Isaiah 1:7 says, 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. Isaiah then remanded the people of the state of their country. God had given them a land flowing with milk and honey and control over it as long as they remained obedient to Him, but they had started chasing after other gods, so God had allowed them to be enslaved once more. God has set us free from the power of sin if we have accepted Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, but if we fail to be obedient to Him, we may find ourselves enslaved by sin once more.
Verse eight adds, 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. Isaiah then used some descriptive terms to describe the daughter of Zion, or Jerusalem. This was God’s glorious city and now it was a poor city under siege. God gives us glorious freedom from sin as Christians, but if we turn away from Him, we will become spiritually desolate and under the bondage of sin once more. Since God seals us as His when we accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord, we will never lose our salvation but can certainly lose our effectiveness in doing His work and the joy of our salvation if we turn away from doing His will.
Verse nine continues, 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. Isaiah then said that God left a small remnant of people who were true to Him. I believe that this was still their choice, and that God didn’t just pick out a few people and force them to do His will. Isaiah also said if not for this remnant that the people Judah and Jerusalem would have been destroyed like Sodom and Gomorrah. If Christians ever cease to exist in the world, then God’s judgment will certainly come, but so far, we still have a remnant of people who are faithful to Him. As followers of Christ, we should always be a part of that remnant.
Verse ten states, Hear the word of the Lord, ye rulers of Sodom; give ear unto the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah. Still comparing them to Sodom and Gomorrah, Isaiah called on the people of Judah to hear the word of the Lord. If we find ourselves personally or as a nation to have turned away from God, we need to hear His word once more.
Verse eleven adds, 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. Isaiah then said that even though they were going through the motions of offering sacrifices to God, since they weren’t acting out of faith in Him, He was tired of all their sacrifices. We can give a great amount to God, but if we do not give it out of true obedience to and love for God, He is not going to be pleased with us. We can never buy God’s favor but must always give to Him whatever we do give out of love and thanksgiving for His gift of salvation.
Verse twelve continues. When ye come to appear before me, who hath required this at your hand, to tread my courts? Since they weren’t offering sacrifices and assembling by faith and obedience to God’s word and will, He asked them why they were even appearing before Him. If we go to church and give a great deal of money to His work, if we are doing it without believing in Jesus Christ, then God will still ask why we are doing it. When we gather as a local body of believers, we need to always put God and His will first.
Verse thirteen says, 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. Isaiah said that God had stated that their empty worship, going through the motions without any real faith or devotion to Him was an abomination to Him. He also said that God had said He wouldn’t accept it so they should do away with it. If we are just going through the motions of worship without any spiritual devotion to God, all the physical actions we take are not going to be acceptable to God.
Verse fourteen continues, Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth: they are a trouble unto me; I am weary to bear them. This seems to imply that the people were more interested in guidance by the stars or moon than they were in God. God did not say that He was tired of them keeping His feast, but that He was tired of them keeping theirs. If we make worship about what we want instead of what God requires, He will never accept it. We should also never believe that the stars have any influence over us and avoid anything that would lead to that conclusion.
Verse fifteen concludes, 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. Isaiah said that God said that as long as their hands were full of blood, or that they were putting their own desires above helping others I believe, that even when they reached their hands out to Him, He would hide His eyes from them. Isaiah also said that God would not hear their prayers. If we are praying selfish prayers, God is not going to hear them, especially if we are mistreating others when we do. Our actions must be consistent with our claim to be obeying God’s word.
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