The LORD Saves (Isaiah 1:1-31)
It has been called a miracle. We may have read about the collision between a Japan Airlines flight and a Japan Coast Guard plane at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport. Within minutes of the accident, the JAL flight was engulfed in flames that destroyed the aircraft. Yet, amazingly, not one of the 367 passengers and 12 crew members died. Many call it a miraculous escape. How did almost 400 people safely evacuate a burning plane?
According to aviation safety experts, one of the greatest hindrances to getting people off an aircraft in an emergency is the passengers trying to take their belongings with them. But this blocks the aisles and causes jams. However, in the case of the Japan Airlines flight, the passengers followed instructions to leave their belongings behind. In this way, they were all rescued. In a crisis, hearing and obeying could save our lives. Yet we don’t always listen, do we? I don’t pay attention to the airline’s safety video as though my life depended on it. I’m more keen on the inflight entertainment. Often, it takes a crisis to shake us out of our complacency, to make us sit up and pay attention.
During the ministry of the prophet Isaiah, the people of Judah had grown hard of hearing. As God’s people, they had experienced His goodness and faithfulness, but God’s word and His promises no longer moved their hearts or changed their lives. Instead of trusting in God, they lived according to worldly wisdom and ways. Rather than look to God, they sought their security and success in the world. Judah had settled for an “easy-believism”—religion without repentance, comfort without commitment.
One couldn’t tell that Judah had turned away. The people still looked as devout as before. They still went to the temple regularly, made offerings, praised, and prayed. But though the people honoured God with their lips, their hearts were far from Him. God will not let His people’s complacency go unchallenged. Isaiah’s prophecy is a wake-up call with this main message: The LORD is the King who will bring salvation through judgement. Will we trust in the LORD who saves? Today, we begin a new sermon series on Isaiah. From now till May, we’ll go through the first 39 chapters. Then, from July to October, we’ll make our way through the rest of the Isaiah (chapters 40 to 66).
Isaiah 1:1 sets the stage for the rest of the book: “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.” Firstly, what is this book about? It concerns “the vision of Isaiah”. This vision isn’t necessarily something that Isaiah saw with his physical eyes. Rather, “vision” refers to God’s revelation of the truth. God is not silent; He has graciously made Himself known, that we might trust and worship Him. Will we listen to Him? Isaiah is one big vision of the big God. These 66 chapters are united by one message of how God is the King who will establish His kingdom through judgement and salvation. It’s a big vision that spans Isaiah’s time until the end of time.
Secondly, who is Isaiah? He is the “son of Amoz”. We have little biographical information about the prophet. Jewish tradition claims Amoz was the brother of Amaziah, king of Judah, which means Isaiah belonged to the royal family. This may explain his easy access to Judah’s kings. But more significant is the prophet’s name: Isaiah means “the LORD saves”, which sums up the message of the book.
The LORD saves by convicting, calling, and cleansing.
Third, where and when does Isaiah’s vision take place? It concerns the nation of Judah. By Isaiah’s time, Israel had been divided into two kingdoms—the northern of Israel with Samaria its capital, and the southern kingdom of Judah with its capital Jerusalem. The vision occurs during the reign of four kings of Judah: Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah (around 740-701 BC). It was an age of anxiety, with Judah’s survival constantly being threatened by the surrounding nations. Judah was tempted to trust in the world rather than rely on God. We, too, feel the world’s pull. Isaiah’s prophecy remains as relevant for us today as it was 2,700 years ago. The first chapter of Isaiah, which prepares us for the rest of the book, wants us to know this: The LORD saves by convicting, calling, and cleansing. This is the big idea.
The LORD convicts (Isa 1:2-9)
Isaiah opens with a courtroom scene. Heaven and earth are summoned to hear and witness. God is the accuser: “The LORD has spoken” (Isa 1:1a). Who stands accused? God’s “children” (Isa 1:1b), or “sons”. During the exodus, the LORD called Israel “my firstborn son” (Exo 4:22). God has been a Father to His people, graciously saving them and giving them a home in the promised land. He has lovingly “reared and brought (them) up”, nurturing them and providing for their needs. Yet Judah has responded ungratefully. Even simple animals like the ox and the donkey recognise their masters, but Judah neither knows nor understands (Isa 1:3).
Isaiah 1:4 is a lament describing Judah’s sad state. Judah was meant to glorify God, but it has become a “sinful nation”. Instead of serving their heavenly Father, the people have forsaken Him. Corrupted by sin, they live as though they are “offspring of evildoers”, not children of God. They are rebellious, wayward children who have turned away from God. He knows the pain of having children who have walked away from Him. Some of us are grieving over the spiritual state of our children. We can turn to God for wisdom and comfort. He understands.
Sin is intensely personal. It is a personal affront against the Holy One.
