HEAR THE WORD OF THE LORD
Opening Prayer
Lord, please speak to me from your Word. Help me to grasp its practical implications for me as I seek to serve you.
Read ISAIAH 1:1–20
1 The vision concerning Judah and Jerusalem that Isaiah son of Amoz saw during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.
A Rebellious Nation
2 Hear me, you heavens! Listen, earth!
For the Lord has spoken:
“I reared children and brought them up,
but they have rebelled against me.
3 The ox knows its master,
the donkey its owner’s manger,
but Israel does not know,
my people do not understand.”
4 Woe to the sinful nation,
a people whose guilt is great,
a brood of evildoers,
children given to corruption!
They have forsaken the Lord;
they have spurned the Holy One of Israel
and turned their backs on him.
5 Why should you be beaten anymore?
Why do you persist in rebellion?
Your whole head is injured,
your whole heart afflicted.
6 From the sole of your foot to the top of your head
there is no soundness—
only wounds and welts
and open sores,
not cleansed or bandaged
or soothed with olive oil.
7 Your country is desolate,
your cities burned with fire;
your fields are being stripped by foreigners
right before you,
laid waste as when overthrown by strangers.
8 Daughter Zion is left
like a shelter in a vineyard,
like a hut in a cucumber field,
like a city under siege.
9 Unless the Lord Almighty
had left us some survivors,
we would have become like Sodom,
we would have been like Gomorrah.
10 Hear the word of the Lord,
you rulers of Sodom;
listen to the instruction of our God,
you people of Gomorrah!
11 “The multitude of your sacrifices—
what are they to me?” says the Lord.
“I have more than enough of burnt offerings,
of rams and the fat of fattened animals;
I have no pleasure
in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats.
12 When you come to appear before me,
who has asked this of you,
this trampling of my courts?
13 Stop bringing meaningless offerings!
Your incense is detestable to me.
New Moons, Sabbaths and convocations—
I cannot bear your worthless assemblies.
14 Your New Moon feasts and your appointed festivals
I hate with all my being.
They have become a burden to me;
I am weary of bearing them.
15 When you spread out your hands in prayer,
I hide my eyes from you;
even when you offer many prayers,
I am not listening.
Your hands are full of blood!
16 Wash and make yourselves clean.
Take your evil deeds out of my sight;
stop doing wrong.
17 Learn to do right; seek justice.
Defend the oppressed.[a]
Take up the cause of the fatherless;
plead the case of the widow.
18 “Come now, let us settle the matter,”
says the Lord.
“Though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow;
though they are red as crimson,
they shall be like wool.
19 If you are willing and obedient,
you will eat the good things of the land;
20 but if you resist and rebel,
you will be devoured by the sword.”
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 1:17 Or justice. / Correct the oppressor
New International Version (NIV)Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
How careful are you to follow God in the small, as well as the big, areas of your life—the things unseen, as well as those seen?When the band strikes up the overture to a musical, we get a taste of what is to come. The main song tunes are introduced. The early verses of Isaiah do the same. They give us the main themes of Isaiah’s message, and perhaps of the Old Testament prophets generally.
Theme 1. We need to listen. It is not just Isaiah speaking, but the Lord himself (vv. 2, 10, 20b).
Theme 2. Religion without morality is meaningless and abhorrent. Let’s not fool ourselves. Church involvement by itself is no proof of goodness. Isaiah was addressing people whose religious attendance every Sabbath was impeccable. They gave sacrificially and prayed continually. They took part in everything (vv. 11–15). But their hearts were disloyal and hostile to the Lord (vv. 4–6).
Theme 3. Change is required. Judah’s everyday behavior was wrong. Injustice and corruption continued. The marginalized suffered and the economically weak were exploited (vv. 16, 17). The late Bishop John B Taylor wrote, ‘Every Christian should be both a good neighbor and a social reformer.’*
Theme 4. The gospel according to Isaiah. Though our sins are startling red, all stain of them shall be removed. The Lord proposes a good future…if we will receive it obediently and not resist him. We have to choose (vv. 18–20).
Apply
Where are areas in your life that need to conform more closely to God’s will and purposes?
Closing prayer
Holy Lord, I confess that my thoughts and actions do not always please you. Thank you for the forgiveness that is mine through Christ Jesus.
*John B Taylor, Preaching through the Prophets (Mowbray, 1983), 3.
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