Isaiah's Prophecy Light for all Mankind -The Cure for Spiritual Sickness

The Cure for Spiritual Sickness

Jehovah, the compassionate God, now shifts to a warmer, more appealing tone.  "Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the badness of your dealings from in front of my eyes; cease to do bad. Learn to do good; search for justice; set right the oppressor; render judgment for the fatherless boy; plead the cause of a widow."  (Isaiah 1:16, 17)   Here we find a string of nine imperatives, or commands.  The first four are  negative in the sense that they involve the removal of sin; the last five are positive actions that lead to receiving Jehovah's blessing. 

Washing and cleanness have always been an important part of true worship.  (Exodus 19:10, 11; 30:20; 2 Corinthians 7:1)  But Jehovah wants the cleansing  to go deeper, into the very heart of his worshipers.   Most important is moral and spiritual cleanliness, and this is what Jehovah refers to.  The first two commands in verse 16 are not mere repetition.  A Hebrew grammarian suggests that the first "wash yourselves," refers to an initial act of cleansing, whereas the second, "make yourselves clean" refers to ongoing efforts to maintain that cleanness.

We can hide nothing from Jehovah.  (Job 34:22; Proverbs 15:3; Hebrews 4:13) So his command, "Remove the badness from your dealings from in front of my  eyes," can only mean one thing-to cease doing bad.  That means not attempting to conceal serious sins, for doing so is a sin in  itself.  Proverbs 28:13 warns:  "He that is covering over his transgressions will not succeed, but he that is confessing and leaving them will be shown mercy."

Next time: Conclusion of The Cure for Spiritual Sickness

From the Book Isaiah's Prophecy Light for all Mankind