.jpeg)
January 9 Isaiah 1-6
God called the prophet Isaiah to warn His people of upcoming judgment because of their rebellion and idolatry. Isaiah faithfully warned Judah of the coming destruction, but he also preached a message of future restoration and salvation. Isaiah was written some 700 years before the birth of Christ, yet it gives us many details about the birth, life, and death of Jesus Christ. Isaiah also gives God’s people hope in the promise of a Messiah who will usher in an everlasting kingdom.
Isaiah chapter one sets the stage for the entire book, presenting God’s charges against Judah, His call to repentance, and His promise of restoration.
Isaiah 1:1-17 teaches us valuable lessons about worship. Churches can be filled with people, offerings can be given, songs can be sung, hands can be lifted up in worship - and yet God may not be pleased with any of it. Why? Because God is not interested in mere ritual or empty religion. God desires true repentance, righteousness, and intimate relationship.
God told them that He was weary with their worship because of their lack of righteousness and sincere devotion. They brought animals to sacrifice, burned incense, and attended feast days, but God took no pleasure in any of it. Their worship gatherings, their Sabbaths, and special days (holidays) - God called them burdens. He refused to even hear them when they prayed. The problem was not a lack of “religion” - It was a lack of sincerity and righteousness. They went through the motions of worship and performed rituals, but their lives were full of injustice, oppression, and violence.
After God rebuked them, He graciously expended an invitation for them to be cleansed of their sin and restored. It is one of the most beautiful invitations in the Bible. The invitation starts with a call to repentance (v. 16-17). Then the invitation:
Isaiah 1:18 “Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the LORD, “Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool.”
Here is hope for the vilest of sinners. Scarlet and crimson dyes were deep and permanent - humanly impossible to wash out. But God can wash away all sin, regardless of the depth of the stain. God’s grace is greater than our sin. No sin is too deep for Him to cleanse. The choice is ours - obedience brings life, rebellion brings death.