"Come now, let us argue this out," says the Lord. "No matter how deep the stain of your sins, I can remove it. I can make you as clean as freshly fallen snow. Even if you are stained as red as crimson, I can make you as white as wool."
Commentary:
"In the midst of this severe warning by the prophet of God comes an invitation to choose between pardon and destruction. Wash you does not indicate that the sinner may cleanse himself, but rather that he must accept the cleansing which is offered to him from the Lord. That such cleansing will be complete in its effects is illustrated by the contrast: cease to do evil; learn to do well. Isaiah indicates that this will come about when they genuinely repent and put away their evil and shall totally turn to the Lord.
Notice the interchangeable use of justice (Heb mishpat) and judge (Heb shapat). In the Hebrew mind there was no true justice without judgment, and there was no judgment without justice. The verb judge (shiphetū) in reference to the poor, not only means to be concerned for the poor, but to deliver the poor (as in the case of the use of the word in the book of Judges). The prophet"s appeal to come and reason together shows God"s gracious invitation to all men.
This is another legal term meaning to implead one another. Notice that sin is described here as being scarlet and red like crimson, not black. While the colors indicate the crimson dye of the scarlet worm, which is absolutely colorfast and indelible, it also refers to their blood-guiltiness before God. Thus the changing of colors from indelible red to snowy white is symbolic of the life-changing grace of God.God stands ever ready to cleanse us and to forgive us when we turn to Him."
"There is no call for a compromise here; the people were to come to an agreement with God concerning the enormous gravity of their sin. God was not declaring His people innocent of wickedness, but He was prepared to pardon their sins if they would repent and turn to Him.
God offers us that same forgiveness. He does not deny our sinfulness. Instead, He can forgive us based on the payment for sin in the death of the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. Says the Lord: The verb form suggests a repeated offering of grace. Scarlet recalls the picture of "hands " full of blood" (v. 15). God"s grace and power can make such bloodstains as white as snow (Rom. 3:21"26). The words scarlet " white also suggest the idea of soiled garments (64:6) that in ancient times were not capable of being cleansed (namely, to whiteness). But God can cleanse anything. He can do this and still maintain His righteousness because Jesus died for sinners (Rom. 3:21"26)."
I know so many times in our Christian lives we stumble along the way, but we need to remember God loves us and will forgive us if we come to him with an genuine heart and ask for forginess of our sins.Whenever I stumble I remember Psalm 37:24, "Though he stumlbe, he will not fall, for the Lord upholds him with his hand." Yes I stumble from time to time, butmy stumbles justshow me how much I truly need God, how muchGod is always there for me,and how I can't be a Christian on my own no matter how strong willedI thinkI am.
A manmay be faithful, but his sinful nature always travels withhim.
"Dear heavenly Father, I pray that you will bring me to my senses in every area where I have succumbed to sin-or am tempted to. Thank you for loving me so much that no matter how many times I falter, you always accept my repentance with joy and forgiveness" I prayall these in things in your son's precious andHoly name Jeus Christ, amen.
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Faith sees the invisible, believes the unbelievable, and receives the impossible.
Thanks for the post. God has given you a beautiful gift, He is going to use you for some very wonderful things and He allready is. Thank you for choosing to allow Him to use you. He is going to bless lives through you. Keep up the good work.
Forgiveness of Sins....
