America's Choice - Repentance or Retribution

Introduction

As one reads the first chapter of the book of Isaiah he will not find God's people in a very promising state of affairs. The Northern Kingdom, called, Israel, had undergone a long succession of ungodly kings, which had led her into destruction and ruin. God had judged them for their idolatry and alliances with pagan powers.

The Southern Kingdom, called, Judah, could not boast of having done much better. They too had slipped into and out of idolatry, and alliances with pagan countries, such as Assyria and Egypt. It was due to this sinful situation that Isaiah the prophet was called upon by God to prophesy against the sins of His people.

The first chapter of Isaiah is actually a call to decision. It is somewhat reminiscent of Joshua's challenge many years before, when he said, "Choose you this day whom ye will serve..." (Joshua 24:

15a). It also bears a striking similarity to Elijah's searching question on Mt. Carmel, where he said, "How long halt ye between two opinions? If the Lord be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow  him" (I Kings 18: 21).

Though the call to decision stated in Isaiah chapter one is not as concise as the ones quoted above, it is still most clear. God was simply saying to His people, "Repentance or retribution: it's your choice." God's patience had run out. Now it was time to make a decision. Their decision would determine whether they would suffer or soar as a nation.

I. Judah's Condition

A. Judah Was Debased

1. Ingratitude

Judah had shown ingratitude for God's care and provision.

Isaiah 1:1 reads, "The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah. Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the Lord hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me."

2. Irreverence

Judah had shown irreverence toward God, in spite of His kindness toward them.

Isaiah 1:3 states, "The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider."

In verse two, one can imagine the broken heart of God as He refers to the people of Judah as His children whom He had nurtured and loved only to have them rebel against Him. The word "rebelled" means, "to revolt, or break away from just authority" (James Strong, S.T.D., LL.D., Strong's Exhaustive Concordance Of The Bible: MacDonald Publishing Company, McLean, Virginia; #6586 of the Hebrew and Chaldee Dictionary, pg. 97).

God shows how debased Judah had become by comparing them to dumb animals (v. 3). The ox knew his master, but God's people acted as though they had no master. The donkey knew that his sustenance and wellbeing came from his master's crib, but Judah thumbed their noses at the very One who gave them life. Folks, America as a whole is currently practicing this same sort of spiritual absurdity.

B. Judah Was Defiled

We read in Isaiah 1: 4a, "Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters..."

The word "sinful" basically means to, "miss the mark" (Charles F. Pfeiffer and Everett F. Harrison, The Wycliffe Bible Commentary, published by Mood Press, Chicago, Illinois; pg. 609). God's plan for His people had always been to bless all the nations of the earth through them (Gen.26: 4), and that they would be witnesses of the one true God (Isa.43: 10 & 12). But they had missed the mark.

God also said that Judah was "laden with iniquity." The word "iniquity" makes reference to "a perversion or twisting aside" (Ibid, pg. 609).

The word "evildoers" implies not merely those that do evil, but those "...who commit harmful,  injurious sin..." (Ibid, pg. 609). These folks were doing things that were hurtful and harmful to others.

The term "corrupters" speaks of those who defiled or destroyed that which was wholesome.

C. Judah Was Defiant

Isaiah 1: 4b-5a reads, "...they have forsaken the Lord, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward. Why should ye be stricken any more? Ye will revolt more and more..."

The picture here is that of a stubborn, arrogant child, who refuses to do what is right. The people of Judah had abandoned ("forsaken") God, by defiantly alienating and separating ("gone away backward") themselves from Him. This of course had "provoked" God to anger.

The first part of verse five indicates that previous judgment had not produced a change of heart. The picture gleaned from verses five and six is that God's judgment upon His people had been so severe that it more closely resembled a vicious assault. But their calloused defiance simply grew worse.

This is much like a delinquent young man that we once worked with at a place called, Redemption Ranch. Freddy had had so many spankings that they no longer did him any good. You could hit him as hard as you wanted to, but he wouldn't even flinch.

