“…Come now and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow.” Isaiah 1:18
Dear Ones:
Who can forgive sins but God? And who can cleanse the heart and mind of man but God, by the Spirit, applying the purifying properties and power of the blood of Christ? What does the phrase mean, “…white as snow?” When God forgives and cleanses from sin, He “blots” out our transgressions (Is. 43:25) This means that He erases them, as if they never existed. But His work goes beyond that, for when the sin is forgiven and He cleanses us, He restores us, with regard to communion with Him, to that pristine place of His original blessing. When Israel had wandered very far from God, He restored her to that place of original blessing. Though she had been unfaithful to God, she would again be looked upon as a virgin, without blemish, or fault. The true believer is IN Christ, and is perfect, complete in Him. When sin is forgiven, and we are cleansed, not only is the sin removed, erased, but God sees us “white as snow.” We see our imperfections and failures, but He, having forgiven sins, sees the perfection of His Son within us. We ARE white as snow. Does this mean that we will remain white as snow? Only in the measure that we walk in the light of His truth, His word, is this “whiteness” maintained. He can keep us clean, cleansed, and “white” if we are willing to let Him deal with all sin which may, and can arise. Our faith is not perfect in this world, but we can by His grace walk more and more in the light of His countenance, according to truth.
When David was called, and anointed to be the King of Israel, his future looked bright and he was full of hope. What must it have been for him to be certain of the hand of God upon his life, and this, regardless of circumstance, enemies, or difficulties! But then, sin raised its ugly head, and David committed adultery and murder. The price that he would pay would be very great. But David, like Jonah, like Samson of old, remembered the Lord. What difference did this make? He remembered that God was God, and not a man. He remembered that there was mercy with God, and that the heart that truly seeks Him WILL find Him. Crushed in his heart and soul, David would pour out his heart to God, and seek Him, praying, “…wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.” (Ps. 51:2) His appeal was specifically made in another way: “Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be “WHITER THAN SNOW.” David knew God, and knew that if he confessed his sin, and repented, that, though there would be consequences of that sin, God would restore him to Himself, blotting out his transgression, and making him in the sight of God, “whiter than snow.” He knew that God alone could do this.
Dear Father, when we become conscious that we have sinned against You, be merciful to us also, and grant us grace to confess and repent of our sins. But meet us in such a way as to realize that You are faithful to cleanse us from “ALL SIN…ALL UNRIGHTEOUSNESS.” (1 Jn. 1:7,9) And above all, enable us to see that when you cleanse, forgive sin, blot out our transgressions, You make us “whiter than snow,” that we can again have true fellowship with the living God, in Christ, by the Spirit…and this immediately. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Love, Dad