“Hear, O heavens and give ear, O earth!  For the LORD has spoken!  ‘I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against Me” (Isaiah 1:2).

A relationship is described.  The LORD is the parent.  The people of Israel are his children (Isaiah 1:2 cf. 49:14-15; 63:16; 64:8; Also, see – Exodus 4:22-23; Deuteronomy 14:1-2; 32:6, 10-11).  This relationship had been damaged.  The LORD had been good to them.  He had provided for them and reared them.  However, they had rebelled against him.  Rebellion is a frequent subject in this book (e.g. Isaiah 1:2, 4, 23; 24:5, 20; 30:1, 9; 46:8; 48:8; 57:4; 65:2; 66:24).  This book begins and ends speaking against rebellion (Isaiah 1:2; 66:24).  A parent can rear children but he can’t make them do right.  Their rebellion no doubt made God sad.

The heavens and the earth are addressed.  They were witnesses to God’s covenant with Israel, and his warnings to Israel (Deuteronomy 4:25-26; 30:19; 31:24-28).  They are now called upon to bear witness to the sins of this people. 

“The ox knows its owner and the donkey its master’s crib; But Israel does not know, My people do not consider” (Isaiah 1:3).    There is a contrast between farm animals (ox and donkey) and the people of Israel.  The animals know to whom they belong, and who feeds and cares for them (Animals sometimes come running when they see their owner or their owner’s truck).  The people of Israel did not know or appreciate how much God had done and still was doing for them.  They were not thankful.                  

There are lessons in this for us.  (1) We should consider how much God has done for us.  “God, who made the world and everything in it… He gives to all life, breath and all things” (Acts 17:24-25).  “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights” (James 1:17).  (2) We should be thankful.  “Serve the LORD with gladness, come before His presence with singing.  Know the LORD, He is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.  Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise.  Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.  For the LORD is good; His mercy is everlasting, and His truth endures to all generations (Psalm 100:2-5).  Let’s not let farm animals show more sense than us.