When we start to look at Israel in the Bible days, some think everything was honky dory. Some think everything was great...They've got the temple sacrifices set up and going and Jesus is on the way! Not quite the picture perfect scenario though. By this point in time, a civil war had broken out between the Northern kingdom (Israel) and the Southern Kingdom (Judah) and the people in power were being evil to the poor. Yes, evil. There's not any other way to describe it. Essentially, people were living out the religion on the outside, but inside they were empty. Sound familiar?
We talked about verses 1 through 6 already, so we'll continue on. To understand verses 7 through 10, you've got to go back to the early days of Sodom and Gomorrah. (See Gen 19.) The outcry to the Lord against the people was so great that burning sulfur was rained down on them. So, the people weren't living up to the standard. So what?
God goes on to discuss what the issue is - verse 11:
"The multitude of your sacrifices - what are they to me?" says the Lord. 'I have more than enough of burnt offerings, of rams and the fat of fattened animals; I have no pleasure in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats" (NIV).
WOW! For a people who entirely base their reconciliation for sin off of animal sacrifices, that seems like a shock! God is saying that the death of these animals and the scent of blood isn't pleasing to Him because of verse 13:
"Stop bringing meaningless offerings! Your incense is detestable to me..." (NIV).
The people were sinning...they were rebelling and missing the mark. BUT, it became meaningless when it wasn't a sacrifice to the actual human making the sacrifice. Do not think we are free from this. We may not have to do the animal sacrifices because of Jesus' ultimate sacrifice, but think about the last time you sinned. (Probably not too long ago.) Did you repent? Did you truly turn from your ways and seek to live free from that sin? Quit thinking about the big ones...think about the little ones. The little lie you told. The snip-it of gossip you just had to partake in. The nasty thought you just had. The anger you just lashed out. It doesn't have to be murder or adultery for it to be a sin. Anytime we do not live up to the perfect standard God has, then it is a sin. In the Old Testament, there would be a set of animal sacrifices to go with that sin. But, if you're making the sacrifice to cover the sin and then you do it again, what good was it in the first place?!?!?! The apostle Paul in the New Testament talks about this in Romans 6:
"What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?" (NIV, vs 1-2).
We must turn from our evil ways. God does not desire our repentance if it isn't full-hearted! Now, I understand that sometimes we do it full-heartedly and still mess up. I've done it too...and that's where grace does come in. BUT, we have to strive to be perfect as our Heavenly Father is perfect (Matt 5:48).
So, as verse 16 says (back in Isaiah 1), we have to turn from our sin and take it out of God's sight. He doesn't want to see it. Just like when you were a kid, your parents really didn't want to see you mess up. And if you are a parent, you really don't want to see your kids mess up. But it goes further than that because God is a perfect God and He cannot tolerate sin. That's why we have Jesus, again, but we cannot use grace as a crutch. (I know, buckle up them steel toed shoes. I have to live this too ya know!)
Here's where I really want to sit for a while though. Let's look at verses 17 through 20:
"learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow. 'Come now, let us reason together,' says the Lord. 'Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool. If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the best from the land; but if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword.' For the mouth of the Lord has spoken." (NIV)
Whew!!! There is a lot in there. I'm going to pick through it and break it down so we can digest it more thoroughly. Let's do a little vocabulary lesson:
- "Learn" - To teach, exercise in, trained in
- "Right" - to be well, to be good, be pleasing, glad, joyful, do thoroughly, to make a thing good or right or beautiful.
- "Seek" - to resort to, seek with care, inquire, require, to consult, to frequent (like a place), investigate, to practice, study, follow
- "Willing" - consent, yield to, accept, to desire
- "Obedient" - to hear, listen to, obey, understand, give heed, to be regarded, agree
Let's walk through it with the definitions...Just verses 17a and 19...
Be trained in how to thoroughly do things well and pleasing. Inquire and be frequent to find justice and rebuke the oppressor (often this is a footnote in Bibles)......If you consent and desire it to be so AND if you are in agreement to listen and obey, you will enjoy the prosperity of the earth....
I don't know about you, but when I hear "prosperity" in place of "good" that just makes my natural man happy. BUT, this goes further than that. It is very similar to Matthew 6:33 which says:
"But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well" (NIV).
All these things refers to the above verses about basic needs like food, shelter, clothing, etc. God already knows that we need them. What He knows we need most is a relationship with Him. A tight-knit bond that can't be broken. Some people had a great relationship with their father, and I know others don't. But let me tell you...there's no divorce in our relationship with our God. There's no abuse or neglect. There's nothing that can strain our relationship with Him except our ignorance of Him. Even the sin issue is resolved by grace (though as we talked about, we shouldn't keep sinning just because grace exists). We have to seek Him! Just as we should seek to do good and seek His kingdom, we MUST seek Him.
One last Scripture...no worries, I'm wrapping it up.
"And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him" (Hebrews 11:6, NIV)
The Greek word used here for "seek" is (in English phonetics) ekzeteo. This means: to search for God, to investigate God, to scrutinize (def: to examine or inspect closely and thoroughly), to BEG for God, to CRAVE God.
I don't know if you have a relationship with God. I don't know if you even care about God right now. I don't know if you're like those in Isaiah's day that kept bringing the sacrificial lamb, but forgot the repentance/life change. But, what I do know is that God rewards those who SEEK Him. I do know that sometimes, we're at a point in our life when we really have to take a step in towards God to see if He is all that He says He is. We come to that point where we need to investigate God, because of past hurts or even current pain. I know I did. But maybe you're at that point where you are begging for God and you crave God more than anything else. You want His presence to come down but you're not sure what it's going to take. To be honest, it is going to take death on your part. You're going to have to kill your flesh (in a spiritual sense) and make it obey. You're going to have to sacrifice that sin that you've held onto for so long and TURN 180-degrees away from it. I can tell you from experience that you won't regret it...you'll feel it, and you may lose yourself over it, but the less of you, the more there can be of God. God is a perfect God. He loves you. But He can always see the potential you have far grander than what you can even dream!
Search for Him.
Beg for Him.
Crave Him.
SEEK Him!
No comments:
Post a Comment