait for him. Yet the prayer turns to honest confession. God meets those who gladly do righteousness, but they have sinned and persisted in sin; how then can they be saved? They admit that all of them have become unclean, and even their righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; they all fade like a leaf, and their iniquities sweep them away like the wind. No one calls on God's name or stirs himself to take hold of him, for God has hidden his face and let them waste away in their sins. Then comes the tender turn that gives the chapter its enduring power: “But now, Yahweh, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you our potter; and we all are the work of your hand.” On that basis the prophet begs God not to be furious forever nor to remember sin endlessly, pointing to the desolation of the holy cities and the burned-out temple, and asking how long God will hold his peace and afflict them so severely.
Voices
- Yahweh / the potter — The God who does awesome and unexpected things, who works for those who wait for him, and who is appealed to as Father and potter shaping his people.
- The prophet / the people — The voice pleading for God to come down, confessing that all their righteousness is a polluted garment, and resting in God as their maker.
Key Verse
Isaiah 64:8 (WEB)
But now, Yahweh, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you our potter; and we all are the work of your hand.
Lessons Learned
- It is right to long for God to break in and act with power on behalf of his people.
- Even our best righteousness is unclean before God apart from his grace.
- Honest confession of sin is the doorway to appealing for God's mercy.
- We can entrust ourselves to God as the potter who shapes us, for we are the work of his hands.
- We long for God to break in. “Oh that you would tear the heavens, that you would come down” (Isaiah 64:1, WEB)—a cry for God's powerful presence.
- Our righteousness cannot save us. “All our righteousness is as a polluted garment” (Isaiah 64:6, WEB); even our best falls short of God's holiness.
- God is our Father and potter. “You are our Father; we are the clay, and you our potter” (Isaiah 64:8, WEB), shaping us as the work of his hand.
- Mercy appeals to God's own character. “Don’t be furious, Yahweh, neither remember iniquity forever… we are all your people” (Isaiah 64:9, WEB).
- What is the prophet longing for in the cry to “tear the heavens” (64:1)?
- What does it mean that even our righteous deeds are “as a polluted garment” (64:6)?
- How does the image of the potter and the clay (64:8) shape the way we relate to God?
- On what basis does the prophet appeal for mercy in verses 8-12?
- Where do you need to confess your need honestly and entrust yourself to God as the potter shaping your life?
- The prophet longs for God to intervene visibly and powerfully, coming down so that mountains quake and nations tremble (64:1-3). It is a yearning for God to act decisively for his people as he has in the past, not to remain hidden and silent.
- It means that even our finest moral efforts are stained by sin and cannot earn standing before a holy God (64:6). This humbling truth strips away any confidence in our own goodness and drives us to depend wholly on God's mercy.
- As clay in the potter's hands, we acknowledge that God made us, owns us, and has the right and wisdom to shape us (64:8). This image fosters humility and trust, letting us rest in his fatherly purpose even when we cannot understand his work.
- The prophet appeals not to the people's merit but to God's identity as their Father and maker, and to their being his people (64:8-9). When confession leaves nothing to plead in ourselves, we appeal to who God is and to our belonging to him.
- This is a personal-application question. Invite members to confess their need honestly and surrender to God's shaping hand. As leader, pair honest acknowledgment of sin with the comfort of belonging to the Father who formed them.