Isaiah 1 Series

Read Isaiah 1:1-5

Transition:

Isaiah is a single vision given to Isaiah from God

I will give you more history over the next few weeks

It’s sole purpose is bring revival to the people of Israel

God speaks through Isaiah to convict them of their sin and then comfort them thru his coming son

In Isaiah 1 we see God’s plan for how he is going to bring revival

It is not an easy plan, nor is it painless, but it is effective and life changing nonetheless

This first chapter is written like lawyer would bring charges against a guilty party

First he brings the accusations, then the plan of reconciliation, finally the hoped for purification

God’s Accusation of Rebellion vs. 1-9

The first part of God’s plan of Revival is to bring an accusation of rebellion

The first part of the case are the charges

And those charges is that the people of Israel have rebelled against God

Vs. 2 starts out right away addressing the issue: His children, the Israelites have rebelled

Children he has reared and brought up

What is rebellion? It is sin of forsaking what got you where you are at

For Israel they have turned and worship other gods but there is so much more

They have forgot their past and who is responsible for their prosperity

On top of that they have entered into a whole host of sin

Jer 8:7 Even the stork in the heavens knows her times, and the turtledove, swallow, and crane keep the time of their coming, but my people know not the rules of the Lord.

God is using Isaiah to call them back to Him

If they don’t return there will be judgment and destruction

If they do return there will be salvation and comfort with God

Isaiah uses several metaphors to describe their state

vs. 3 they are worse than animals because at least they know their master

vs. 5-6 they are like a sick head and a faint heart with sores all over the body

vs. 7-8 he likens them to a desolate house that they take pride in

This section ministered most to me during my study

The words booth and lodge in vs. 8 refer to an emergency shelter or hut

It really is a shack or lean to that could easily be blown over by the wind

The state of their country and lives are a wreck but they are taking pride in it

Isn’t that how it often works?

We take pride in one thing but the rest of our life is a mess

Worse yet we think we can fix it

Renovation Realities

We focus on one small good area and lift it up for everyone to see yet the rest of our lives are desolate and destroyed

Israel is boasting about it’s shack but God is looking down and all he sees is a mess

vs. 9 gives us hope because God has kept a remnant

If not it would’ve been Sodom and Gomorrah all over again

What does he expect of that remnant?

God’s Call for Reconciliation vs. 10-20

The second part of God’s plan for Revival is hear God’s call for Reconciliation

Vs. 10 has to sting because he refers to them as Sodom & Gomorrah

He tells Israel to listen to the words of the Lord and put into practice what you are being taught

Interesting here that God brings up a point that Jesus taught repeatedly

The Jews were great at all the rituals of religion but their hearts were far from God

Vs. 11 What is it to me the multitude of your sacrifices? I have had enough of them

All the works that the Jews had been doing for God meant nothing!

This hits close to home because we think if we just do something for God it will make up for all the bad things we are doing

Yet we haven’t stopped sinning and somehow we think this little act will satisfy God

No more sacrifices, feasts, and assemblies… they have become a burden to God

Vs. 15 When you pray I will not listen

If you wonder why God isn’t answering your prayers it may be that there is sin blocking it

Vs. 16 Tell us what we need to do

Wash yourselves and remove the evil

The OT word for this is to consecrate yourselves to God

It is more than ceremonial, it is a spiritual getting right with God

Jer 4:4 Circumcise yourselves to the Lord; remove the foreskin of your hearts, O men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem; lest my wrath go forth like fire, and burn with none to quench it, because of the evil of your deeds.”

Don’t just ask for forgiveness from your sins, remove the things that are causing the sin