"Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets" (Heb. 1:1). The words "vision" and "saw" are used to help the reader understand that the contents of this book were revealed to Isaiah by the Spirit of God. God is speaking.

The twelve tribes of Israel split into two kingdoms around 930 BC (1 Kings 12:13-19; 2 Chronicles 10:1-19). Roughly 10 of the 12 tribes make up the larger kingdom. This kingdom is often referred to as Israel (7:1), but also as Ephraim (7:9). The smaller kingdom is called Judah, because it consisted primarily of the tribe of Judah. It's this smaller kingdom that Isaiah's vision chiefly concerns. Judah's capital is Jerusalem.

Isaiah helps us date his vision by giving us a list of the kings of Judah that reigned while he received it. Isaiah was called by God the same year that Uzziah died (6:1). This places the beginning of his ministry around 740 BC.

The book begins with a courtroom scene. God is assembling His witness.

Scripture tells us that God "calls to the heavens above and to the earth, that he may judge his people" (Psalm 50:4). When God judges his people he calls upon a reliable, obedient witness.

The heavens and earth respond because "Yahweh has spoken." With a word Jesus calmed the raging storm, and his disciples asked in amazement, "Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?" (Mark 4:41). God speaks, and his creation listens.

The obedience of creation is in contrast to the disobedience of God's people. These aren't just any people, but God's "sons." Israel is God's son by divine choice, by God's act of redemption when he delivered them from Egyptian slavery (Exodus 4:22; Hosea 11:1; Matthew 2:14-15).

There are several words in these opening verses used to describe man's falleness. The first here is "transgressed," which refers to our rebellion in going beyond the bounds imposed by God's law. (See "sinful" and "iniquity" in verse 4.)

The animals seem to have more intelligence, and better judgment. At least the animals know who their owner is, and understand where they need to go to get fed.

But "Israel has not known." They've forgotten that God owns them. "For it is to me that the people of Israel are slaves{1}. They are my slaves whom I brought out of the land of Egypt: I am Yahweh your God." (Lev. 25:55). They "have not discerned" that "man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of Yahweh" (Deut. 8:3).

"Ah" expresses grief. God's people have let him down. He chose them and called them his children; he raised them, nurtured them, and made them great (v. 2). He expected the fruit of his labor to be a holy, righteous nation. Instead he finds a sinful nation, laden with iniquity. He is disappointed in them. "What more was there to do for my vineyard, that I have not done in it? When I looked for it to yield grapes, why did it yield wild grapes?" (5:4).

"Sinful" refers to missing the mark, failing to live up to God's standards for righteousness. "Iniquity" refers to man's condition; his moral depravity, inner wickedness, and corruption.

God's people have ignored his command to "serve him and hold fast to him" (Deut. 10:20). They've "abandoned Yahweh." They've foresaken God. They despise his ways, and refuse to obey his commandments.

God's people have turned their backs on him. They have turned away from loving him, and from obeying him.

Scripture talks about God striking nations so that they would turn back to him. "And Yahweh will strike Egypt, striking and healing, and they will return to Yahweh, and he will listen to their pleas for mercy and heal them" (19:22).

But here God's people are unrepentant. They refuse to turn to him. God's people are so hardened by sin that the more he strikes them, the more they rebel!

This verse describes the extent to which the nation has been struck down. This not only describes the severity of their wounds, because the "head" and "heart" are the most vital body parts, but also the totality of their wounds, because "all" their head and "all" their heart has been afflicted.

It's common in Scripture for God to punish someone by inflicting them with leprosy. "And the anger of Yahweh was kindled against them...And Aaron turned toward Miriam, and behold, she was leprous" (Numbers 12:9,10). One symptom of leprosy is disfiguring skin sores.

Building on the previous verse, Isaiah now describes the nation as a leprosy-stricken body. Again, the idea here is totality. The entire body is afflicted, from the sole of the foot to the top of the head.

The evidence for the nation's lack of repentance is found in the fact that their wounds aren't being tended to. They are not "pressed" or "bandaged" or "softened with oil." If God's people were repentant he would heal their wounds. But "the people did not turn to him who struck them" (9:13).

This verse explains literally what the last two have explained figuratively. The means by which God has struck his people is war. Their wounds are clearly visible.

This portion of the book is not in chronological order. Isaiah may be referring to invasions by the kings of Syria and northern Israel (7:1), and even invasions by the Assyrians (8:7-8). The details have been intentionally left out (6:1). The details aren't important right now.

What's important is the condition of the nation. The scene is a courtroom (v. 2). God has called his witness. He has accused his people of being sinful. Now he has accused them of being unrepentant, and here he is presenting his evidence. If the nation had repented, it would not be desolate. If the nation had been repentant, God would have healed its wounds.

The "daughter of Zion" refers to the city of Jerusalem. Most of the nation's cites are desolate (v. 7), but its capital still remains. Nevertheless, it stands vulnerable to attack, "like a booth in a vineyard," or "a lodge in a cucumber field."

Defeat seems certain, "like a besieged city." Jerusalem is described as a city that has been blockaded by the enemy. It was common in Isaiah's day for the invading army to surround a city and prevent anyone from entering or exiting. In this way the enemy could cut off the city's food and water supplies. Eventually the city would run out of resources and be forced to open its gates and let the enemy in.

Jerusalem "is left" only because God has preserved a remnant (v. 9).

Although Judah was desolate (1:7), it was not completely destroyed (1:8). Since God completely destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, the people of Judah concluded that they must be less sinful than those cities (19:23-26). But here Isaiah corrects them. The nation would have been like those cities had God not been merciful and and left some survivors. In fact, God names his people Sodom and Gomorrah in the very next verse!

