Isaiah 1:1 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.
This first passage shows us that it was God who had called Isaiah to the prophetic ministry to preach and to teach, to reprove and exhort the Jews, at a time of near national apostasy. The people had adopted the idolatrous practices of the heathen nations, and their methods, principles, and customs had become tainted by affiliation with paganism in its many, and varied forms.
Thus, the cultural, spiritual, and social effects could be seen across the land. The lifestyles of the nations had become so intertwined with the religion of the Jews that currently there wasn’t any real distinction between them, and as a sure result, the land itself was now suffering the adverse effects of the curse the people had incurred. Let’s read:
Isaiah 1:13 Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto me; the new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting.
14 Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hates, they are a trouble unto me; I am weary to bear them.
15 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.
16 Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil;
17 Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow.
18 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.
It was God’s purpose that this situation should have been the other way around, where the surrounding nations would be influenced by the Jews, where His laws, principles, and methods would be on display for all the world to see, and thus, the nations would conclude that the religion of the Jews was superior in nature and they too would desire to be like God’s people. Let’s read:
Deuteronomy 4:5 Behold, I have taught you statutes and judgments, even as the Lord my God commanded me, that ye should do so in the land whither ye go to possess it.
6 Keep and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations which shall hear all these statutes, and say, surely, this great nation is a wise and understanding people.
But as is too often the case, the practices, and the customs of those nations exerted a much greater influence over the Jews, than they exerted over the nations, and thus, it was for this reason that it had now become necessary for God to commission the prophet Isaiah to the ministry of reconciliation, as it were.
God has always encountered much greater difficulty in taking Egypt out of His people than in taking us out of Egypt, and therefore, the ministry of Isaiah was needed. But even Isaiah had his own problems, because at the outset, we observe that he, like so many others whom God has called to serve, had a misconception of his own true condition. Let’s read:
Isaiah 1:4 Ah, sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the Lord, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward.
5 Why should Ye be stricken anymore? ye will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint.
6 From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment.
7 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.
One thing becomes immediately obvious, as Isaiah begins to preach, he is observed to be speaking in the second person, by which he employs pronouns such as: your, they, and ye. This suggests to us that Isaiah views the problems and the sins of Israel as something that pertains to others, not to himself, for he does not employ words such as we, us and ours.
And even though he may like many of us, have been affected by the syndrome of self-righteousness, yet, it was God who called him to the prophetic ministry and who fitted him with the wherewithal to speak forth the words of truth and soberness. God does not call any of us to serve because we are perfect, but despite of our imperfections, for if He was to wait for perfect people to preach the gospel, the world would be lost.
All of the disciples were unconverted when they were called to preach, and God used them in mighty ways, despite their imperfections. James and John had bad tempers, Peter was hasty, and impulsive, and had seeds of revenge in him, and all the twelve were seeking the highest place, for there wouldn’t be any arguments about high positions wherever converted hearts converge.
Then again, David had penned hundreds of sublime psalms in his earlier years, and God used him to slay the giant, yet his imperfections were manifested in his rendezvous with Bathsheba, and in numbering the people, by which his self-exaltation took a toll on his faith, and on the children of Israel, who lost seventy thousand persons as a result.
Abraham had to overcome the habit of telling lies, under pressure, and Moses struggled with anger management, while Aaron succumbed to popular opinions, and Solomon, is described as being “The preacher” even though he amassed 1000 wives and concubines whereby his history became tainted.
But in each case, where the faults of God’s servants are to be seen, there comes a time when God takes the initiative to reveal to them their hidden defects, so that they may realize their true condition, and thus, better understand their dire need of Jesus, just like anyone else who they may be preaching to.
After Abraham had Hagar to wife, God appeared to him and said: “walk before me and be thou perfect” Peter understood himself like never before, after he denied Christ with swearing, and cursing, and after that rude awakening, the Bible says “He went out and wept bitterly”. Even Daniel, of whom nothing negative has been recorded, confessed his sins and iniquities, after God revealed Himself to him.
Thus, it was with Isaiah too, for although he had been commissioned by God to preach, yet he also would need a spiritual audit in God’s presence, so that he may realize his own fallen condition. God does not do this to embarrass or discourage His servants or any other individual for that matter, but the awakening is necessary so that we wouldn’t be deceived as to our own righteousness, and so that we can be prepared for even greater service. Let’s read:
Isaiah 6:1 In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple.
2 Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly.
