Ep. 152. Isaiah 1-2 | Come Let Us Reason Together
EPISODE 152
COME LET US REASON TOGETHER: ISAIAH 1-2
You should immediately notice that Isaiah is a prophet for the same kings Hosea ministered to. It makes me wonder if they ever crossed paths. Surely, they did.
As is typical for the prophets, Isaiah starts with a rebuke of the sinfulness of the people of God. He even refers to them as Sodom and Gomorrah, a reference to the wicked cities destroyed by God in Genesis 19. God could have made a complete end of his sinful people if not for the covenant he had made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Isaiah says, "If the Lord of hosts had not left us a few survivors, we should have been like Sodom and Gomorrah." Paul quotes this text in Romans 9 to highlight the fact that the Jews did not honor God, nor did they receive Christ as Savior. The people who had historically rebelled against God also rebelled against the Messiah he sent to them.
All of their sacrifices and all their worship are nothing but wickedness before God because he is more concerned with their hearts. God desires goodness, justice, and the overthrow of oppression, but instead, they remain steadfast in their rebellion.
I would encourage you to do some reading on Isaiah 1:18. It is a quote well known to those of us who grew up in and around the church, "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 like crimson, they shall become like wool." Likely, we were taught this text as a celebration of the mercy and provision of God. Our teachers and preachers proclaimed, "Be encouraged; though your sins are like scarlet, they shall become white as snow." I can't tell you how often I have told someone that God could remove even the worst stain that sin had left behind. Certainly, God does remove our sins through the saving work of Jesus and faith in him, but maybe this text is saying something else.
First, the "reason together" could be translated as "let us decide the case between the two of us." It carries in it the idea that each person in an argument will present their case, and the matter will be judged between the two. God has just told the people that he hated their assemblies and would not even listen to their prayers. What if what is happening in this verse is that the people are insisting, "Oh sure, I'm a sinner, stained with sin, but God will make me white as snow." What if the rebels believe that God won't deal with their sin? What if it is like the rebels in Jeremiah 7 who fill themselves with sin and then stand before God in his temple and say, "We are saved." What if it's like the wicked in Hosea who says, "Surely we have rebelled against God, but he will redeem us. He struck us, but he will heal us." In both Jeremiah and Hosea, God reveals that what he will do is destroy the sinful people. Maybe it isn't God saying he will make their sins like snow and wool. Perhaps the wicked individuals don't feel any shame over their sins. With a cavalier attitude, they think of their sin, "It isn't really a big deal; God will make me clean." If you keep reading, you will find that "Zion shall be redeemed by justice and those in her who repent, by righteousness. But rebels and sinners shall be broken together, and those who forsake the Lord will be consumed." The end for those God has spoken to in this Isaiah chapter is destruction. They are, after all, Sodom and Gomorrah (1:10).
Or perhaps we could understand the text the way we have always been taught.
ADDITIONAL READING: Romans 9:29; Amos 5:21-24; Jeremiah 7:1-10; Hosea 5:13-6:7; James 1:27; Psalm 1; Psalm 115:4-8; Psalm 135: 15-18; Revelation 6:15
