The Covenant Lawsuit: Religion God Hates Text: Isaiah 1:1-20
Introduction: The Courtroom of God
We live in an age that has tried to domesticate God. We want a God who fits neatly into a one-hour slot on Sunday morning, a God who is concerned with our "personal spiritual life" but who has the good manners not to meddle in our business, our politics, or our public life. We have created a quiet, respectable, pietistic deity who would never dream of raising His voice. This is a god of our own making, a harmless idol, and he does not exist.
The God of the Bible, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, is the sovereign King of heaven and earth. He is not a silent partner. He is a plaintiff, a prosecutor, and a judge. The book of Isaiah opens not with a gentle devotional but with a blistering legal summons. This is a covenant lawsuit. God is hauling His people, Judah, into the divine courtroom, and He calls the whole cosmos, the heavens and the earth, to serve as the jury.
The charge is covenant rebellion. The people of God had fallen into the deadly trap of thinking that religious activity could be a substitute for righteous living. They were meticulous in their sacrifices but monstrous in their injustice. They sang the psalms on the Sabbath and preyed on widows during the week. They thought they could bribe God with burnt offerings while their hands were dripping with the blood of the oppressed. And God's response through Isaiah is a thunderous repudiation of this entire way of life. He declares that their worship, far from pleasing Him, has become an abomination.
This is a terrifying word, but it is a necessary one. This is not just a history lesson about ancient Israel. This is a perpetual temptation for the people of God in every generation, including our own. It is the temptation to separate the sacred from the secular, to have our religion in one box and our life in another. Isaiah is here to tell us that God will not be compartmentalized. He claims every square inch. He demands not just our rituals, but our righteousness. And as we shall see, this lawsuit, which seems to bring only condemnation, is actually the gateway to one of the most glorious gospel invitations in all of Scripture.
The Text
The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz concerning Judah and Jerusalem, which he beheld in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah. Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth; For Yahweh speaks, "Sons I have reared and raised up, But they have transgressed against Me. An ox knows its owner, And a donkey its master's manger, But Israel does not know; My people do not perceive." Alas, sinful nation, People heavy with iniquity, Seed of evildoers, Sons who act corruptly! They have forsaken Yahweh; They have spurned the Holy One of Israel; They have become estranged from Him. Where will you be stricken again, As you continue in your rebellion? The whole head is sick, And the whole heart is faint. From the sole of the foot even to the head There is nothing sound in it, Only bruises, wounds, and raw wounds, Not pressed out, not bandaged, Not softened with oil. Your land is desolate; Your cities are burned with fire; Your fields, strangers are devouring them in your presence; It is desolate, as overthrown by strangers. The daughter of Zion is left like a shelter in a vineyard, Like a watchman's hut in a cucumber field, like a besieged city. Unless Yahweh of hosts Had left us a few survivors, We would be like Sodom, We would be like Gomorrah. Hear the word of Yahweh, You rulers of Sodom; Give ear to the law of our God, You people of Gomorrah. "What are your multiplied sacrifices to Me?" Says Yahweh. "I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams And the fat of fed cattle; And in the blood of bulls, lambs, or goats I take no pleasure. When you come to appear before Me, Who requires of you this trampling of My courts? Bring your worthless offerings no longer, Incense is an abomination to Me. New moon and sabbath, the calling of convocation, I cannot endure wickedness and the solemn assembly. My soul hates your new moon festivals and your appointed times, They have become a burden to Me; I am weary of bearing them. So when you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide My eyes from you; Indeed, even though you multiply prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are full of blood. "Wash yourselves, purify yourselves; Remove the evil of your deeds from before My eyes. Cease to do evil, Learn to do good; Seek justice, Reprove the ruthless, Execute justice for the orphan, Plead for the widow. "Come now, and let us reason together," Says Yahweh, "Though your sins are as scarlet, They will be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They will be like wool. If you are willing and obey, You will eat the best of the land; But if you refuse and rebel, You will be eaten by the sword." For the mouth of Yahweh has spoken.
(Isaiah 1:1-20 LSB)
The Arraignment: Unnatural Rebellion (vv. 1-4)
The court is called to session. Yahweh is the plaintiff, Isaiah is the prosecuting attorney, and Judah is the defendant in the dock. God calls the heavens and the earth as witnesses, the very creation that has silently observed Judah's treachery.
"Sons I have reared and raised up, But they have transgressed against Me. An ox knows its owner, And a donkey its master's manger, But Israel does not know; My people do not perceive." (Isaiah 1:2b-3)
The charge begins with the language of heartbroken fatherhood. "Sons I have reared and raised up." This is not a dispute with a stranger; this is a family matter. This is betrayal from within the house. God's charge is that His own children have rebelled. And their rebellion is not just sinful; it is profoundly stupid. It is unnatural. God says that even a dumb ox has the basic sense to know who feeds him. A donkey knows where to go for his food. But Israel, gifted with the law, the covenants, and the prophets, is dumber than a beast of burden. They do not know their Master. This is a wilful ignorance, a culpable blindness. They have forgotten the source of their life, their breath, and their bread.
The indictment intensifies in verse 4. God unleashes a volley of four devastating descriptions. They are a "sinful nation," a corporate entity defined by its sin. They are a "people heavy with iniquity," weighed down, crushed under the sheer mass of their guilt. They are a "seed of evildoers," meaning this is a generational problem, a corrupt inheritance passed down. And they are "sons who act corruptly," actively and creatively pursuing their own destruction. The result is a complete relational breakdown: they have forsaken, spurned, and become estranged from the Holy One of Israel. They have turned their backs on their God.
