Isaiah 1:1-20

1:1-4 | God is pictured as a loving father mournfully bringing the accusation against Israel. He is also the Judge of the entire creation who indicts Israel for its crimes. The earth is the courtroom; Isaiah piles on epithet after epithet: sinful, laden with iniquity, evildoers, corrupters – all describe this covenant people whom God loves but who had forsaken and provoked Him (Rom. 11:28-29).

1:7-9 | Daughter of Zion is Jerusalem personified but more generally a reference to Judah. Sodom and Gomorrah are remembered for two things: their moral corruption and their annihilation by God.

1:9-11 | Isaiah compares the coming devastation of Judah to that of Sodom and Gomorrah. God’s covenant community had descended to a moral and ethical level comparable to that of these ancient cities. The prophet also introduces the important theme of a remnant; in this case, referring to those who survive judgment. In the midst of this calamity, both the justice and faithfulness of God would be seen. God would punish sinful Israel and yet steadfastly preserve a remnant in fulfillment of His covenant promises (Lam. 3:22-23).

1:11 | The people of Judah were still offering sacrifices, but they used them to attempt to manipulate God, so God rejected their worship (1 Sam. 15:22). God desires worship from a sincere heart (Hosea 5:6; John 4:23-24). He will not accept the so-called worship of those mistreat others.

1:16-17 | Repentance and a return to right conduct – by promoting justice in the land – would bring God’s mercy (Jer. 4:14).

1:18 | To reason together means to “come to a legal decision, debate a case.” God is the Judge, and He calls His guilty people to acknowledge their sins before Him. As a judge, God would rather pardon the sins of His people. The image of sin as crimson and scarlet suggests hands full of blood, while the image of snow pictures the removal of sin through forgiveness (Ps. 51:7). The context indicates that this cleansing is contingent upon their changing their sinful ways and obeying God.