In Isaiah 2, the prophet makes this surprising statement:
Therefore, do not forgive them (Isa 2:9b).
Judea was in rebellion, sinning against her God. Because of this, the Lord had forsaken His people, the house of Jacob (Is 2:6a). The Lord was no longer in fellowship with His chosen nation, nor was His protective hand over the nation regarding Gentile invasion and oppression. Isaiah 2:6b-8 describes the reason for this break in fellowship by recounting a laundry list of sins that the nation of Israel had been committing during Isaiah’s ministry.
First, the nation was following Eastern practices (v 6b). Second, the people were marrying the children of foreigners, which was forbidden by the Law. Third, they were making alliances with pagan nations (v 7) and had filled the Promised Land with idols, preferring to worship man-made objects rather than the one true God of Israel. Because of these sins, the Lord would bring judgment upon the nation and withhold forgiveness from its people.
A few things should be noted about this passage. First, the forgiveness here is distinct from the gift of eternal life. Eternal life is universally offered to “whosoever believes” (John 3:16), and it can never be lost. Forgiveness in Isaiah 2 is a fellowship issue, not an eternal salvation issue. Second, forgiveness can be and often is withheld by the Lord. This is not unique to the book of Isaiah, for the Scriptures record the Lord’s withholding forgiveness for a variety of reasons, regarding both the nation of Israel and believers (see Jer 11:14; 14:11-12; 15:1; Matt 6:15; 12:31; Mark 3:29; 1 John 1:8-10). In Isaiah, the nation will suffer the consequences of its sins through Gentile oppression and the loss of fellowship with its God. The Lord does not withhold eternal life from those who believe, nor does He take it away, but He does withhold forgiveness when His nation, or His children, have fallen into sin and are unrepentant.
Sadly, Isaiah was a prophet sent to a hard-hearted nation that was unwilling to listen to the call to repent. Only after multiple opportunities to repent were given to the nation did the Lord withhold forgiveness. Due to the nation’s refusal, the Lord ultimately poured out His wrath through the Assyrian and Babylonian empires. What is key is that this was after the prophet offered the nation the opportunity to repent and the nation rejected it. The nation was not judged due to a lack of trying on the Lord’s part.
This invites the question: Should believers also withhold forgiveness?
We do see a similar pattern in Matt 18:15-18. When a brother sins, there should be multiple attempts to restore that brother. The offer of repentance is given first by the offended party, then by two or three people, then by the church. However, if the one who sinned is still unrepentant, the church is not called upon to forgive the sinning brother, but to remove him from fellowship and treat him as a heathen, just as in Isaiah 2. In other words, the church should not forgive the unrepentant party. By withholding forgiveness, the prophet Isaiah, the church, and ultimately, the Lord Himself, are doing the most loving thing. The hope is that by withholding forgiveness, the sinning party will finally come to their senses (Luke 15:17; 1 Cor 5:4-5), turn from their sin, and experience forgiveness and restoration.
As James beautifully said:
Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth, and someone turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins (Jas 5:19-20, emphasis added).
