Princeton Presbyterian Church - Audio Worship, 2/8/2026, "The Lord Has Spoken", Isaiah 1.1-20

Princeton Presbyterian Church (EPC) Sermon # 1717

February 8, 2026

Isaiah 1.1-20 Click here for audio worship.

Dr. Ed Pettus

(This is an extended outline, not a verbatim transcript.)

“The Lord Has Spoken”

The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah. Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth; for the Lord has spoken: “Children have I reared and brought up, but they have rebelled against me. The ox knows its owner, and the donkey its master's crib, but Israel does not know, my people do not understand.” Ah, sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, offspring of evildoers, children who deal corruptly! They have forsaken the Lord, they have despised the Holy One of Israel, they are utterly estranged. Why will you still be struck down? Why will you continue to rebel? The whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. From the sole of the foot even to the head, there is no soundness in it, but bruises and sores and raw wounds; they are not pressed out or bound up or softened with oil. Your country lies desolate; your cities are burned with fire; in your very presence foreigners devour your land; it is desolate, as overthrown by foreigners. And the daughter of Zion is left like a booth in a vineyard,
like a lodge in a cucumber field, like a besieged city.

If the Lord of hosts had not left us a few survivors, we should have been like Sodom, and become like Gomorrah. Hear the word of the Lord, you rulers of Sodom! Give ear to the teaching of our God, you people of Gomorrah! “What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices? says the Lord; I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of well-fed beasts; I do not delight in the blood of bulls, or of lambs, or of goats. “When you come to appear before me, who has required of you this trampling of my courts? Bring no more vain offerings; incense is an abomination to me. New moon and Sabbath and the calling of convocations— I cannot endure iniquity and solemn assembly. Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hates; they have become a burden to me; I am weary of bearing them. When you spread out your hands, I will hide my eyes from you; even though you make many prayers, I will not listen; your hands are full of blood.

Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes; cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow's cause. “Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.

If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land; but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be eaten by the sword; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

Rebellious Children

Today we begin a series in the book of Isaiah. As a prophet, Isaiah brought to God’s people the Word of God whether that Word was in judgment or forgiveness, rebuke or renewed hope. Isaiah begins with an indictment on God’s people. To paraphrase: God’s children had been naughty. More than naughty, downright rebellious and disrespectful and sinful to the core. Isaiah had a vision wherein he saw and heard some disturbing news about God’s children, God’s people. The children God has raised, nurtured, delivered, and brought up to be His own had rebelled. The words that come from God’s mouth about them are: Israel does not know, they do not understand, they are sinful, evildoers, and they deal corruptly. Worse, as the indictment goes on, they had forsaken and despised the Lord! They are sick as in sickening.

I think that what Isaiah saw was a complete break of the Fourth Commandment. Deuteronomy 5.11 “‘You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.” One of the ways we break the Fourth Commandment is to offer vain sacrifices, going through the motions of religiosity rather than seeking to worship God in communion with Him. It is to offer sacrifices while in the midst of unrepentant sin. This is what Israel has done. Bring no more vain offerings; incense is an abomination to me. New moon and Sabbath and the calling of convocations— I cannot endure iniquity and solemn assembly.

I lean toward another possible translation of the word “take” in the Fourth Commandment, to take the Lord’s name in vain. I prefer the word “carry”. You shall not carry the name of the Lord your God in vain. The Hebrew word allows that alternate translation and the problem these days is that taking the Lord’s name in vain has been solely reduced to using God’s name in swear words, cussing, or the infamous OMG that we hear all the time. Gosh or other softened terms are just using God’s name in a different manner. But even the term “take” carries more weight than just the language we use. To “take” or “carry” the name and live in disobedience profanes the name. If one claims to be Christian, they are carrying the name of Christ in their identity. If that same person lives nothing like a Christian then they are breaking the Fourth Commandment even if they never speak the name in a vain manner. Those who conduct themselves this way are like those of Matthew 7.21-23,

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’

They carried the name and used the name but they did not know the One named. This is what we are seeing in Isaiah, a people who carry the name but do not reflect the name, do not honor or revere the name through their actions. This is a sign of a self-indulgent people. They practice a religion that becomes a self-satisfying empty vessel. Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hates; they have become a burden to me; I am weary of bearing them.

This is not simply an Old Testament vision, but it is a reality in some churches today and in some individual lives. We cannot just go through the motions of being good people who name the name without knowing the One named. We cannot worship without having a relationship with the One to whom we offer our worship. We cannot bring offerings for the sake of buying our way into the kingdom of heaven. God forbid we ever hear those words spoken to us, “I never knew you”.

Parental Chastisement

I have already spoken to some of the verses in this Isaiah passage that could be called parental chastisement. Verses 9-15 are not at all like a parent giving a nice “time out” kind of thing. God compares Israel to Sodom and Gomorrah. Sodom and Gomorrah were utterly destroyed for their moral corruption. Here in Isaiah, that same type of moral corruption is exposed through the people’s corrupt worship practices. They brought vain offerings signifying a worship experience void of meaning and integrity. They coupled together iniquity and solemn assembly, practicing sin and worship together. Even their feasts, celebrations of significant historical events in Israel’s life, became a burden to the Lord.

