“Come now, let us settle the matter”, says the Lord. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow;though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.”
Isaiah 1:18 NIV
White as Snow
In Canada’s north and the interior plains, snowfall is light because cold air is very dry. The snow is hard and dry, falls in small amounts, and is packed down by the constant wind. The east and west coasts are areas of lighter snowfall because the ocean usually makes the air too warm for large quantities of snow to fall. The depth of snow increases inland from each coast, reaching maximums of about 240 inches in the Rocky Mountains and on the shores of the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
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Canadians know snow. There isn’t a place in Canada that doesn’t get at least a few flakes of snow a year. So if anyone should understand the impact of Isaiah 1:18, Canadians should. The prophet writes this: “‘Come now, let us settle the matter,’ says the Lord. ‘Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.” If you have ever dripped grape or cranberry juice on a white shirt, you know what a challenge it is to get it removed. Sometimes only bleaching it will bring the shirt back to purity. Our hearts are deeply stained by sin – so much so that there is no sign of purity at all. Isaiah looked forward to a day when all of that would change. He was looking forward to the coming of the Messiah. Jesus would come, and when He took the punishment on the cross that we deserve, and rose from the grave, everything necessary for our hearts to be made pure – white as snow – was completed. Jesus can purify your heart – invite Him to do so.
These have been words from the heart.
Bob Beasley