NOTES for Ис 1:1-20
Isaiah utters terrifying words. Through our lawlessness we have deprived ourselves of the possibility of God's constant presence. We try to observe rules—the rules of fasting and prayer—and offer sacrifice, but we do not fulfill the law. If it were not for the Salvation to come, we would be wiped from the face of the earth. It is important to fulfill the law constantly and actively. The one who fulfills the law will receive his reward. But the one who follows the Lord and performs deeds according to the word of the Lord fulfills His will. No sacrifices are required from him. What is needed is love, which will allow God once again to commune with His children, to receive us once again into His home. To meet us again like the prodigal son and arrange a feast, to slaughter the “young goat” in our honor and bestow His love upon us. He created the whole world, and we try to offer Him part of His own world as a sacrifice. We take what does not belong to us and give it instead of ourselves. Yet all that is required is to give ourselves—such as He has already made us, but to whom He has given freedom. And in this freedom we have the opportunity to take the difficult path, but the path of the Lord's works.