The book of Isaiah opens with God’s message to wayward Judah—and it is a jarring indictment. God summons his people to court: he is the prosecutor, and all of heaven and earth serve as the jury. The charge is this: although God loved and cared for Judah like a loyal and compassionate father, she has proved to be rebellious and incorrigible. Despite repeated chastening, she continues to turn away. Unless she repents, further judgment will follow.
Yet within this stern rebuke lies a gracious invitation: “Come now, let us reason together,” says the Lord. All who call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. The Lord will neither destroy completely nor reject finally; rather, a remnant in Judah will be saved—a remnant through whom the Savior would one day be born, who is Christ the Lord.
In this word of the Lord through the prophet Isaiah, hear, reflect upon, and cherish the loving patience, gracious pardon, and merciful restoration that God extends to his beloved people—then and now.
Read the full sermon transcript below!
This morning, we turn our attention to the word of the Lord given through the Old Testament prophet Isaiah. Our sermon text—Isaiah 1:1-18—is one of the great classic passages of Scripture containing biblical language that most Christians recognize immediately, namely (v. 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.” What beautiful poetry!And what a splendid portrayal of the loving mercy of God for his children.
The Lord’s graciously calling wandering Judah back to himself might put one in mind of another loving call to mercy given by our Lord Jesus during his ministry on the earth. Our Lord reasoned with rebellious Israel, offering grace and mercy, peace and rest if the people would just come to him and receive it (Matthew 11:28-29): “Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
The fact that our Lord, both in the Old Testament in Isaiah’s day and in the New Testament during his earthly ministry, offered such tender overtures to repentance points out that Judah had some ways she needed to leave behind her and forsake. In Isaiah’s time, Judah was not in a good place in relation to her God. Some very harsh chastening was necessary to bring her back home to the safety of the Good Shepherd’s fold.
The time of Isaiah’s prophecy was around 700 B.C. and was part of a twenty-year ministry in which the Lord spoke through him to the people during the reigns of four kings in Judah: Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah.
Much of the passage we will discuss this morning describes the Lord’s judgment on the nation in order to convince her to mend her sinful ways. Judah has been subjected by the Lord to hard afflictions, but she was still stubbornly persisting in her waywardness. But the mercy of the Lord never ceases. In the midst of Judah’s suffering, he offers that loving plea: “Come now, and let us reason together.”
The Lord’s Indictment of Judah
Let us proceed to our Scripture passage, which begins with the Lord’s indictment of Judah. What was wrong with Judah? That is precisely what the Lord, through his prophet, is about to point out to them.
The words spoken by the prophet begin as a court room scene, with God himself as the prosecutor. He makes his opening address to the jury, which is heaven and earth. The great Creator calls the entire created order, made by his own hand and upheld by his mighty power, to hear his case and to agree that his accusation is true and correct and that Judah is guilty as charged (v. 2): “Hear, O heavens! Listen, O earth! For the Lord has spoken: I reared children and brought them up, but they have rebelled against me.”
The charge is clear: God’s covenant people, Israel—particularly in this passage, the southern kingdom of Judah—have rebelled against their own loving, redeeming, and sustaining Father, forsaking him and turning to sinful ways.
The Prosecutor Presents His Case
Let us look further into this matter as the prosecutor presents his case. The charge having been entered, the imagery escalates. For Judah to be an ungrateful child in rebellion against her heavenly Father is not just insane; it is stupid. A person who suffers mental illness to the point of losing his or her sound mental faculties at least has some excuse—it is an illness. Even a person who perhaps has not yet learned certain things and acts or speaks wrongly has at least a weak excuse: he did not know.
But there is no excuse for being stupid when we know better. And the way Judah is acting in relation to her God is just that—stupid! The Lord accuses Judah of acting dumber than an animal (v. 3): “The ox knows his master and the donkey his owner’s manger; but Israel does not know, my people do not understand.”
We all know how it works with livestock, right? You go out to the field and raise a whoop or a yell. Your farm animals have learned over time to recognize you communicating to them that “It’s feeding time! Get to the barn!” And here they come!
Over the years, the Lord had raised his voice and called Judah to repentance, reconciliation, and peace repeatedly. Through his prophets—like Isaiah—he had often lovingly pleaded with his people to turn from their immoral paths, but they were not willing to listen and comply.
