“Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil;”
My Notes
What Does Isaiah 1:16 Mean?
God calls his people through Isaiah to comprehensive cleansing: wash you, make you clean, put away evil, cease to do evil. The instructions move from the symbolic (wash) to the practical (cease). The cleansing is both ceremonial and behavioral.
"Put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes" — the evil is visible to God. The call is to remove it from his sight — not because he cannot see it, but because its presence before him is offensive.
"Cease to do evil" is the simplest moral instruction in Scripture. Stop. The first step is not complex theology or elaborate ritual. It is stopping the behavior that God has identified as evil.
The next verse (1:17) adds the positive: learn to do well, seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow. The cessation of evil is followed by the pursuit of justice. Stopping bad is not enough. You must start good.
Reflection Questions
- 1.Why does God say 'wash you' as a command rather than 'I will wash you' as a promise?
- 2.How is 'ceasing to do evil' the necessary first step before any other spiritual growth?
- 3.What does 'learn to do well' suggest — that doing good is a skill that must be developed?
- 4.What specific evil do you need to cease, and what specific good do you need to start?
Devotional
Wash you, make you clean. God starts with the image: get clean. Not stay dirty and wait for grace. Get clean. Take the initiative to address what is defiling you.
Put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes. God sees the evil. It is not hidden. And he wants it removed — not from public view (that is just image management) but from before his eyes. The audience for your cleansing is God.
Cease to do evil. The simplest instruction. Stop. Before you learn advanced theology. Before you master spiritual disciplines. Before you develop a prayer life that impresses people. Stop doing the evil thing.
Learn to do well (v.17). After you stop the evil, start the good. Seek justice. Relieve the oppressed. Defend the fatherless. Plead for the widow. The cessation of evil is not the goal. It is the starting line. What you do after you stop determines whether the cleansing was genuine.
Wash. Stop. Start. That is Isaiah's three-step path to restored relationship with God. Simple. Not easy. But clear.
What evil do you need to cease? And what good do you need to learn?
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
Wash ye, make you clean, &c. These two words are to be regarded as one, since they intend the same thing, and suppose…
Wash you - This is, of course, to be understood in a moral sense; meaning that they should put away their sins. Sin is…
Though God had rejected their services as insufficient to atone for their sins while they persisted in them, yet he does…
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture