Today’s reading: Isaiah 1; Hebrews 7
God despises faithful religious observance that is not tied to a faithful heart.
God pulls no punches in His indictment against Israel through Isaiah, coming out the gate calling them dumber than a beast of burden. He says that even an ox or a donkey knows who their master is (i.e. the person who gives them a home, provides for them, cares for them, etc.), but that Israel doesn’t know. And this really should come as no surprise given what we have just finished reading in 2 Kings. How many times lately have we been talking about Israel’s faithless pursuit of other gods, even filling the temple with their altars and idols?? That is the exact context into which God sent Isaiah to speak; an Israel who has all but forgotten Yahweh, the God who gave them their nation, and has run after the gods of the nations and their abominable worship.
What’s jarring, but incredibly important, to read out of this chapter though is that while Israel was acting faithlessly toward Yahweh in almost every way, they were evidently staying faithful in their religious observance of the various sacrifices and rituals, and God was disgusted by it! Wouldn’t this be a good thing? God commanded these sacrifices and offerings in the first place, so if they are continuing to offer them, doesn’t that point to a desire to stay faithful to Him? Shouldn’t God be pleased that at least this is still going on?? Evidently not…
God tells Israel that He has had enough of their offerings, considers their incense an abomination, and calls their coming before Him the trampling of His courts. There isn’t even the barest hint that God is at all pleased that they have continued in their religious observances despite the rest of their faithlessness.
What does God want from Israel? He says,
“Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes; cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause.”
It is not their faithful religious observance that God wants, and, amazingly, His top priority here isn’t even to call them out for running after other gods, but is instead to call them to seek justice, correct oppression, bring justice to the fatherless, and plead the widow’s cause. This is a consistent call/theme throughout the book of Isaiah, that the social injustice and exploitation of the weak and helpless are major issues to God, and exhibit the state of Israel’s heart. Before God, Israel’s faithful religious observance doesn’t even begin to make up for their faithless hearts, and God would much rather have the latter than the former.
How many people today are like Israel here in Isaiah’s day? How many people show up faithfully to church week in and week out, but their lives are otherwise no different for it? How many people think they are pleasing God by dropping some money in the basket each week, when their hearts are far from Him? Yes, God calls us to not forsake meeting together, just like He called Israel to perform the sacrifices and offerings, but just like with Israel here He is much less interested in our religious observance than He is in our hearts. Does He want the observance? Yes, He is the one who called for it in the first place, but if the heart is not in it, He calls it the trampling of His courts.
God, now as then, wants our hearts more than our religious observance, and He deserves nothing less.
Father, guard our hearts from ever slipping into rote religious observance, rather that pursuing love and faithfulness to you in gratitude for all that you have done for us, and given us, in Christ.
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