Isaiah 58:1 - Meaning and Application

When our Lord Jesus promised to send the Comforter, he added, “When he comes, he will convict” (John 16:7-8). Conviction must come before comfort. It also draws a line between what is precious and what is worthless, and it shows who has no claim to comfort. God had appointed this prophet to comfort his people (Isaiah 40:1), and here he appoints him to convict them and expose their sins.

The prophet must first tell them how bad they really are (Isaiah 58:1). He must speak honestly and plainly. Though they are called the people of God and the house of Jacob, and though that name gives them many blessings, he must not flatter them. He must show them their sins and their wrongs in detail, including sins they do not see and even sins they refuse to admit. Even if they have improved in some things, they still remain as bad as ever in others. He must show them all their sins, with every shame and burden attached to them (Leviticus 16:21).

This teaches us two things. God sees sin among his own people, in the house of Jacob, and he is displeased with it. Also, people are often unwilling and unable to see their own sins, so they need those sins shown to them and named plainly: “This and this you have done.”

The prophet must also be bold and serious in this work. He must “cry aloud, and not spare.” That means he must not soften his rebukes as though afraid of hurting them. He must search the wound all the way to the bottom and lay it open. He must not spare himself either, even if the work costs him strength, drains his spirit, brings him hatred, or gives him a bad name. He must cry as loudly as he can.

He must lift up his voice like a trumpet so that people who are slow to listen will hear their faults. He must give warning in the strongest and clearest way, as someone who truly wants to be heeded. A trumpet does not give an unclear sound, though it is loud and sharp. So his warning must be plain, showing them the deadly results of sin (Ezekiel 33:3).

Next, the prophet must acknowledge how good they seemed, even while he exposes their sin (Isaiah 58:2). They were able to say, “We seek God daily,” and when he pointed out their transgressions, they claimed they could not see any. They attended worship faithfully, and they wondered what more God could want from them.

The matter of fact is true, as far as it goes. When hypocrites do anything that is truly good, they should not be denied that praise. They have the outward form of godliness. They go to church and keep their prayer times. They seek God daily, very regularly, and never seem to miss their devotions. They enjoy hearing good preaching. They delight to know God’s ways, like Herod, who heard John gladly, or the rocky soil, which received the word with joy. To them it is like a lovely song (Ezekiel 33:32).

They also seem to take great pleasure in religion itself. They appear to enjoy being in God’s presence, though often it is for the company, the occasion, or some pleasant part of the service, not for God himself. They ask about the rules of right living, both in worship and in their dealings with other people. The phrase “ordinances of justice” covers both duties toward God and fairness toward others. They look, to the outside world, like a nation that does what is right and does not abandon God’s commands. Others took them for such people, and they claimed to be such people themselves.

This is a serious warning. A person may go far on the road to heaven and still fall short. A person may even go to hell with a good reputation. Yet this outward show does not excuse sin. In fact, it makes their guilt worse, because they continue in sin even though they know what is right and what is wrong, and their own consciences have already warned them.