It is no secret to any reader of this blog that I have consciously modeled my political philosophy on the spirit and content of the great Hebrew prophets. Over and over again, prophets like Isaiah and Jeremiah and Ezekiel and Amos and others pointed out the importance of both social justice as well as personal morality, rather than separating the two concerns and pitting them against each other. Over and over again, in times of crisis and judgment, the prophets would rise up early (and often) in calling a rebellious people to repent to God. Because of God’s longsuffering and patience, and because of the hardness of the hearts of Israel and Judah, the refusal to repent led to judgment, foreign domination, and exile.

At the beginning of Isaiah there is a small passage that expresses the workings of God with both Israel and Judah throughout Isaiah, as well as the remainder of the prophets. Isaiah 1:18-20 reads: “”Come now, and let us reason together,” says the Lord, “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool. If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land; but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured by the sword;” for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” Let us examine the four parts of this passage and see the overall view and approach that God takes with His people.

First, let us note God’s approach to His people. He does not come as a cruel and Calvinistic deity glorying in the punishment of others. He does not come as a bully grinding His rebellious people in the dirt despite their flagrant rebellion. He rather calls on His people to reason with Him. In the Book of Job, Job makes a lawsuit against God because of unfairness in the unmerited judgment that God had given him, and God came and reasoned with Him, not striking him dead with lightning as some might expect. But Job was a righteous man, and Judah in the time of Ahab was extremely corrupt. And yet God uses the same approach with them as He did with righteous Job. He wanted Judah to talk to him, face to face as it were, and take Him seriously. Sadly, Judah would not generally do so (though Hezekiah did).

Next, we see that God tells them through Isaiah that even though their sins are crimson and scarlet, they will be made as white as snow and wool. Here we find an interesting set of comparisons that is worthy of some explanation. Being as white as snow is typically a reference to the innocence of childhood, while crimson is a reference to sins of blood (like murder). Likewise, scarlet is associated with the sins of sexual immorality, while wool is associated with the innocence of the lamb, ultimately referring to the moral perfection of Jesus Christ, the sacrifice for the sins of the world that allow us all to be forgiven. Even in a short part of a verse dealing with the simple colors of red and white, we see the depth of the difference between allegiance to Babylon and Satan and obedience to God in a variety of related ways.

After promising forgiveness with repentance, God makes the conditional promise that if Judah was willing [to repent] and obedient [to God’s ways], then they would eat of the good of the land, a reference to the (physical) promises of wealth and blessings that would result from obedience to the Mosaic covenant. Of course, most of Judah was not in the position to be part of the Israel of God and receive salvation, but that is besides the point. Even the lesser standard of physical obedience as a nation as part of their national covenant with God was far too difficult for Judah alone, much less the higher standard of obedience required for those who have the indwelling presence of the Spirit of God. And so it is with us–God promises physical blessings to those nations that will obey, and no nation on the world remotely approaches the letter of God’s law at present, but rather seeks to race each other as far away from God’s laws and standards as possible.

As a result, God gives a closing warning of judgment to those nations who refuse to repent and turn from their wicked ways. If Judah refused their covenantal obligations and rebelled against God’s authority, God would send the judgment of military defeat on them. For those who might opine that no nation is today under the same covenantal relationship with God today as Judah and Israel enjoyed in times of old, God promised, and delivered, the same judgment of the sword on Gentile peoples who persisted in their own wickedness (Edom, Assyria, and Babylon). Whether a nation is part of Israel or not, if they rebel against God’s authority and demand to be judges of what is right and wrong for themselves, they will eventually be called to account. God does not wish to condemn a nation, but God will not be mocked forever, and with a heavy heart He will deliver a wicked nation to its merited judgment if they refuse His repeated calls to repent and receive grace and mercy. Why do we not repent?

And so, in the midst of delivering a specific message to the people of the time of Isaiah during the reign of the weak king and empty suit Ahaz, God delivered a timeless message to all nations at all times, a message that is particularly relevant to our own times. God speaks to a wicked and rebellious nation seeking for them to reason with Him. He promises them forgiveness for their sins, if they will repent, and for the imputed righteousness of the Lamb of God to be on them rather than their own own sinful character. He promises blessings for repentance and obedience to His ways, and judgment for disobedience and rebellion. How long until the nations of this world take His call to repent seriously?