An Invitation to Cleansing
“Come now, and 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 be as wool.
Isaiah 1:18
The prophet Isaiah ministered during a turbulent time in Israel’s history. The nation had abandoned the way of the Lord and was living in open sin and idolatry. Verses 1-17 leading up to our text (v 18) chronicle a scene of rebellion and sin.
v 2 – The people were in open rebellion against the Lord
v 3 – They refused to acknowledge God and, spiritually, they were dumber than the farm animals around them.
v.4 – They had forsaken the Lord and had provoked Him to anger.
v 5 – They had refused to respond to the Lord’s attempts at chastisement.
v 5-6 - They were sick spiritually and they desperately needed help.
v 7-8 – Violence filled the whole land.
v 9-10 – In many ways, they had become as vile as ancient Sodom and Gomorrah.
v 11-15 – Their religious services were an abomination to the Lord.
v 9 – The only thing that held the nation together was a small remnant of faithful Jews.
These events could have come straight from the headlines of today’s newspapers. We are, today, in the same bad spiritual shape as were the people of ancient Israel.
These people had been blessed by the Lord in many wonderful ways. Israel should have been seeking God, and they should have been looking for ways to mend their relationship with Him. Instead of that, we see the Lord seeking His people and inviting them to make things right with Him (v 18). This fact underlines a truth we encounter throughout the Bible from Genesis, with God seeking Adam after Adam had sinned, and finding its fullest meaning in the Lord Jesus who came seeking lost humanity. We read in Luke 19:10, the Lord Jesus said: “for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”
Bible Reading
Isaiah 1:1-18.
Prayer
Dear Lord Jesus, Thank You, that when I was lost in my sins and needed saving, You came seeking me, and saved me. Amen.