Isaiah 1:10 - 17:
Hear the word of the LORD,
You rulers of Sodom;
Give ear to the instruction of our God,
You people of Gomorrah.
What are your multiplied sacrifices to Me?"
Says the LORD.
"I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams
And the fat of fed cattle;
And I take no pleasure in the blood of bulls, lambs or goats.
"When you come to appear before Me,
Who requires of you this trampling of My courts?
"Bring your worthless offerings no longer,
Incense is an abomination to Me
New moon and sabbath, the calling of assemblies--
I cannot endure iniquity and the solemn assembly.
"I hate your new moon festivals and your appointed feasts,
They have become a burden to Me;
I am weary of bearing them.
"So when you spread out your hands in prayer,
I will hide My eyes from you;
Yes, even though you multiply prayers,
I will not listen
Your hands are covered with blood.
"Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean;
Remove the evil of your deeds from My sight
Cease to do evil,
Learn to do good;
Seek justice,
Reprove the ruthless,
Defend the orphan,
Plead for the widow.
An important part of the Israelite's worship was the offering of sacrifices. God commanded it and gave much detail about what each was for and precisely how each one was to be offered. However, Isaiah's message from God was that the people were so evil that He didn't want their sacrifices anymore. Indeed, He was refusing to even hear their prayers anymore. God is a holy and perfect God Who requires that we come before Him in kind.
Numerous biblical examples of people worshiping God in ways that were displeasing to Him are recorded for us. The consequences were quite severe. Below I have recorded just a sampling.
Example One:
Genesis 4:3 -15
So it came about in the course of time that Cain brought an offering to the LORD of the fruit of the ground.
Abel, on his part also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of their fat portions And the LORD had regard for Abel and for his offering;
but for Cain and for his offering He had no regard So Cain became very angry and his countenance fell.
Then the LORD said to Cain, "Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen?
"If you do well, will not your countenance be lifted up? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it."
Cain told Abel his brother. And it came about when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him.
Then the LORD said to Cain, "Where is Abel your brother?" And he said, "I do not know. Am I my brother's keeper?"
He said, "What have you done? The voice of your brother's blood is crying to Me from the ground.
"Now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand.
"When you cultivate the ground, it will no longer yield its strength to you; you will be a vagrant and a wanderer on the earth."
Cain said to the LORD, "My punishment is too great to bear!
"Behold, You have driven me this day from the face of the ground; and from Your face I will be hidden, and I will be a vagrant and a wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me."
So the LORD said to him, "Therefore whoever kills Cain, vengeance will be taken on him sevenfold " And the LORD appointed a sign for Cain, so that no one finding him would slay him.
It was not recorded for us what specifically was wrong about Cain's offering, but it was not up to God's standard. His repulsive offering led to an horrifying story of murder and condemnation towards himself. God cursed the very ground that Cain worked and from which he'd offered his sacrifice and caused him to wander. Worst of all, was that he was to suffer the agony of a relationship with God gone sour.
Example Two:
Leviticus 10:1 - 3Now Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took their respective firepans, and after putting fire in them, placed incense on it and offered strange fire before the LORD, which He had not commanded them.
And fire came out from the presence of the LORD and consumed them, and they died before the LORD.
Then Moses said to Aaron, "It is what the LORD spoke, saying,
By those who come near Me I will be treated as holy,
And before all the people I will be honored.'"
So Aaron, therefore, kept silent.
These new priests offered incense with unauthorized fire to God, and God took their lives with fire of His own. Moses' commentary to Aaron, the father of these two disobedient priests, was simply a reminder that God said plainly that He would be treated as He ought and be honored among the people. It was recorded in Exodus 30:9 that strange incense was not to be offered. In the instructions for the Day of Atonement in Leviticus 16:11, 12, God gave specific instructions for the origin of the fire to be used for the sacrifice.
Both of these examples are of people who were at least relatively new to what they were doing. Indeed Nadab and Abihu were carrying out a brand new law of God. These novices were held accountable to worship God just as He desired. The holy and just God wiped them out when they did not do exactly as they were told.
Example Three:
1 Chronicles 13
David said to all the assembly of Israel, "If it seems good to you, and if it is from the LORD our God, let us send everywhere to our kinsmen who remain in all the land of Israel, also to the priests and Levites who are with them in their cities with pasture lands, that they may meet with us;
and let us bring back the ark of our God to us, for we did not seek it in the days of Saul."
Then all the assembly said that they would do so, for the thing was right in the eyes of all the people.
So David assembled all Israel together, from the Shihor of Egypt even to the entrance of Hamath, to bring the ark of God from Kiriath-jearim.
David and all Israel went up to Baalah, that is, to Kiriath-jearim, which belongs to Judah, to bring up from there the ark of God, the LORD who is enthroned above the cherubim, where His name is called.
They carried the ark of God on a new cart from the house of Abinadab, and Uzza and Ahio drove the cart.
David and all Israel were celebrating before God with all their might, even with songs and with lyres, harps, tambourines, cymbals and with trumpets.
When they came to the threshing floor of Chidon, Uzza put out his hand to hold the ark, because the oxen nearly upset it.
The anger of the LORD burned against Uzza, so He struck him down because he put out his hand to the ark; and he died there before God.
Then David became angry because of the LORD'S outburst against Uzza; and he called that place Perez-uzza to this day.
David was afraid of God that day, saying, "How can I bring the ark of God home to me?"
