White Christmas – Isaiah 1:18-20
“16Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; put away the evil of your doings from before My eyes. Cease to do evil, 17learn to do good; seek justice, rebuke the oppressor; defend the fatherless, plead for the widow.” —Isaiah 1:16-17
“18Come 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.” —Isaiah 1:18
“Come now, and let us
The Hebrew verb here carries the sense of “to argue” or “to prove” in a legal context. It does not carry the sense of rational logic implied by the English “reason.” —Faithlife Study Bible
The scene is a courtroom and the evidence concerning our sin is laid out. An indictment is levied.
“…your sins are like
The colors “scarlet” and “crimson” speak to the guilt. We are taken back to verse 15 of Isaiah 1 when God said…
15When you spread out your hands, I will hide My eyes from you; even though you make many prayers, I will not hear. Your hands are full of blood. —Isaiah 1:15
Hebrew for “scarlet” radically means double-dyed; so the deep-fixed permanency of sin in the heart, which no moere tears can wash away. —JFB
“…though…they shall be white as snow…though…they shall be as wool.”
Snow and wool are naturally white. While we are double-dyed in scarlet and crimson, God has the ability to bring us back into purity.
This is the ultimate message of Christmas. This is the ultimate message of the Gospel. This is the ultimate message of Scripture from cover to cover.
How is purity accomplished?
10Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. 11For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.” 13And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: 14“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!” —Luke 2:10-14
Along with the shepherds, we are given:
- No
- Good
- A
-
What do we do with the message from the Prophet Isaiah?
19If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land; 20but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured by the sword”; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken. —Isaiah 1:19-20
The context of these two verses lean into the conditional covenant that God made with His people. If they were obedient, the Lord would bless. If they were disobedient, they were cursed and found destruction.
We can lean into the same thought. We see the life or death that is involved with our choice: Our scarlet and crimson soul or our soul white as snow through Jesus.