God is the “Holy One of Israel”. This title is distinctive to Isaiah, who uses it 25 times to emphasize God’s glorious holiness. God is holy, holy, holy. He is high and lifted up. But Judah has despised and dishonoured Him, counting Him as unworthy of their worship and obedience. Do we realise how sinful sin is? Sometimes, we apologise for our words or actions by saying, “Sorry, it’s not personal”. Well, sin is intensely personal. It is a personal affront against the Holy One. It goes against who He is and what He stands for. It goes against His very character and nature, the essence of His being. Sin separates us from the holy God. Therefore, Judah is “utterly estranged”.
Sin is ingratitude to God, to whom we owe everything. God gave us life and breath. He provides our daily bread. All that we have ultimately comes from God. But sin snubs the God who has been so good to us. God created us in His image, to know and enjoy Him forever. But, like Judah, we have idolised the gifts and rejected the Giver. For example, we base our identity, meaning, and security in work and success. We selfishly pursue our own pleasure. We trust in what we have and what we can do. Instead of being thankful, we complain and even blame God when things don’t go our way.
As Christians, we belong to God twice over — He is our Creator and Redeemer. Living in the light of Christ, we have received much greater grace and privilege. Jesus died for sinners “that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for Him who for their sake died and was raised” (2 Cor 5:15). If Jesus has laid down His life for us, then how are we living for Him?
How have we despised the Holy One? How is the LORD convicting us of our need to return to Him?
These verses are a mirror to help us examine our relationship with God. How have we despised the Holy One? How is the LORD convicting us of our need to return to Him? God mercifully tells us the truth about ourselves. We don’t always see our own need. Isaiah 1:5-6 liken Judah to a badly beaten man who doesn’t feel his injuries enough to get help although he is covered with bruises and sores from head to toe. “Why will you still be struck down? Why will you continue to rebel?” Don’t we realise that our sin is leaving us bruised and broken? Why not turn and be healed?
True revival must begin with the conviction of sin, like the listeners of Peter’s Pentecost sermon who were “cut to the heart” (Acts 2:37). May God pierce our hearts and help us see our own sin. What specific sin is God pointing out? How is God bringing into the light the secret sins we cherish in the dark? Don’t harden our hearts and resist Him. Yes, it’s painful and humbling when God exposes our sins. But he wounds in order to heal. He tears down in order to build up. May God make us receptive to His loving rebuke.
God wants us to see the consequences of sin. Isaiah sees the coming judgement on unrepentant Judah. Isaiah 1:7-8 describe how foreign invaders have left a trail of destruction in their wake. Judah is like a broken-down shack in the middle of a field. Sin brings death. Yet, even in judgement, God remembers mercy. Judah may have forsaken the LORD, but the LORD has not forsaken them. He still calls them “my people” (Isa 1:b). Although Judah deserves to be destroyed like Sodom and Gomorrah, God will graciously preserve a remnant (Isa 1:9). The almighty LORD of hosts will use His power to save “a few survivors”. From this remnant, the LORD will keep His promise to raise up a Saviour for us.
The LORD calls (Isa 1:10-20)
While Judah may have been spared the fate of those two wicked cities, they cannot claim to be more righteous. Verse 10 refers to Judah as Sodom and Gomorrah. God’s people were supposed to be His witnesses in the world. But Judah has become just like the nations.
Whereas Sodom and Gomorrah’s sins were blatant and obvious, Judah’s sin is more subtle. On the surface, Judah looks very religious. Look at Isaiah 1:11-14. They offer costly sacrifices, go to the temple regularly, and observe many festivals and feasts. Yet God is not pleased: “I do not delight in the blood of bulls, or of lambs, or of goats” (Isa 1:11b); “Who has required of you this trampling of my courts” (Isa 1:12b); “Bring no more vain offerings” (Isa 1:13a); “Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hates” (Isa 1:14a). God will not hear their prayers: “When you spread out your hands, I will hide my eyes from you; even though you make many prayers, I will not listen” (Isa 1:15a).
Our religiosity can blind us to our true spiritual need. … But what is the condition of our hearts before God?
Judah’s problem is not irreligion but empty religion. Yes, God did command temple worship, the offerings, as well as the feasts and festivals. But what makes these outward forms meaningful is when they flow out of the inward worship of the heart. Religion without repentance is useless. In fact, it is dangerous because our religiosity can blind us to our true spiritual need. It’s easy to think we’re ok just because we attend church regularly and busy ourselves with all kinds of religious routines, programmes, and activities. But what is the condition of our hearts before God?
What does God want from us? Not merely outward religion but inward faith and obedience. This is why we baptise believers only. Baptism is the outward sign of inward saving faith. Look at Isaiah 1:10. What God wants is that we “hear the word of the LORD” and “give ear to the teaching of our God”. Are we just going through the religious motions, or are we truly hearing and obeying God?
Beware of wanting to look godly more than wanting to actually be godly. Jesus condemns self-righteous religious hypocrisy. “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” (Luke 18:10-14)
Judah’s religion was worthless because it did not transform their relationships and the way they treated others. The people, including their leaders, were corrupt, unrighteous, and unjust. Instead of caring for the vulnerable, they took advantage of them. Look at Isaiah 1:23: “Your princes are rebels and companions of thieves. Everyone loves a bribe and runs after gifts. They do not bring justice to the fatherless, and the widow’s cause does not come to them.”
