It is no secret that during the life of Isaiah, Israel was an apostate nation. God referred to the people as a “…sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers…” (Isaiah 1:4). The people were worshipping idols, bringing empty offerings (Isaiah 1:13), and were generally caught up in a multitude of sins. They had “gone away backward” and were no longer the people which God desired them to be (Isaiah 1:4, 21). In the end, God gave them two choices as to the nation of Israel could do. Israel could repent and prosper or stay status quo and suffer the consequences.
“Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land: But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it” (Isaiah 1:18-20).
The fact that God first asks Israel to “reason together” shows the merciful side of God. Here is an apostate nation and yet God wants the people to understand the predicament. God could have easily looked at the nation of Israel in their condition and wiped every living soul off the face of the planet. Instead, He asks for the opportunity to “reason together.” By reasoning with the people, God could explain the situation, the choices, the end point of those choices, and allow the children of Israel to make a decision. God wanted His people to repent and cleanse themselves from their current position. While their sins were “scarlet” and “red like crimson,” God have them an opportunity to be made “white as snow” and “as wool.”
The first choice God is that of repentance. The wording which God used is interesting. Israel had to be “willing and obedient.” The children of Israel had to be willing to perform this action. Repentance is not an action which can be forced upon someone. If one is coerced into repenting, it will not be from a true heart. One must first be willing to do it. God also stated that obedience was involved. Obedience is not saying “sorry” one day and performing the same action the day after. It involves staying true to God’s Word. Performing this would cause a blessing. Israel would be able to stay in the land and live prosperously.
The second choice God gives is that of staying in a state of apostasy. This would include a refusal to heed the warnings which God had given. He plainly stated that such an action would lead to the inhabitants being “devoured by the sword.” One of the heathen nations would come and make utter waste of Israel and those who dwelled in the land. Such is the fate of those who refuse to listen and rebel against God. Either of these fates was sure to come true depending on the decision. This is always in the instance where “the mouth of the LORD” speaks.
We know that no prophet has spoken these words to America but the things written in the Old Testament “were written for our learning” (Romans 15:4). We can rest assured that this country has two choices before it. Turn to God or be turned away. Which will it choose?
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