The ark of the covenant was a very key part of the worship environment for the Israelites. It was to be kept in the holy of holies in the tabernacle where God dwelled. God gave detailed instructions for its construction and ornamentation as well as its location. He even provided in structure and words how and by whom it was to be carried when the Israelites moved from place to place. See Exodus 25:12 - 15 and Deuteronomy 10:8. Again, God expected strict adherence to His commands. Uzza lost his life as a result of David's disobedience in this detail that we might have considered in consequential. David was angry about the consequences that his disobedience brought. This story ended happily after David saw his way over to God's way of doing things in 1 Chronicles 15, and the ark did make it back home (1 Chron. 16:1).
Example Four:
(Background: When God's nation divided, the northern kingdom (Israel) was given to Jeroboam to rule as king. God told him: "'I will take you, and you shall reign over whatever you desire, and you shall be king over Israel. 'Then it will be, that if you listen to all that I command you and walk in My ways, and do what is right in My sight by observing My statutes and My commandments, as My servant David did, then I will be with you and build you an enduring house as I built for David, and I will give Israel to you.")
I Kings 12:25 - 13:6, 33 - 34
Then Jeroboam built Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and lived there And he went out from there and built Penuel.
Jeroboam said in his heart, "Now the kingdom will return to the house of David.
"If this people go up to offer sacrifices in the house of the LORD at Jerusalem, then the heart of this people will return to their lord, even to Rehoboam king of Judah; and they will kill me and return to Rehoboam king of Judah."
So the king consulted, and made two golden calves, and he said to them, "It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem; behold your gods, O Israel, that brought you up from the land of Egypt."
He set one in Bethel, and the other he put in Dan.
Now this thing became a sin, for the people went to worship before the one as far as Dan.
And he made houses on high places, and made priests from among all the people who were not of the sons of Levi.
Jeroboam instituted a feast in the eighth month on the fifteenth day of the month, like the feast which is in Judah, and he went up to the altar; thus he did in Bethel, sacrificing to the calves which he had made And he stationed in Bethel the priests of the high places which he had made.
Then he went up to the altar which he had made in Bethel on the fifteenth day in the eighth month, even in the month which he had devised in his own heart; and he instituted a feast for the sons of Israel and went up to the altar to burn incense.
He cried against the altar by the word of the LORD, and said, "O altar, altar, thus says the LORD, 'Behold, a son shall be born to the house of David, Josiah by name; and on you he shall sacrifice the priests of the high places who burn incense on you, and human bones shall be burned on you.'"
Then he gave a sign the same day, saying, "This is the sign which the LORD has spoken, 'Behold, the altar shall be split apart and the ashes which are on it shall be poured out.'"
Now when the king heard the saying of the man of God, which he cried against the altar in Bethel, Jeroboam stretched out his hand from the altar, saying, "Seize him." But his hand which he stretched out against him dried up, so that he could not draw it back to himself.
The altar also was split apart and the ashes were poured out from the altar, according to the sign which the man of God had given by the word of the LORD.
The king said to the man of God, "Please entreat the LORD your God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored to me " So the man of God entreated the LORD, and the king's hand was restored to him, and it became as it was before.
After this event Jeroboam did not return from his evil way, but again he made priests of the high places from among all the people; any who would, he ordained, to be priests of the high places.
This event became sin to the house of Jeroboam, even to blot it out and destroy it from off the face of the earth.
Wow! Jeroboam was one disobedient king! In fact, he became the measure for wickedness in the kings of Israel. He took his new kingdom (which God gave him) and violated four of God's laws:
1. He made graven images for worship. (Exodus 20:4, 5)
2. He chose his own places for worship. (Deuteronomy 16:5, 6)
3. He appointed priests who were not Levites. (Numbers 18:1 - 7)
4. He instituted a different feast day. (Leviticus 23)
God had promised him a dynasty if he'd obey God's commands, but he would not, and so his family only saw one more king on the throne. He, Nadab, only reigned for two years.
These examples should have sobered us. God has always wanted to be worshiped. He was and is worthy of our worship. Just as He asked not for any input from man regarding the construction of the ark in Noah's time, or the plans for the tabernacle, its furnishings and the priests attire and duties regarding sacrifices, so He has not consulted us to discover our ideas for worshiping Him. Nor will He yet.
When the incarnate Jesus walked the earth, He rebuked the Pharisees for "neglecting the commandment of God," and instead they "[held] to the tradition of men." (Mark 7:8) Their view of being right before God had become so distorted that when God, Himself, was manifest before them in the Son, they could not recognize Him as the Son of God. What about me? You? Have we so infused our own ideas about what is quality worship that we have neglected the commandment of God?
The examples given above were of real people in real time who pridefully set aside God's way to adopt their own. All of them suffered greatly for their wrongful worship. To God, worshiping Him is serious and real business. Again, He has not ever cared much what man thinks would be a great tribute to Him. Instead, He, the Creator, has always had supreme authority and will hold us as accountable for the kind of worship He wants in our lives as He did those of long ago. The very next thing to do then, is to search as if our lives depended on it (because they do) for the truth about what God wants and get busy transforming our practices and our associations into those which will bless and glorify the Almighty God.
O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and the knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past tracing out! For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor?or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again? For of him, and through him, and unto him, are all things. To him be the glory for ever. Amen. I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service. And be not fashioned according to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, and ye may prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
Romans 11:33 - 12:2
This sermon was very helpful to me in considering this topic. For what it's worth, I recommend listening to it.
1 comment:
I hope to comment more later -- if I remember -- but thanks for this! Very thought-provoking! I listened to the sermon, too, and want to do so again. (Who was that?) Excellent message!
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