Isaiah’s Great Indictment Against Isra’el
1: 2-31

What we have in this first chapter is a typical message by Isaiah. The prophet brings us into a courtroom scene with Isra’el on trial. God is both the judge and the plaintiff, and the heavens and the earth are the witnesses. In effect, it is a microcosm of Chapters 1 through 39. The procedure is basically as follows; first, in 1:2-9, the LORD brings the charge. Secondly, in 1:10-13, God answers Isra’el’s defense. Then, in 1:16-20, YHVH offers mercy and grace to Isra’el. But in 1:21-23, the offer is rejected, and finally in 1:24-31, The LORD of heaven’s angelic armies concludes with a sentence of judgment.