“Though your sins are as scarlet,they will be white as snow”
Isaiah 1-2
Let’s turn to Isaiah chapter one. If you need a Bible, go ahead and raise your hands and we’ll bring one to you. Isaiah 1 is on page 566 in the Bibles we are passing out. This morning we are starting a new sermon series on the book of Isaiah. So why should we study this book? Two reasons:
One is because Isaiah, the author, was a prophet. In the Old Testament a prophet was someone specially called and gifted by God to receive and write God’s actual words – the very words of God Himself. And in Isa 37:2 we read that Isaiah was a prophet, which means that he received and wrote God’s actual words.
In addition to being a prophet who received and wrote the very words of God, we also know that Isaiah was married with a family (7:3; 8:3,18), he lived in Jerusalem (7:3) at around 700 BC, and, if Jewish tradition was right, we know how he died: he was killed for his outspokenness by being sawn in two by Manasseh, king of Judah. But the most important thing about Isaiah is that he was a prophet, who wrote the very words of God. Which is why we should study this book.
Another reason is because God had Isaiah write this book for us today. In Rom 15:4 Paul says that whatever was written in the Old Testament was written for our instruction, because it will give us endurance, encouragement, and hope.
So when God had Isaiah write his words in this book, God had you in mind. This book of Isaiah was written so that we, New Testament believers, would receive endurance, encouragement, and hope. Anyone need endurance, encouragement, and hope? God had Isaiah write this book because what he wrote in 2,700 years ago will give us endurance, encouragement, and hope.
And in these first two chapters God starts right off describing how His people were sinning against Him. How was Israel sinning against God? As I studied these chapters – I found five ways Israel was sinning against God. And the reason God had Isaiah write these, and have them be in our Bibles today, is because he wants to warn us not to sin in these ways against God. So how was Israel sinning against God?
First, they were forsaking and despising the Holy One of Israel. Look at vv.2-4 --
2 Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth; for the LORD has spoken: "Children have I reared and brought up, but they have rebelled against me.
3 The ox knows its owner, and the donkey its master's crib, but Israel does not know, my people do not understand."
4 Ah, sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, offspring of evildoers, children who deal corruptly! They have forsaken the LORD, they have despised the Holy One of Israel, they are utterly estranged.
In v.4 Isaiah calls God “The Holy One of Israel.” This is one of Isaiah’s favorite terms for God. 25 times he calls God “The Holy One of Israel.” And besides that it’s only used six times in the entire Old Testament.
So what does it mean that God is the holy one of Israel? The word “holy” means “set apart.” So, for God to be holy means that who He is sets him infinitely apart from everything else. See, we can easily think that God is one important thing in a list of important things: there’s my job, there’s my family, there’s sex, there’s God, there’s my motorcycle – No! Who God is makes Him infinitely more important than everything else.
Take His power, for example. God has absolute power, complete power over everything. You, President Obama, earthquakes, the San Francisco Giants -- these things only have power if the God who has all power permits them to have power. So when it comes to power, God is infinitely more important than everything else.
Or take God’s knowledge. God He knows everything past, present, future consciously all the time; God never had to learn anything. Compared to me, Einstein, Copernicus, Crick and Watson know a lot. But what they know is just a tiny drop compared to the massive oceans of God’s knowledge. So when it comes to knowledge, God is infinitely more important than everything else.
I could also talk about God’s wisdom, righteousness, love, goodness, mercy. The sheer God-ness of God makes him infinitely more important than everything else – He alone is infinitely awesome. And God made us so He could share with us the joy of His awesomeness -- so you could be forever secured and satisfied in knowing Him, loving Him, trusting Him, and glorifying Him.
So what did Israel do? End of v.4 – “they have forsaken the Lord, they have despised the Holy One of Israel.” And so have we. We’ve forsaken God for money and houses and cars. For lust and porn. For fame and popularity. For entertainment and television. For too much food and drink. For spiritualities of our own making that let us think we are in charge.