So they received some powerful rebuke. “Even though you make many prayers, I will not listen; your hands are full of blood.” There was no repentance, only grieving God’s Spirit. No sincerity, only contradiction and strife. God turned his ears from their hollow prayers. They were like those Jesus chastised in Matthew 23.27-28, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people's bones and all uncleanness. So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.”

This too was true in Isaiah’s day. God did not like it then and Jesus continued that kind of reprimand with the Jewish leadership in His day. The apostle Paul also practiced such discipline in his letters to churches. Particularly to the Galatians - “O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh” (3.1-3)?

Isaiah, Jesus, Paul, they all knew what we now call tough love. To them it was just holding people accountable to God’s commands and grace.

Second Chance

But Isaiah’s vision does not end with indictment and rebuke. God’s shows His grace, yes, even in the Old Testament! He gives Israel a second chance in a call to repentance. The people have an opportunity to start anew.

Wash off the crud. Shun the evil. Repent. Then, learn goodness, seek justice, correct oppression, practice justice. Clean up your lives and turn to life with God. The New Testament has a parallel to this in Colossians 3,

The crud - Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry (3.5).

The cleaning, what to learn - Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony (3.12-14).

What is missing in many churches today is this call to repentance, to confess one’s sins and recognize our need for Christ’s forgiveness. So often the call is to accept Jesus without any mention of our sinfulness. Normally we hear that God is love and accepts you as you are – and that is true, but God also requires of us a change of heart and mind and life. We are called to repent of sin, turning away from the things that are not of God. Put to death the sin. Remove the evil deeds from before God’s eyes. Yes, God does accept us, but not our sin. God transforms us, sanctifies us, and works in our lives until His work in complete at the coming of Christ. As Paul writes to the Philippians, And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ (Philippians 1.6).

How does God correct us? The primary way is through His Word, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3.16-17).

This is the way of the God who gives us a second chance, and even more chances than that.

The Lord Has Spoken

At the end of our reading for today, in Isaiah 1, we see these words, “for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” The Lord has spoken! There is a certain finalization in those words. Star Wars fans will know the show Mandolorian and one particular character names Kuiil. He is, of course, an alien species from another planet and when he speaks he will often say his peace and then conclude with – “I have spoken.” Then he just rides away on his alien animal as if no one else has anything to say.

For a while some people would try to end a conversation with “talk to the hand”. Parents will end any argument with a child with “because I said so”. God ends this speech with “for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” What else can be said?

But notice too that the second verse begins the speech in the same way, “Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth; for the Lord has spoken.” What has the Lord spoken from beginning to end? The simple outline is indictment (rebellious children), rebuke (parental chastisement), call to repent (second chance). Indict, repent, call. And God gives them a choice. In verses 19-20 we have a conditional response – If / then phrases - If you are willing and obedient, [then] you shall eat the good of the land; but if you refuse and rebel, [then] you shall be eaten by the sword; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

Choose this day whom you will serve. Listen up! When God speaks – get your eyes and head up, ears open, pay attention. The word “hear” in Isaiah 1.2 is shema. It is the same word used in what is known as The Great Shema from Deuteronomy 6.4-5, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.” The Hebrew for “hear” carries with it the meaning of listen and obey. We know that if we tell someone to do something and they might hear us but not do anything, they were not truly listening. This is especially true when God is calling us to repentance, when God is correcting, convicting, and pointing out the hypocrisy of our lives. We gladly hear the statements of love and care and grace, but we may be less receptive when God calls us to turn around, confess sin, and die to ourselves in order to follow Christ.

The Lord has spoken and just as He called out Israel’s sin, just as He corrects them in their corruption, and just as He gives them an opportunity for redemption, so too God has called out our sin, rebuked our corruption, and has given us the grace found in Jesus Christ to be set free from sin and death. Christ came to live and die and be raised from the dead so that we might see our sin, find the way to rebuke and repent of that sin, and know that Jesus is the only way to forgiveness, salvation, and sanctification. The Lord has spoken, through the prophets, through the Son, through the Word, all to tell us of His saving merciful grace and it is not just about the New Testament, but all through the Bible from beginning to end. For God has indeed spoken to us through His Word. “For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” He has spoken and my hope and prayer is that we will always be listening and obeying and seeking His counsel in His Word so that we may never become rebellious children in need of rebuke. But we know we are indeed sinners, and we need God to correct us, but at the same time, in Jesus Christ we are saved, loved, disciplined, and growing ever more eager to listen and obey. If you do not know the One who saves, if you have turned away from the Lord of life, this is the time to repent, confess, and seek His face. Christ died on the cross to wash away our sin. That is how we are washed clean. Only in Christ will be know the truth of these words, “though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.” These last few weeks we have seen a lot of snow. May we also see a lot of mercy and grace from the Lord our God as we seek to become more like Jesus. Amen.