This is the work of "Yahweh of hosts." God has spared some for the sake of his own name, to be praised for his mercy (Lam. 3:22 KJV), and to keep from being dishonored by other nations (Deut. 32:26-27; Ezek. 20:22). In addition, he has saved a remnant to keep his promise to Abraham, that all nations would be blessed through his seed (Gen. 22:18), and to David, that his throne would be established forever (2 Samuel 7:16).

This is also the work of the Sovereign God. The word "host" refers to "a multitude or great number of persons or things" (Genesis 2:1). It can also be translated "army(ies)" (Joshua 5:14). All the hosts of heaven and earth are under God's command. He is the Lord of everything he has created. His power and resources are limitless. Therefore, he is more than capable of protecting his people and providing for their survival.

Finally, the survivors are "few." God's remnant is always small in comparison to the number of those who perish. Jesus said, "Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few" (Matt. 7:13-14).

In the verses that follow, God will teach his people exactly what is wrong with their worship of him. "Hear the word...give ear to the teaching..." This is a command to hear and obey what God is about to say.

The mention of "rulers" and "people" expresses totality. The entire nation is corrupt and requires correction. "From the sole of the foot (people) even to the head (rulers), there is no soundness in it" (1:6).

Notice the names that God gives to his people: "You rulers of Sodom...you people of Gomorrah!" The people of Judah don't believe they are as wicked as these cities (1:9).

Burnt offerings were offered twice a day, every day (Ex. 29:38-42). So there was an "abundance" of them. The burnt offering was a whole burnt offering. The entire animal would be consumed on the alter. This included the fat and the blood. The fat, because "all fat is the LORD's" (Lev. 3:16). The blood, because "the life of the flesh is in the blood [and] it is the blood that makes atonement by the life" (Lev. 17:11).

It was God who commanded the offerings, but now he's had enough, because his people are unrepentant. To what purpose do unrepentant people make so many burnt offerings? What good do they do if you are disobedient? "Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams" (1 Samuel 15:22).

Delighted is translated from the same Hebrew word found in Isaiah 53:10, "Yet it pleased (delighted){2} the LORD to bruise [Jesus]; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin" (KJV). The only sacrifice that has pleased God and atoned for our sin is the death of his Son.[Motyer, 45-47]

What mattered most to God's people was the outward display of their worship. They were less concerned about the wickedness of their heart, and more concerned about being seen by God offering sacrifices. This wasn't the kind of worship that God desired, so "who has sought this from your hands?"

A present day example would be church attendance. Going to church every Sunday doesn't make us righteous before God. If we consistently live unrepentant lives during the week, and believe that God is only concerned about our physical presence at church, then we are doing little more than "trampling" God's courts each Sunday morning.

God appointed these sacrifices for specific reasons. They existed to help us understand the holiness of God, the severity of our sin, and that reconciliation can happen only through the shedding of blood. Above all, they were meant to teach us the need for a perfect sacrifice (Isaiah 53:5; Hebrews 7:18-28).

But God's people distored these sacrifices. They behaved as if the physical act itself was the only thing that God placed value in, and they did not take into consideration the object and purpose for which God had commanded them. Calvin explained this well when he wrote, "hypocrites observe them with the most scrupulous care, as if the whole religion turned on this point, and think that they are the most devout of all men, when they have long and anxiously wearied themselves in observing them...and most wickedly abuse the holy ordinances of God by not keeping in view their true object."[Calvin, 53-62]

This verse references occasions in which offerings were made in addition to the regular, daily offerings.

God's people were required to give a special burnt offering at the beginning of each month, or "new moon" (Num. 28:11-15), as well as a double burnt offering each and every "sabbath" day (Num. 28:9-10). There were numerous times throughout the year when the nation would assemble and worship God with offerings. At the conclusion of the Feast of Booths, for example, the people were instructed to "hold a holy convocation and present a food offering to the LORD. It is a solemn assembly" (Lev. 23:34-36).

Not only has God had enough of the regular, daily offerings (1:11), he can no longer endure the special offerings. Therefore, "Do not bring more empty tributes [of any kind, or at any time]."

Again, God rejects the offerings and assemblies because they are from unrepentant people.

Here some of the same ideas are being repeated. The "new moons" and "appointed times" were special occassions to worship God with offerings (1:13). But now God "hates" them.

There may be a reason why God calls them "your" new moons and "your" appointed feasts. They are no longer God's, because the people don't use these times to worship him the way he's commanded. The people offer to him a multitude of sacrifices (1:11), and draw near to be seen by him (1:12); but all this is in vain (1:13), because they refuse to repent (1:5). "This people draw near with their mouth and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me, and their fear of me is a commandment taught by men" (29:13).

God moves from offerings (11-14), to praises and prayers. These too are done in vain. "I will hide my eyes" from their praise. "I will not be listening" to their prayers.

Notice from verse 11 that the people offer an "abundance" of sacrifices. Here they make "many" prayers. The quantity of sacrifices and prayers hasn't done them any good. Increasing the amount of worship is useless as long as you remain unrepentant.

Praises and prayers can outwardly involve the use of our hands. When people praise God they often "spread out" their hands and lift them toward heaven. When people pray to God they often bring there hands together in front of them.

Therefore, God brings attention to their hands. The people were concerned with the outward actions they made with their hands. But God sees through this: "Your hands have been full of blood." Blood is a reference to murder, but not in the physical sense of the word. "Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer." (1 John 3:15). This will become clearer in verse 17, 21 and 23.

The people are breaking God's commandments: "For the commandments, 'You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,' and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'" (Rom. 13:9).