Come now, and let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land:
Isaiah 1:18-19.
Please take the time to read the first 17 verses of this chapter. There you will find the sins of Israel mentioned with great clarity. For example verse 4 says: “Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the LORD, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward. And that is just one verse which mentions seven different sins that they were guilty of. But then we come to verses 18 & 19 which reveals the heart of God.
First, there is the invitation that comes from the heavenly Father; “Come now.” That sounds a great deal like the invitation of Jesus when he said, “Come unto me all that are heavy laden.” It is God Who is always pursuing the lost and not the lost pursuing God. It is because He “so loved the world” that He continues to reach out to the lost, the broken, the imprisoned and those bound by sin. The invitation continues for mankind to “come.”
Next, He says, “let us reason together.” Come now, let us reason together was more than a call for negotiations between the people and God. The word “reason” (yāk̠aḥ) is a law term used of arguing, convincing, or deciding a case in court. The people were to be convinced by their argumentation with God that He was right and they were wrong about their condition. The sad thing is that they refused to even sit down with God and “reason” with Him for they were set in their ways.
Later they would respond to Jeremiah in much the same way when they said, “But we will certainly do whatsoever thing goes forth out of our own mouth, to burn incense unto the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her, as we have done, we, and our fathers, our kings, and our princes, in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem: for then had we plenty of victuals, and were well, and saw no evil.” (Jeremiah 44:17) What would have happened if they had not refused the offer of God? They would have been forgiven and the forgiveness would have been total for God said, “Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” Such is God’s offer to this generation if they will only listen and obey. Such is God’s invitation to the wayward Christian who has drifted far from the truth. The invitation from the Heavenly Father is still the same, “Come.” Do you hear Him calling? Listen closely, amen.
