Isaiah 1:15b-20
15b Your hands are full of blood. 16 Wash up! Make yourselves clean! Remove the evil of your actions from before my eyes! Stop doing evil! 17 Learn to do good! Seek justice! Rescue an oppressed one! Defend an orphan! Plead for a widow! 18 “Come now, and let us hash this out,” says Yahveh. “Even though your sins are like scarlet, they can be white like snow; even though they are red like crimson, they can become like wool. 19 If you are willing and you are obedient, you can eat the good of the land. 20 But if you refuse and you rebel, you will be devoured by a sword. Because the mouth of Yahveh has spoken.”
hashing it out with God
We Christians like to quote verse 18 out of its context a lot. The context in which Isaiah said it is this: Judah had become responsible for the deaths of many people by their corruption and failure to protect the weak ones among them. The poor and widows and orphans were being exploited, and nobody cared. Isaiah told them to look at their bloody hands. God caught them red handed in sinful neglect of justice. They had considered themselves good people. God said, “let’s hash this out. I’ll show you how good you are.”
He wants to do the same thing for us as well. He wants to uncover the nakedness of our own neglect. He wants to show us our red hands. Then, he wants to help us clean up.
LORD, forgive us for neglecting our neglect. Wash us with your redemption, and make us people who love people, and bring the oppressed justice.
Devotions 