“Come now, let us argue this out,” says the LORD. “No matter how deep the stain of your sins, I can remove it. I can make you as clean as freshly fallen snow. Even if you are stained as red as crimson, I can make you as white as wool.” - Isaiah 1:18
Isaiah was a great prophet. His messages brought comfort to the few among God’s people who were true believers. He constantly reminded them of the “covenant of grace.” At the same time, he brought a message of severe warning to those who refused to listen to the doctrine of life. When the Lord called his rebellious people to “argue this out,” he did not call them to debate, but rather to agree with his verdict. He wanted them to acknowledge that their actions had not been in accordance with reason.
All sin is unreasonable. The people’s sin is described as a deep stain (other versions say “scarlet,” a red stain that we know is difficult to remove). This contrasts to the stark whiteness of snow. When yarns were dyed scarlet (or crimson) in biblical times, the process required two baths or double-dyeing. When Christ forgave my sin, I was very conscious that grace invited not a dialogue but a reasonable confession of the “double-dyed” mess I had made of my life. God wanted me to agree with his verdict and submit to his decision concerning my sin. I felt like a small sheep whose wool had been dyed crimson by wrongdoing, and I was pretty red-faced about it all.
What joy to enter the “covenant of grace” and experience the whiteness of the soul that coming to God brings! Have you come to the point of accepting God’s verdict of your life, or are you still arguing your case?
For Further Study: Isaiah 1:1-19
Excerpted from The One Year Devotions for Women, Copyright ©2000 by Jill Briscoe. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved.
For more from Jill Briscoe, please visit TellingtheTruth.org.
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