The Great Indictment

Isaiah 1:1-31

There is nothing worse than realizing you’ve done something wrong and can’t do anything to fix it, except for not realizing you’ve done something wrong. Isaiah chapter 1 is a case study in people lacking in self-awareness.

Sometimes I get lost in a youtube rabbit trail, i’m assuming this happens to some of you sometimes. I was watching courtroom sentencings recently, where the defendant is being sentenced after being convicted of a crime, they have the opportunity to address the court, and so often they stand there and explain how the world is against them, they’ve never done anything wrong, they’re the real victim here, meanwhile all of the evidence and judgment is against them.

It’s shocking really sometimes. If you are a parent you’ve probably experiences this same thing.

Well in this chapter God summons his people into a courtroom so to speak. The Lord has a case against his people. Now this doesn’t works exactly like our courts would, the judge here isn’t looking to see if God has enough evidence to convict, us the perpetrators are clearly guilty. But we aren’t clearly guilty in our own eyes.

Now the witnesses of this case is none less than all of heaven and earth. Now lest you think this strange, heaven and earth have been witnesses since the beginning. God created heaven and earth in the beginning. The skies display his handiwork. The heavens display his glory. The mountains are earth’s hands lifted up in praise. If we cease to worship, the rocks and hills will cry out. The earth is groaning in anticipation of redemption.

They’ve been witness from the beginning. Not only the beginning of creation however, but in relation specifically to this people, the beginning of a covenant that God made with them. In Deuteronomy 4 God through Moses calls heaven and earth to be witness of the covenant. And in Deuteronomy 28 God explains the blessings and curses that will come upon his people if they love him or if they forsake him.

So this is not a random summoning of heaven and earth as witness here in Isaiah 1, but rather witnesses who have been paying attention to the actions of mankind since the beginning.

Listen to the evidence. “Children have I reared and brought in, but they have rebelled against me.” “The dumbest animals on the planet know who their masters are, but Israel is clueless.”

They are heavy with sin, they are like offspring of the evil one. All their dealings are corrupt. They have despised and forsaken the Lord, they are utterly estranged from him.

There’s a lot going on here, but the heart of the matter is that they are in rebellion against God. See that in verse 2?

Now, if the people here had a defense attorney, and even the most corrupt defense attorney on the planet wouldn’t take up this case, but if they did, he would say… “We’re doing what you want, though.” “We sacrifice, we observe religious holidays, we tithe. This is a very unfair ruling against us because we’re keeping up what we’re supposed to be doing.”

I come to church, I sing, I give, I volunteer when there’s a cleanup day or someone needs help moving. What more do you want from me?

See understand this, some might see the language that God uses in Isaiah to be harsh, but these people are so lacking in awareness of their sin and rebellious hearts that he has to speak to them this way, to us this way.

I don’t think 5-9 is to be taken literally, yet. He’s referring to the wasteland of their hearts. But look how unreasonable they are. They’re bleeding to death, they’re covered in bruises and sores, their land is on fire, they are being eaten alive. I love this picture because it sounds so strange to me, they are like a lodge in a cucumber field. Sitting ducks we would say today.

And all of this is self inflicted! Perhaps some parents can relate. A child who just will not humble him or herself, recognize they’ve done wrong, repent and receive grace. You’ve tried carrots, you’ve tried sticks. They’re sitting in their room screaming how much they hate you because you’ve taken away their xbox again, and all the while you are saying, “This is all self inflicted. I’m not your enemy. But this heart you’re nourishing will result in your destruction and I must point it in the right direction because I love you!”

This is Judah, church this is us, often, isn’t it, if we’re honest?

He calls them Sodom and Gomorrah, debased hearts in rebellion to God.

See 11? They’re worshipping. They show up to church, they smile. And it makes him nauseous. God does not delight in hypocritical worship. See 14? God hates it, this rebellious fake people have become a burden to him. When they pray he won’t listen, when they spread out their hands he won’t look at them.

Is this merely because they have not done the right thing? No Isaiah 29:13 “13 this people draw near with their mouth and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me.”

Can’t you see how the people just aren’t getting it? Christianity is not behavior modification. You can’t be fixed by going through the motions of religious action.

Look what Isaiah says in 16. You need to be washed! This is talking about purity. You have to have the filth, the guilt washed from your heart. Notice what comes with it, ceasing to to do evil, not just behavior modification but abandonment of the actions of a rebellious heart, learn to do good, a new mindset is developed from this new washed clean heart, and then there’s action, this flows outward toward the way that you interact with the world. Justice, care for others.

Rebellious hearts are always concerned primarily about themselves.

Sin is insanity. It’s contrary to reason. Isaiah appeals to us, let’s just reason together. Your sins are blood red stains on your hands. Some of you wonder why you feel like the Lord doesn’t hear you when you pray all the while holding part of yourself back from him in love with your own sin.

He says, Just listen for a moment, you are stained with guilt and sin, let me wash you clean. You’re covered in disgusting rebellion, let me purify you. How does this happen? Give me your heart. Turn from your sin, be willing and obedient.

Stop holding back for yourself a part of yourself that you don’t want to give up. Don’t come to me with empty religious talk and Sunday morning best all while harboring secret unconfessed rebellious sin in your life. Be reasonable, you aren’t protecting yourself. You’re beat up and bruised and bloody! Give it to me and i’ll clean you. You’ve bought death thinking it’s life, i’m offering life and true clean redemptive, restoring life.

Now God talks in big broad time for the rest of this chapter. He pictures his people like a city. God people are the city and they’ve become like a whore he says. Righteousness used to be the inhabitant, and now murder and murderers. The leaders are rebels, now one has character, no concern for the welfare of others, only themselves.

Well, the Lord declares, I will get relief from my enemies. I will avenge myself on my foes. And this is how it is going to happen I will turn my hand against my people. It will be like smelting away dross, removing alloy, and afterwards this city will be called righteous and faithful.

Now understand the poetry here, this is going to hurt very bad. I’ve never been smelted, but I imagine if metal could scream you would hear it in this process.

There is no maybe in this process. God is going to get relief from his enemies. His people, his elect, he will restore and purify. The rebellious will be burned away as dross, the repentant will be restored.

Jesus