3 And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.
4 And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke.
5 Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.
6 Then flew one of the Seraphim unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar,
7 And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged.
8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.
We observe that in his confession that Isaiah now speaks in the first person, including himself in the general multitude of sinners, and identifying himself with the sins of the people. Thus, he is humbled in his own sight, his estimation of himself falls to an all-time low, and by this experience, God is now ready, and able to load him up with divine power and energy, knowing that he understands as never before, his need of God.
This is exactly what took place with Daniel after the vision of the Most-High, after which he exclaimed, “My comeliness was turned into corruption, and there remained no strength in me”. Thus, through such experiences and revelations of God’s glory to us, we are prepared for a greater anointing of the Holy Spirit, for God’s strength is made perfect in weakness.
But it is important that whenever such revelations of God to ourselves take place, that we respond appropriately because, our course of action after such a revelation can determine our eternal destiny. Cain was granted such a revelation when The Lord revealed Himself to him and showed him the plague spot that needed to be addressed.
But instead of humbling himself under the audit of God, and confessing his sin like Isaiah and Daniel, he chose to encase himself in self-righteousness, and the rest is history, for he never ever again would be reconciled to God. By his own pride, he shunned the assessment of God and thereby slighted God’s grace when God stood ready to forgive and forget. Let’s read:
Genesis 4:3 And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord.
4 And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering:
5 But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.
6 And the Lord said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen?
7 If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.
God is once more doing an audit, not of Abraham, Daniel and Isaiah, but of Laodicea, the Christian church of today, which is suffering from the same plague of self-righteousness, as in days of yore. The Christianity of our time prides itself on a knowledge of the scriptures, and yet the corresponding fruits of Christ’s righteousness are for the most part, missing in action.
Lies, fraud, miscarriage of justice, and respect of persons have become the order of the day, while millions are being denied the basic mercies which are to be expected of professed followers of Christ. The very same assessments which were given by God concerning Sodom and Gomorrah have now become fixed in the characters of many professed Christians. Let’s read:
Ezekiel 16:49 Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fullness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy.
50 And they were haughty, and committed abomination before me, therefore I took them away as I saw good.
In our day, the phrase “Our thoughts and prayers” has become repulsive to many people, and the mention of Christianity evokes feelings of hatred and distrust. Self-preservation has replaced the self-denial Christ called for, and protectionism causes many to turn a blind eye to the millions who are in need of the basic necessities of life.
Christ died to save human beings, and whenever we have a situation where animals, and pets are being treated better than humans, we can be assured that there’s a crisis on our hands. It’s now apparent that the essence of Christianity, and some of the very basic teachings of Christ have become foreign to so many who profess to know God.
For instance, the Bible teaches us that in the final analysis we won’t be judged by how many doctrines we knew, nor by how eloquently we expounded the scriptures. If what we preach is not in harmony with what we actually practice, then our profession of Christianity is a farce. Let’s read:
Matthew 7:12 Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.
Matthew 25:41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
42 For I was an hungered, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:
43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.
44 Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?
45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.
46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.
In God’s assessment of our current forms of religion and righteousness, Laodicea, the contemporary Christian church has come up really short. A definite disconnect can be seen, between faith and practice.
And therefore, just like the days in which Isaiah lived, God is calling on us individually and nationally to take stock of ourselves, to do some serious soul-searching that we may not be deceived as to our true condition. It’s all written in the cryptic audit given of Laodicea. Let’s read:
Revelation 3:14 And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;
15 I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.
16 So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.
17 Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked.
18 I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eye-salve, that thou mayest see.
19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.
20 Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.
22 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
It’s imperative that the assessments given by God, pertaining to us today be taken seriously, for even though some may preach the fairy tale gospel, and present a subjective God who sits submissively on the back-burner, waiting and hoping for us to make the first move, yet God will judge accurately, and will reward every person according to their works.
Let us then, like Isaiah, when he saw the vision of The Most-High, and realized his own failures; let us be quick to repent and acknowledge our errors, so that our sins too may be purged. The outpouring of the Holy Spirit during the latter rain will only be realized by those who have made thorough work of repentance, and thereby, prepared the heart to receive the fullness of God.
We end with a reminder that our preaching and doing must correspond, for Christianity to have any meaning in the lives of those with whom we come in contact. Let’s read:
Matthew 5:18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.
19 Whosoever therefore shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
20 For I say unto you that except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.
God Bless!