I sat with a group of men this week and we discussed the Opening chapters of Isaiah. This is a daunting task. Unraveling the depths of possibly the most prolific prophet of the Scriptures.
In particular we honed in on a beautiful passage and its parallel in Psalms. And as usual, there is more!
Isaiah 1:17-18 “Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow. Come now, and let us reason together, saith 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.”
We can see through the progression of the Scriptures how this Law of Redemption is manifest in the life of Jesus Christ. First we see the prophesy in Isaiah made perfect in Revelation. But how?
Look at the breakdown of the Hebrew terms.
17 Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve (H833 אָשַׁר ‘ashar (aw-shar’) v. to be straight) the oppressed (H2541 חָמוֹץ chamowts (chaw-motse’) n-m. the cruel man.), judge (H8199 שָׁפַט shaphat (shaw-fat’) v.avenge) the fatherless (orphans, the bereaved person), plead for the widow.
(James 1:27 “Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.”)
18 Come now, and let us reason (H3198 יָכחַ yakach (yaw-kach’) v. to decide, justify or convict.) together, saith 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.
When we think about the fatherless and widows are we always thinking about the human condition? Or do we equate these words to the spiritual condition. The fatherless, in this case, would be those that do not know of Yehovah, the Creator and the salvation through Yeshua Messiah [Jesus]. They may have grown up Hindu, Buddhist, or any of a thousand other religions.
Likewise, the widow, would equate to those previously the Bride of Christ, those sealed at the first mount… Sinai. They became widows at the death and burial of the husband. They, like everyone today and everyone ever born, have a choice. They can betroth themselves to the bridegroom or walk away. The orphans often spoken of in scripture… I equate that to the people that were squeezed out, mistreated and otherwise “hurt” by the ‘church’. Usually personal conflict unresolved. Sad but true.
This leads us to the ministry of Yeshua/Jesus. What did he say he was here to do? Reconnect these lost souls to Yehovah!
Luke 4:18 records the following “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised”
With verse 17 identifying the who, verse 18 in Isaiah chapter one explains the motive. It is reasonable that God, because of mercy and grace, would want to repair a broken relationship. This is the parable of the Prodigal son. They were at one time in right relationship to the King and squandered it. The fathers mercy allowed wayward son home and the Kings grace restored him.
Now for this beautiful part of Psalm 22:
Psalm 22:1-6 My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring?
- Mark 15:34 And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?
O my God, I cry in the day time, but thou hearest not; and in the night season, and am not silent. But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel. Our fathers trusted in thee: they trusted, and thou didst deliver them. They cried unto thee, and were delivered: they trusted in thee, and were not confounded. But I am a worm*, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people.
Remember in John’s gospel… “He came unto His own and they knew him not.” They had gotten so far away from the Scriptures they forgot what God looked like. Sounds familiar… oh yeah Matthew 7:23. …. Back to the worm….
*H8438 תּוֹלָע towla` (to-law’) n-m. the crimson-grub, but used only {in this connection} of the color from it, and cloths dyed therewith. Usually in the Bible, the Hebrew word for a worm is “rimmah”, which means a maggot – but the Hebrew word Jesus used here for worm, is Towla.
The Crimson worm [coccus ilicis] is a very special worm that looks more like a grub than a worm. When it is time for the female to have babies, which she does only once in her life, she willingly climbs the trunk of a Kermes Oak tree and attaches her body.
In the same way Yeshua willingly took up the cross, once for our salvation, and producing an offspring for the Father.
The worm then secretes a crimson, or deep red fluid which creates a hard shell of protection for the babies. This fluid will leave a permanent stain on the tree. After the worm has attached herself and laid her eggs there is a 3 day period in which the head and the tail of the mother worm encompass the eggs forming the shape of a heart.
In order for the offspring to escape the shell becomes white like snow and softens. This is a natural shellac that now preserves the tree.
The significance of the tree reference shouldn’t be lost to anyone after Paul’s dissertation in Romans chapter eleven…. and the garden….
Now for the conclusion… us, you and me, in white, clean and ready. Paul urges us towards this goal in 2 Corinthians 11:2. The parable of the Wedding feast comes to mind. The one not dressed properly was tossed instantly. And what happened to the rest you ask? They enjoyed the feast. They communed with the Father. We see this portrayed in the parable of the 10 virgins; those with the light went on with the bridegroom, while the others had no oil and could not continue.
First we see our Savior example it for us. Matthew 17:2 “And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light.” The human flesh purified and prepared for eternity. This is the promise Paul talks about in 1 Corinthians 15:52! Boom! How incredible.
Revelation 3:5 “He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.”
So who among you out there is an overcomer? And what are we overcoming? The world. True. Paul seems to think we can be ‘more than’ overcomers. Paul’s cheering you on…. I’m cheering you on… but more importantly… Jesus …God himself…. is CHEERING YOU on to Victory.
Sometimes its the little things that have the biggest impact … specially in marriage…
PS: Happy 29th to my own bride!
Berean Breadcrumbs 
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