The judgment will not annihilate God’s people; it will purify them. Yes, they will need to go through the judgment into exile in Babylon, but there will be survivors—a new city, transformed from faithless to faithful.

The beginning of Isaiah is like the whole book in miniature. On its surface, the book is a tale of one city, Jerusalem. The first half is about Jerusalem in her rebellious stage, and the second half is about Jerusalem in her redeemed stage. But the people of Jerusalem are a picture of all God’s people. And what transforms the city is the gospel—the good news of how God saves his people, through judgment, for the transformation of the world. This means Isaiah is also about how God saves us, and about how he will one day transform the whole world.

Here in the opening section, Isaiah introduces us to six aspects of his gospel message. He does so using several pictures, which I will point out as we go. Together, they form a miniature of what the whole book of Isaiah is about: the gospel story of how God saves his people, through judgment, for the transformation of the world.

Gospel Truth #1: The problem of our sin.

The first picture Isaiah gives us is of a Father with rebellious children. This is one of the greatest heartaches for any parent, isn’t it? The Lord (it’s his personal, covenant name when the Bible prints it in small capital letters) has been intimately involved in his people’s upbringing.

Yet, their response is to tell him to get out of their lives: “They have despised the Holy One of Israel” (Isaiah 1:4).

Notice that sin is first of all a problem between us and God. We spurn the God who made us, loves us, and cares for us. Notice also that sin makes us permanently sick; it becomes a lingering wound that cannot be “softened with oil” (Isaiah 1:6). This picture shows that when we sin, it’s not so easy to stop. We become stubborn. We would rather stay sick than ask for healing. We can’t save ourselves; God has to step in.

Gospel Truth #2: The futility of our religious show.

When we fall into sin, we mustn’t think our religious offerings and festivals and prayers will save us. God says, “I will not listen; your hands are full of blood” (Isaiah 1:15). Religiously keeping Sunday while morally sleeping Monday through Saturday is hypocrisy. Read the list in verse 17 and ask yourself if this is at the forefront of your Christian life: ceasing from evil, doing good, seeking justice, correcting oppression, helping the helpless and needy.

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