Isaiah 59

I. Blessing for the righteous (Isaiah 57:1-2)
       1. The righteous are gathered out from calamity (57:1)
       2. Those who walk uprightly find rest and peace (57:2)

II. Description of  the wicked (Isaiah 57:3-4)
       1. Children of a sorceress and harlot (57:3)
       2. They Mocked Jehovah (57:4)

III. The idol worship (Isaiah 57:5-6)
       1. Lust desire for other gods (57:5)
       2. Offering to other gods (57:6) 

IV. God's wife becomes a harlot (Isaiah 7-10)
       1. She established a bed on a lofty mountain to fornicate with other gods (57:7)
       2. She made a covenant/pact with gods (57:8)
       3. Use sacred elements (Oils for the king) to sell herself to other gods. (57:9)
       4. She persisted in this unfaithfulness (57:10)

V. Curses for forgetting and betraying Jehovah (Isaiah 57:11-13a)
       1. She fails to remember Jehovah and not fear him anymore (57:11)
       2. Jehovah will expose her "false righteousness" (57:12)
       3. She will be in distress and have no other god to help her (57:13a). 

VI. The broken heart and contrite spirit will receive refuge in his holy place (Isaiah 57:13b-15)
       1. Those who seek refuge from Jehovah will inherit his holy mountain (57:13b)
       2. It will be a way prepared with no obstacles for his people (57:16) 
       3. Jehovah dwells with the contrite spirit and the broken heart (57:15)

VII. The LORD will heal his servant individually and collectively (Isaiah 57:16-19)
       1. The anger of the LORD will pass away at the brink of destruction (57:16)
       2. The LORD was angry because of the desire of the heart of his servant (57:17)
       3. The LORD heals and conforms his servant and those who mourn for him (57:18)
       4.  Come to the LORD and partake of his fruit and be heal (57:19)

VIII. There is no peace for the wicked (Isaiah 57:20-21)
       1. The wicked are unable to rest (57:20)
       2. There is no peace for the wicked (57:21)      

The chapter belongs to what scholars refer to as the third Isaiah, and there are clear indications in the text Isaiah is pointing to the end-time restoration of the wife of his youth as he turns to his people in Isaiah 13b-15.

Some believe this was a pre-exilic context as Judah was offering sacrifices in his mountain (Isaiah 57:6). The context can be linked to King Mannashe, who did offer his children to Moloch and partake of witchcraft (2 Kings 21:1-6). 

It is clear as verse 6-13 shows God's wife becoming a whore was a pre-exilic event (Circa 597-98 BCE), but the called to prepare a place for his people to return (Isaiah 57:13-15), which is post-exilic (538 BCE). Isaiah is combining elements to compose an end-time scenario. Even the healing of his servant (Isaiah 57:17-18) can be linked to King Hezekiah in Isaiah 38.  

Isaiah chapter 57 begins and ends with a contrast between the righteous and the wicked:

A. The righteous are gathered out & find peace (57:1-2)
    B. The upright finds rest (57:2)
    B. The wicked are unable to rest (57:20)
A. There is no peace for the wicked (57:21).

Main chapter message: A. Peace B. Rest - Contrast between the righteous and the wicked. 

Main Parallels:

Bed
     1. The righteous rest in their beds (57:2)
     2. The whore set up a bed to fornicate with other gods (57:7-8)

Rest
     1. The righteous find rest in the LORD (57:2)
     2. The wicked weary themselves with other gods (57:10) 
          a. There is no rest for the wicked (57:20)

Walk upright/Path
     1. The ones who walk upright attain peace (57:2)
     2. The whore weary in her journey (57:10)
     3. Remove the obstacles for the path of the people of the LORD (57:14)

Righteousness
     1. The righteous attain peace (57:1-2)
     2. The LORD will expose the righteousness of his unfaithful wife and distress her (57:12-13). 

Mountain/Hill
     1. The unfaithful wife sold herself on a lofty mountain to other gods (57:6)
     2. The ones who seek the LORD receive an inheritance in his holy mountain 
     3. The Lord dwells on high with the meek and humble.      

• Trouble at home 1-33
• Redemption of Zion 37-39
• Good news to Jerusalem 40-52
• Jehovah's atonement 53
• Gathering of Israel 55-66

Isaiah's seven-part or Bifid Structure 

Ruin & Rebirth (Isaiah 1–5; 34–35)
   Rebellion & Compliance (Isaiah 6–8; 36–40)
      Punishment & Deliverance (Isaiah 9–12; 41–46)
         Humiliation & Exaltation (Isaiah 13–23; 47)
       Suffering & Salvation (Isaiah 24–27; 48–54)
   Disloyalty & Loyalty (Isaiah 28–31; 55–59) <You are here
Disinheritance & Inheritance (Isaiah 32–33; 60–66)