“What makes you think I want all your sacrifices?” says the LORD. “I am sick of your burnt offerings of rams and the fat of fattened cattle. I get no pleasure from the blood of bulls and lambs and goats. When you come to worship me, who asked you to parade through my courts with all your ceremony? Stop bringing me your meaningless gifts; the incense of your offerings disgusts me! As for your celebrations of the new moon and the Sabbath and your special days for fasting— they are all sinful and false. I want no more of your pious meetings. I hate your new moon celebrations and your annual festivals. They are a burden to me. I cannot stand them!” – Isaiah 1: 11-14 (NLT)
Very few prophets in the Bible were well liked. In fact, the more godly they were the more unpopular they seemed to be. As it relates to Isaiah, Scripture clearly tells us that he had his work cut out for him. It could be argued that no prophet in all the Bible did more to turn God’s people back to Him than Isaiah, who was just as much an evangelist as he was a prophet.
The kingdom of Judah was a hot mess. God was so disgusted with their rebellion and disobedience that judgment was finally near. The people of Judah had repeatedly ignored God’s Word and were worshipping false idols. They were also actively engaged in pagan practices, and even soliciting security from enemy nations. And yet they continued to try to appease God with their empty religious sacrifices and meaningless burnt offerings. He had clearly had enough of their act.
So God gave Isaiah his marching orders: Go tell my people what’s heading their way.
We may not like some of the things that happen to us in this life. But when we go looking for the true source of most of our trouble and suffering – all we have to do is take a look in the mirror. When we think about it, has anything really changed going all the way back to the days of Isaiah and the kingdom of Judah?
We rebel against God. We seek comfort and security from the enemy. We spend more time worshipping things that were made from human hands than we do worshipping the Creator of everything in the heavens and the earth. And all the while, many of us try to appease God with meaningless sacrifices and offerings, as though that’s ultimately what He wants from us.
Friend, what God really wants from us is the same thing he wanted from His people living in Judah during Isaiah’s time. He wants a relationship with us. He wants us to trust Him when it seems counterintuitive to do so. He wants to bless us so that in turn we can be blessings to others. He wants us to rely on Him for strength, comfort, and security. He wants us to shine the light of His love that’s inside of us so that the world can see it. And like any responsible Father, He expects his children to obey Him. Do our outward signs reveal true inward faith in Christ?
God wants the very best for us. But He also wants the very best from us that we have to offer Him.
Former Blackout Artist 