“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.” (Isaiah 1:16-17)
Ever since I have had my iPhone, which would be since they came out with the iPhone 3G I have loved using the YouVersion Bible App. By the way it is also available on every smartphone and this is the major source that Jason Weaver, Trevor Kennedy, and I use for our 90 Day Reading Challenge. Recently the app was pretty impressively upgraded and a part of this upgrade was putting “Today’s Verse” when you first open the app.
So I wanted to share todays verse, because today’s verse struck me.
Let’s look at it again.
“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.” (Isaiah 1:16-17)
First we must wash ourselves because God has commanded us to be holy because HE IS HOLY and for us to approach God we must be Holy because He is Holy. This is what made it so frustrating in the Old Testament. They had adhere to certain laws and sacrifices in order for them to be acceptable in God’s sight, they would have to sacrifice something, but the priest would have to represent the community, just like Christ was and is our High Priest and atones for our sins and representing the community of faith. God wanted us to be in relationship with Him so much that he sent his son. Being holy and in relationship is so important because its when we do that that we truly experience the life that God has created us to have and the life that His son died for!
Whats interesting to me is what the passage says after the plead to wash ourselves.
“cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause.”
It also reminds me of a story that Jesus once told about whenever we do for the least of these we are doing for him. Jesus has a high concern for ALL people. That is why it is so important to always seek justice, correct oppression, bring justice and healing to the least and lost. We are called to be Jesus’ Disciples and so because of that we are commanded to be passionate about what Christ is passionate about. Showing His love and grace to the world!
May Gods people be blessed and encouraged by the reading and reflection of His holy word!