Refusing to heed the voice of the Lord when he calls is a very dangerous condition that hardens the heart. It is a spiritual state that can happen over time. The unconverted soul refuses to yield to the call to faith and repentance for so long that he grows calloused and senseless, and the Lord gives him over to his own stubborn will, even to his own ruin.
The Christian can fall into a similar trap. He ventures into the ways of the world, the ways of sin and earthly pleasures, running from God’s voice. When that happens, the Good Shepherd sometimes metes out some rather painful chastening in order to bring his beloved lambs back to the fold where there is safety.
There is a stern warning from the Lord with much wisdom in the words of 2 Corinthians 6:2: Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation. Yet, despite the Lord’s amazing forbearance, the people of Judah have turned their backs on him, and his patience is about to end (v. 4): “Ah, sinful nation, a people loaded with guilt, 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.”
As we noted, the Lord God had sent harsh judgments upon the people of Judah repeatedly to get their attention. But even in all the hardships brought on by their own recalcitrant ways, they would not repent and return. For them, the proverb is proven true: The way of transgressors is hard (Proverbs 13:15).
The Lord’s rebellious nation is described as a battered body, justly disciplined very harshly, but to no avail. You know the old saying, “It’s useless to beat a dead horse.” Well, Judah was nearly a dead horse, but still would not repent (v. 5a): “Why should you be beaten anymore? Why do you persist in rebellion?”
Judah was so shot through with sinful stubbornness that she was like a body with not one healthy part in it. From head to toe and all points between, that nation was filled with sin so foul it was like the putrid pus of rotting flesh over the entire body (vv. 5-6 NKJV): “Why should you be stricken again? You will revolt more and more. The whole head is sick, and the whole heart faints. From the sole of the foot even to the head, there is no soundness in it, but wounds and bruises and putrefying sores; they have not been closed or bound up or soothed with ointment.”
Next, the divine prosecutor points out that the covenant nation had been ravaged by the Lord’s discipline through invading armies, something that should have gotten her attention and provoked her to return to the Lord, but still she had not listened (vv. 7-8): “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. The Daughter of Zion is left like a shelter in a vineyard, like a hut in a field of melons, like a city under siege.”
Judah was being devastated, her cities burned and desolate, her land ravaged, and her fields robbed of their produce by foreigners. Food meant to sustain the people of the land was being stolen before their very eyes, but they were so debilitated and broken as a nation that they were unable to do anything about it!
Commentators offer various speculations about which historical invasion and defeat is referenced here. We do not know for certain, but that is not the importance of what is being communicated. Alec Motyer rightly explains that the important thing is Isaiah’s view of history as the arena of divine moral judgment. The enemy depredations which have left the nation crippled from head to foot, inwardly and outwardly, and without remedy (not cleansed or bandaged), were a divine chastisement, with more to come if they persist in rebellion (Tyndale Old Testament Commentary).
In another example of the Lord’s long patience and mercy, even in light of her amazing stubbornness Judah is not left without hope (v. 9). But for the never ceasing mercy of God Judah would have become like Sodom and Gomorrah, those ancient cities so wicked that God had literally wiped them from the face of the earth with fire and brimstone from heaven.
But Israel and Judah were God’s covenant people whom he would never forsake, even considering her wickedness. Verse 9 promises that in God’s mercy, a remnant will be left, a small band of survivors who will preserve in the land as a righteous seed so that God’s promise he made to Abraham roughly 1200 years earlier would not fail. The Lord God spoke of the coming Redeemer, Jesus Christ, when he promised Abraham (Genesis 22:18): “Through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed.”
Through that preserved remnant would come Jesus’ earthly ancestors, including Mary, the mother of our Lord. And through our Lord Jesus, would come the salvation of all in the world who will repent and turn to him, still today. All the Lord’s promises are “yea and amen.” Because of the Lord’s love, we are not forsaken, for his compassion never ceases for his beloved redeemed in Jesus Christ.
Whenever you read of the Lord’s judgments against Israel or Judah in the Old Testament, always look for the part that declares and offers his mercy. It is always there! If you are a child of God through Jesus Christ, that part about God’s mercy in preserving his covenant people is speaking about you—not immediately but through the covenant line of redeemed down through history. It is pointing ahead to Christ’s redeemed people—you and me and all—because of our position in Jesus as one of God’s beloved redeemed ones.
