Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean;
remove the evil of your doings
from before my eyes;
cease to do evil,
learn to do good;
seek justice,
rescue the oppressed,
defend the orphan,
plead for the widow.Come now, let us argue it out,
says the LORD:
though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be like 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 devoured by the sword;
for the mouth of the LORD has spoken. (Isaiah 1:16–20 NRSVA)
“Come now, let us argue it out.” What a visceral reaction I had the first time I read those words! I could feel myself internally cringe, and I had to re-read the phrase a couple times to be sure I was reading that right. The same phrase is translated slightly differently in the NLT, and it reads, “let’s settle this.” I could stomach that phrasing a bit more, but it still seemed like very curious wording to me.
The more I sat with today’s passage from Isaiah and looked at it in the broader context of his opening words, I was struck by the beauty of this invitation from the Lord to settle or argue out this condition with the Lord.
This opening chapter in Isaiah is a reprimand and judgment of the people of Israel for the way in which they were living their lives. It feels like a lament from the Lord, for the children he’d “raised and cared for” were rebelling against him. The prophet states, “They are evil people, corrupt children who have rejected the LORD. They have despised the Holy One of Israel and turned their backs on him” (1:4 NLT). Based on that description, you could think the use of the phrase “let us argue it out” would lead to a heavy-handed fight, a great punishment. But, as we read through verses 16–20, we see the desire in the settling of the condition or the argument is to bring his children back to himself.
Recently, as I was preparing for a leadership retreat, I came upon this quote from Wynton Marsalis from a reflection he was making on jazz music. He is quoted as saying, “We are attempting to achieve harmony through conflict [. . .] but it’s like an argument [in which] you have to work something out, not an argument [in which] you have the intent to argue.”
It’s like an argument where you have to work something out, not one in which you have the intent to argue. For me, this embodies well the use of the phrase “argue it out” in verse 18. There is a sense of dialogue, of a working out of what needs to be said. Even in his anger with his people, God is still desiring to be one with them.
There is still time for his people to turn back and make things right with him. In order to be aligned and in unity with him, God’s people need to align themselves with him through learning to do good, seeking justice, helping the oppressed, defending the cause of orphans, and fighting for the rights of widows (vs. 17). In doing these things, and in giving up our evil ways, there is the promise of redemption.
As I look at my own life, I am prompted to ask where I need to make things right with the Lord in order to be more fully unified with him. As I think through the spaces where I lead within my local church, are there things we need to make right in order to be unified with our Father God and be a people who do good, seek justice, help the oppressed, defend the cause of the orphans, and fight for the rights of widows?
I am humbled by the fact God wants to be in relationship with me even when I’m not getting things right, and I am incredibly grateful for the invitation to “argue” and settle it out with him. I am thankful we have a God who wants to be in dialogue with us so we can grow in our unity with him.
Sara-May Cardy is the pastor of Groups and Missional Life at Greenfield Community Church in Edmonton, Alberta.