The Diagnosis: Cancer of the Soul (vv. 5-9)
Having stated the charge, God now presents the evidence. The evidence is the state of the nation itself. It is a body riddled with disease, a land laid waste by judgment.
"The whole head is sick, And the whole heart is faint. From the sole of the foot even to the head There is nothing sound in it, Only bruises, wounds, and raw wounds, Not pressed out, not bandaged, Not softened with oil." (Isaiah 1:5b-6)
This is a terrifying diagnosis of total depravity. The sin is not a localized infection. It is systemic. It has corrupted every part of the body politic. The "head" is sick, meaning the leadership is corrupt. The "heart" is faint, meaning the will and affections of the people are failing. The entire nation is one giant, untreated wound. The covenant curses they were warned about in Deuteronomy are coming upon them. Their cities are burned, their land is desolate, and their enemies are feasting on their inheritance right in front of them.
Zion, the holy city, is left like a flimsy shack in a field after the harvest, isolated and vulnerable. And yet, in the middle of this grim picture, a shaft of light breaks through. It is the doctrine of the remnant.
"Unless Yahweh of hosts Had left us a few survivors, We would be like Sodom, We would be like Gomorrah." (Isaiah 1:9)
Their continued existence is not due to any lingering goodness in them. It is due entirely to the sovereign grace of God. He has preserved a remnant. If He had given them what they truly deserved, they would have been wiped off the map, just like the cities of the plain. This is crucial. Before God offers any solution, He makes it clear that their only hope, from beginning to end, lies in His unilateral, electing grace.
The Rejection: Worship God Hates (vv. 10-15)
Now God turns His attention to their religion, and what He says is shocking. He addresses the leaders of Jerusalem as the "rulers of Sodom" and its people as the "people of Gomorrah." He is saying that His own covenant city has become morally equivalent to the byword for sexual perversion and divine judgment.
"What are your multiplied sacrifices to Me? Says Yahweh. I have had enough... I cannot endure wickedness and the solemn assembly. My soul hates your new moon festivals and your appointed times..." (Isaiah 1:11, 13-14)
This is one of the most important passages in Scripture for understanding the nature of true worship. God is not rejecting the sacrificial system He Himself instituted. He is rejecting their use of it. They were treating the temple like a spiritual car wash, a place to get superficially cleansed of the filth they fully intended to go roll in again. They were trying to use religious ritual as a cover for their injustice. Their worship was a lie. And God says He hates it. It is a burden to Him. He is weary of it. When they pray, He plugs His ears and hides His eyes. Why? The reason is given in one devastating line: "Your hands are full of blood." Their public life of oppression and injustice had so poisoned their spiritual life that their very worship had become wicked.
The Prescription and the Promise (vv. 16-20)
After this blistering takedown, God provides the true path to restoration. It is not more religion, but genuine repentance. The prescription has two parts.
"Wash yourselves, purify yourselves; Remove the evil of your deeds from before My eyes. Cease to do evil, Learn to do good; Seek justice, Reprove the ruthless, Execute justice for the orphan, Plead for the widow." (Isaiah 1:16-17)
First, they must put off the old life. They must stop sinning. "Cease to do evil." But repentance does not stop there. Second, they must put on the new life. "Learn to do good." And notice how practical and public this goodness is. It is not about quiet times and sweet feelings. It is about actively pursuing justice in the public square. It is about confronting the powerful ("reprove the ruthless") and defending the powerless ("execute justice for the orphan, plead for the widow"). True spirituality is not ethereal; it is earthy, practical, and just.
And it is only after this call to repentance that God extends the most beautiful invitation imaginable.
"Come now, and let us reason together, Says Yahweh, Though your sins are as scarlet, They will be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They will be like wool." (Isaiah 1:18)
The Judge of all the earth, who has every right to condemn, invites the guilty defendant to come and talk. And He offers an impossible cleansing. Scarlet and crimson were colors made from crushed insects, dyes famous for their permanence. Once a garment was stained scarlet, it was scarlet for good. But God promises to perform a miracle of grace. He promises to take the most permanently stained, blood-soaked sinners and make them pure, clean, white as snow. This is the gospel. This is a promise that can only be fulfilled by the blood of another, the blood of the Lamb, which does not stain but cleanses.
The chapter concludes with the covenant choice set before them, and before us. Obedience leads to blessing, eating the best of the land. Rebellion leads to the curse, being eaten by the sword. The mouth of Yahweh has spoken. The choice is ours.
Our Verdict in Christ
As we read this chapter, we have to see ourselves in the dock. We are the ones whose heads are sick and hearts are faint. We are the ones who have tried to placate God with religious observances while our hearts are far from Him. Our hands are not clean. Our sins are as scarlet.
The lawsuit God brought against Judah is the lawsuit He has against all of us. And the verdict is guilty. The sentence is death. But the good news of the gospel is that another has stepped into the courtroom on our behalf. Jesus Christ, the only truly innocent one, stood before the Judge and took our guilty verdict upon Himself.
He is the one who perfectly fulfilled the demands of verses 16 and 17. He always did good, sought justice, and defended the helpless. And on the cross, He took the curse. He was "eaten by the sword" of God's wrath so that we, through faith in Him, could be forgiven and declared righteous.
The scarlet stain of our sin was laid on Him, so that His perfect white righteousness could be credited to us. The promise of Isaiah 1:18 is a reality because of the cross of Jesus Christ. Therefore, the call to us is to come. Come and reason with God. Acknowledge your guilt. Abandon your hypocritical religion. And receive the free gift of a cleansing you could never earn. Cease to do evil, learn to do good, and trust in the finished work of the One who makes crimson souls as white as snow.