Preparing for Deliverance
Reflection on Isaiah 1
Isaiah 1:1 Tells us the setting - Isaiah, a major prophet to whom is given a message:
From - The LORD (Yahweh)
To - Isaiah (Yahweh is salvation), prophet of Judah (praise)
When - 8th century BCE: The years when Uzziah (the strength of the Yahweh), Jotham (Jehovah is perfect), Ahaz (Yahweh has held), and Hezekiah (Yahweh is my strength), were the kings of Judah.
Why - to address sin of Judah (praise) and Jerusalem (city of peace) and their need of repentance
Isaiah comes onto the scene to tell his people to take a good look in the mirror to see that their spiritual life was being neglected. He calls Judah to repent saying, “Come now, let us argue it out, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be (white) like snow.”(1:18)
That's “sins”, not “skins”. And that’s white as snow, not as caucasions. I have to make that clarification because there are some white supremist assumptions that try to take advantage of that verse to suggest that white skin or even light skin is more acceptable than dark skin.
1. How have you seen scripture taken out of its proper context and used to degrade people?
But it is clear that Isaiah is talking about a spiritual condition and not a physical condition. Scarlet is very similar to the color of blood, here it represents sin, guilt, and shame, whereas white is used here to represent purity. Isaiah is using color as a metaphor to explain that even though Judah is stained with sin, which like blood cannot be removed, if they repent God will wash it all away and restore their purity.
2. What other metaphors do you see being used by Isaiah?
This is a summary of the entire book, but in chapters 1-5 Isaiah will let us know just how deeply stained with sin Judah was. As we reflect on these first 5 chapters, starting today with Chapter 1, let us give ourselves a good look in the mirror, not at our physical condition but our spiritual condition. This is no time for spiritual bypass, this is a time for honest reflection with God. The criteria for Judah’s purification was clear; repentance (to turn around), and there is no repentance without first acknowledging sin.
We are blind to many of our errors, but as we read Isaiah honestly and intently, God will make us aware of the sins that we have become blind to. Maybe there are some trusted people around you that can help you with this in a loving way.
3. What sin have you left unacknowledged in your own life?
Interestingly enough God says to His people, “Trample my courts no more”(1:12), what a harsh command! There at the temple the people enjoyed God’s established presence, much like we do when we go to church, and because of social distance we too have been banished from our meetings and worship services in our respective sanctuaries. What a jaring similarity we share with Judah in this setting in the text.
The case that Isaiah is making is that when we are not willing to confront our sins and repent, our outward signs of adoration to God only frustrate Him. It’s as if we are living a lie, claiming to be God’s children but behaving as though we are not.
James (proper Jacob “to grab the heel”) in the New Testament must have been informed by Isaiah when he wrote, “Religion that is undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.”(James 1:27) James may have been inspired by, “Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your doings from before my eyes; cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow.”(Isaiah 1:16-17)
By the mention of these things in both Isaiah and James, we can safely assume that they were duties that were being neglected, not by government alone but by society in general. Although Isaiah also addresses the leaders of Judah specifically further in the text, here he makes it clear that this God ordained order of compassion (to care for those in need) was absent from the everyday life of everyone. For me this highlights the fact that we often look to our leaders to do the things that God is expecting from us.
Leaders all over the world are carrying a huge load during this pandemic. They are forced to make decisions that they never expected they would have to, yet they have been criticized more than ever have, which makes thier jobs even more difficult.
4. How can you be the change that you want to see in the world? (Remember although we observe social distance the internet is still at your disposal, and YOU ARE A LEADER.)
Many times we rest all too comfortably in the assurance that God is forgiving. He most definitely is. Christ paid a heavy price and I’m glad about that! Hallelujah! “But should we continue in sin so that grace will abound? By no means!”(Romans 6:10) We are accountable for our obedience, we are responsible for our sin, we are expected to do some of the very things that we claim others should be doing, so God commands repentance for all of us.
5. Write a letter of repentance to God, for your own errors not the sins of others. Be honest with yourself and with God. Look for the similarities between your own life and those issues that Isaiah addresses in chapter 1. Let that meekness marinate and stir you up to make plans to apologize to anyone that you’ve wronged, even if that person is to yourself.
You are welcomed to pray this prayer with me:
God Whom spoke to Isaiah concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah,
I thank you for your compassion toward me. I thank you that even with all of the wrong I have done, you still love me and reach out to me. By your grace I am fully accepted even in my mess, but I want to do better by you. Fill me with your Holy Spirit and the knowledge of you found in scripture, and give me a desire to do the things that please you. Show me the right way to live today and in the future, rid me of sinful desires, create in me a clean heart so that I can worship you in spirit and in truth. I confess that I have sinned, but rather than addressing my erros, I judge the wrong I see in others. Wash my sins away even my self righteousness, and give me a repentant heart. In Jesus Name, Amen.