Trampled Courts (Isaiah 1.1-20)

Isaiah 1:1 (ESV) — 1 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.‌

To begin our study, we see that the book of Isaiah consists of visions and revelations made to Isaiah the prophet. These visions are primarily about Judah and Jerusalem during the reign of the four kings of Judah. It's important to note that as we read through the book of 2 Kings, we learn about these kings, and all but one seem to be good kings. We might think that three out of four aren't bad, but the message of Isaiah is not very optimistic. Don't get me wrong, there are parts about hope and salvation, but the nation of Judah was not in good shape. They did not follow their king's example. They did what they had always done, what they were taught to do by their fathers and their fathers before them.

God's Proclamation (2-4)

Isaiah 1:2–4 (ESV) — 2 Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth; for the Lord has spoken: “Children have I reared and brought up, but they have rebelled against me. 3 The ox knows its owner, and the donkey its master’s crib, but Israel does not know, my people do not understand.” 4 Ah, sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, offspring of evildoers, children who deal corruptly! They have forsaken the Lord, they have despised the Holy One of Israel, they are utterly estranged.

The opening vision is of God speaking to the heavens. He is talking to every living creature under creation, calling for them to witness what he is about to say.

He tells them that his children have rebelled against him. It's so interesting to see this after we studied children this morning. God has raised them in the way they should go, but they have departed from it. They have turned away from God's steadfast love and lived rebelliously for themselves.

What has driven them to do this? God says in verse 3, "Israel does not know, my people do not understand." If you were to go to an ox, they would know who their master is. Even a donkey knows who his master is, but Israel has no clue. Isn't this odd? Haven't they been taught all their lives about the God of Israel? Don't they know that God alone has the power to save them, and he is responsible for giving them everything they have? They have had this truth before them, but the world's enticements have persuaded them to forsake, despise, and become "utterly estranged" from God.

Why? (5-9)

Isaiah 1:5–9 (ESV) — 5 Why will you still be struck down? Why will you continue to rebel? The whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. 6 From the sole of the foot even to the head, there is no soundness in it, but bruises and sores and raw wounds; they are not pressed out or bound up or softened with oil. 7 Your country lies desolate; your cities are burned with fire; in your very presence foreigners devour your land; it is desolate, as overthrown by foreigners. 8 And the daughter of Zion is left like a booth in a vineyard, like a lodge in a cucumber field, like a besieged city. 9 If the Lord of hosts had not left us a few survivors, we should have been like Sodom, and become like Gomorrah.

‌Next, God wants to ask them why they are doing this. Isn't this the question we want to know the answer to? Why would people turn away in stubborn rebellion against God? It makes no sense. He has shown his power time and time again.

Then, he gives us an image of what they have done. He says they are like a man who is sick or wounded and refuses to treat the wounds or sickness. Can you imagine a man walking around with rotting flesh all over them, but they act like everything is okay and refuse help? Something is wrong with that scene.

This is a representation of what is happening in Israel. Their land is barren and empty. No crops are produced, and everything has been destroyed. He uses this figure of speech, "The daughter of Zion" is desolate. When he talks about the daughter of a place, he is personifying the place. There isn't an actual daughter of Zion. It's not referring to a different place than Zion. He's saying Zion is sick and desolate and destroyed. Remember, this message is to Judah.

But the wonderful thing is that God has left them a remnant. He didn't completely wipe them out. The biggest enemies at that time would have been Assyria. They were constantly trying to overthrow Judah and Jerusalem. They succeeded in destroying the northern nation. The only source of hope they have in their stubbornness is to trust in God and rely on him. He's still the one who has the power to save.

The Word of The Lord (10-20)

This moves us to our last section for tonight.

