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Listen "Isaiah 1:10-31"
Episode Synopsis
Reflection
Read Isaiah’s message to the worshippers and leaders. What do you sense God saying that you need to hear too?
Read Isaiah 1:10-31 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah+1%3A10-31&version=NLT
Summary
Isaiah watches corrupt worshippers pretending to follow God. He’s annoyed by the disconnection between religious practice and social influence. He sees hands coated in blood lifted up to God in prayer. Now is the time to wash hands and make a change. “Learn to do good. Seek justice. Help the oppressed. Defend the cause of orphans. Fight for the rights of widows” (1:17). Appreciate God’s forgiveness for yourself, then live for God’s justice and righteousness for others.
God
God does not want people pretending they are better than they are - he wants authenticity. That’s why He is so direct here. With a reality check and the truth comes transformation. God is also identifying himself with the vulnerable and disadvantaged. If you want to get close to God then you need to get close to the vulnerable. My cleansing produces my change.
Gospel
It’s good news that forgiveness and justice go hand in hand. “Though your sins are like scarlet, I will make them white as snow.” God promises to wash away the mistakes and evil I have practiced. He may forgive me, but the pain can’t be deleted from the world. So going forward instead of hurting people, I become part of his plan for healing people. God washing my hands deletes possible future evil I would’ve caused and makes me part of the solution.
Read Isaiah’s message to the worshippers and leaders. What do you sense God saying that you need to hear too?
Read Isaiah 1:10-31 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah+1%3A10-31&version=NLT
Summary
Isaiah watches corrupt worshippers pretending to follow God. He’s annoyed by the disconnection between religious practice and social influence. He sees hands coated in blood lifted up to God in prayer. Now is the time to wash hands and make a change. “Learn to do good. Seek justice. Help the oppressed. Defend the cause of orphans. Fight for the rights of widows” (1:17). Appreciate God’s forgiveness for yourself, then live for God’s justice and righteousness for others.
God
God does not want people pretending they are better than they are - he wants authenticity. That’s why He is so direct here. With a reality check and the truth comes transformation. God is also identifying himself with the vulnerable and disadvantaged. If you want to get close to God then you need to get close to the vulnerable. My cleansing produces my change.
Gospel
It’s good news that forgiveness and justice go hand in hand. “Though your sins are like scarlet, I will make them white as snow.” God promises to wash away the mistakes and evil I have practiced. He may forgive me, but the pain can’t be deleted from the world. So going forward instead of hurting people, I become part of his plan for healing people. God washing my hands deletes possible future evil I would’ve caused and makes me part of the solution.
In God we trust