Isaiah 1:19 - Printer Friendly

ESV: If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land;

NIV: If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the good things of the land;

NASB: If you are willing and obedient, You will eat the best of the land;

CSB: If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the good things of the land.

NLT: If you will only obey me, you will have plenty to eat.

KJV: If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land:

NKJV: If you are willing and obedient, You shall eat the good of the land;

The Lord has urged His people Israel to stop their meaningless worship rituals and to change the direction of their lives. He wants them to clean themselves by stopping their evil practices and beginning to do the good work of taking care of the disadvantaged living among them. If they will do this, the Lord has said, their blood-red stains of sin can become as white as snow (Isaiah 1:18).

Though the Lord is clear in his instructions. This will require the Israelites to be intentional about how they live. They must be wholehearted participants in pursing to obey Him. If they do so, He will bring prosperity to them. He will give them all they need, including safety and security from their enemies. The opposite choice will bring starkly different consequences (Isaiah 1:20) .

Isaiah 1:2–20 begins a presentation somewhat like a lawsuit against the people of Judah in Israel. The Lord will show many of the ways they have broken their covenant with Him. The people are saturated with sin. They have forsaken Him. Isaiah describes a spiritual sickness Israel refuses to treat. It will lead to their physical destruction by enemy invaders. Their offerings are meaningless because of their sinful rebellion. God calls them to stop sinning and to do good. He offers to make their sins white as snow if they repent and to consume them if they rebel.

After identifying himself as the son of Amoz, Isaiah begins his vision from the Lord with the introduction of God's lawsuit against the people of Israel. His children are living in rebellion against Him. They are saturated in sin and have forsaken the Lord. Their spiritual sickness will lead to their destruction, though a few will be saved. Their offerings are meaningless because of their sinful lifestyles. If they repent now, they will be redeemed. If not, they will be destroyed. The Lord will restore justice to once righteous Jerusalem. All who do not repent will be consumed.

Isaiah 1 begins Isaiah's massive book of prophecy with the Lord presenting a lawsuit against His people Israel in Judah for breach of covenant. They live in rebellion against Him and are saturated in sin. They refuse to treat their spiritual illness and will be decimated by their enemies. Their offerings are meaningless. They must stop doing evil and start doing what is good. The Lord will burn off the corrupt from Jerusalem and return it to a place of justice and righteousness. Those who refuse to repent will be broken and destroyed.

Isaiah is among the most important prophetic books in the entire Bible. The first segment details God's impending judgment against ancient peoples for sin and idolatry (Isaiah 1—35). The second part of Isaiah briefly explains a failed assault on Jerusalem during the rule of Hezekiah (Isaiah 36—39). The final chapters predict Israel's rescue from Babylonian captivity (Isaiah 40—48), the promised Messiah (Isaiah 49—57), and the final glory of Jerusalem and God's people (Isaiah 58—66).

Accessed 11/21/2024 4:32:08 PM