Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord (Isaiah 1:18)

He leads me …

The background to this statement from the Lord was that the people of Judah had committed a long list of sins against Him (Isaiah 1:4-15). Their sacrifices were no longer pleasing to Him and He threatened to close His ears to their prayers (Isaiah 1:15). Yet, despite their actions, God wanted to have a conversation with His people. He gave them a list of things they could do to please Him (Isaiah 1:16-17) and offered an invitation, ‘Let us reason together’. These words appear to have been added for the sake of a small remnant of followers (v9) that God had left among the sinful people of Israel, which avoided everyone being destroyed like Sodom and Gomorrah.

What does ‘let us reason together’ mean? And what do we expect when we deal with the Creator of the Universe? If we read Job 13:3, 15-18 we see that Job was wanting to argue/defend[1] his case with God that the extreme suffering that he was having to endure was not justified. We read how he does this in Job 13:13 -14:22. What was the Lord’s reaction?

In Job chapters 38-41 God asks Job 77 questions about cosmology, oceanography, meteorology, and astronomy that only the Creator can answer. God is effectively saying, ‘Job, if you can answer My questions, then you are qualified to challenge Me. If not, then you do not have My consent to ask Me these kinds of questions.’  What God was asking Job, and effectively all of us is, ‘Which of you can understand the beginning from the end? What gives you the right to challenge God's wisdom, justice, power, and grace?’

Job most likely lived during the Patriarchal era because his life span was rather long (probably 210 years) and matched the life span of the patriarchal people (Abraham – 175 years, Isaac – 180 years and Jacob – 147 years) who all lived around 2200 B.C. He was not an Israelite but thought to be an Edomite who descended from Esau, the twin brother of Jacob.

An important point though comes some 750 years after Job (1446 B.C.) when in Exodus 33:19 The Lord says, ‘I will show mercy to anyone I choose, and I will show compassion to anyone I choose’. As He did with Job, here God is affirming His Lordship. Then in Exodus 34:6-7 God says to Moses that He is a ‘compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin.’ This is a change from the rather authoritative one-sided discussion that the Lord had with Job.

The Lord promised the Israelites that He would blot out their sins and bless them if they would choose to obey Him. However, if they continued to be disobedient, there would be consequences.

When the Lord promises something He is bound by it, but in the case of Job there was no written Word of God (Job 31:35 -36) or any promises of God for Job. He had no basis for arguing/defending his case with God other than his experience and how he saw life.

So, when Isaiah tells the people of Judah and Jerusalem in the first chapter of the book of Isaiah about a vision that the Lord had given him, he tells them clearly that they had rebelled against the Lord who is really grieved about it. But at one point we see some of Gods compassion and grace when He tells the people how to improve their situation, and encourages them to, ‘let us reason together’. God was saying that He wanted a relationship with them, and this request extends to us too. He knows that all humans are sinful. Yet He is willing and able to make our sins as white as snow.

So how should we reason with our God who is omnipotent (all powerful), omnipresent (everywhere), omniscient (all knowing) and omnibenevolent (all loving)? The Hebrew word for reason (Strong's H3198) will show us several alternatives for the word - to decide, to show to be right, to convince and to correct.  Each of these synonyms requires a conversation and a keenness to listen to the other person’s explanations to get the best outcome.

With reasoning we find that human reason has its place, but the best method is to work out our concerns by examining Scripture. This is because the Bible is the only perfect source of divine truth which provides Gods reasoning, including His covenant promises and proclamations to forgive sin.

When we look at His Word, we can see that God is gracious. Judah had persistently rebelled against God despite His many warnings. God had every right to destroy Judah, but this is not what we find in Isaiah 1:18. Instead, the Lord offers an alternative. He extends His grace to the people by promising to remove their sins.

We, too, have received generous amounts of grace from God. Our salvation through Jesus Christ is the greatest illustration of God’s grace to us, but it is certainly not the only one. Every day, God heaps grace upon us by not immediately punishing us for our sin. Instead, He convicts and warns us thereby encouraging us to repent. It is only when we deliberately persist in sin that God disciplines us.

Many people see God as either judgemental or gracious. But in Isaiah 1, and particularly in verses 18-20, we see a complete view of God’s character. We can take comfort knowing that we are in the care of a powerful God who works all things for the good of His people (Rom. 8:28).[2]

The Lord does not bring us to trial or to be judged. He calls us to open our hearts and to listen to what He says to us, so that we can hear His voice of reason.

God is not asking for us to justify our actions. He is asking us to reason with Him based on the Bible, so that we can receive His pardon. This is not a trial. The trial is over. God’s objection is discharged by His forgiveness.

What matters now is what we do. The Lord is ready to help us with our conviction and He encourages us to allow Him to help us correct the sin. Will we? Will we come before Him knowing we are guilty? Or will we continue to try and cover our failures? Will we allow ourselves to feel what our Lord feels—our trauma and our hurt? Our God is not going to condemn us, although the Law allows Him to do so. He looks at us and sees the damage that we have done—to ourselves and to others—and He sincerely wants to help us to heal those wounds. This is God involving Himself in our lives even when they are run down, damaged and seemingly hopeless. This is true mercy.[3] 

When we see it like this, surely it would be wise if we accepted the argument that God proposes? We cannot lose If the Lord says, ‘Come now, and let us reason together,’ when His love, grace and mercy are involved.[4]

Dear Reader – If you have found some value in this blog, please feel free to send a copy on to your family and friends. Kind regards, John

[1] Job 13:15 - Argue or defend depending on which version of the Bible is used.

[2] What Does 'Come Let Us Reason Together' Mean in the Bible? Rylie Fine, Christianity.com;

https://www.christianity.com/wiki/bible/what-does-come-let-us-reason-together-mean-in-the-bible.html

[3] Non-Apologetics, Skip Moen, Hebrew Word Study;

https://skipmoen.com/2017/02/non-apologetics/

[4] Scarlet Sinners Pardoned and Purified, Charles Haddon Spurgeon, The Spurgeon Center;

https://www.spurgeon.org/resource-library/sermons/scarlet-sinners-pardoned-and-purified/#flipbook/