July 13 A READ ISAIAH 1–4
Judah’s Shallow Religion
OVERVIEW
The date: about 740 B.C. The setting: Judah, the southern kingdom. Judah faces extinction at the hands of the cruel Assyrians. In this crucial hour of national emergency, God sends Isaiah—a unique man with an unpleasant message. The nation of Judah is rotten to the core and ripe for judgment. Their habitual sins of idolatry, hypocrisy, injustice, and corruption have not escaped God’s notice. His righteous wrath will soon fall upon king and commoner alike, that all might learn that the Lord Almighty cannot and will not be mocked.
MY DAILY WALK
The truth hurts.
No one minds looking into a mirror, provided the image reflected back is flattering to the viewer. But allow that mirror to reflect a painful truth about a person’s true condition, and you just might end up with some hurt feelings—or a broken mirror!
Isaiah held up the mirror of God’s Word before the people of Judah to show how stained with sin the nation had become. And when he did, neither the prophet nor the people liked what they saw. Yet in spite of the bleak reflection, there was hope if only the people would respond to God’s invitation.
If you’ve ever tried to get a red stain out of white cotton material, you know how impossible it can be. Isaiah 1:18 will show you how to be cleansed from even the most stubborn stain of sin.
PEOPLE USED TO ARGUE AS TO WHETHER THE WORLD WAS SQUARE OR ROUND—BUT THE BIBLE SAYS IT IS CROOKED!
INSIGHT
Pattern of a Prophet’s Pronouncements | Isa. 1:2-31
When broadly outlined, many of Isaiah’s messages are strikingly similar: (1) accusation, (2) threat of judgment, (3) exhortation to repentance, and (4) promise of blessing. You can apply this general outline to Isaiah’s first message in chapter 1 by dividing the chapter at verses 10, 16, and 21.
INSIGHT
A Reminiscent Image | Isa. 4:5
The “canopy of cloud during the day and smoke and flaming fire at night” (4:5) recalls the days of the Exodus, when God manifested his presence with the people in a similar way (Exodus 13:21). The Assyrian and Babylonian invasions would render the land desolate, much like the desert during the Exodus, but God would be present once again and fill the land with his glory.
1These are the visions that Isaiah son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. He saw these visions during the years when Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah were kings of Judah.*
A Message for Rebellious Judah
2Listen, O heavens! Pay attention, earth!
This is what the LORD says:
“The children I raised and cared for
have rebelled against me.
3Even an ox knows its owner,
and a donkey recognizes its master’s care—
but Israel doesn’t know its master.
My people don’t recognize my care for them.”
4Oh, what a sinful nation they are—
loaded down with a burden of guilt.
They are evil people,
corrupt children who have rejected the LORD.
They have despised the Holy One of Israel
and turned their backs on him.
5Why do you continue to invite punishment?
Must you rebel forever?
Your head is injured,
and your heart is sick.
6You are battered from head to foot—
covered with bruises, welts, and infected wounds—
without any soothing ointments or bandages.
7Your country lies in ruins,
and your towns are burned.
Foreigners plunder your fields before your eyes
and destroy everything they see.
8Beautiful Jerusalem* stands abandoned
like a watchman’s shelter in a vineyard,
like a lean-to in a cucumber field after the harvest,
like a helpless city under siege.
9If the LORD of Heaven’s Armies
had not spared a few of us,*
we would have been wiped out like Sodom,
destroyed like Gomorrah.
10Listen to the LORD, you leaders of “Sodom.”
Listen to the law of our God, people of “Gomorrah.”
11“What makes you think I want all your sacrifices?”
says the LORD.
“I am sick of your burnt offerings of rams
and the fat of fattened cattle.
I get no pleasure from the blood
of bulls and lambs and goats.
12When you come to worship me,
who asked you to parade through my courts with all your ceremony?
13Stop bringing me your meaningless gifts;
the incense of your offerings disgusts me!
As for your celebrations of the new moon and the Sabbath
and your special days for fasting—
they are all sinful and false.
I want no more of your pious meetings.
14I hate your new moon celebrations and your annual festivals.
They are a burden to me. I cannot stand them!
15When you lift up your hands in prayer, I will not look.
Though you offer many prayers, I will not listen,
for your hands are covered with the blood of innocent victims.
16Wash yourselves and be clean!
Get your sins out of my sight.
Give up your evil ways.
17Learn to do good.
Seek justice.
Help the oppressed.
Defend the cause of orphans.
Fight for the rights of widows.
18“Come now, let’s settle this,”
says the LORD.
“Though your sins are like scarlet,
I will make them as white as snow.
Though they are red like crimson,
I will make them as white as wool.
19If you will only obey me,
you will have plenty to eat.
20But if you turn away and refuse to listen,
you will be devoured by the sword of your enemies.
I, the LORD, have spoken!”
Unfaithful Jerusalem
21See how Jerusalem, once so faithful,
has become a prostitute.
Once the home of justice and righteousness,
she is now filled with murderers.
22Once like pure silver,
you have become like worthless slag.
Once so pure,
you are now like watered-down wine.
23Your leaders are rebels,
the companions of thieves.
All of them love bribes
and demand payoffs,
but they refuse to defend the cause of orphans
or fight for the rights of widows.
24Therefore, the Lord, the LORD of Heaven’s Armies,
the Mighty One of Israel, says,
“I will take revenge on my enemies
and pay back my foes!
25I will raise my fist against you.
I will melt you down and skim off your slag.
I will remove all your impurities.
26Then I will give you good judges again
and wise counselors like you used to have.
Then Jerusalem will again be called the Home of Justice
and the Faithful City.”
27Zion will be restored by justice;
those who repent will be revived by righteousness.
28But rebels and sinners will be completely destroyed,
and those who desert the LORD will be consumed.
29You will be ashamed of your idol worship
in groves of sacred oaks.
You will blush because you worshiped
in gardens dedicated to idols.
30You will be like a great tree with withered leaves,
like a garden without water.
31The strongest among you will disappear like straw;
their evil deeds will be the spark that sets it on fire.
They and their evil works will burn up together,
and no one will be able to put out the fire.