2013년 7월 28일 주일 영어예배 설교
이사야 1:1-18

Come now, let us reason together
(Isaiah 1:1~18)

‘Come now, let us reason together’, is the phrase that God suggests to His people through the prophet Isaiah. God is God and we are human beings. God is the creator and we are the creature. But why does God suggest reasoning to us first? In spite of the fact that God is in fullness, He needs nothing, He is omniscient and omnipotent, what does God want to reason with us? Today, we are going to be appreciating why God suggests the reasoning first and what God wants to reason with us.
Verse 2 to verse 8 is telling us the horrors of the sinful situation of Israel. In verse 2~3, “Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth; for the Lord has spoken: “Children have I reared and brought up, but they have rebelled against me. The ox knows its owner, and the donkey its master’s crib, but Israel does not know, my people do not understand.” This sigh of God shows us that God’s people even lose sight of the fact that they are God’s people, they are creatures, and they can exist only under the mercy and control of God. As Psalmist and the Apostle Paul said, “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above a proclaims his handiwork” (Psalm 19:1), “For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God.” (Romans 8:19), all the other creatures have been playing their parts of reflecting God’s glory. However, only human beings are against God, their creator, master, and sustainer. The rebellion of human beings like this led to the result that they despised and insulted their creator and they fell into the miserable situation, total depravity. The worst thing is that even though they are in this terrible situation, they never repent or reflect on themselves. The verses 4~6 expresses this situation well, “Ah, sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, offspring of evildoers, children who deal corruptly! They have forsaken the Lord, they have despised the Holy One of Israel, they are utterly estranged. Why will you still be struck down? Why will you continue to rebel? The whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. From the sole of the foot even to the head, there is no soundness in it, but bruises and sores and raw wounds; they are not pressed out or bound up or softened with oil.” As a result of this, not only is their spiritual and ultimate substance as human beings in ruins, but their real lives and physical environment is, as well. We can find this in the verse 7~8, “Your country lies desolate; your cities are burned with fire; in your very presence foreigners devour your land; it is desolate, as overthrown by foreigners. And the daughter of Zion is left like a booth in a vineyard, like a lodge in a cucumber field, like a besieged city.” But still, God’s promise of love, mercy, and sincerity is clearly standing in the middle of the completely terrible situation created by sinful, depraved, fallen human beings. In the verse, “If the Lord of hosts had not left us a few survivors, we should have been like Sodom, and become like Gomorrah.” Here, we can find ‘the concept of remnant’, the remnants like you and me. And God expresses His feeling, or the feeling of disgust, because even though there is not a single appearance and aspect of God’s people or the creature of the Creator, they still continue to have worship service and bring their offerings to God. God confesses that He is disgusted with the situation. And God says that He will never answer their prayers if that kind of situation continues. Let’s listen to God’s feelings, in verse 11~15, “What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices says the Lord; I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of well-fed beasts; I do not delight in the blood of bulls, or of lambs, or of goats. “When you come to appear before me, who has required of you this trampling of my courts? Bring no more vain offerings; incense is an abomination to me. New moon and Sabbath and the calling of convocations?I cannot endure iniquity and solemn assembly. Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hates; they have become a burden to me; I am weary of bearing them. When you spread out your hands, I will hide my eyes from you; even though you make many prayers, I will not listen; your hands are full of blood.”
Now, immediately the persuasion of God begins in verse 16, “Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes; cease to do evil” The shocking thing is that they don’t even show the bare minimum of universal good values, let alone the spiritual values as God’s people. Verse 17 says this, “Learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause.” But pay attention to the suggestion of God here in verse 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.” The Hebrew ‘shanim’ used in these verses means ‘twice-dyed’. At that time, people used to dye something twice with insect’s eggs, so that the color was never lost. God says their sins are scarlet and crimson dyed twice that nothing can erase them. On the man’s side, there is no hope, there is no guarantee, no possibility, and no ability to wipe out their scarlet crimson sins. That is the very ‘original sin’ and ‘total depravity’ of human beings of the Bible. Do you remember the terrible pattern that the history of Israelites shows us?: ‘Sin and repent and forgive, sin and repent and forgive.’ This pattern continues endlessly. This is a man. It is beyond hope, and there is no possibility at all. However, gratefully, gracefully, God still proposes first. God cannot forsake His own covenant and promise for His own people. He says this “come now, let’s reason together.” Reason what? He means to reason whether God is able to figure out the terrible matter of sins or not, whether there is a stronger power in God’s side than the power of death resulted by human being’s rebellion against God. Yes, God is able to figure out the matter of sin, God has the power to annihilate sin’s power named death. So God declares this: “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.” God assures and promises to make your scarlet crimson twice dyed inexpungible sins, white like snow and wool. In fact, whenever the pattern, ‘sin and repent and forgive’, happens, God first gives His hand and makes them stand saying this, “Yes, you don’t have any guarantee, hope, power, and possibility. You fall down and fail for the umpteenth time. You have no face to ask me to give another chance. But still look at and remember clearly my promise, my very promise.” How? How is God able to make our scarlet crimson twice dyed inexpungible sins white like snow and wool? What is the power to annihilate the sins, the power of death that visited humanity, the worst curse for human beings? That is Jesus Christ our Lord! The very Messiah that whenever the people sinned and showed their hopelessness, God promised to the hopeless people!
Jesus Christ is our unique hope and guarantee, and the reason why God declared to make our scarlet crimson inerasable sins white like snow and wool. The very blood of God’s begotten son, Jesus Christ on the Cross of Calvary wiped out all our sins. Now our total inability and hopelessness no longer matter. The gospel of Christianity always represents Jesus Christ as the one and only hope for human beings. For the people then, Jesus Christ was the Messiah who will come in history. For the people here, Jesus Christ is the Messiah who already came in history. Do you think that there is any hope, possibility and power in yourself to figure out the matter of your sins? Do you think you are able to meet the perfect requirement of the law of God for the righteousness? Do you think that you can finally reach the perfect status for the righteousness worthy to be called a whole and intact God’s people after constant discipline and trial? No way! There is nothing like that that the Bible reveals. The one and only way for these qualifications above declared by the Bible is Jesus Christ our Lord. So here, God is suggesting this, “Come now, let us reason together.” And God assures this, “though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.” Through Jesus Christ. By Jesus’ Crucifixion. Because of Jesus’ blood for His own people. By showing Jesus’ Resurrection that proves His power breaking the power of death. Look at only Jesus Christ, our unique hope and Lord. Hold only Jesus’ cross for your sin and weakness. That is the one and only way for us to be saved from our terrible sinful status into the perfect righteousness worthy to be called God’s people and worthy to go to heaven. There is never hope and ability by ourselves. Only Jesus Christ has the power and hope for resolving our matter of sin and our happiness. Here is the very simple, amazing, graceful, and incredible divine principle of the gospel of Christianity for His own chosen people. Believe in, Trust in, and cast all upon Jesus Christ. That’s all. Pay attention sharply to and believe in this declaration of God, “though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.”
Lastly, I want to introduce the description of our Lord Jesus Christ for setting us free from the curse of death, or our sins. This prophecy is in the same book that has today’s text, the book of Isaiah. The prophet Isaiah who prophesied today’s text also prophesied this in chapter 53 of his book, “But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned?every one?to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” I really hope this Jesus Christ who gives joy, peace, and victory to His people’s lives becomes your Jesus Christ.