False Worship (10-15)

Isaiah 1:10–15 (ESV) — 10 Hear the word of the Lord, you rulers of Sodom! Give ear to the teaching of our God, you people of Gomorrah! 11 “What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices? says the Lord; I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of well-fed beasts; I do not delight in the blood of bulls, or of lambs, or of goats. 12 “When you come to appear before me, who has required of you this trampling of my courts? 13 Bring no more vain offerings; incense is an abomination to me. New moon and Sabbath and the calling of convocations— I cannot endure iniquity and solemn assembly. 14 Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hates; they have become a burden to me; I am weary of bearing them. 15 When you spread out your hands, I will hide my eyes from you; even though you make many prayers, I will not listen; your hands are full of blood.

‌Notice that he calls Israel Sodom and Gomorrah. They aren't doing so great. Consider that God destroyed these two cities in Genesis to the point where we don't know where they were. They were some of the most evil people we read about in the Old Testament, and Israel is being compared to them. Why? What are they doing?

The text tells us that they are worshipping God with many sacrifices. Huh? How is that a fault? What's so bad about offering a lot of sacrifices to God? Notice that it's so bad that God says, "My soul hates your sacrifice." The problem is that they don't understand the point of the sacrifices. They see sacrifices as being what it takes to go on sinning. But God says, "I cannot endure iniquity and solemn assembly." They go crazy doing whatever they want intentionally, not recognizing that God called for that type of sin to be punished with death. Then, they go to the house of God and act like they love him.

He even says, "Your hands are full of blood." They are guilty of the death of the innocent. These people are ruthless and hateful. Perhaps they haven't murdered anyone themselves, but they brought about their death through false witness or by some evil other means. God knows, and he's not happy.

God's Desire (16-20)

Isaiah 1:16–20 (ESV) — 16 Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes; cease to do evil, 17 learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause. 18 “Come now, 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 become like wool. 19 If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land; 20 but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be eaten by the sword; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

‌God responds to these evil sacrifices with a solution. He doesn't just condemn them and forget them. He recognizes that they are this way because they do not know God. So he has some patience with them. He gives them a chance to repent and do what is right. God makes it clear through his prophet that he desires justice and righteousness in his people. He wants them to stop being stubborn and become willing and obedient people.

The fantastic thing is that if they do that, God will clean them and make them white as snow. Then, he will bless them and heal their wounded land. Isn't this reasonable? He says, "Come now, let us reason together." He's trying to appeal to them and allow them to do what is right. He doesn't want them to perish, but they must completely repent and turn away from their sins.

Lessons For Us

As we open this book, we see that God is not pleased with his people because they don't know him. That should make us stop and think, "Do we really know God?" That's the purpose behind the prophets. They reveal God to us in a new way that the law didn't. But this text shows us the dangers of failing to know God. We fall into Satan's deceptions and claim to serve someone we don't know. We can't do that. We can't give someone what they want without taking the time to learn what they want. And so it is with God. If we want to please him, we have to know him.

Second, we see that we tend to overlook our sins and the pain and suffering our sins cause us. We must evaluate ourselves and see if we are sick, bruised, or wounded from head to toe. Then, we need to seek treatment before we die. God calls for his people to learn and grow from their weaknesses and sins. Here, we see that failing to do that only makes things get worse and worse. He waits for us to see it but won't wait forever. We need to change and ask God's help to fix the problems with our hearts when we see them.

Finally, we see God is not pleased with all forms of worship. It's not enough for us to bring a lot to the altar and give up a lot. We must understand that God's not impressed with how much we will give up for him. He wants us to repent of our sins and become obedient ultimately. He wants to see goodness and righteousness in us because that's who we were created to be.

Jesus

Ultimately, that's why God gave us Jesus.

Jesus shows us who God is in the most easy-to-understand way by living among us and contrasting himself to us. He is the exact imprint of God in human form. When we know him, we know God and understand how to please him.

Jesus died to pierce our stubborn hearts of stone. He let us murder him so we could see our sickness and brokenness and so that we would choose to change.

Jesus gave the ultimate sacrifice so that we could move from empty ritualism to passionate, heartfelt, worshipful lives that glorify God. This text reminds us why we need Jesus and how we can become what God truly wants us to be: living sacrifices who honor him with our hearts. (Rom 12)