Isaiah 1:1-16: a reflection

1The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah. 2Hear, heavens, and listen, earth; for the LORD has spoken: “I have nourished and brought up children and they have rebelled against me. 3The ox knows his owner, and the donkey his master’s crib; but Israel doesn’t know. My people don’t consider.” 4Ah sinful nation, a people loaded with iniquity, offspring of evildoers, children who deal corruptly! They have forsaken the LORD. They have despised the Holy One of Israel. They are estranged and backward. 5Why should you be beaten more, that you revolt more and more? The whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. 6From the sole of the foot even to the head there is no soundness in it, but wounds, welts, and open sores. They haven’t been closed, bandaged, or soothed with oil. 7Your country is desolate. Your cities are burned with fire. Strangers devour your land in your presence and it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers. 8The daughter of Zion is left like a shelter in a vineyard, like a hut in a field of melons, like a besieged city. 9Unless the LORD of Armies had left to us a very small remnant, we would have been as Sodom. We would have been like Gomorrah. 10Hear the LORD’s word, you rulers of Sodom! Listen to the law of our God, you people of Gomorrah! 11“What are the multitude of your sacrifices to me?”, says the LORD. “I have had enough of the burnt offerings of rams and the fat of fed animals. I don’t delight in the blood of bulls, or of lambs, or of male goats. 12When you come to appear before me, who has required this at your hand, to trample my courts? 13Bring no more vain offerings. Incense is an abomination to me. New moons, Sabbaths, and convocations— I can’t stand evil assemblies. 14My soul hates your New Moons and your appointed feasts. They are a burden to me. I am weary of bearing them. 15When you spread out your hands, I will hide my eyes from you. Yes, when you make many prayers, I will not hear. Your hands are full of blood. 16Wash yourselves. Make yourself clean. Put away the evil of your doings from before my eyes. Cease to do evil.

Through Isaiah, God tells a people who kept up their religious observances while doing evil that he is weary of their empty worship, and calls them not to more offerings but to cease doing evil and do right. What are the multitude of your sacrifices to me, God asks; I have had enough of burnt offerings. Bring no more vain offerings. When you spread out your hands, I will hide my eyes; when you make many prayers, I will not hear; your hands are full of blood. Wash yourselves; cease to do evil. The people were diligent in outward worship, sacrifices, feasts, prayers; but their lives were full of wrongdoing, their hands full of blood. And God says he is not pleased by their worship, but wearied by it, because it came from those who persisted in doing evil. He calls them not to more religious observance, but to cease doing evil and do right. This shows that God rejects religious observance while we persist in wrong, calling us to cease evil and do right. God is not pleased by worship offered while we persist in doing wrong. Do not multiply religious observance while your life is full of evil. God calls us to cease doing evil and do right, not merely to offer more. Worship without a righteous life is wearisome to God.

Notice what God rejects and what he calls for. The people were diligent in religious observance: many sacrifices, burnt offerings, feasts, new moons, Sabbaths, and prayers. By outward measures, they were devout. But God is not pleased; he says he has had enough of their offerings, that their assemblies and feasts are a burden to him, that he will not hear their many prayers. Why? Because their hands were full of blood, their lives full of wrongdoing; they kept up the outward worship while persisting in evil. And so God's call is not for more religious observance, but for a changed life: wash yourselves, cease to do evil, put away your evil deeds. This holds a searching warning. It is possible to be diligent in religious observance, worship, prayer, attendance, outward devotion, while persisting in wrongdoing in our actual lives. But God is not pleased by such worship; indeed, he is wearied by it, because it comes from those who go on doing evil. Religious observance is no substitute for a righteous life; and worship offered by hands that do wrong does not please God. What God calls for is not merely more observance, but that we cease to do evil and do right, that our lives match our worship. We do well not to think our religious observance excuses persistent wrongdoing, but to cease doing evil and do right, so that our worship comes from a life that pleases God. Do not think religious observance excuses persistent wrongdoing in your life. God is wearied by worship offered while we go on doing evil. God calls you to cease doing evil and do right, not merely to offer more. Let your life match your worship, ceasing evil and doing good.

That is worth taking to heart, for God rejects worship offered while we persist in wrong, calling us to cease evil and do right, as he told the people wearied by their empty observances. We can be diligent in religious observance while persisting in wrongdoing; but God said he was wearied by their worship because their hands were full of blood, and called them to cease doing evil. Cease evil, do right. Do not think your worship excuses persistent wrongdoing; cease doing evil and do right, so that your life matches your worship and it comes from a heart that pleases God. Do not think your religious observance excuses persistent wrongdoing, but cease doing evil and do right so that your worship comes from a life that pleases God, as through Isaiah God told a people who kept up their religious observances while doing evil that he was weary of their empty worship and called them not to more offerings but to cease doing evil, asking what their many sacrifices were to him and saying he had had enough of burnt offerings, that when they spread out their hands he would hide his eyes and not hear their many prayers because their hands were full of blood, and calling them to wash themselves and cease to do evil; for the people were diligent in outward worship but their lives were full of wrongdoing, so that God was not pleased by their worship but wearied by it because it came from those who persisted in doing evil, and he called them not to more religious observance but to cease doing evil and do right, which holds a searching warning, since it is possible to be diligent in worship, prayer, and outward devotion while persisting in wrongdoing in our actual lives, but God is not pleased by such worship and is wearied by it, religious observance being no substitute for a righteous life and worship offered by hands that do wrong not pleasing God, so that what God calls for is not merely more observance but that we cease to do evil and do right and that our lives match our worship, and we do well not to think our observance excuses persistent wrongdoing but to cease doing evil and do right.

Lord, through Isaiah you tell a people who kept up their religious observances while doing evil that you are weary of their empty worship, and call them not to more offerings but to cease doing evil and do right. What are the multitude of your sacrifices to me, you ask; I have had enough of burnt offerings. Bring no more vain offerings. When you spread out your hands, I will hide my eyes; when you make many prayers, I will not hear; your hands are full of blood. Wash yourselves; cease to do evil. The people were diligent in outward worship, sacrifices, feasts, prayers; but their lives were full of wrongdoing. And you say you are not pleased by their worship, but wearied by it, because it came from those who persisted in doing evil. You call them not to more religious observance, but to cease doing evil and do right. Show me what you reject and what you call for. The people were diligent in religious observance: many sacrifices, feasts, and prayers. By outward measures, they were devout. But you are not pleased; you say you have had enough of their offerings, that their assemblies are a burden to you, that you will not hear their many prayers. Why? Because their hands were full of wrongdoing; they kept up the outward worship while persisting in evil. And so your call is not for more observance, but for a changed life: wash yourselves, cease to do evil, do right. This holds a searching warning. It is possible to be diligent in religious observance, worship, prayer, outward devotion, while persisting in wrongdoing in my actual life. But you are not pleased by such worship; you are wearied by it. Religious observance is no substitute for a righteous life. What you call for is not merely more observance, but that I cease to do evil and do right, that my life match my worship. Take that to my heart. Keep me from thinking my religious observance excuses persistent wrongdoing; help me cease doing evil and do right, Lord, so that my life matches my worship and my worship comes from a heart that pleases you, not wearies you.