Isaiah 1:1-2:5

What’s Happening?

Israel was meant to be a beacon of God’s justice, beauty, and goodness to all nations (Genesis 12:1-3). However, the prophet Isaiah points out that Israel has abandoned this calling. Instead of being a light to the nations, Israel is full of injustice, corruption, and evil from the king to his citizens (Isaiah 1:1-5). Isaiah compares Israel's spiritual and moral state to a festering wound, a burned-out city, and a tottering shack in a ruined vineyard (Isaiah 1:6-8). 

Isaiah even calls Israel “Sodom” and “Gomorrah” (Isaiah 1:9-10). After God called the first Israelite, Abraham, to be a light among the nations, Abraham watched as the evil cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed (Genesis 17-19). Their destruction was a prophecy that if God’s people rejected their calling, they would become like those wicked twin cities (Deuteronomy 29:22-24). Like Sodom and Gomorrah, the now wicked city of Israel will be destroyed along with their pride and idolatry (Isaiah 1:27-31).

God is particularly grieved that Israel hypocritically offers sacrifices and meticulously observes the Jewish holy days while vehemently oppressing the most vulnerable. The sacrificial system and God’s calendar were symbols of God’s forgiveness and goodness towards his people. They were mini demonstrations of the justice Israel was meant to bring to all nations. But Israel’s hypocritical priests offer sacrifices with human blood on their hands. They fastidiously rest on the Sabbath while loading others down with heavy burdens (Isaiah 1:11-14). For this gross hypocrisy, Isaiah says no matter how hard they pray for help, God will not answer Israel’s prayers until Israel learns to do good and seek justice again (Isaiah 1:15-17). 

Isaiah’s prophecies are stark and full of destruction, but they are also full of hope. Isaiah says that even though Israel is a spiritual wasteland, he is preserving a small band of survivors (Isaiah 1:9). Though his people are stained with blood, God will make them white like snow (Isaiah 1:18-20). Even though God will burn Israel’s wicked capital city, the burning will purify its inhabitants into precious silver and replace its corrupt leadership with faithful judges and councils (Isaiah 1:21-26). Isaiah prophesies that after this cleansing, Israel will be fully restored to the calling God gave them. Jerusalem will be raised above all other cities, and the world's nations will flood the city streets (Isaiah 2:1-2). They will beg God to teach them his justice and goodness, and he will do so. God will teach the world to hammer their swords into plows, and the whole earth will be filled with God’s peace, beauty, and goodness (Isaiah 2:3-5).

Where is the Gospel?

Israel is in bad shape. Its king is evil, its priests are hypocrites, the people follow their example, and the world remains a dark place without the light of God’s beacon. The world’s only hope to experience God’s peace, justice, and goodness is if God’s people are purified and restored to their calling. This is why God sent Jesus to be Israel’s ultimate king and priest. 

As king, Jesus announced that God’s Kingdom had arrived. Under his rule, the poor would be cared for, the oppressed liberated, and the world would be blessed. King Jesus came to condemn Israel’s unjust leaders, especially its hypocritical religious ones. Jesus condemned their hypocrisy, announced dire punishments for their behavior, and prophesied that their corrupted temple would be destroyed. As a priest, Jesus secured forgiveness for his people through sacrifice. Israel’s priests offered sacrifices with blood on their hands, and as a result, God stopped listening to their prayers. But Jesus offered his own life as a sacrifice. By his freely offered blood, God hears our priest’s prayers and washes us white as snow. Through Jesus' destruction, God’s people have been purified of their evil and can finally become the light to the world God has always intended they would be (Ephesians 5:27; Matthew 5:14-16).

Through Jesus’ destruction, we are purified and become part of his people. And while it might be hard to believe, God says no spiritual or military power will ever defeat God’s people (Matthew 16:18). And if Jesus has purified you, you can join Jesus’ calling of being God’s beacon of light that brings blessing and life to the world. 

See for Yourself

I pray that the Holy Spirit will open your eyes to see the God who gives hope to his people despite their evil. And may you see Jesus as the one who has purified his Church to bring blessing to the world.