Devotionals

Making Sense of the Book of Isaiah Lesson 5

by Henry Jaegers
07/09/22
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Making Sense of the Book of Isaiah

By Henry Jaegers

Lesson 5

Facing the Problem of a Broken Relationship

To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me? saith the LORD: I am full of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs or he-goats.  When ye come to appear before me, who hath required this at your hand, to tread my courts?  Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto me; the new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with; it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting.  Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth: they are a trouble unto me; I am weary to bear them.  (Isaiah 1:8-14)

n our last study, we examined the "remnant", whom we discovered, were those who lived their life before God from the heart. The relationship to God came from within, from a heart of love and gratitude. With people who have that kind of heart, God has no word of condemnation. But now we are addressing those who do not worship God with a heart of love and gratitude. Although it is true, that they offer outwardly, those things required by the law, they do so from a backslidden heart. Then the verses before us give us a description of the type of offering that they are giving.

To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me? saith the LORD: I am full of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs or he-goats. 

The fact that they are backslidden, brings to remembrance, the time when they were not. Think of the time when they were putting together the tabernacle. In Exodus chapter 35, we have the account of this. They were so full of excitement and anticipation of the tabernacle being built. There was no cost too great or sacrifice too difficult for them to make. If you recall, they gave so much, that they were asked to stop. Talk about sacrificial giving with the right motive. If only the Christian church had that same enthusiasm for God. But this is missing from the offering. And because it is missing, God is displeased.

Sometimes the offer to God is something that lacks the same enthusiasm. Our giving to God becomes a burden because we do not like what we have to sacrifice to do so. In short, our offering is done out of selfish motives. We give because it makes us feel good,  or give to impress other people, or give out of pressure or obligation, and sometimes to ease our guilt. These kinds of offerings are work done "in the flesh," and they cannot please God. Such giving causes God to be nauseous. That's what God said to the church at Laodicea in Revelation chapter 3. Consider these words from God over this type of offering.

But here is something else that God is not pleased with. And it refers to the matter of praying.

When ye come to appear before me, who hath required this at your hand, to tread my courts?  Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto me;

Is there something more to prayer than the words that I speak? What does it mean to God when I tell the person that they are in our prayers and our thoughts, but they are only words that we speak. In the matter of praying. We offer these, sanctified words but they are far from the true intentions of our hearts.

I am often reminded of that little prayer that says "I often say my prayers at night, but do I ever pray? Is there a difference? Is there such a thing as presumptuous praying? Notice the solemn words "when you appeared before me, who requires this of you?' What is God saying? Is he speaking to the assumption that we often have that we can enter into the presence of God without a trembling heart and expect to hear or see him work? Recall that first time when Moses saw the burning bush and as he approached the hoodie heard God say. "Take off your shoes FROM off your feet, for the ground that you were standing on his holy ground. And as we pray the Lord's prayer what do those words mean to us when we say "our father, who art in heaven, holy be your name?"

When we pray, we are entering into holy ground. When we do not recognize that, then, what we are doing is no different than what God is addressing to backsliding Israel.

He continues, " Bring no vain oblations unto me". But what does that mean? It is a prayer that is void of the kind that Elijah uttered. Effective, urgent, and fervent prayer. It is a prayer that enters into the presence of God with a true heart, holding firm in faith with the expectation of an answer from God. It involves a heart-searching to find if there is anything in my life that is hindering God from answering. Any prayer that is absent of these, is nothing more than "vain oblations."

Finally, he says, "incense, is an  abomination to me." Incense was what the priests offered to God as a sweet-smelling savor. It was offered from a thankful heart and was symbolic of effectual praying. It was intended as a sweet-smelling offering, but the incense offered by backslidden Israel brought forth instead, a stench in the nostrils of God. Yes, praying was important and so was the offering of incense, but from a backslidden heart, it only makes God sick. (Or nauseous)

We often pray to God for revival,  but there is a cost in praying for such. It is much different than what we have before us. So, we must be careful in this matter of prayer. It is no casual activity. It cries to the ear of God and from a sincere heart until it receives an answer. Jesus says "Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled". We have the same promise as well.  Learn the lesson from backslidden Israel in this matter of praying.

the new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with; it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting.  Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth: they are a trouble unto me; I am weary to bear them.

In Leviticus chapter 23, God instructs the children of Israel regarding the various feast days that are to be remembered and observed. God not only lists them but urges the people to hold them in high regard and not forget them; for he says that they are "holy Convocations (or assemblies) unto the Lord. It is true, that even the Pharisees and scribes were very fastidious about their observance of these Special times.  God knows the depths of the human heart and when selfishness prevails, there is a tendency to forget their significance and treat them as mere obligations and even casually change them as to forget the "homely convocations" aspect of them

As Christians, although we do not have as many, we also have our special days to remember and honor what God has done for us. I refer to the times of Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter. These are times that we can view as opportunities to be "Salt and Light" to a world involved in excessive feasting and frivolity. I have found them as open doors to share with them, the blessings that God intends for them to receive. We mustn't get caught up in the world's excesses but present to them an escape from their present darkness.

The words of Isaiah from God to us remind us of how serious this better of backsliding is. If we could only see the way God does maybe we would be more intent on our staying closer to him. Backsliding is no small matter, and I hope that we will realize how blessed it is in maintaining a healthy and happy relationship with God.