If Judah and Jerusalem were in a courtroom and God was the judge, what charges would they be convicted of?
Idolatry
Oak trees were often associated with Idol worship. (Isaiah 1:29, Ezekiel 6:13)
God expressly forbade eastern practices that often accompanied the worship of other gods. (Isaiah 2:6, Leviticus 19:26, Deuteronomy 18:10, 14)
“They worshiped the work of their hands.” (Isaiah 2:8, Deuteronomy 27:15)
Stealing
Leadership was stealing from the poor. (Isaiah 3:14)
Pride
Women cared more about their outward appearance than they did about God’s approval. (Isaiah 3:16)
Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and shrewd in their own sight! (Isaiah 5:21)
Greed
They were buying up all the land. According to the MacArthur Bible Commentary, God intended that each family had its land allocation. However, “By Isaiah’s time, land speculators had begun putting together huge estates, and the powerful, rich used legal process to deprive the poor of what was rightfully theirs.” (Isaiah 5:8, Leviticus 25:23-25, Micah 2:2, 9)
Drunkenness
Pursuing “strong drink” and allowing wine to “inflame them” (Isaiah 5:11)
Woe to those who are heroes at drinking wine, and valiant men in mixing strong drink (Isaiah 5:22)
Taunting God
“Let him be quick, let him speed his work that we may see it; let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw near, and let it come, that we may know it!” (Isaiah 5:19)
Moral Confusion
Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! (Isaiah 5:20)
Perverting Justice
who acquit the guilty for a bribe, and deprive the innocent of his right! (Isaiah 5:23)
What was Isaiah’s commission (Ch.6)?
In chapter six of Isaiah, God commissions Isaiah to be His messenger to His people. God commissions Isaiah to shepherd His flock.
Why do you think God gave this commission to Isaiah, “Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and blind their eyes”?
I’ll admit this is a question I’ve wrestled with in the past. More specifically though, when Jesus is questioned about speaking in parables and he quotes this same passage in Isaiah. I think a lot of people read these passages and think to themselves; Why would God hide his message from some people? However, after chewing on this question a bit this week, and reading some commentary on the subject. I’ve come to realize that this isn’t a case of God hiding His message from His people; this is a case of Divine Judgement.
You see, the people of Isaiah’s time had God’s message. They had scripture, and they had the prophets. Yet they still rejected them; they still rejected Him. They thought they knew better, and they went about their own way.
We can say the same for the people in the time of Christ. They had scripture, and they had the prophets. They even had the Messiah Himself! Yet, once again, and despite knowing their history, they continued to reject Him.
And not to sound too repetitive, but the same can also be said for us today. We have all the same resources and all the same history that they had back then. And there are still many today that choose to reject God.
Isaiah 6:10 says, “Render the hearts of this people insensitive.” Not all people across time, but these specific people at this particular time, because they had a chance and still rebelled. I would argue, the same applied at the time of Christ, and the same applies today, and for all people across all time. God gives everyone a chance to accept Him. But if you continue to choose to turn away from Him, the time may very well come where he gives you up to your sinful desires (Romans 1:24).
So in Isaiah 6:10, and the parables of Christ, what we see is not God hiding His message from people, but rather His divine judgment on people who continue to rebel time and time again.
What did you learn about the nature of God in Isaiah 1-23?
God is Just
Despite countless chances, spanning several hundred years, to return to God, and to do what was right, Israel continued to rebel. As a result, God passed judgment on them and exiled them to Babylon. A just punishment for their wrongdoing.
I’ve heard hell defined as “eternal separation from God.” In other words, our continued rejection of what is good and Holy results in eternal separation of everything good and Holy. I can’t think of a more just punishment, and this is what we see in Isaiah 1-23; God is separating Israel from Himself, from His promised land, and His blessings.
God is Merciful
Perhaps what has resonated with me the most in these chapters is the remnant that God set aside. I have a note in my study Bible on Isaiah 6:9-10 that states, “God is merciful even when He judges.” Despite the evil in the nation of Israel, God still chose to have mercy on a portion of the people.
God Keeps His Promises
Again, looking to the remnant of Israel. If God hadn’t preserved a portion of the people, His promise that the Messiah would come through the line of David (2 Samuel 7:12) would never have been fulfilled.