AMERICA’S CHOICE:
REPENTANCE OR RETRIBUTION
Text: Isa.1: 16-20
Intro: As one reads the first chapter of the book of Isaiah he will not find God’s people in a very promising situation. The Northern Kingdom, called, Israel, had undergone a long succession of ungodly kings, which had led her to destruction and ruin. God had judged them for their idolatry and alliances with pagan powers.
The Southern Kingdom, called, Judah, could not boast of having done much better. They too had slipped in and out of idolatry, and alliances with pagan countries, such as Assyria and Egypt. It was due to this sad state of affairs that Isaiah the prophet was called upon by God to prophesy against the sins of His people.
The first chapter of Isaiah is actually a call to decision. It is somewhat reminiscent of Joshua’s challenge many years before, when he said, “Choose you this day whom ye will serve…” (Joshua 24: 15a). It also bears a striking similarity to Elijah’s searching question on Mt. Carmel, where he said, “How long halt ye between two opinions? If the Lord be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him” (I Kings 18: 21).
Though the call to decision in Isaiah chapter one is not stated quite as concisely as the ones just mentioned, it is still very clear to those who read carefully. God was saying to the nation of Israel, “Repentance or retribution: it’s your choice.” God’s patience had run out. Now it was time to make a decision. Their decision would determine whether they would suffer or soar as a nation.
Theme: God’s call to decision was necessitated by:
I. JUDAH’S CONDITION
A. Judah Was Debased.
1. Judah had shown ingratitude for God’s care and provision.
Isa.1: 1 “The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.
2 Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the Lord hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me.”
2. Judah had shown irreverence toward God, in spite of His kindness toward them.
Isa.1: 3 “The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master’s crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider.”
NOTE: [1] In verse two, one can imagine the broken heart of God as He refers to the people of Judah as His children whom He had nurtured and loved only to have them rebel against Him. The word “rebelled” means, “to revolt, or break away from just authority” (James Strong, S.T.D., LL.D., Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance Of The Bible: MacDonald Publishing Company, McLean, Virginia; #6586 of the Hebrew and Chaldee Dictionary, pg. 97).
[2] God shows how debased Judah had become by comparing them to dumb animals (v. 3). Even the ox and donkey showed more natural respect and obedience for their masters than did Judah for her God.
B. Judah Was Defiled.
Isa.1: 4a “Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters…”
NOTE: [1] The word “sinful” basically means to, “miss the mark” (Charles F. Pfeiffer and Everett F. Harrison, The Wycliffe Bible Commentary: published by Mood Press, Chicago, Illinois; pg. 609).
[2] God also said that Judah was “laden with iniquity.” The word “iniquity” makes reference to “a perversion or twisting aside” (Ibid, pg. 609).
[3] The word “evildoers” implies not merely those that do evil, but those “…who commit harmful, injurious sin…” (Ibid, pg. 609).
[4] The term “corrupters” speaks of those who defiled or destroyed that which was wholesome.
C. Judah Was Defiant.
Isa.1: 4b “…they have forsaken the Lord, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward.
5a Why should ye be stricken any more? Ye will revolt more and more…”
NOTE: [1] The picture here is that of a stubborn, arrogant child, who refuses to do what is right. The people of Judah had abandoned (“forsaken”) God, by defiantly alienating and separating (“gone away backward”) themselves from Him. This of course had “provoked” God to anger.
[2] The first part of verse five indicates that previous judgment had not produced a change of heart. The picture gleaned from verses five and six is that of a vicious assault. But their calloused defiance simply grew worse. This is much like a delinquent young man that we once worked with at a place called, Redemption Ranch. Freddy Tackett had had so many spankings that they no longer did him any good. You could hit him as hard as you wanted to, but he wouldn’t even flinch.
[3] We need to remember something at this point. This sort of stubborn defiance is a serious matter to God. God’s Word tells us, “A man who hardens his neck after much reproof will suddenly be broken beyond remedy” (Prov.29: 1—NASB). God is loving and kind. But there comes a time when God’s patience with man’s stubborn and arrogant rebellion runs out.
[4] It’s interesting to note that in his book entitled, The America We Deserve, Donald Trump predicted a terrorist attack against America. In a chapter entitled, Freedom From Terrorism, he made the following statement:
“The biggest threat to our security is ourselves because we’ve become arrogant, dangerously arrogant,” he wrote a year before the deadly attack. “Do we truly understand the threats we face?”
The America We Deserve, by Donald Trump.
D. Judah Was Diseased.
Isa.1: 5b “…the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint.
6 From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment.”
NOTE: The point here is that this was not a mere surface malady. Judah’s spiritual sickness extended to its very core. This was a longstanding problem that had not been dealt with, and had now diseased the whole nation.
E. Judah Was Desolate.
Isa.1: 7 “Your country is desolate, your cities are burned with fire: your land, strangers devour it in your presence, and it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers.
8 And the daughter of Zion is left as a cottage in a vineyard, as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers, as a besieged city.
9 Except the Lord of hosts had left unto us a very small remnant, we should have been as Sodom, and we should have been like unto Gomorrah.”
NOTE: [1] Jerusalem and the surrounding areas were still experiencing the devastation that had been brought on by their rebellion of previous years. Judah had experienced not only devastation (v. 7), but occupation (v. 8) and decimation as well (v. 9). And yet, they would not repent.