We need to remember something at this point. This sort of stubborn defiance is a serious matter to God. God's Word tells us, "A man who hardens his neck after much reproof will suddenly be broken beyond remedy" (Prov.29: 1-NASB). God is loving and kind; but there comes a time when God's patience with man's stubbornness and arrogance runs out.

In a book entitled "Down to Earth," John Lawrence tells the story of a city that dared God to show Himself and paid a terrible price. It seems that the city of Messina, Sicily was home to many wicked, irreligious people. On December 25, 1908, a newspaper published in Messina printed a parody against God, daring Him to make Himself known by sending an earthquake. Three days later, on December 28, the city and its surrounding district was devastated by a terrible quake that killed 84,000 people. "Today in the Word," October, 1997, p. 25

It's interesting to note that in his book entitled, The America We Deserve, Donald Trump predicted a terrorist attack against America. In a chapter entitled, "Freedom From Terrorism," he made the following statement:

"The biggest threat to our security is ourselves because we've become arrogant, dangerously arrogant," he wrote a year before the deadly attack. "Do we truly understand the threats we face?" "The America We Deserve," by Donald Trump.

D. Judah Was Diseased

Isaiah 1: 5b-6, "...the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment."

The point here is that this was not a mere surface malady. Judah's spiritual sickness extended to its very core. This was a longstanding problem that had not been dealt with, and had now diseased the whole nation.

E. Judah Was Desolate

Isaiah 1: 7-9 reads, "Your country is desolate, your cities are burned with fire: your land, strangers devour it in your presence, and it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers. And the daughter of Zion is left as a cottage in a vineyard, as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers, as a besieged city. Except the Lord of hosts had left unto us a very small remnant, we should have been as Sodom, and we should have been like unto Gomorrah."

Jerusalem and the surrounding areas were still experiencing the devastation that had been brought on by their rebellion of previous years. Judah had experienced not only devastation (v. 7), but occupation (v. 8) and decimation as well (v. 9). And yet, they would not repent.

Folks, America has long been a powerful nation, with a military that is second to none in the world. But don't you believe for a moment that God can't or won't bring destruction upon this nation for its  sin. Need I remind you of September 11, 2001 and the heap of rubble that once was the World Trade Center? Need I remind you of August 29, 2005 when Hurricane Katrina laid waste the coastal areas of three states? Psalm 9: 17 is still in the Bible: "The wicked shall be turned into hell (Sheol-place of the dead), and all the nations that forget God."

Judah, a once blessed nation, was now in ruin. This thought is brought out in the words "cottage" and "lodge," which make reference "to temporary lean-to's or shanties built for the quartering of guards to protect the ripening crops against poachers" (Charles F. Pfeiffer and Everett F. Harrison, The Wycliffe Bible Commentary, published by Moody Press, Chicago, Illinois; pg. 610).

The idea is that though this nation was once glorious, it is now like a shanty that housed the foreign soldiers who occupied it. How sad! Sin is always destructive. God's Word says, "Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people" (Prov.14: 34).

II. God's Contempt

A. God Said Their Pretense Was Vain

1. Judah's Worship Was Merely A Religious Sham

Isaiah 1:10-12, "Hear the word of the Lord, ye rulers of Sodom; give ear unto the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah. To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me? saith the Lord: I am full of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he goats. When ye come to appear before me, who hath required this at your hand, to tread my courts?"

Notice that God likens Judah to Sodom and Gomorrah. The people of these cities were so vile and rebellious against God that He was forced to destroy them with fire and brimstone, which rained upon them from the sky. This designation reveals the extreme moral decay that had taken place in Judah.

Notice also that Judah's worship was nothing more than pretense. God's statement in verse 11 was basically this: "Why do you bother going through the motions of making sacrifices for sin, when you don't intend to repent? I am sickened by your religious sham." I believe God is asking the same pointed question of a lot of Baptist today. The sad part is that too few are even listening. Many folks in our churches are using church attendance and worship services merely as a pretense for their rebellion against God.

Cleveland Amory tells this story about Judge John Lowell of Boston. One morning the judge was at breakfast, his face hidden behind the morning paper. A frightened maid tiptoed into the room and whispered something to Mrs. Lowell's ear.