Imagine that someone gave you a 100,000 carat diamond. But you put it aside and devote yourself to a piece of gravel. That’s what we’ve done. That’s what Israel had done.
Second, they piled up money and neglected the needy. When you turn from God as your all-satisfying treasure – you try to find something else to be your all-satisfying treasure. And many in Israel looked to money to satisfy them. You can see this in the first two lines of ch.2 v.7 –
Their land is filled with silver and gold, and there is no end to their treasures …
So they are trying to secure and satisfy their hearts with money – which means they can’t spare any for the fatherless and widows – look at ch.1 v.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.
Do we do this? 26,500 children died yesterday. Yesterday. And the day before. And the day before that. Every day, 26,500 children die from poverty-related issues. Not that any of us can completely solve that tragedy. But are we doing anything? Or are we looking to money as our security and satisfaction so we hold on to what we have and devote ourselves to getting more?
Third, they murdered people. When you seek heart-satisfaction outside of God, people can threaten your heart-satisfaction, and the results can be ugly. Look at ch.1 vs.21 –
How the faithful city has become a whore, she who was full of justice! Righteousness lodged in her, but now murderers.
Maybe we don’t murder. But we slander. We hate. We bear grudges. We feel envy. We get bitter. We don’t forgive.
Fourth, they bowed down to idols. You can see that in ch.2 v.8 –
Their land is filled with idols; they bow down to the work of their hands, to what their own fingers have made.
We are always bowing down to something. All of us are either bowing down to God as He is revealed in Jesus Christ, or we’re bowing down to sex or money or fame or children or a person or a car or a hobby.
How can you tell what you are bowing down to? Ask yourself: what do you think about the most when your brain is in neutral? What do you desire the most? What do you fear losing the most? That’s what you are bowing down to. Every week we’re like Israel – bowing down to idols.
So Israel had forsaken and despised God, they had piled up money and neglected the needy, they had murdered people, and bowed down to idols. And they knew this was wrong. They knew they were guilty before God. So what did they do? They sinned in another way --
Fifth, they tried to make up for their sin by going to church. You can see that in vv.13-14 –
13 Bring no more vain offerings; incense is an abomination to me. New moon and Sabbath and the calling of convocations-- I cannot endure iniquity and solemn assembly.
14 Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hates; they have become a burden to me; I am weary of bearing them.
Israel performed religious duties to try to make up for her sin. Do any of you think that? Do I think that? Do we think that being here makes up for neglecting the poor, or lust, or gossip? It doesn’t. So if that’s why we’re here, if that’s why we say prayers or read the Bible, God hates it.
So those are five areas in which Israel is sinning against God. And the reason God has Isaiah write them in his book and put it in the Bible is because these are also areas in which we sin against God. And right now, this morning, God’s Holy Spirit wants to show you some of your sinfulness in one of these areas.
Here’s what he showed me. As I was thinking about this list, he showed me that one of my biggest idols is wanting to be seen as a successful pastor. I can seek that as my security and my satisfaction. That’s an idol I frequently find myself bowing down to.
So how about you?
Are you forsaking and despising God?
Are you keeping all your money and neglecting the needy?
Are you murdering, slandering, hating people?
Are you bowing down idols?
Are you going to church in order to appease God?
Do you have one in mind? So what did God call Israel to do? Look at vv.16-17 –
16 Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes; cease to do evil,
17 learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow's cause.
“Wash yourself, make yourself clean!” Sin makes us filthy before God. So Isaiah calls us to wash ourselves and make ourselves clean. Remove your evil from before God’s eyes. Learn to do good. Care for the poor.
So how do we do this? Not by works – by our own teeth-gritted will-power. But by faith – by turning to God in genuine repentance and trusting Him to forgive us and change us through Jesus’ death and perfect righteousness.