Another charge the prosecutor levies against Israel is the offensiveness of her shallow, cold, ritualistic worship. The Lord detests it! As we scan pertinent parts of the following verses, notice the displeasure of God toward his people who assemble to worship him yet practice sin in their day-to-day lives due to their calloused hearts. And notice how off-putting to the Lord are formal, external worship exercises from cold hearts that are far from him and his ways.
First, we find that the almighty God, who possesses all things, is in need of nothing and takes no pleasure in people thinking they are doing him a favor with their offerings (v. 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.”
Then, we learn that the people of Judah were going through all the right motions externally. They were appearing at the temple to offer incense, to observe the holy days and special worship convocations. But their inner attitudes were detestable to the Lord (vv. 12-14): “When you come to appear before me, who has asked this of you, this trampling of my courts? Stop bringing meaningless offerings! Your incense is detestable to me. New Moons, Sabbaths and convocations—I cannot bear your evil assemblies. Your New Moon festivals and your appointed feasts my soul hates. They have become a burden to me; I am weary of bearing them.”
Next, the Lord admonishes Judah that because they persist in wickedness, he does not accept their hypocritical motions of heartless worship (v. 15): “When you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide my eyes from you; even if you offer many prayers, I will not listen.”
And what is the nature of Judah’s wrongdoing outside the church that makes their pretended adorations of the Lord so detestable? Plenty, no doubt. But the one thing the Lord singles out in the daily manner of living in his people, the one thing that his soul decries, is the way they treat other people.
We are to love our neighbors—all of them—treat them well, be just and fair in our dealings with them, and help the needy. Judah was not obeying that second great commandment of our Lord: Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself (vv. 15b-17): “When you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide my eyes from you; even if you offer many prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are full of blood; wash and make yourselves clean. Take your evil deeds out of my sight! Stop doing wrong, learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow.”
If we were to take Judah’s iniquity and detestable worship practices and put them in today’s terms, what would we have? We would have a scenario that is all too frequent in our day. Professing Christians coming to church on Sundays, assembling together, going through all the motions of New Testament worship—singing the hymns, praying together, listening to the reading of Scripture, listening to the sermon, putting their tithes and offerings in the plate, receiving the sacraments of baptism and communion—but all in vain, even detestable and hated by God, an unholy offense to his holy nature.
It happens all over the world every Lord’s Day. People assemble together and go through the formal motions of worshiping God—like Judah was doing—while their thoughts and affections are far from him. People gather in the Lord’s house on Sunday, but throughout the week outside the church sanctuary they are heartless toward the needy and the oppressed. They deal unjustly with their neighbors. They do not lift a hand to help others. They lie, cheat, steal. They gratify the sensual natures with detestable things.
They have little if any real interest in praying to the Lord, seeking his face in the Scriptures, worshiping him in their homes. And as for sincerely walking in spiritual fellowship and intimate communion with the Holy Spirit? They hardly even know about it.
What did Jesus have to say about external conformity with a disengaged heart? (Mark 6:6-7): “He replied, Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites, as it is written: “These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.””
When people who bear the name Christian live their daily lives in such unspiritual negligence, as far too many do in our day, how is their worship on Sunday morning any different from those long-ago people of Judah? May I propose that there may be no noticeable difference in the eyes of the Lord?
The Lord’s Gracious Offer of Complete Pardon
So, if this describes us, what are we to do? What about the person who has never known the Lord? What about the Christian who—like the people of Judah—has strayed far from the Lord? What about the Christian who discovers that his manner of living has not been one that adorns the name of Jesus, and he desires godly change by the work of the Holy Spirit? What must we do?
We must receive and embrace the Lord’s gracious offer of complete pardon. Brethren, hear and heed the word of the Lord (v. 18): “Come now, let us reason together,” 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.
“Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord.” The grace of the Lord in pardoning sin. Is that not the theme of his Holy Word from beginning to end? From Genesis to Revelation and between the two, the loving God comes seeking people—seeking people who need forgiveness and pardon and healing by his grace.
