Peter Pett's Commentary on the Bible
Isaiah 1:21-23
A Further Description of Their State Before God (Isaiah 1:21).
‘How is the faithful city,
Become a prostitute?
She who was full of discerning judgment.
Righteousness lodged in her,
But now murderers.'
The question now is, how has Israel got herself into this state? The description of her downfall is potent. She had been ‘a faithful city', like a faithful wife to Yahweh, but now she was behaving like a prostitute. She had been true living, but now she was loose living. She had been full of discerning judgment, with righteousness lodging in her, but now she was indwelt by murderers.
Isaiah is possibly looking back to the time of David, who for all his faults was a good and wise king, and to the first part of the reign of Solomon, both somewhat idealised. And possibly in more recent memory to the time of the good king Uzziah, again idealised (‘the good old days'). Then Jerusalem had been faithful, a faithful wife to Yahweh. But now she had become a prostitute.
This may well to some extent have in mind the idolatry into which Ahaz had led Jerusalem and Judah, especially his dalliance with child sacrifice, partly by choice, and partly because of his treaty with the Assyrians (2 Kings 16). But it goes further than that. The whole city is in mind. The failure is widespread. They have followed the king's lead, and idolatry and injustice have become rampant. They seize every opportunity for pagan worship, and are taken up with everything but God.
As always the result of their ignoring the covenant and following such ideas was immoral behaviour and unfair and unreliable ‘justice'. She who had been full of discerning judgment in accordance with the covenant, who had been the dwellingplace of righteousness as determined by that covenant, had now sunk to the level of other nations. They had become ‘murderers', men of blood (compare ‘bloods' Isaiah 1:15). This could include the idea of the child sacrifices, which were seen by God as an abomination. But it also had prominently in mind the use by evil men of the judicial system to get rid of those who opposed them, or to weaken the position and resolve of others from whom they sought to gain advantage, even to the point of the calling on the death sentence. Life had become relatively cheap because justice had become slack and open to manipulation by bribes and pressure.
‘Your silver has become dross, your wine mixed with water.'
This may have in mind that dishonest trading had become rampant. That silver sold as pure was in fact impure, or even a sham, and that wine was being watered down for sale. But it almost certainly also includes the wider idea that their lives and behaviour have suffered in the same way. Men are no longer pure and trustworthy. They can no longer stand the test. They have become dross (compare Jeremiah 6:28; Ezekiel 22:18). They are watered down, their fullness spoiled. They have become insipid to the taste.
‘Your princes are rebellious,
And companions of thieves.
Every one loves gifts,
And follows after rewards.
They do not judge the fatherless,
Nor does the cause of the widow come to them.'
The chief men of the city are in rebellion against the covenant, ignoring God's laws. The very ones who are the focus of justice are consorting with those who are dishonest and untrustworthy. Everyone is out for what they can get, looking for backhanders and not being willing to do anything without being rewarded, and the cause of the needy goes unresolved because it is not worth either time or consideration. And this is because the needy bring no gifts, only their needs.
This is always the sign of a decaying society. Politicians ignore God's laws and consort with those who are dishonest, even resorting to threats or worse. Bribery and backhanders in business and civic life become rife. Justice is made a show of, but is not really available to all or carried into effect. Outwardly all is well. Inwardly all is rotten. And the result is the continual deterioration of society. How much we see of it today. We must ensure that we are not a part of it.