ISAIAH 1:18
“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.”
If the book of Isaiah were a movie, then chapter 1, the opening act, would be a courtroom scene. God was presenting a case against the people He loves, and this was His charge: They have rebelled against me (Isaiah 1:2). To understand the gravity of this offense, it is important to know that there is a covenant relationship that exists between God and the people of Israel. The rituals mentioned in this chapter, like sacrificing burnt offerings and celebrating appointed feasts, were expressions of that covenant relationship. This is much like a promise given to someone as an expression of love, like a child’s desire to honor his or her parents even in adulthood, or a husband’s promise to be faithful to his wife as each year passes. Today, we will look at God’s covenant relationship with His people and how His great faithfulness is revealed in spite of our unfaithfulness.