In the very beginning, when Adam and Eve sinned against God, what do we find God doing? The Bible tells us he came walking through the garden in the cool of the day, where Adam and Eve were hidden among the trees because of their shame and fear. The Bible says: But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?” (Genesis 3:9). Adam and Eve, hoping in God’s mercy, were not disappointed. God forgave them and they and he were reconciled. And that pardoning grace of our loving God has been healing wounds and mending the breeches between humanity and himself ever since.
In the days of our Lord Jesus on the earth, as we noted earlier, the sinless Son of God found himself surrounded by fallen humanity in need of salvation, and he cried out, “Come unto me…and I will give you rest.” There it is again—our merciful Lord seeking people and offering deliverance.
On the last page of the last book of the Bible, in the closing verses of the book, we find it yet again (Revelation 22:17): The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life.
Whether in the case of the one who has never known Christ Jesus as Savior and desperately needs to do so, or in situations like backslidden Judah, God’s love is never less than perfect; God’s grace is never less than amazing; and God’s mercy is never ceasing; it is new every morning.
When the Lord invited the people of Judah to come and reason, he was not offering them an opportunity to present arguments in favor of their innocence. Do you remember what we learned at the beginning of this passage? God was filling the role of a prosecutor against the accused, and the court venue was before the eyes of all of heaven and earth. The Lord’s case against Judah was solid and airtight. They were guilty.
What the Lord is saying to Judah (v. 18) is more like pointing out how unreasonable it would be for Judah to refuse his offer of pardon. How unreasonable and foolish would the people be to persist in the dark, odious filth of immorality and sin when they were being offered complete forgiveness, pardon, and cleansing? God was offering Judah the chance to be morally clean, spiritually alive, washed in heart, and pure in soul.
Notice how absolutely the Lord forgives our sins and cleanses us from them (v. 18b): “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.”
Scarlet, crimson, and white. What an appropriate color scheme the Lord speaks through Isaiah. Scarlet is about as bright a red as you can find. I was speaking a few days ago with a brother who saw his first Scarlet Tanager here in our area. If you have ever seen one, you are not likely to forget it. Blazing, bright, radiant red all over with a black wing. They are so very visible, standing out against a wooded backdrop like bright stars against the night sky.
Unrepentant sins are like that before God, you know. More visible to the divine eye than we can imagine, they cannot be unseen—unless and until the crimson and white join the color scheme. Crimson is used in this verse to describe the stain of sin, but we are going to have a different application.
Crimson is a deep red—you could describe it as blood red. It is the crimson flow of the Son of God, the blood of the Lamb Jesus Christ that atoned for our sin on the cross of Calvary. When you contemplate the cross it is as if the blood of Christ itself were to uplift a voice and implore with a shout, “Come! Come unto me and be cleansed! Come unto me, you sin sick and be healed! Come unto me unto me, you spiritually dead and dying and I will give you everlasting life! Come unto me, you who are morally weak and laden with a load of condemnation and guilt, and I will give your rest!”
That shout rings out far and wide: “Come to the fountain of blood drawn from Immanuel’s veins, and you will be washed and made whiter than snow!” Whiter than wool, whiter than snow, whiter than anything this world can produce. So white, the newly fallen snow looks dingy in comparison.
That is the whiteness of the robes of the righteousness of Jesus Christ with which our Father in heaven clothes us when we come to him. We must come not hiding our sin, not trying to conceal it, not vainly trying to reason it away as if it were somehow undetectable before the face of God.
No, but openly, honestly, with sorrow and contrition, confessing our sin and seeking God’s free pardon… Like the publican in the temple who was so ashamed of his sin he would not even lift up his eyes, but beat his breast and cried out, “God have mercy on me, a sinner!”
When we come to our Lord like that, what happens? God covers our sins with the blood and righteousness of Jesus; he removes them as far from us as the east is from the west. Our sins that were scarlet are made white as snow; our sins that were crimson are like wool. Like Jesus said of the publican, so it is with us: “This man went down to his house justified.”
To be reasonable with the Lord. To be cleansed from our sin. To be washed whiter than snow and made fine like wool. For our foul, rotten sin to be in God’s eyes, as if it never happened! That is the grace and free pardon God offers to all who will receive and comply with his call, which says: “Come now, let us reason together!” Amen.
Benediction: The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace (Numbers 6:23-26).