As White as Snow – Isaiah 1-4

Joy: You’re listening to Season 2 of the Lifting Her Voice podcast.  This is Episode #209 and today we’ll read Isaiah 1-4 together.   Though your sins are scarlet, they will be as white as snow.

Welcome

Welcome to the Lifting Her Voice podcast, Season 2!  I’m your host, Joy Miller, and I invite you to grab your Bible and join me – from the beginning – simply reading God’s word together.  We built some spiritual muscles in 2020 with just the New Testament.  But this year we’re going all out, cover-to-cover, Old Testament and New.  So, whether with your first cup in the morning, your commute to work, or as the last thing on your mind before sleep, God’s Word will equip you for every good work.  I’m really glad you’re here!

Intro to Isaiah

I love the book of Isaiah.  It used to be that I didn’t understand a word he was saying.  But God is good when you pray for understanding and now this prophet’s writings have gone from something I would avoid at all costs to one I look forward with anticipation to reading every year.  I think that Isaiah is one of God’s most powerful mouthpieces.  Furthermore, I think that God revealed His very heart thru what He inspired Isaiah to write.  God trusted Isaiah with deep emotion in this book.  

The warning was clear.  God had had it just about up to here with the Israelites.  Recall the stories of the Kings in 1 & 2 Kings and 1 & 2 Chronicles; the story of the divided kingdom of Israel, the exile, and the return and rebuilding of Jerusalem.  

There’s so much more to the writings of this prophet.  My favorites that jump to mind are Isaiah 35:8, especially in the NKJV.  Definitely Chapter 58…I find so much hope in this chapter.  Likewise, Chapter 6, the story of Isaiah’s calling.  I have been undone in the presence of God myself.  Many precious prophecies of the coming of Christ were penned by Isaiah.  Chapter 7 & Chapter 9 speed to mind…I know there’s more.  Trust me…you’ll recognize them when you read them.  This book is so rich!  Let’s get started!

Isaiah Chapter 1

The vision concerning Judah and Jerusalem that Isaiah son of Amoz saw during the reigns of Kings Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah of Judah.

Judah on Trial

Listen, heavens, and pay attention, earth,

for the Lord has spoken:

“I have raised children and brought them up,

but they have rebelled against me.

The ox knows its owner,

and the donkey its master’s feeding trough,

but Israel does not know;

my people do not understand.”

Oh sinful nation,

people weighed down with iniquity,

brood of evildoers,

depraved children!

They have abandoned the Lord;

they have despised the Holy One of Israel;

they have turned their backs on him.

Why do you want more beatings?

Why do you keep on rebelling?

The whole head is hurt,

and the whole heart is sick.

From the sole of the foot even to the head,

no spot is uninjured —

wounds, welts, and festering sores

not cleansed, bandaged,

or soothed with oil.

Daughter of Zion is Abandoned

Your land is desolate,

your cities burned down;

foreigners devour your fields

right in front of you —

a desolation, like a place demolished by foreigners.

Daughter Zion is abandoned

like a shelter in a vineyard,

like a shack in a cucumber field,

like a besieged city.

If the Lord of Armies

had not left us a few survivors,

we would be like Sodom,

we would resemble Gomorrah.

Hear the word of the Lord,

you rulers of Sodom!

Listen to the instruction of our God,

you people of Gomorrah!

“What are all your sacrifices to me?”

asks the Lord.

“I have had enough of burnt offerings and rams

and the fat of well-fed cattle;

I have no desire for the blood of bulls,

lambs, or male goats.

When you come to appear before me,

who requires this from you —

this trampling of my courts?

Stop bringing useless offerings.

Your incense is detestable to me.

New Moons and Sabbaths,

and the calling of solemn assemblies —

I cannot stand iniquity with a festival.

I hate your New Moons and prescribed festivals.

They have become a burden to me;

I am tired of putting up with them.

When you spread out your hands in prayer,

I will refuse to look at you;

even if you offer countless prayers,

I will not listen.

Your hands are covered with blood.

Purification of Jerusalem

“Wash yourselves. Cleanse yourselves.

Remove your evil deeds from my sight.

Stop doing evil.

Learn to do what is good.