If we truly worship God, then we will love those made in His image. What God wants is not church-goers, but a spiritual family that shows Christ-like love for one another and others. “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.” (Jas. 1:27) God desires mercy, not sacrifice. As a church, may we be characterised by Christ-like love for the weak, suffering, vulnerable, marginalised and strangers among us. True worship shows itself in how we love and serve one another. It will show in how we show mercy and justice in our homes, schools, and workplaces. Think about ways we can bless others in the areas of influence that God has placed us. Talk to one another about this over lunch later.
The LORD calls us to forsake our sins, return to Him and to trust in Him for full forgiveness.
The LORD calls us to forsake our sins and return to Him, “Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes; cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause.” (Isa 1:16-17) But how can we make ourselves clean?
The LORD calls us to trust in Him for full forgiveness. We must come to an end of ourselves to look to the LORD to save us. Our sin is unreasonable; it has left a stain that we cannot remove. But God can make us clean. And He invites us to come to Him: “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.” (Isa 1:18) What a wonderful expression of God’s heart! Though we have rebelled against Him, He still takes the initiative to seek us out and bring us back. Our sin is great, but God’s grace is greater than our sin. The LORD graciously calls us to come to Him. He offers us free forgiveness and promises good to us, if we would only be “willing and obedient” (Isa 1:19). Let’s be reasonable. Why should we reject God’s grace and perish, when we have the opportunity to live?
The LORD cleanses (Isa 1:21-31)
The LORD convicts us of sin. The LORD calls us to return to Him. The LORD cleanses. Judah was supposed to be a holy nation. They were redeemed for worship, to display God’s glory. Jerusalem was to be a city on a hill, bearing witness to God’s grace in a sin-sick world. And, for a while, Judah was faithful. Under the rule of king David and, for a season, during the reign of his son, Solomon, Judah was a light for the nations. The nations came to Jerusalem to seek the LORD, because He was with His people.
But the faithful city became unfaithful. Judah committed spiritual adultery, abandoning the true God to worship idols. This is the point of Isaiah 1:21-23. Sin corrupted what was once pure and precious. Instead of being a witness to the world, Judah became just like the world. Like Judah, the church is to be a display of God’s glory. Our witness depends on our holiness. As it says in James 1, true religion means keeping ourselves unstained from the world. But how might the things of the world — the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, the pride of life — be enticing us away from God?
God will not stand idly by while His unfaithful people drag His name through the mud. He is utterly committed to His own holiness and righteousness.
God will not stand idly by while His unfaithful people drag His name through the mud. From Isaiah 1:24, we read that the Holy One of Israel is also the “Mighty One of Israel”. The LORD of hosts will wage war against sin. Be warned: Sinners make themselves God’s enemies, and He will avenge Himself on His foes. Sin shall not go unpunished, because God will protect the glory of His name and uphold His righteousness. Do not be content with being a Christian in name only. If we profess Christ, then are we living a life worthy of His gospel? “Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.” (Gal. 6:7)
God is utterly committed to His own holiness and righteousness. This is both a warning as well as a comfort, for God is resolved to purify His people. He judges to refine and restore. From Isaiah 1:25-26, we see that the LORD will cleanse Jerusalem through the purifying fires of judgement, so that the city will again be faithful. He will graciously preserve a purified remnant for His glory.
God cares deeply about the holiness of His people because we bear His name. He is at work in the church, sanctifying and growing us to be His holy people.
God cares deeply about the holiness of His people because we bear His name. He is at work in the church, sanctifying and growing us to be His holy people. Our heavenly Father disciplines us for our good, that we may be holy as He is holy. If this is our Father’s concern, then we as His children should also care about one another’s holiness and spiritual health. So, encourage and disciple one another to grow in holiness and grace. God is with us as we display His holy love through practising church discipline.
Will we trust in the LORD who saves? Those who stubbornly refuse to return to God shall perish (Isa 1:28). The “oaks” and “gardens” of Isaiah 1:29 represent human strength and accomplishments. They cannot save. Those who trust in them will lose everything in the fire of God’s judgement: “The strong shall become tinder, and his work a spark, and both of them shall burn together, with none to quench them.” (Isa 1:31)
But those who turn and trust in the LORD shall be saved. How? “Zion shall be redeemed by justice, and those in her who repent, by righteousness. (Isa 1:27) The holy God will save through judgement, without compromising His justice or righteousness. Because God is just, He must punish sin. But God, who is gracious and merciful, sent His Son, Jesus, to die for sinners like us. At the cross, Jesus bore God’s judgement and wrath in our place, so that we can be forgiven if we trust in Christ alone for salvation. “He was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon Him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.” (Isa 53:5) Jesus can give us new life because He has defeated sin and death through His resurrection. Jesus Christ is our only hope. He convicts us of sin. He calls us to turn to Him. He will cleanse all who believe in Him. Will we hear and obey Him? Will we trust in the LORD who saves?