What does Isaiah 1:19 mean about being “willing and obedient”?
“If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land” (Isaiah 1:19).
When I attended Bible School, this verse was quoted often. Being willing and obedient was the key to living in God’s blessings. Who didn’t want to experience His blessings? We heard testimonies about great financial or material gain or people being gifted with airplanes because they believed their obedience brought about those amazing rewards. None of us students wanted to miss out on the great blessings God had for us in obeying Him.
At the time, we all pretty much saw and understood our obedience to God was reflected by how blessed we were. As students working as hard as we could to pay for school tuition, rent, food, and normal living expenses that go along with that, it didn’t leave much extra. As with most students paying their way through school, none of us had a whole lot of extra money to enjoy. My wife and I worked as a waitress and waiter at restaurants. We didn’t make a lot of money, but we got by with enough to cover our bills. Most of our friends were in the same situation. So hearing that all we needed to do was be willing and obedient to raise our lifestyle was welcome news. But there was a problem. Most of us going to Bible School were there because we believed God told us to go there, so we were willing and obedient already. None of us were eating the good of the land at that time. So what was the problem?
Could it be we had misunderstood what God was saying in Isaiah 1:19? If my obedience and willingness were the keys to God blessing me abundantly what wasn’t “I doing”? It is easy to put yourself under tremendous guilt when it looks as if you aren’t being blessed by God because maybe somewhere or somehow, you were not willing or obedient to Him. This type of thinking leads to begging God for a “do-over.” You repent for whatever disobedience you might not have known you committed, beg for His forgiveness, and ask for a 2nd, 3rd, or 4th chance to have another crack at obeying God.
Unfortunately, this is an ugly self-demeaning cycle many confused believers get themselves trapped in. They believe the lack of blessings in their lives indicates they are unwilling and disobedient to God. Over time, they struggle with depression feeling God abandoned them because of their disobedience to Him.
This is a classic religious trap the Enemy has used for a long time to deceive believers to disconnect from God. The good news is God never disconnected from them. I know this as a fact because Paul wrote the church in Rome as they faced tremendous persecution for their faith in Christ. He told them in spite of all they had and were suffering, none of that was to be viewed as God separating Himself from them. In fact, Paul spent much of Chapter 8 explaining that “nothing” could ever separate you from His love.
The word “nothing” still means the same thing: nothing! So it is important to establish this truth in your heart that nothing can ever separate you from God’s love. This is why performance-based religion is so devious and deceptive. It confuses your emotions to think God doesn’t love you because you were disobedient. Funny that God didn’t love us in the first place because of our obedience to Him. In fact, Paul tells us God commended His love toward us while we were still sinners (Romans 5:8).
If God loved us while we were disobedient sinners, why do you believe you can do anything to change His mind about loving you? You can’t! This is why Paul wants to drill into the Roman church that nothing can ever separate them from God’s love. This is why I say God doesn’t disconnect from us, but religious lies about who He is to us can cause us to unplug or disconnect from experiencing His love as we should. If you are in that unplugged condition now, I have some really good news for you.
Let’s review this powerful promise and insight God gives us in Isaiah 1:19 by reading Isaiah 1:18. When you read the previous verse, like me, you will have a light-bulb moment. In other words, it will put verse 19 into context, and everything will make sense.
“Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool” (Isaiah 1:18).
God is pleading with Israel to come to Him and reason together. This strongly indicates that what He is about to tell Israel is something Israel might have a difficult time believing or thinking is possible.
God tells Israel that He is going to take their bright red sins, and wash and cleanse them to the point they will be as white as wool. Keep in mind, God is telling Israel He is going to do this; He isn’t asking them to cleanse themselves. Rather, He is telling them to understand only He can make them so sinless they will be as white as wool. This is a pretty amazing promise and accomplishment by God, but here is the real issue and where many like me missed out on the life-changing power of verse 19. The willingness and obedience necessary to experience the good of the land isn’t based on our performance but how we believe and receive what God desires to do for us.
This passage in Isaiah is prophetic about Jesus and what He would accomplish for Israel and us all on the cross. God isn’t connecting being blessed by Him to our performance but by being aka “willing and obedient” to what His Son did for us on the cross. Being willing is a condition of your heart; obedience is the proof your heart is willing. To believe is a combination of being willing and obedient. Notice in Romans 10:10, “For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” The heart believes and the mouth obeys the heart. This is how being willing and obedient work in sync.
When I saw that Isaiah 1:19 wasn’t about my performance but my trusting in and my response to what God did for me through His Son Jesus in His death, burial, and resurrection, everything changed. The old emotions of guilt or fear were driven from my heart and replaced by joy unspeakable.
Would I agree and reason with God that though my sins are as bright red as scarlet He would wash and cleanse me as white as snow or wool? Would I be willing to believe He could and would do this for me? If the answer is yes then obey God, and you, like me, are now qualified to “eat the good of the land.”
Your willingness and obedience to God are based solely on you believing His Son Jesus cleansed you with His blood and presented you holy and acceptable to God (1 John 1:7, Romans 12:1). It is based on your belief the finished work of the cross is the truth you embrace in your heart and your life is lived as proof Jesus is alive in you ( John 15:7). That is what being “willing and obedient” means today. We can fully expect this land to yield its goodness to us because our God is a good God. He created this earth to bring His creation pleasure and enjoyment. We can also live in His goodness, love, mercy, and peace because we are in Him.
“For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking [what one likes], but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Romans 14:17, AMP).