Pursue justice.

Correct the oppressor.

Defend the rights of the fatherless.

Plead the widow’s cause.

“Come, let’s settle this,”

says the Lord.

“Though your sins are scarlet,

they will be as white as snow;

though they are crimson red,

they will be like wool.

If you are willing and obedient,

you will eat the good things of the land.

But if you refuse and rebel,

you will be devoured by the sword.”

For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.

The faithful town —

what an adulteress she has become!

She was once full of justice.

Righteousness once dwelt in her,

but now, murderers!

Your silver has become dross to be discarded,

your beer is diluted with water.

Redeemed by Justice

Your rulers are rebels,

friends of thieves.

They all love graft

and chase after bribes.

They do not defend the rights of the fatherless,

and the widow’s case never comes before them.

Therefore the Lord God of Armies,

the Mighty One of Israel, declares:

“Ah, I will get even with my foes;

I will take revenge against my enemies.

I will turn my hand against you

and will burn away your dross completely;

I will remove all your impurities.

I will restore your judges to what they were at first,

and your advisers to what they were at the start.

Afterward you will be called the Righteous City,

a Faithful Town.”

Zion will be redeemed by justice,

those who repent, by righteousness.

At the same time both rebels and sinners will be broken,

and those who abandon the Lord will perish.

Indeed, they will be ashamed of the sacred trees

you desired,

and you will be embarrassed because of the garden shrines

you have chosen.

For you will become like an oak

whose leaves are withered,

and like a garden without water.

The strong one will become tinder,

and his work a spark;

both will burn together,

with no one to extinguish the flames.

Isaiah Chapter 2

The City of Peace

The vision that Isaiah son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem:

In the last days

the mountain of the Lord’s house will be established

at the top of the mountains

and will be raised above the hills.

All nations will stream to it,

and many peoples will come and say,

“Come, let’s go up to the mountain of the Lord,

to the house of the God of Jacob.

He will teach us about his ways

so that we may walk in his paths.”

For instruction will go out of Zion

and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.

He will settle disputes among the nations

and provide arbitration for many peoples.

They will beat their swords into plows

and their spears into pruning knives.

Nation will not take up the sword against nation,

and they will never again train for war.

The Day of the Lord

House of Jacob,

come and let’s walk in the Lord’s light.

For you have abandoned your people,

the house of Jacob,

because they are full of divination from the East

and of fortune-tellers like the Philistines.

They are in league with foreigners.

Their land is full of silver and gold,

and there is no limit to their treasures;

their land is full of horses,

and there is no limit to their chariots.

Their land is full of worthless idols;

they worship the work of their hands,

what their fingers have made.

So humanity is brought low,

and each person is humbled.

Do not forgive them!

Go into the rocks

and hide in the dust

from the terror of the Lord

and from his majestic splendor.

The pride of mankind will be humbled,

and human loftiness will be brought low;

the Lord alone will be exalted on that day.

On That Day

For a day belonging to the Lord of Armies is coming

against all that is proud and lofty,

against all that is lifted up — it will be humbled —

against all the cedars of Lebanon,

lofty and lifted up,

against all the oaks of Bashan,

against all the high mountains,

against all the lofty hills,

against every high tower,

against every fortified wall,

against every ship of Tarshish,

and against every splendid sea vessel.

The pride of mankind will be brought low,

and human loftiness will be humbled;

the Lord alone will be exalted on that day.

The worthless idols will vanish completely.

People will go into caves in the rocks

and holes in the ground,

away from the terror of the Lord

and from his majestic splendor,

when he rises to terrify the earth.

On that day people will throw

their worthless idols of silver and gold,

which they made to worship,

to the moles and the bats.

They will go into the caves of the rocks

and the crevices in the cliffs,

away from the terror of the Lord

and from his majestic splendor,

when he rises to terrify the earth.

Put no more trust in a mere human,

who has only the breath in his nostrils.

What is he really worth?

Isaiah Chapter 3

Judah’s Leaders Judged

Note this: The Lord God of Armies

is about to remove from Jerusalem and from Judah

every kind of security:

the entire supply of bread and water,

heroes and warriors,

judges and prophets,

fortune-tellers and elders,

commanders of fifty and dignitaries,

counselors, cunning magicians, and necromancers.

