How bad is too bad? How evil can a nation of people become before they are too far gone? 

The beginning of the book of Isaiah describes the nation of Israel and how far they had gone from the God who called them out of Egypt and made them His people. The Holy Spirit, through Isaiah, delivers a stinging rebuke of the wickedness of the nation. They did not remember God, even though the animals knew their masters (Isaiah 1:3). They are like a wound that has not been cared for, from their head to the foot, from the greatest to the least, there was no soundness in them (Isaiah 1:5, 6). The country was left desolate, and if not for the grace of God to leave a small number of faithful, they would have met the same fate as Sodom and Gomorrah (Isaiah 1:9). The sacrifices the people offered were no longer pleasing to God, because how can you worship a God that you don’t love and obey. They were going through the motions, and God said He had had enough of it (Isaiah 1:12-14). Even when they prayed to God, He would not hear them because of their wickedness (Isaiah 1:15).

So, are they too far gone? Did the nation of Israel reach a point that God would not or could not save them?

“Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; put away the evil of your doings from before My eyes. Cease to do evil,learn to do good; seek justice, rebuke the oppressor; defend the fatherless, plead for the widow. “Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the Lord, “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool. If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land.” (Isaiah 1:16-19). 

The answer is a resounding no! They were not too far gone, and neither is anyone today! God calls on the nation to wash themselves, repent of their evil, and do good to those they exercised their evil on. God called on them to do things that He still calls on people today to do:

1. Wash yourself. This washing is in the moral sense. Israel needed to put away its sins. The New Testament tells us this happens at baptism – Acts 2:38

2. Cease to do evil and learn to do good. Israel had to renounce sin and stop doing all the things that God hates. They then needed to know to do good to become accustomed to it. Paul gives this description to the church in Ephesus – Ephesians 5:8-21

3. Seek justice. Instead of trying to gain an advantage through bribes and promoting themselves, they aimed to treat others fairly. Jesus said we need to treat others as we want others to treat us – Matthew 7:12

4. Rebuke the oppressor. They were to cause the sinner to walk the straight path. We have the same encouragement in James 5:19, 20

5. Defend the fatherless and plead for the widows. Orphans and widows are some of the most vulnerable in society. They need someone to plead their case and not abuse them as Israel was doing. We must care for the fatherless widows in their affliction – James 1:27

What would be the result if Israel listened to the word of God that Isaiah was preaching? Their sins were dyed a bright red, double-dipped sins that mar the soul and cannot be cleaned or washed out by the sinner; God would forgive those sins to the point that their souls would be as bright as snow! Pure white throughout all the ages represents purity and innocence, as in the case of Jesus – Matthew 17:2; Revelation 1:14

Nobody is too far gone, too many times dyed in the red crimson, for God to forgive! But just as Isaiah told Israel, God tells all people, “If you are willing and obedient…” (Isaiah 1:19). We must first be willing to change, wanting the forgiveness of sins. But it cannot end there; we must remain obedient to the Lord and not go back into sin. 

“What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.” (Romans 6:1-4)

By: Justin Odom