Isaiah’s Remit: Isaiah 1-6 (1)

Pray Psalm 85.8, 9
I will hear what God the LORD will speak,
For He will speak peace
To His people and to His saints;
But let them not turn back to folly.
Surely His salvation is near to those who fear Him,
That glory may dwell in our land.

Read Isaiah 1.1-30.

Reflect.
1. Why was God upset with the people of Judah and Jerusalem? What specific charges does He set against them?

2. Does God offer them any hope? What must they do? What will He do?

Meditate.
We’re going to be moving through the book of Isaiah in some fairly large chunks. Please read each assigned text, and meditate on the Reflect questions as you do. These will you help you focus on the most important points of each passage.

Isaiah’s ministry is toward the people of Judah and Jerusalem (v. 1). God has a case against them, and He will use Isaiah as His “lawyer” to present the case and call for justice against the sinful people.

And what sins they have committed (v. 4): Rebellion (v. 2), evildoing and corruption (v. 4), iniquity of all kinds (v. 13), the details of which God will present as evidence against them in ensuing chapters, as His case unfolds.

The effect of all this is that the land has come to ruin (vv. 7-9). The ancient promises of God have been forfeited, and the land is overrun by pagan people and powers and ways.

And yet, the “religious life” of the people goes on as if nothing was wrong (vv. 11-15). The rulers and people think that, as long as they’re worshiping, going through the motions of being the people of God, everything will be just fine. The evidence all around them suggests that their faith is futile. Indeed, God Himself finds their services of worship to be “an abomination” (v. 13). The people should be able to see, from the abundant evidence of decay and compromise all around them that they are “sick” spiritually (v. 5) and in need of renewal. But their religion was apparently good enough for them, just as it was.

Not so the Lord. He sent Isaiah to call the people to repent of their sins, turn from their wicked and compromised ways, take up works of mercy and compassion, and present themselves before Him and His Word (vv. 16-20). And He warns them that, “if you refuse and rebel,” terrible judgment will ensue.

In the final section of chapter 1 (vv. 21-31) we see through the eyes of the Lord into the future. The city of the Lord is so compromised that it will not repent; therefore, He will remove it and “purge” it of all its sins (v. 25). There is a “soon and later” dimension to this, as we shall see.

But that’s not all. Having purged His people of their sins, He promises to restore them to Himself and to faithfulness. He Himself will redeem them “with justice” and “righteousness” (vv. 26, 27). But before this occurs, terrible judgment must fall on the “transgressors” and “sinners” to whom God sends His prophet with this Word of judgment (vv. 28-31). Such words set the stage for how God will accomplish this judgment and redemption in the long run.

In chapter 1 we see the short-term/long-term focus of Isaiah’s prophecy. Sin will bring judgment now, but God will restore and remove sin at some point in the future. When will that restoration be accomplished? It will begin “in the latter (last) days” (Is. 2.2), as we shall see.

Prepare.
1. The evidence all around them – burned cities, forfeited crops, occupied territories, sinful and compromised ways – all suggested that the religion of the people of Judah and Jerusalem was bankrupt. But they kept on “worshiping” God, going to church, as it were, and thinking this was good enough. Is there a lesson here for believers today about the nature of faith that is acceptable to God?

2. God found their worship services “an abomination”? Why? How can we know whether our services of worship – and all our religious practices – are acceptable or abominable to God?

3. A pattern of restoration is glimpsed in this chapter: God is going to restore, but the people must do something. Explain. What does this suggest about the nature of faith?

Let us become as clean as is possible. Let us wash away our sins. And the prophet teaches us how to wash them away, saying, “Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean, put away from my eyes the evil of your souls.” … See that we must first cleanse ourselves, and then God cleanses us. He first said, “Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean,” and then said, “I will make you white.” … The power of repentance is then tremendous as it makes us white as snow and wool, even though sin had stained our souls. John Chrysostom, (344-407 AD),On the Epistle to the Hebrews 12.4

I want my faith to be acceptable to You at all times, Lord, so help me to…

Pray Psalm 85.
This psalm looks forward to the days of Isaiah’s ministry. It also looks forward to our own day. Ask the Lord to search you: Are you captive to anything other than Him? Do you sense a need for revival? Are you eager to hear what He will speak and do what He calls you to do?

Sing to the Lord.
Psalm 85 (Lyons: O Worship the King)
O Lord, You Your favor showed to Your land;
Your people You saved by Your mighty hand.
Their sins You forgave, all Your wrath You withdrew;
You turned back the anger which to them was due.

Restore us, O God, renew us in peace,
And cause all Your wrath against us to cease.
Will You evermore all Your wrath to us show?
Revive us that we may Your joy again know.

Lord, show us Your love; restore us, we pray!
And help us to hear the words that You say.
Speak peace to Your people; in truth let us stand.
We fear You; let glory and grace fill our land.

In Jesus God’s grace and truth are combined;
Both goodness and peace in Him do we find.
Truth springs from the earth as He walks in our midst,
And righteousness flows from the heav’ns as a gift.

The Lord by His grace will give what is good;
Our land will produce abundance of food.
And righteousness will go before the Lord’s face,
And make of His footsteps a way in this place.

T. M. Moore

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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. All psalms for singing adapted from The Ailbe Psalter. All quotations from Church Fathers from Ancient Christian Commentary Series, General Editor Thomas C. Oden (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2006).All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter (available by clicking here).