Isaiah was a prophet during the time of the divided kingdoms (2 Kings 15:1, 13, 18:1). Israel had been divided into two separate kingdoms, the Northern Kingdom and the Judah-the Southern Kingdom. Israel had sinned against God, and Judah was beginning to follow suit; justice was perverted, the poor were oppressed, idol worship reigned, and they began turning to heathen nations instead of looking to God. Isaiah’s message was directed at Judah but was also for Israel.
God’s People Have Forsaken the Lord.
“Listen, O heavens! Pay attention, earth! This is what the Lord says: 'The children I raised and cared for have rebelled against me. Even an ox knows its owner,and a donkey recognizes its master’s care—but Israel doesn’t know its master. My people don’t recognize my care for them.' Oh, what a sinful nation they are—loaded down with a burden of guilt. They are evil people, corrupt children who have rejected the Lord. They have despised the Holy One of Israel and turned their backs on him.” – Isaiah 1:1-4
These verses can be considered an indictment that applies today, not just during biblical times. God gave Isaiah a vision regarding the sins of Israel and Judah as a message to the rebellious people. Isaiah was spiritually in tune with God, and he was guided by the Holy Spirit to deliver the message. The children of Israel had sinned so much that they had become ungrateful, corrupt, and backslidden (Deuteronomy 28), which mirrors much of our modern society as well. Charges were brought against them because they had broken the covenant with God. Isaiah called them to repent their sins and return to God (Deuteronomy 32:1; Jeremiah 3:22; Isaiah 65:2; Micah 1:2).
“Why do you continue to invite punishment? Must you rebel forever? Your head is injured, and your heart is sick.” – Isaiah 1:5
The sentence for Judah's persistent sin would isolate them from the help and protection of God. Our sin that separates us from God. He does not leave us. Our sinful nature causes us to leave Him. To maintain a close relationship with God, we confess sin, submit to, and talk to Him daily (Psalm 140:13; Isaiah 1:16-19; 1 John 1:9).
Isaiah illustrates someone who has received a beating, but his insult is directed at the nation. Isaiah had seen many foreign invasions during his lifetime, so his description is of a country that had been conquered and left demolished (Leviticus 26:33; Jeremiah 44:6).
"Your country lies in ruins, and your towns are burned. Foreigners plunder your fields before your eyes and destroy everything they see." - Isaiah 1:7
Some may question if verse seven was directed at the status of Judah at the time or a foretelling of future events. For either account, to be conquered by a foreign nation was a fierce judgment. Sodom and Gomorrah had been destroyed for their depravity and immorality, as recorded in Genesis 19:1-25. We can also read this account in Jeremiah 50:40, Ezekiel 16:46-63, Matthew 11:23-24, and Jude 1:7.
How close is our society, with the same lifestyle running rampant today, to being like these two destroyed cities? The phrase “very small remnant” refers to the genuine believers God would spare (Isaiah 10:20-22, 11:11, 16; Romans 9:29).
God Despises Their Sacrifices.
“When you lift up your hands in prayer, I will not look. Though you offer many prayers, I will not listen, for your hands are covered with the blood of innocent victims.” – Isaiah 1:15
In these verses, Isaiah talks to the people as if they were residents of Sodom and Gomorrah. He criticized and condemned their hypocritical and superficial worship (1 Samuel 15:22-23). Their style of worship was ritualistic and going through the motions. Their worship had no heart, for they were not sincere. Their outward display did not coincide with their internal being. These people needed to listen to God’s Word and obey Him.
Are we listening for God to speak, and are they receptive to what He has to say?
Isaiah told them that God was dissatisfied with their sacrifices (Jeremiah 6:20; Malachi 1:10) but was not repealing the sacrificial system that God had Moses start. God was looking at their hearts. The religious leaders were good at maintaining the traditional ceremonial sacrifices, but their own personal relationship with God had waned. Their outward display of sacrifice was supposed to match their inward condition, but the sacrifices they offered were empty and shallow.
Their vain offerings were useless. The “calling of assemblies” was supposed to have been their spiritual gatherings, but they gathered for the wrong reasons. The “appointed feasts” refer to the major Jewish calendar feasts: Passover, Pentecost, and the Tabernacles. How many people today gather and meet together in genuine reverence for God rather than the show-and-tell of legalistic religious practices? Because of their sinful nature and attitude, God would hide His eyes from them and not hear them (Isaiah 59:2; Micah 3:4).
Their Sins Shall Be as White as Snow.
“Wash yourselves and be clean! Get your sins out of my sight. Give up your evil ways. Learn to do good. Seek justice. Help the oppressed. Defend the cause of orphans. Fight for the rights of widows.” - Isaiah 1:16-17
Contrary to what some might think, the “wash you, and make you clean” does not imply that a sinner can perform a ritual cleansing to make himself spiritually clean. However, it means that a sinner must accept the Lord’s cleansing, which leads to genuine repentance. (Psalm 26:6)
"I wash my hands to declare my innocence. I come to your altar, O Lord," - Psalm 26:6
Some stains can be difficult to remove, especially those deeply embedded into clothes, carpets, or upholstery. But the worst are the stains of sin. People do not have to walk through life with the stain of sin. God has made a way to remove those stains. If we are willing to accept the work of Jesus Christ on the cross and the free gift of grace from God, we can be assured that we will be forgiven, and the stains of sin will be removed (Deuteronomy 30:15-16; Psalm 51:1-7; Isaiah 43:26, 44:22; Revelation 7:14). The words “let us reason together” is God’s invitation to mankind.
Redeemed By Judgment.
“The strongest among you will disappear like straw; their evil deeds will be the spark that sets it on fire. They and their evil works will burn up together, and no one will be able to put out the fire.” – Isaiah 1:31
The faithful, God’s people, had become a harlot (Jeremiah 2:20). They sold themselves for personal gain. They no longer worshiped God but had turned to false idols. Their faith in God had become blemished, sullied, and weakened. Idolatry, inward or outward, places something other than God as the most important aspect of our lives (Isaiah 57:3-9). Jesus portrayed individuals of His day as two-faced (adulterous), although they were strictly religious. Christians (the church body) are the bride of Christ (Revelation 19:7), and as such, we are clothed in His righteousness by faith.
Metal, like gold, is scoured in a smelting pot. As it heats, the impurities are skimmed off the top so that only the pure gold remains. It becomes so pure that you can see your reflection in it. This is called refining. God has promised to do the same to His people. Are we willing to submit ourselves to God so that He can remove all the impurities (sin) from our lives so that when others look at us, they see Him? (Isaiah 48:10; Malachi 3:3)
The rest of the chapter speaks on restoration, redemption (Jeremiah 33:7-11; Zechariah 8:3), and the “destruction of the transgressors” (Job 31:3; Psalm 9:5; Isaiah 66:24; 2 Thessalonians 1:8-9; Matthew 3:12).
So, what we have seen in this first chapter of Isaiah is a prophecy in which God brought a lawsuit against Israel for breaking the covenant in Judah. They live in disobedience to Him and are soaked in transgression. They will be destroyed by their enemies because they will not deal with their spiritual sickness. Their sacrifices are worthless and of no use. They need to cease their evil activities and begin doing what is good. Jerusalem will be restored to a place of justice and righteousness after the corrupt will be destroyed by the Lord. The people who refuse to atone will be shattered and vanquished.
Return. Repent. Be Renewed. Accept God's free gift of grace. Trust in the Redemption through Christ. Rejoice.
Photo Credit: Image created using DALL.E 2024 AI technology and subsequently edited and reviewed by our editorial team.
