Live in Relationship, not Rebellion

Isaiah 1:1-31
Related Sunday School Lesson, Family Bible Series, Nov. 5

One of the things that is common about the book of Isaiah is that it derives its name from the prophet who wrote it. This is seen throughout the Old Testament. What is interesting is that the name “Isaiah” means, “the Lord is salvation.” The name Isaiah is very similar also to the names Joshua, Elisha, and Jesus.

The very first chapter Isaiah is setting the tone for what the rest of the book would be about. He is reminding them that the Lord is where their salvation resides. He is their hope. It is not found in anyone or anything else! But it is more than just a religion! It is a relationship.

Isaiah wants the people of God to know being right with God is more than just being religious. It is first and foremost a relationship with the one true and living God. Not some dead orthodoxy. The truth of this relationship is seen in knowing, loving, and obeying God. These are the true expressions of real righteousness.

Today, many adults are prevented from having a biblical worldview where religious faith is foremost a living, growing relationship with the Divine Person – God! Unfortunately, they have chosen a human-centered worldview that prevents them from living in a right and real relationship with God.

Join with me this week in noting what really matters in this relationship that Isaiah is proclaiming to the people.

I. What is lost matters (vv. 2-4)

The Lord uses Isaiah to get right to the point of the matter. What basically had happened was that the people, not God, had walked away from their relationship with Him! God, in the role of a prosecutor/judge charges the Judahites with abandonment.

As a result of this they had lost their knowledge, understanding, purity, and innocence in relationship to their covenant with God.

The point is made in verse 3 that even an ox and a donkey have better sense than to break fellowship with their master.

If this was true of an animal how much more was it true for God’s covenant people – the Israelites! Yet, God’s people don’t seem to realize that it is foolish.

We can no more afford to survive on our own any more than the ox and the donkey can survive without its owner or master. God called Israel and God calls us, as Christians, to put all of our trust and dependence in Him.

For genuine Christians, this should have started when we first trusted God to forgive us and deliver us from our guilt.

When we are not right with God, it matters!

II. Why I worship matters (vv. 10-15)

God really gives us an insight into His heart on this matter of acceptable worship. There are not a lot of times that the Lord uses the word “hate.” But here, in relationship to ritualistic, meaningless worship, God says that He hates it.

Most of the time when we think of the sinfulness of God’s people in the era of the prophets we forget that most of the people were still (as we say in our day … “going to church”). They would say one thing on Sunday and do something else on Monday.

This was never more true than it was in Isaiah’s day! God hated it then, He hated it in Jesus’ day with the Pharisees, and He still hates it today. As it was put to King Saul, “obedience is better than sacrifice.” (1 Samuel 15:22)

This is what God saw in their participating in worship activities. It was just show. It was not real and most importantly it was not acceptable to God! Jesus, in His conversation with the woman at the well, expressed this same sentiment in John 4:23, “But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.”

We must remind our people that worship matters.

III. How I live matters (vv. 16-20)

This was what I believe was precisely the point being made about worship. You see real worship transcends what you say and do in a sanctuary into how you really live and act in everyday life. Jesus expressed this feeling very adamantly in Luke 6:46, “And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?”

God’s point to them and to us is: “Who do you really think you are fooling”? God made it clear that it’s not fooling Him!

If we are as serious as we make ourselves out to be in worship, then we will not only desire to have pure lives, but we will take steps to rid ourselves of sinful attitudes and actions. We will replace those attitudes and actions with positive steps of pursuing goodness and righteousness. We will see God’s reasoning about the issues and repent!

It’s more than just wiping the “guilt slate clean” through God’s forgiveness. It is learning and doing good things that exhibit God’s character. Today, for the believer, it’s a matter of understanding why we have been saved. Ephesians 2:10 says it is “…unto good works.”

We cannot forget that how we live matters!

Live different

In verses 18-20 we come to the solution that God is using Isaiah to drive home to the people. True biblical repentance involves a change of attitude as well as a change of action.

If we will admit our sin and come to the Lord, He will do the cleaning up of our lives and we will live different from the world!