Isaiah 1:1-22 - Don't rebel!

A rebellious nation
Hear me, you heavens! Listen, earth! For the Lord has spoken: ‘I reared children and brought them up, but they have rebelled against me.
Stop bringing meaningless offerings! Your incense is detestable to me. New Moons, Sabbaths and convocations – I cannot bear your worthless assemblies.
‘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. ...but if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword.’
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.
Your silver has become dross, your choice wine is diluted with water.

 - Isaiah 1:1-22 (selected verses)

We looked at this passage in my Bible study group, and it was scary! The passage is a list of what will happen to Israel if the nation continues to turn its back on God. Two parts of the passage leaped out at me - the word 'dilute' and the verse which is probably the best known of this passage about sins being scarlet.

The passage is a warning not to be taken lightly, and I had an urge to use bright reds all over the page to signify the sins of Israel. I made them brighter at the top and faded them out at the bottom - diluting the colour with water as I worked down the page to signify the work 'dilute' which had jumped at me.

Although it's not in the passage, the phrase that seemed to sum up the passage for me was 'do not dilute your faith'. If you stay strong in your faith and stick with God's law, then you don't have to worry about any of the consequences listed in Isaiah. If you allow the world's values to dilute your faith, you'd better watch out!

I used watercolour pencils, which seemed appropriate for what I was trying to signify on the page, with white gel pen to highlight the verses and black pen to write the list of things which Isaiah warns of as consequences of sin. I didn't prep the page at all and there was no bleed-through.