“I will make youths their leaders,

and unstable rulers will govern them.”

The people will oppress one another,

man against man, neighbor against neighbor;

the young will act arrogantly toward the old,

and the worthless toward the honorable.

A man will even seize his brother

in his father’s house, saying,

“You have a cloak — you be our leader!

This heap of rubble will be under your control.”

On that day he will cry out, saying,

“I’m not a healer.

I don’t even have food or clothing in my house.

Don’t make me the leader of the people!”

For Jerusalem has stumbled

and Judah has fallen

because they have spoken and acted against the Lord,

defying his glorious presence.

The look on their faces testifies against them,

and like Sodom, they flaunt their sin;

they do not conceal it.

Woe to the Wicked

Woe to them,

for they have brought disaster on themselves.

Tell the righteous that it will go well for them,

for they will eat the fruit of their labor.

Woe to the wicked — it will go badly for them,

for what they have done will be done to them.

Youths oppress my people,

and women rule over them.

My people, your leaders mislead you;

they confuse the direction of your paths.

The Lord rises to argue the case

and stands to judge the people.

The Lord brings this charge

against the elders and leaders of his people:

“You have devastated the vineyard.

The plunder from the poor is in your houses.

Why do you crush my people

and grind the faces of the poor?”

This is the declaration of the Lord God of Armies.

Jerusalem’s Women Judged

The Lord also says:

Because the daughters of Zion are haughty,

walking with heads held high

and seductive eyes,

prancing along,

jingling their ankle bracelets,

the Lord will put scabs on the heads

of the daughters of Zion,

and the Lord will shave their foreheads bare.

On that day the Lord will strip their finery: ankle bracelets, headbands, crescents, pendants, bracelets, veils, headdresses, ankle jewelry, sashes, perfume bottles, amulets, signet rings, nose rings, festive robes, capes, cloaks, purses, garments, linen clothes, turbans, and shawls.

Instead of perfume there will be a stench;

instead of a belt, a rope;

instead of beautifully styled hair, baldness;

instead of fine clothes, sackcloth;

instead of beauty, branding.

Your men will fall by the sword,

your warriors in battle.

Then her gates will lament and mourn;

deserted, she will sit on the ground.

Isaiah Chapter 4

On that day seven women

will seize one man, saying,

“We will eat our own bread

and provide our own clothing.

Just let us bear your name.

Take away our disgrace.”

Zion’s Future Glory

On that day the Branch of the Lord will be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the land will be the pride and glory of Israel’s survivors. Whoever remains in Zion and whoever is left in Jerusalem will be called holy — all in Jerusalem written in the book of life —  when the Lord has washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion and cleansed the bloodguilt from the heart of Jerusalem by a spirit of judgment and a spirit of burning. Then the Lord will create a cloud of smoke by day and a glowing flame of fire by night over the entire site of Mount Zion and over its assemblies. For there will be a canopy over all the glory, and there will be a shelter for shade from heat by day and a refuge and shelter from storm and rain.

Close

I read all four chapters in this episode and one thought kept repeating in my mind.  The description of the spiritual condition of Israel, the separation from God, the rejection of His love, could be in any news article in any paper, today.  One of the differences is that Israel was facing exile.  Sinners today face something much worse: permanent separation from God.  And none of us can pull it off by ourselves…we’re all sinners.  But God, in His infinite justice, sent Jesus to take the punishment for us.  Those of us who have accepted that free gift of grace, have hope and joy eternal.  If I can help anyone who has not invited Christ to be their Lord and Savior, please do not hesitate to contact me at Lifting Her Voice.com, Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.  I would be honored to share the Gospel with you.

Thank you for joining me here today.  I pray that by spending time in His Word every day, you will by changed.  Visit me at Lifting Her Voice.com with your comments and questions.  And don’t forget to visit the Blog page while you’re there.  If you like the podcast, it would be great if you’d give it a five-star review and share it with everyone you know.  Don’t forget to subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.  See you tomorrow!

Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Christian Standard Bible(r), Copyright (c) 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible(r) and CSB(r) are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.