We do this by faith. Turn from whatever else you have been trusting to secure and satisfy you, and trust God. Repent in brokenness before Him. Cry out to Him to forgive you through Jesus – and He will. Cry out to Him to change your heart so you love Him more than anything else – and He will. Open your Bible and look at who Jesus is – His love, His mercy, His power – look to Jesus, trust Jesus – and then, depending on Him to change your heart, start loving God; give to the poor; forgive that person; stop bowing down to idols; stop trying to make up for your sin by going to church.
And this is all by faith – it’s all a matter of trusting Jesus. And because it’s a matter of trusting Jesus, then no matter how sinful you have been, you will be perfectly clean. Really? That’s exactly what Isaiah says in v.18 --
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 like crimson, they shall become like wool.
You will be white as snow. That does not mean you will be sinless. But because you are genuinely trusting Jesus, you are connected to the One who was white as snow – the One who was sinless -- Jesus Christ.
So that’s what Isaiah calls Israel, and us, to do. Wash yourselves and make yourselves clean, by turning from whatever you were trusting, and trusting Jesus Christ. Trust Him to forgive you – so you will never face any punishment from God. Trust Him to clothe you with His snow-white sinlessness – so because of His sinlessness you can be perfectly accepted by God. And trust Him to change you, as you seek Him in the Word, as you cry out to Him in prayer, and as you take steps to love Him, care for the poor, forgive others, tear down your idols.
That’s what God called Israel to do – and that’s what God is calling us to do.
So why should Israel do this? Why should you do this? Two reasons, both found in ch.2.
First, because at the end of history God will cause all the nations to repent and turn to Him, and the world will be free from war and full of peace forever. You can see this in ch.2 vv.1-4 –
1 The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.
2 It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be lifted up above the hills; and all the nations shall flow to it,
3 and many peoples shall come, and say: "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths." For out of Zion shall go the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
4 He shall judge between the nations, and shall decide disputes for many peoples; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.
This is where history is headed: people from every nation making themselves clean through repenting and trusting Jesus, resulting in a world free from war and full of peace forever. And if you will wash yourself and make yourself clean – through genuine repentance and trusting the One who IS perfectly clean – you will experience this.
And what happens if you don’t? Then you will face a different destiny. The second reason we must wash ourselves and make ourselves clean is because at the end of history God will pour out His wrath on all those who proudly held to their idols. Read vv.10-12 –
10 Enter into the rock and hide in the dust from before the terror of the LORD, and from the splendor of his majesty.
11 The haughty looks of man shall be brought low, and the lofty pride of men shall be humbled, and the LORD alone will be exalted in that day.
12 For the LORD of hosts has a day against all that is proud and lofty, against all that is lifted up--and it shall be brought low;
And then vv.17-19 --
17 And the haughtiness of man shall be humbled, and the lofty pride of men shall be brought low, and the LORD alone will be exalted in that day.
18 And the idols shall utterly pass away.
19 And people shall enter the caves of the rocks and the holes of the ground, from before the terror of the LORD, and from the splendor of his majesty, when he rises to terrify the earth.
At the end of history there will be a day of judgment. Cosmic, world-wide judgment. The terror of God’s wrath being poured upon the earth. People will do anything to hide from God’s wrath – but there will be no hiding.
So today, right now, wash yourself, make yourself clean – by faith in Jesus Christ. Turn from whatever else you have been trusting to secure and satisfy you, and trust Jesus alone. Trust Him to forgive you through His death on the Cross – He will. Trust Him to clothe you with His snow-white sinlessness, so you will be fully accepted by the Father – He will. Trust Him to use His Word and prayer to change your heart – as you seek to love God, care for the poor, stop hating and start forgiving, tear down your idols, and stop doing religious things to try to make up for your sin.
If you will do that then, though your sins are as scarlet, they will be white as snow – you will be part of the new heavens and new earth where there will be no more war but only peace – and you will avoid the cosmic day of judgment that’s coming.