[2] A once blessed nation was now in ruin. This thought is brought out in the words “cottage” and “lodge,” which make reference “to temporary lean-to’s or shanties built for the quartering of guards to protect the ripening crops against poachers” (Charles F. Pfeiffer and Everett F. Harrison, The Wycliffe Bible Commentary: published by Mood Press, Chicago, Illinois; pg. 610). The idea is that though this nation was once glorious, now it is like a shanty that housed foreign soldiers that occupied it. How sad. Sin is always destructive. God’s Word says, “Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people” (Prov.14: 34).
II. GOD’S CONTEMPT
A. God Said Their Pretense Was Vain.
1. Judah’s worship was mere religious sham.
Isa.1: 10 “Hear the word of the Lord, ye rulers of Sodom; give ear unto the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah.
11 To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me? saith the Lord: I am full of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he goats.
12 When ye come to appear before me, who hath required this at your hand, to tread my courts?”
NOTE: [1] Notice that God, through the prophet Isaiah, likens Judah to Sodom and Gomorrah. The people of these cities were so vile and rebellious against God that God had destroyed them with fire and brimstone raining out of heaven. This designation reveals the extreme moral degradation to which the people of Judah had come under the wicked rule of King Ahaz.
[2] Notice also that Judah’s worship was nothing more than pretense. God’s statement in verse eleven is basically, “Why do you bother going through the motions of sacrifices for sin, when you don’t intend to repent? I am sickened by your religious sham.” I believe God is perhaps asking the same pointed question of a lot of Baptists today. The sad part is that too few are even listening. Many folks in our churches are using church attendance and worship services merely as a pretense for their rebellion against God.
[3] Notice another indictment God makes against Judah with reference to their worship. God said that pretentious worship, which refuses to deal with sin, only reveals irreverence. The words “tread my courts,” carry the idea of “…the violent intrusion of foreign invaders” (Ibid, pg. 610). The idea is that of the irreverent trampling under foot of that which is holy and sacred. Again, perhaps this is an idea that many in our Baptist churches need to consider.
[4] The spiritual question today is not how do you look to others, but how do you live before others.
He made free use of Christian vocabulary. He talked about the blessing of the Almighty and the Christian confessions, which would become the pillars of the new government. He assumed the earnestness of a man weighed down by historic responsibility. He handed out pious stories to the press, especially to the church papers. He showed his tattered Bible and declared that he drew the strength for his great work from it as scores of pious people welcomed him as a man sent from God. Indeed, Adolf Hitler was a master of outward religiosity—with no inward reality!
Today in the Word, June 3, 1989.
2. Worship is nullified by sin.
Isa.1: 13 “Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto me; the new moons and Sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with; it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting.”
NOTE: [1] The words “vain oblations” mean, “a (meal) offering of worthlessness” (Ibid, pg. 610). Acts of worship apart from repentance is worthless in God’s eyes.
[2] The words “I cannot away with; it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting,” are a little difficult to understand. The New American Standard Bible rightly translates these words as, “I cannot endure iniquity and the solemn assembly” (NASB). We’ve all heard the statement, “Drinking and driving don’t mix.” Let me give you a paraphrased statement from God, “Worship and wickedness won’t work.”
B. God Said Their Prayers Were Valueless.
Isa.1: 14 “Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth: they are a trouble unto me; I am weary to bear them.
15 And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood.”
NOTE: [1] The Hebrew, when praying, extends his hands with the palms upward towards heaven, as a symbol of being clean from guilt before God. But as with their other forms of worship, Judah’s prayers were mere pretense. They were guilty before God, as indicated by the words, “your hands are full of blood” (Isa.1: 15b). God’s Word is clear on this subject when it says, “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me” (Ps.66: 18).
[2] Notice these biblical implications concerning prayer:
2a. Prayer Is To Be Perpetual: The Altar of Incense was made of acacia wood so it would be durable (Ex.30: 1). The incense on the altar was to burn continuously (Ex.30: 8; II Thess.5: 17).
2b. Prayer Is To Be Precious: The Altar of Incense was completely overlaid with pure gold (Ex.30: 3-5).
2c. Prayer Is To Be Powerful: The Altar of Incense had a horn at all four corners. The horn in scripture is a symbol of power and authority (Ex.30: 2b, 3, 10).
2d. Prayer Is To Be Preparatory: The Altar of Incense stood right in front of the veil that opened up into the Holy of Holies (Ex.30: 6).
III. JUDAH’S CURE
A. Their Sin Had To Be Forsaken.
Isa.1: 16 “Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil;
17 Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow.”
B. Repentance Would Result In Forgiveness.
Isa.1: 18 “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.
19 If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land:”
NOTE: The words “scarlet” and “crimson” of verse 18 refers to the crimson dye taken from the scarlet worm, which “…was absolutely colorfast and indelible…” (Charles F. Pfeiffer and Everett F. Harrison, The Wycliffe Bible Commentary: published by Mood Press, Chicago, Illinois; pg. 611). No matter how serious their sin, God could restore them to purity and innocence.
C. Rebellion Would Cause Judgment To Fall.
Isa.1: 20 “But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.”
NOTE: Sadly, Judah did not repent. And the judgment that God pronounced upon them came in two phases: “the Assyrian invasion of 701 B.C. and the Chaldean invasions of 588-587 B.C.” (Ibid, pg. 611).
Theme: God’s call to decision was necessitated by:
I. JUDAH’S CONDITION
II. GOD’S CONTEMPT
III. JUDAH’S CURE