The lady paled slightly, then squared her shoulders resolutely and said, "John, the cook has burned the oatmeal, and there is no more in the house. I am afraid that this morning, for the first time in seventeen years, you will have to go without your oatmeal."

The judge, without putting down his paper, answered, "It's all right, my dear. Frankly, I never cared much for it anyhow." Bits & Pieces, March 4, 1993, p. 23

Notice another indictment God makes against Judah with reference to their worship. God said that pretentious worship, which refuses to deal with sin, only reveals irreverence. The words "tread my courts," carry the idea of "...the violent intrusion of foreign invaders" (Ibid, pg. 610). The idea is that of the irreverent trampling under foot of that which is holy and sacred. If you came to church today with known sin in your life, and have no intention of getting it right, you're showing irreverence for God.

The question today is not how do you look to others, but how do you live before God?

He made free use of Christian vocabulary. He talked about the blessing of the Almighty and the Christian confessions, which would become the pillars of the new government. He assumed the earnestness of a man weighed down by historic responsibility. He handed out pious stories to the press, especially to the church papers. He showed his tattered Bible and declared that he drew the strength for his great work from it, as scores of pious people welcomed him as a man sent from God. Indeed, Adolf Hitler was a master of outward religiosity-with no inward reality! Today in the Word, June 3, 1989.

2. Judah's Worship Was Nullified By Sin

Isaiah 1:13 states, "Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto me; the new moons and Sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with; it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting."

The words "vain oblations" mean, "a (meal) offering of worthlessness" (Ibid, pg. 610). Going through the motions of worship apart from repentance is not only worthless in God's eyes; it is wickedness.

The words "I cannot away with; it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting," are a little difficult to understand. The New American Standard Bible rightly translates these words as, "I cannot endure iniquity and the solemn assembly" (NASB). We've all heard the statement, "Drinking and driving don't mix." Let me give you my paraphrase of God's statement above: "Wickedness and worship won't work."

B. God Said Their Prayers Were Valueless

Isaiah 1: 14-15, "Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth: they are a trouble unto me; I am weary to bear them. And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood."

The Hebrew, when praying, extends his hands with the palms upward towards heaven, as a symbol of being clean from guilt. But as with their other forms of worship, Judah's prayers were mere pretense. They were guilty before God, as indicated by the words, "your hands are full of blood" (Isa.1: 15b). God's Word is clear on this subject when it says, "If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me" (Ps.66: 18).

Notice these biblical implications concerning prayer: Prayer Is To Be Perpetual:

The Altar of Incense was made of acacia wood so it would be durable (Ex.30: 1). The incense on the altar was to burn continuously (Ex.30: 8; II Thess.5: 17).

1. Prayer Is To Be Precious:

The Altar of Incense was completely overlaid with pure gold (Ex.30: 3-5).

2. Prayer Is To Be Powerful:

The Altar of Incense had a horn at all four corners. The horn in scripture is a symbol of power and authority (Ex.30: 2b, 3, 10).

3. Prayer Is To Be Preparatory:

The Altar of Incense stood right in front of the veil that opened up into the Holy of Holies (Ex.30: 6).

III. Judah's Cure

A. Their Sin Had To Be Forsaken

Isaiah 1: 16-17, "Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil; Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow."

B. Repentance Would Result In Forgiveness

Isaiah 1:18-19, "Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land:"

The words "scarlet" and "crimson" of verse 18 refers to the crimson dye taken from the scarlet worm, which "...was absolutely colorfast and indelible..." (Charles F. Pfeiffer and Everett F. Harrison, The Wycliffe Bible Commentary: published by Mood Press, Chicago, Illinois; pg. 611). No matter how serious their sin, God could restore them to purity and innocence. God was willing to forgive them

C.. Rebellion Would Cause Judgment To Fall

Isaiah 1: 20, "But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it."

Sadly, Judah did not repent. And the judgment that God pronounced upon them came in two phases: "the Assyrian invasion of 701 B.C. and the Chaldean invasions of 588-587 B.C." (Ibid, pg. 611).